mike_in_sa Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 (edited) I have a Hornady LNL AP and was in the middle of a loading session tonight when I noticed some resistance on the down stroke. I pause and pull a little harder but still have resistance. I figured it was the depriming station having a problem. I decided to pull harder in order to get the spent primer to pop out of the case and it finally gives. All is well, but when I try to seat the primer on the up stroke I feel resistance on the up stroke. I try a couple of times more and finally pull the case to check the primer hole only to see the spent primer was still in place. That was a head scratcher since I thought it was removed after the resistance gave way. I pull the depriming die and take a close look and this is what I found. die failure by , on Flickr I was surprised to see the Hornady die basically destroyed. Needless to say my session ended abruptly. I'll let you know what Hornady has to say. Mike Edited February 28, 2011 by mike_in_sa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLM Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 (edited) The fact that you kept having to pull harder and harder... that's a good time to stop and see why. Was the offending piece of brass boxer or berdan primed? Edit to add... The die breaking kept you from breaking your press. You should probably be thanking Hornady. Edited February 28, 2011 by SLM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carharttfarmer Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 that or a off center flsh hole not really hornadys fault have had it happen to me new stem is pretty cheap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWFAN Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Yup, Ive got one that looks just like that. Yesterday I was reloading and it was jammed up. So I pushed harder.. Had a primer half out of a sized case keeping the plate from rotating.. oops.. I sheared off the notch that turns that fits in and rotates the shell plate. DANG IT! If the press binds, dont force it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewiston Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I agree with the above comments. Anytime there's unusual resistance, stop and see what's causing it. SLM nailed it, you are fortunate the die failed rather than damaging the press. The good news is Hornady stands by their product. When you talk with them lay it all out in the open - I have to believe they will go above and beyond and help you out. It's in their best interest to make new customers happy so they turn into lifetime customers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_in_sa Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 Bull in a China shop...that's what my wife always tells me. I guess I need to be a bit more gentle next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_in_sa Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 Hornady is great!! I called in and explained what happened. They are sending out replacement parts and when I asked about buying a couple of case retainer springs the gentleman on the other end told me not to worry about it and he would add 2 to the order! I know Dillon stands behind their product, but Hornady is not slouch either! BTW, that little interaction just convinced me to buy either the case feeder or bullet feeder. Any thoughts on which one to get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jman Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Not surprised. Hornady does what it takes. Seems that 99.9% go with a Case feeder first. I load to many moly coated lead bullets to justify the purchase of a "jacketed only" bullet feeder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raz-0 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 (edited) having a problem. I decided to pull harder This is always the best course of action of course. Reloading tip #1. I've never seen a reloading problem that can't be made worse by pulling harder. ETA: case feeder. Costs less, and seriously increases the reloading rate. Edited February 28, 2011 by raz-0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CocoBolo Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 (edited) I have a Hornady LNL AP and was in the middle of a loading session tonight when I noticed some resistance on the down stroke. I pause and pull a little harder but still have resistance. I figured it was the depriming station having a problem. I decided to pull harder in order to get the spent primer to pop out of the case and it finally gives. All is well, but when I try to seat the primer on the up stroke I feel resistance on the up stroke. I try a couple of times more and finally pull the case to check the primer hole only to see the spent primer was still in place. That was a head scratcher since I thought it was removed after the resistance gave way. I pull the depriming die and take a close look and this is what I found. die failure by , on Flickr I was surprised to see the Hornady die basically destroyed. Needless to say my session ended abruptly. I'll let you know what Hornady has to say. Mike Dat's no failure that is a case fell over or one with a berdan primer and you leaned heavy on the down stroke. Been there done that more than once. You can get a die maintenance kit at Grafs.com it has a couple of the stems a cap and a few decapping pins. This is not unique to hornady die same thing can and will happen to Redding and Dillon, the Lee Die has a very strong decapping pin but it can be broken with enough effort. I keep several of the stems on hand since I started reloading 9 mm never needed them running 38 Super. Now as to the rule: When it comes to reloading reverse the universal rule: If brute force isn't working you just aren't using enough. You must always use enough force to seat the primer on the back stroke, but on the down stroke if you feel anything in the way of extra resistance stop and find out what it is before applying additional force. Whenever you have any kind of exception or stopage, stop and verify the condition of all cases in all stations and make corrections as needed. This is where Squibbs and double charges are born, when something stops you aka the exceptions. Edited February 28, 2011 by CocoBolo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattog22 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I've bent many rods like that. Usually berdan primed, offset flash hole, or media stuck in flash hole. You guys ever have the plate not turn because the primer being punched out doesn't come out all the way no matter how far down the decapping pin is down in the case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWFAN Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I've bent many rods like that. Usually berdan primed, offset flash hole, or media stuck in flash hole. You guys ever have the plate not turn because the primer being punched out doesn't come out all the way no matter how far down the decapping pin is down in the case? Yes, thats what i was referring to above. I sheared off the notch that rotates the plate. Hornady is sending a new drive hub no questions asked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CocoBolo Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I've bent many rods like that. Usually berdan primed, offset flash hole, or media stuck in flash hole. You guys ever have the plate not turn because the primer being punched out doesn't come out all the way no matter how far down the decapping pin is down in the case? Yes, thats what i was referring to above. I sheared off the notch that rotates the plate. Hornady is sending a new drive hub no questions asked. I've had that a couple times. I attribute that not, to not pushing the primer out, which physics says it was pused out because the steel pin is not a sponge. It is primer pull back, yes it pushed it out and then it brought it back when you raised the handle. The cure for that is to put a 45 degree end on the decapping pin then just radious it. That will cause the primer to roll off the end of the decapping pin. You can also just put a new decapping pin in and it should end the primer pull back for a while. I also had it when the spent primer tube was kinked and filled up solid with primers and could not push another one out. It now sits in a 2 gallon container. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattog22 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I've bent many rods like that. Usually berdan primed, offset flash hole, or media stuck in flash hole. You guys ever have the plate not turn because the primer being punched out doesn't come out all the way no matter how far down the decapping pin is down in the case? Yes, thats what i was referring to above. I sheared off the notch that rotates the plate. Hornady is sending a new drive hub no questions asked. I've had that a couple times. I attribute that not, to not pushing the primer out, which physics says it was pused out because the steel pin is not a sponge. It is primer pull back, yes it pushed it out and then it brought it back when you raised the handle. The cure for that is to put a 45 degree end on the decapping pin then just radious it. That will cause the primer to roll off the end of the decapping pin. You can also just put a new decapping pin in and it should end the primer pull back for a while. I also had it when the spent primer tube was kinked and filled up solid with primers and could not push another one out. It now sits in a 2 gallon container. Thats exactly what I figured out when I called Hornady today. The guy told me pretty much the same thing you just posted. I took my primer tube off and just put a trash can under it because it kept falling off or getting stopped up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtaylor996 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 I've bent many rods like that. Usually berdan primed, offset flash hole, or media stuck in flash hole. You guys ever have the plate not turn because the primer being punched out doesn't come out all the way no matter how far down the decapping pin is down in the case? Yes, thats what i was referring to above. I sheared off the notch that rotates the plate. Hornady is sending a new drive hub no questions asked. I've had that a couple times. I attribute that not, to not pushing the primer out, which physics says it was pused out because the steel pin is not a sponge. It is primer pull back, yes it pushed it out and then it brought it back when you raised the handle. The cure for that is to put a 45 degree end on the decapping pin then just radious it. That will cause the primer to roll off the end of the decapping pin. You can also just put a new decapping pin in and it should end the primer pull back for a while. I also had it when the spent primer tube was kinked and filled up solid with primers and could not push another one out. It now sits in a 2 gallon container. Awesome, that happens to me all the freakin' time. I couldn't figure out why I needed the decap pin so deep. Can you describe the modification with some more detail, or ideally, post a pic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CocoBolo Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 I've bent many rods like that. Usually berdan primed, offset flash hole, or media stuck in flash hole. You guys ever have the plate not turn because the primer being punched out doesn't come out all the way no matter how far down the decapping pin is down in the case? Yes, thats what i was referring to above. I sheared off the notch that rotates the plate. Hornady is sending a new drive hub no questions asked. I've had that a couple times. I attribute that not, to not pushing the primer out, which physics says it was pused out because the steel pin is not a sponge. It is primer pull back, yes it pushed it out and then it brought it back when you raised the handle. The cure for that is to put a 45 degree end on the decapping pin then just radious it. That will cause the primer to roll off the end of the decapping pin. You can also just put a new decapping pin in and it should end the primer pull back for a while. I also had it when the spent primer tube was kinked and filled up solid with primers and could not push another one out. It now sits in a 2 gallon container. Awesome, that happens to me all the freakin' time. I couldn't figure out why I needed the decap pin so deep. Can you describe the modification with some more detail, or ideally, post a pic? Don't have any pics, just look at the decapping pin, the end is flat, file or grind the end at an angle of 30-45 degrees, then just clean up the edge with a little radius. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in CT Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 I have also broken a couple of pins, both times my fault for pushing too hard when a case not centered on the shell plate (actually tipped sizeways). I keep several on hand as spares and I thought that Hornady shipped a spare as well. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jar Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Cleaning the built up crud out of the hole the primer falls down solved the primer pull-back issue for me, at least in the short term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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