Printable View
a freind has a older lnl press with a hornady powder measure when you cycle it some times the powder drop does not drop back down(stays in the dump ***) all the arms and lincage seems to be ok ! any ideas on what would cause this problem ? he is using winchester powder (fine grain)one time he loaded 800 pcs no problem then sticks 10 out of 20 cyccles any thoughts thanks charlie
When mine get "sticky" its the rotor inside the body of the measure that is the culprit.
A thorough cleaning (brake cleaner then alcohol) and subsequent lubrication with (only use) Hornady One Shot Cleaner Lubricant always saves the day.
I want to think that this is the result of tight tolerances. I see it more on my Black powder measure -- which has a brass rotor -- than on the smokeless rotor -- which is chrome plated.
I'm assuming the measure you're speaking of has its return spring in tact and that the tension of that spring is properly adjusted (it is adjustable).
When ever I gotten an old powder measure, it has required a thorough cleaning to get it functioning consistently.
Hope this helps.
I would give it a good cleaning like August suggested. I used graphite to lube my measures.
I had the sme problem with mine ! The lower drop tube gets alot of side load on it from the diagonal spring (return ) . I called Hornady and explained it to them and that the lower drop tube was scored because of it and much to my surprise a new updated lower assembly with the smaller vertical return spring were set to me as a warranty item . Free of charge !!! Might be worth a phone call !
I may be able to help you out a bit with this situation since I have experienced it with a couple of my presses. I own several of these, each dedicated to a specific handgun.
If this unit has the bushing in the center where the "push rod" slides up and down to actuate the powder measure, check and make sure it is not sticking there. Because the angle of the linkage that goes from the measure handle to the "push rod" is fairly flat relative to the angle of the return spring, if powder, dust, or any other form of contamination gets in there, it can retard the return action to the point where it will stick. Also because the link pushes at an angle, it can cause the "push rod" to bind after a while so I just turn the bushing a bit and things work fine.
There should be a spring to cycle it.