Hornady LNL - spring breakage

[jeep45238]

I've seen quite a few folks complain about breaking the garter spring that retains the case springs. Some folks have them last 1000 rounds, then start breaking them at a few hundred, etc.

I've loaded about 3,000 and haven't broken one yet - I do have 5 spares just in case though. The trick is to pop off the shell plate, and look at the groove where the spring rides down into the head, located right before station 1 where the brass is inserted.

Take a dremel with a felt bob and load it up with polishing compound for hard metals. Fire it up and go to town on that groove, front to back, and down through station 5 where the cartridge is ejected. This will remove any burrs and smooth sharp areas that will catch the spring and ultimately cause it's breakage.

The bob will likely destroy itself from hitting sharp edges, so be aware that you will have a limited amount of time to work. This is no problem, it doesn't take much.

Hope this helps those that are having issues with this.

Edited May 11, 2010 by jeep45238

[Pro2AInPA]

I break one every 1,000-1,500 rounds. Replacements are so cheap though that I'd rather just have a few spares on hand than do all that.

[jeep45238]

I break one every 1,000-1,500 rounds. Replacements are so cheap though that I'd rather just have a few spares on hand than do all that.

Most folks have to change calibers eventually, and it only adds on 1 minute (max) to your caliber change - versus constantly replacing a spring. Besides, every tinkerer has a dremel and polish of some sort, and a felt bob costs $1

Edited May 11, 2010 by jeep45238

[Dodge DeBoulet]

Wow . . . 5,500 plus .40S&W rounds loaded on my press since December 2009 and I'm still on my original spring. Last time I placed an order at MidwayUSA I added on some spares, but the original is still going strong.

Now that I'm shooting .45ACP too, I'll be putting a bit more stress on the spring with caliber changes. I suppose it will have to give out sometime.

[Jman]

Jeep...the title of your thread sounds like your breaking them.

[jeep45238]

Sorry, amended.

[lugnut]

I assume you are referring to the spring the retains the cases? If so- check them before you toss them. Mine never break however they often come apart and can be "screwed" back together.

[Jeff686]

Mine don't break, but they do get chewed up and mangled a lot. The only problem is that they sometimes interfere with the case feeder, if they are too distored.

[CocoBolo]

+1 on the screwing them back together. 30K + and on second spring, its not broke till it looks like an old Screen Door spring, it can get pretty mangled and still work.

[blind bat]

I've run 3-4k on my LnL without a spring problem. Maybe I'm just lucky. I'll put a couple of those on my wishlist for my next midway order.

Out of curiosity, are you guys running the ez-ject system? My press is less than a year old so maybe they corrected the spring problem when they converted to ez-ject?

[Dodge DeBoulet]

I've run 3-4k on my LnL without a spring problem. Maybe I'm just lucky. I'll put a couple of those on my wishlist for my next midway order.

Out of curiosity, are you guys running the ez-ject system? My press is less than a year old so maybe they corrected the spring problem when they converted to ez-ject?

I have an EZ-Ject press, purchased in December of last year.

[jeep45238]

Ez-ject here