LnL AP Press 223 Extraction Problem

[Justintoxicated]

So I got this press for Christmas and got it setup. I bought a #45 shellplate #16 shellplate for 223, and a #1 shellplate for 30-06.

I loaded a bunch of rounds of 45 and everything went smooth except for the occasional extraction stuck case (usually seemed due to some imperfection in the brass).

But when I switched over to the #16 shellplate I have nothing but extraction issues. Only about 1 in 4 cases ever actually extracts. I loaded 100+ rounds like this before I gave up. The shellplate now has little chips on the tapered part is where you put the brass in fromm having so many hangups I guess.

I called hornady and they told me to check if the shellplate is warped with a straight edge (I used a stainless ruler), it checked out fine. They then asked me to try adjusting the prawls. Well that helped a little so now only 1 in every 2 or 3 cases jams up.

I don't know what else to check, but I have spent way more time screwing with this thing than if I just load on my single stage...

[noylj]

I think Hornady tolerances are too tight.
Lee and Dillon shell plates are loose enough that you can load 9x19 and .40 with the same shell plate.
If you have damaged the shell plate, Hornady should be more than happy to inspect the plates, replace the chipped one, and determine if it wasn't chamfered properly.

[Fyathyrio]

I'm curious as to how you managed to chip a hardened piece of steel with a small bit of hollow brass? Something else is happening that you're missing or not telling us perhaps.

[Dark Mod]

I had a similar problem until i realized that there was a small amount of spilled powder in the channel below the extractor that was causing the cases to hang up.

[Justintoxicated]

Yea I have examined the extractor there's nothing there that I can see, but I don't have a second press to compare the shape of the metal hump extrator thing to.

I too was surprised how fragile the shell-pate was. It's chipped in several places now. Maybe I'll try to snap a pic with my macro lens this weekend and get it posted up.

I don't really know what else to say, loads 45acp fine, 223 is a jam-o-matic.

[Justintoxicated]

Friend came by and said my #16 plate was cut differently than his. The cuts in mine were deeper and came to a sharper edge where it is chipping.

I had no extraction problems loading 30-06 today, so it must just be a defective shellplate.

[Bill Steele]

IIRC, Hornaday redesigned their shellpates when they introduced their EZ-ject system for the LnL AP. Maybe you got one of the old designs by mistake. I think the old design had sharper edges at the mouth of the holder, where the new design was more radiused.

Hornaday will fix it.

[Justintoxicated]

IIRC, Hornaday redesigned their shellpates when they introduced their EZ-ject system for the LnL AP. Maybe you got one of the old designs by mistake. I think the old design had sharper edges at the mouth of the holder, where the new design was more radiused.

Hornaday will fix it.

Interesting, that could be it. I did notice that the packaging was the new cheap plastic throw away container, rather than their nicer older more re-usable containers.