I'm a stupid rookie...

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kolik1

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So my Hornady LnL Classic press kit arrived today, set it up in my still-in-development reloading/gun room. Decided I was going to start decapping and re-sizing some of the pile of .300 Win Mag brass I've been hoarding. Took my time setting up, made sure that the decapping rod was only sticking out the bottom of the die about 3/16" like that instructions said. Put the ram all the way up and screwed the die down until it was almost touching the shell holder, locked the locking ring and decided to go at it.

I was using the Hornady one-shot lube that came with the kit, using a Hornady die, lubed the inside of the neck and the outside of the case. Ram goes up, and really damn hard to get back down. Get it down, and "WTF" I says, "This neck has a huge damn angle to it?!?" Take the die apart and the decapping rod is bent just above the expander ball. Probably should have stopped right there... Didn't... Bent the rod straight as I could get it, couldn't see any wobble. Ran the case back through the die "Much better!" I says, couldn't see any "wobble" in the resized case when compared to a yet unsized case. Keep on going and 6 brass later one gets stuck in the die.. Managed to get the decapping rod out, expander ball still in the case, rod is bent again :confused:.....

I've pretty much resigned myself to buying a new die set, seeing as I didn't immediately call Hornady customer support after the first case came out wonky. Maybe i'll set the decapping rod only a 1/4" out the bottom of the die this time.

There we have it, day 1 and I'm out $50 for a die set because I couldn't stop and wanted to "play with my new toy".

Are Hornady dies just crap or is it just my blinding reloading ineptitude? What make of dies do you recommended?
 
kolik1 said:
So my Hornady LnL Classic press kit arrived today, set it up in my still-in-development reloading/gun room. Decided I was going to start decapping and re-sizing some of the pile of .300 Win Mag brass I've been hoarding. Took my time setting up, made sure that the decapping rod was only sticking out the bottom of the die about 3/16" like that instructions said. Put the ram all the way up and screwed the die down until it was almost touching the shell holder, locked the locking ring and decided to go at it.

I was using the Hornady one-shot lube that came with the kit, using a Hornady die, lubed the inside of the neck and the outside of the case. Ram goes up, and really damn hard to get back down. Get it down, and "WTF" I says, "This neck has a huge damn angle to it?!?" Take the die apart and the decapping rod is bent just above the expander ball. Probably should have stopped right there... Didn't... Bent the rod straight as I could get it, couldn't see any wobble. Ran the case back through the die "Much better!" I says, couldn't see any "wobble" in the resized case when compared to a yet unsized case. Keep on going and 6 brass later one gets stuck in the die.. Managed to get the decapping rod out, expander ball still in the case, rod is bent again :confused:.....

I've pretty much resigned myself to buying a new die set, seeing as I didn't immediately call Hornady customer support after the first case came out wonky. Maybe i'll set the decapping rod only a 1/4" out the bottom of the die this time.

There we have it, day 1 and I'm out $50 for a die set because I couldn't stop and wanted to "play with my new toy".

Are Hornady dies just crap or is it just my blinding reloading ineptitude? What make of dies do you recommended?
Click to expand...

Have you looked at the youtube videos on how to set up and tune up the LNL by Bill Morgan? May not stop you from doing that again but will get your LNL working great.
 
Don't feel bad, you're not the first person to screw up because they couldn't wait to play with their new toy. Ask me how I know. I can't help with your problem, but I doubt it's the dies. The only Hornady dies I own are 3 of their in-line bullet seating dies and the quality on them is just fine. I would take your own advice and call Hornady Customer support.
 
Hornady One Shot case lube is a dry film lube and in my opinion worthless, and many dies now come from the factory with a dry film to prevent corrosion.

If your die was not spotlessly clean of the film and you use One Shot its like trying to rub to panes of glass together and making them move. (like fingernails on a chalkboard)

Now get rid of the One Shot "dry film" lube and use a good "wet" lube and break in your dies. Now "wet" lube a case and the inside of the neck and things will go much smoother.

If you watched the Star Wars movies and saw the Ewoks on the planet Endor (below) your sizing die problems will make more sense.

And if you lube your cases correctly they won't scream in pain again.

ewok_zpsxokn8tiw.jpg


I decided to make my own case lube and the little brown truck came yesterday. :dancingbanana:

case%20lube_zpstbzok9zy.jpg
 
The rod that holds the inside neck expander and the decapping pin, was turned too far down in the die. Thus the larger part of the rod that tightens in the decapping pin, hit the web of the case. With all the camming power of the press, something had to give.
You seem confused with how far down the pin was. First you said you set it at 3/16", then you state you will give it more clearance and set it sown only 1/4 inch. 1/8 inch clear of the die is enough down.
 
Yep to the above and a couple of other things to keep in mind....if you have to force something - stop....it's not supposed to work that way.

As for setting the decapping rod, just far enough to kick out the old primer.

Stick with it, you'll figure it out.

Good luck.
 
Most likely what H4831 said. You didn't say anything about reading the manual for the HDY dies to confirm how they get installed in the press. Maybe you did and just didn't mention it, but, not all dies are just "screw 'em in til they touch the shell plate. Read the manual every time, especially if you start doing rifle and pistol with different brands of dies. We've all broken a die or two in the learning process.

As for die brands - for the most part the low end ones are pretty close in quality / service - I kinda like RCBS and Hdy, prolly because I've been able to find them. For Pistol, I kinda like the Lee carbide dies. For my precision calibres, I like the Forster dies.

I think Hdy may be lifetime warranty - call them, they'll prolly send you a new rod and decap pin.
 
You may be able to save the die and just pickup a new decapping pin. Search Youtube for the videos. You drill out the primer seat with a size suitable for a tap, if the pin is still there break it off with a punch first. Once the hole is made, put the die upside down on top of a slightly opened vise so the jaws are supporting the die and whack it hard with a bigger steel punch and hammer until the rest of the pin comes out. Then you tap the hole, and thread in a bolt with spacer washers (I used a 3/8" long socket) and turn the bolt. I soaked it in PBlaster too. This worked great when my son stuck a case in his 308 die. He said there was no way I could thread it and get it out.
 
Welcome to reloading!

Good advice above. I would recommend Imperial Sizing Die Wax for lube. Works a treat and is easy to clean up.

Hornady generally makes good stuff. As noted, it's probably your setup and nobody - nobody - gets away without maoing a couple of mistake there. Hang in there, read the instructions.
 
I tried a few different case lubes, and always end up coming back to the Lee sizing lube. I lay out a thin bead the length of the case body on a piece of regular paper, then roll the case to coat it, use a q-tip to get the inside of the neck. It's cheap and it works good for me, never had a stuck case.
 
I use RCBS,Lee and Hornady dies,I really like the hornady I seem to get good runout with them,they usally come with a extra decapping pin maybe check behind the foam in the box.One thing I have found with the hornady dies is I was using rcbs shell holder its measures.258" the hornady shell holder measures .242" so if you are using rcbs shell holder it should be turned back a little otherwise you will bump the shoulder of the case a little more.Ya and get yourself a stuck case remover tool or build one you will probably need it again.I use rcbs case slick in the spray bottle and it works for me.Good Luck
 
Don't beat yourself up. Everyone has these things happen, some guys sooner than others.

In my experience Hornady One Shot is good for a few things, but none of them are lubing cases. I got a case stuck while using it and since then I have only used it to lube the ram on my press and my case trimmer.

Chin up, keep at it.
 
I was wondering about the part where you say the die just touches the shell holder. Do Hornady dies not work like RCBS ones where you want it to cam over a bit at the end of the stroke.Might help if you actually measure the decapping pins length sticking out the first time you do it also.
 
If you are sizing a few cases, the technique does not matter very much. If you have a bucket or two of brass to size, there is a fast efficient way to lube the cases. I lube 100 or so cases at a time. takes about 30 seconds.

I use Lee case lube. It is a water soluble cream that is easy to clean off.

Dump brass in a plastic pail that has a lid.

lubebrass1.jpg


Then take a 1" worm of lube and smear it around the top inside wall of the pail.

lubebrass.jpg


Put lid on and swirl and shake for 15 seconds. This will lube all the cases and deposit a tiny dab on the case mouth, to lube the expander button.
 
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Before you go out and buy a new set of dies, you may want to contact Hornady first. I recently screwed up a decapping rod in my .40S&W set and Hornady replaced it all for free. They are notably patient with newbies and have some of the best customer service policies on the planet.
 
step 1.... call hornady, they will replace your broken parts.
step 2.... get some imperial sizing wax.
step 3.... try again, only put rod down far enough to push the primer out.... slowly adjust rod down until it works :) Up too far and the primer wont get pushed out, down too far repeat step one.
 
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