Hornady LNL AP indexing/powder spillage - my solution!

[impactco]

I had managed to work out all the little annoying issues with my Hornady LNL AP press, save for one. When the shell plate indexes, there is a little jerking motion as the balls on bottom of the shell plate seat in the sub-plate detents. This resulted in spillage of powder when loads were near the maximum case volume. I tried adjusting the pawls to improve the smoothness of the movement to no avail. I spoke with the guy at Hornady customer service and he admitted that he had no solution. :mad:

My solution is simple, I purchased a $1 piece of adhesive backed felt from a craft store and cut out a doughnut of material to fit on the bottom of the shell plate. Replace the shell plate in the press and screw the shell plate retaining bolt back on loosley. Cycle the press several times until the felt is compressed slightly and continue this process until you can completely tighten the retaining bolt and have the shell plate rotate correctly. The felt provides just enough friction to allow the shell plate to index smoothly. I just loaded up 200 rounds of 7.62x39 with my favorite ball powder without any powder appearing on the top of the shell plate. :thumbsup:

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g302/impactco/shellplate.jpg

[Jicko]

Seems like a good idea. Dunno if it will work for the Dillons?

[impactco]

I saw another post this morning regarding an identical issue with Dillon 650/550 presses. Not familiar with the shell plate design on those so I cannot say if it will work or not.

[jandmtv]

I had the same problem with my XL650, I got ride of it by tightening the bolt that holds the shell plate down to a sweet spot, took me a while to find the sweet spot! now it indexes to the next station with no jerking at all.

[fairfaxjim]

Thanks impacto. I have a Hornady LNL AP, and have noticed that problem. I'll have to try that on my shell plates.

[C.G.]

So far I haven't had that problem, but it is good to know the solution if I do.