AusPPC

I could sustain 600/hour on my Hornady (with primer tubes filled, etc.) if my case shuttle worked a bit better, but I just haven't been able to take the time to work on it. I've got to watch the cases and give some a "nudge" and if I'm moving too fast the case will snag on its way into the shell plate. I have two LNL-AP's (one in 38 SPL and another in 9mm) and the case feed into the shellplate is now very smooth and reliable, even with mixed headstamp range pickups. So if that is your problem, I'd say don't discard the LNL-AP just yet as you may not need to invest in the XL650 if all you want is a bit of extra speed. To isolate the problem, watch the V-block feed the case in slow motion and look for tipping or binding. Things I did to get mine running sweet included: - Watch to see if the cases are bumping over the case retainer spring, that will cause the case to bind on the way in - Get the latest shell plates, they have a wider rim that holds the spring down in its channel to avoid cases bumping over it - Ensure the shellplate is tight, again this holds the retainer spring down and keeps it flush - Check the retainer spring is free of kinks - Experiment with different V-blocks, not just the one suggested in the manual - Experiment with "shimming" the V-block, or rotating it slightly on its mounting bolt, to get the alignment straight and neutral - Set the cam wire such that the V-block arrives as late as possible, if it arrives early the case will be jarred (this was a big help) - Ensure the V-block cam wire is bolted in TIGHT, any kind of play will cause the timing to drift over time (this was a big help) Hope this assists.

I have the LNL-AP, 600 rounds an hour with primer tubes pre-filled is comfortably achieved, though I prefer a few breaks in between. Re: LNL-AP versus XL650, with both clean, tuned and setup (and fitted with a casefeeder), there should really be no difference in speed.

I love stuff like this.

You've probably confused more people here (and on arfcom, identical post) by giving the part # - it's not like there are multiple variants - LnL AP (the one you're talking about) or the LnL AP Ammo Plant (case/bullet feeder) is pretty much it. Strong mount from Inline Fabrication - you have a few different heights to choose from, as well as with a single press specific top plate, or 'quick change' top plates to use multiple presses on one base. The quick-change plate setup will likely work - ask the owner Dan if he can sell you a 'blank' quick-change plate, plus the one for the LnL AP, then you can drill the blank for your Pacific press. Get the Hornady bullet feeder die for the relevant caliper, then buy some clear tubing (I think someone gave OD/ID measurements on your arfcom post) - done. Extras - a couple of shell plate/case holder springs, and buy 6 packs for Hornady lock-rings (best out there I've found, bar none), and 10 packs of the quick-change bushings, assuming loading for multiple calibers - Hornady includes 5 bushings with the press, so you're good for at least the first caliber. I think I also got a few spare case springs with the press as well. Maybe add a spare primer shuttle spring, as well. Depending on calibers to be loaded, and variety of powders, I really like the powder measure micrometer inserts, and I picked up a second powder measure - one for pistol, one for rifle. The rest is really just down to one-time setup. Clean the powder measure and parts from the factory 'cosmoline' well. Spray w/degreaser, then soak and agitate in Dawn + water in the sink, rinse, repeat, rinse, let dry, then manually cycle a few # of powder through it back into a powder jug, and should be ready to go there. Use some fine sandpaper on a glass surface and run the primer slide across it to ensure no burrs exist, then smooth out the primer shuttle 'edge' (rounded part) a bit, and if you'd like, cut a slight 'undercut' or downward bevel on the lower half of the front rounded edge, so it'll be less likely to jam with a few errant grains of powder. Remove the 'blast tube' and internal primer tube from the press, so the shuttle is in place, and only the part the blast tube screws into. Push handle all the way down, and adjust the top of the primer cam wire so the primer shuttle primer pickup hole is very slightly just past 100% centered, to be a hair more rearwards. Tighten down and you won't need to adjust it again for a long time. A dab of grease under the shell plate, grease gun the zerk fittings, and dry lube or graphite on the primer slide, and you're pretty much good to go. I've got 2 LNL AP's, and the above is very good advice to get them running well. You might also want to chamfer / bevel the primer hole in the shuttle (use a drill bit turned gently by hand). With these mods the priming system is super reliable. As for a bullet feeder, my opinion is that it only offers significant productivity improvements if you partner it with a motor drive.

Really wish the Dillon seating stems didn't leave dimples on cast bullets.

I find that Nitrile gloves tear less often than Latex. But boy, wearing them makes it fiddly to seat bullets on a progressive.

Great fix, I'm doing something similar with my 2 Hornady LNL AP collators, but using plastic sheeting for the wipers. When I get both tuned I'll share pics.

I get the same "catching" problem with the Lee expander die, but only when I use brand-new 9mm brass. After they are fired they don't seem to catch anymore.

I've observed this also, cases that piggy back and retard the drop of the valid case in the slot. My solution to this was as per your comments, I created plastic wipers inside the case bowl that push away any case that is not sitting in a slot. Some experimentation with the size, shape and location of the wipers is needed. With these wipers fitted, my jam rate is now less than 0.01%, or less than 1 in 1,000. With some fine tuning I believe I can get it to 0%. The principle is the same as used in bullet feeder collators, and again, I am amazed that neither Dillon nor Hornady provide these as a factory feature. Well, since I have a Hornady bullet collator, which I have modified to work as a Mr. Bullet Feeder does, that's where I got the idea of the spring wiper. Would you be willing to share photos of what you have done with your wiper(s)? Sure, I've only had the case feeder installed on my 38 SPL machine for a few months, and I just bought another one for my second 9MM machine (which is awaiting mods), so once I've tested them both extensively (and am confident they'll work for others) I'll happily share photos. I've had a few instances of mods that initially seemed to be the holy grail, but after a few actual loading sessions proved to be sub-optimal or problematic. One thing I have found is that your wipers need to be very flexible. If they are at all stiff or rigid, then it will only take one case mouth to collide with it, and the collator will jam. For this reason, I made my wipers out of thin plastic sheet, cut with scissors and shaped with a cigarette lighter to melt the plastic into the required bends, and then attached to the bowl with double sided tape. They easily push piggybacked cases away, but if one collides with it, they quickly flex out of the way and let the case pass. I also experimented with cable ties (I think you Americans call them 'zip ties'), again melted into shape but fixed with Gaffer tape, and this worked quite well in finding the best locations. If you want to start testing quickly and on the cheap, this is the way to go. The mod works better when you have multiple wipers, rather than trying to do it with just one. If you use a single wiper, it will eventually get over-run with a bunch of cases and piggy backed cases will get past it. I also think that the optimal wiper positions are calibre specific, and so would need to be adjusted if you ran multiple calibres on the one machine.

I've observed this also, cases that piggy back and retard the drop of the valid case in the slot. My solution to this was as per your comments, I created plastic wipers inside the case bowl that push away any case that is not sitting in a slot. Some experimentation with the size, shape and location of the wipers is needed. With these wipers fitted, my jam rate is now less than 0.01%, or less than 1 in 1,000. With some fine tuning I believe I can get it to 0%. The principle is the same as used in bullet feeder collators, and again, I am amazed that neither Dillon nor Hornady provide these as a factory feature.

To fix the upside down / flipped cases, as has been suggested, a solid mount to the bench will help. To cure this problem with my Hornady LNL-AP casefeeder, I attached a shutter to the right side of the window that forces the case to drop a little later, when it is directly over the centre of the funnel. This cured the problem totally for me in 38 Special. The flipping is caused when cases bounce off the sides of the funnel, causing them to flip on their sides. The 'one-size-fits-all' approach of the funnel means the cases drop in too early, hitting the side of the funnel and bouncing around - when they should really just drop straight down into the drop tube. By creating a shutter out of plastic sheet (fixed with double sided tape) and experimenting with location, you can make the cases drop more centrally to the funnel and stop the cases from flipping. It amazes me that neither Dillon nor Hornady put adjustable shutters on the right side of the collator, only the left side (to allow rifle cases to fall properly). If they put shutters on both sides so many problems could be tuned out by the owners.

We've all had times when on a stage we 'shoot blind', where we aren't really present to the shooting. We're pulling the trigger and pointing the pistol, but we're not really in the present tense and focused on what we need to see. Instead we might be thinking of the next target, or the next reload, or the last D hit, with the shooting 'right now' being secondary. A string of misses is the result, and your memory of the string tells you that you really were just "going through the motions" and hoping that hits resulted. I've found a way to simulate (and counter) this very thing - sending a text message on your cell phone. The screen / buttons are small and your fingers are big, so a phone isn't ideal for typing. If you have in your mind a sentence to send to a friend, and you get your fingers to briskly type out the letters and numbers that make up that message while thinking about what you want to say, but not being present to the buttons, the result is a garbled message. You then have to backspace and delete the errors to arrive at the correct result. You clearly know how to spell and press buttons, but you still screwed it up. Sounds like shooting blind, doesn't it? I noticed that when I typed a text that was full of errors, it was because my mind was thinking of the message and how quickly I wanted to get it out. I really wasn't focused on and present to the buttons, the characters, the numbers or the feel of my fingers running across them in sequence, nor was I calm and relaxed. So I stopped, waited for my heightened state of arousal (anxiety) to subside a little, and then focused on consciously and deliberately hitting each letter one at a time and in sequence. The result was the message being right without needing to fix errors, which on net, gave a faster result. So this is now one of my tricks before a match. Once I can type out a text on my phone without errors, but do so briskly, I'm set to be 'calm and present'. And no downloads required

I could watch that thing all day.

Nice to see a company challenging the OEM dominance in case collators! Updown cases are most often caused by the case bouncing off the side of the funnel and flipping around, it's really the only way it can happen. You can verify this by trying to make a case flip manually using your fingers. In my experience (on a Hornady collator) you can avoid this by adding a baffle or spacer to the window that causes the case to drop a little later, when it is directly above the centre of the funnel. As a result, the case will drop straight down, rather than bounce off the sides, and hence not have a chance to flip around and drop upside down.

The stretch in the presses linkages under load causes the shellplate to not travel up as far when all stations are fully occupied, hence why OAL will be shorter with all stations occupied versus only one. All colours of press do this.

I'm working on this exact thing (but for a Hornady LNL) over the Xmas break, to only count finished rounds that pass through the crimping station, my prototype uses a magnetic reed switch as the sensor. If it all works I'll share the design.

As in, the die that is likely to be the cause of the binding is the expander die. In my experiences, if it's dirty and clogged with brass/lead/lube shavings, it will bind on the downsstroke, or, with new brass that is burred, it does it too. If it's been doing it since new, then the expander plug may be oversized or require polishing.

I vote for a sticky expander die, happened on my LNL with virgin brass.

Wipe the part in powdered graphite, this permanently fixed the problem on my Hornady Powder Cop die.

A bit of dry fire before a match helps when switching between auto / revolver I find.

I recently added a casefeeder to my LNL AP for .38 Special exclusively, and have added several very cheap mods that (thus far) seem to have eliminated: - Collator wheel jams - Case rain - Upside down cases - Shell plate tipping jams - Primer follower rod snagging The whole casefeeder now runs superbly and so far has been 100% reliable, only defective cases will hang it up. After some more testing I'm planning on sharing pics and descriptions of those mods.

This fixed my press. Before I found this I was ready to get rid of it. With the shims I have almost no case tip at all. 9mm was the worst. I also went to a Dillon resizing die which is beveled a little more than some other dies and is more forgiving. I finally don't regret buying the LNL. Yeah, the downside of the case retainer spring is that stations 1 and 5 cause the casing to cant a little. Dies with a good bevel on them (like Dillon) will auto-correct this problem. Dies with minimal bevel (like Lee) can cause binding or crushing.

I have a Hornady LNL with case feeder (in .38 Special), and studied it for hours to learn how jams (like that in the OP's photo) occur. What I learned was that if a loose case can ride ontop of a case in one of the slots, when it's turn comes to drop, it drops more slowly than usual because the case riding on it slows down it's descent. The result is that the case is only halfway down when it collides with left side of the window, sandwiching it and causing the clutch to slip and the machine to jam. So essentially, loose cases riding ontop of valid cases are the culprit. The solution - create a series of wipers mounted on the inside of the bowl that 'wipe off' any loose cases, such that only cases correctly sitting in a slot are allowed to pass up to the drop window. The concept is the same as the wipers used in a bullet feeder. Studying the case feeders operation with it in your lap will indicate where the wipers need to be positioned. I used plastic sheeting and double sided tape to make mine. Since performing this mod I cannot get my case feeder to jam.

If starting with the pad means the trigger throws you to the crease, than that's not ideal. You want the compression and the reset to be performed with the same part of the finger. Sounds like if you want to use the pad, you'll either need to reduce trigger weight to prevent it throwing your finger around, and/or, have the trigger serrated and widened to achieve the same thing. As was mentioned above, the older style flat serrated triggers are probably the way to go for pad shooting.

I've been meaning to do this mod to my collator, interested to see anyones pics or ideas! My wife said I should buy one of the mirrors they sell to mums to put in the car so you can see the kids on the backseat without turning around.