How to flair cases on Hornady L-n-L AP Press?

powwowell

powwowell

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The title states my problem. If you can explain flairing the case process, step-by-step, I would appreciate it. I think I've got a pretty good handle on understanding everything except case flaring.

I want to use Hornady PTX expanders for 9mm, .380 ACP, .45 ACP, .45 Colt, .38 Special and .357 Magnum. I have shellplates, dies and expanders for these calibers. I must be too old for this press! I've read the manual, watched the Hornady DVD and a bunch of You Tube videos. Bunch of damn mumbo-jumbo. How in the world does the PTX Stop work?
 
aren't these ptx dies the exact same as the lee powder through expanders?

if they are the same, then all you need to do is put a case in the shellplate with the die all the way up.
screw it down til it just touches the case mouth.

then slowly turn the die down further while pulling the arm to incrementally flare the case more and more til you can just seat the bullet you're using in the case and it sits on top.

if you're using lead, not plated then you will need to do a little more so not to cut the bullet.

try to flare as little as you can so you don't wear out the case and or split the case mouth
 
Take all the dies out but the expander and powder (No powder, PTX in place). Then adjust that one don't worry about any other step.

Then follow this PDF, page 22 thru 25.

-R
 

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Zedhound said:
aren't these ptx dies the exact same as the lee powder through expanders?

if they are the same, then all you need to do is put a case in the shellplate with the die all the way up.
screw it down til it just touches the case mouth.

then slowly turn the die down further while pulling the arm to incrementally flare the case more and more til you can just seat the bullet you're using in the case and it sits on top.

if you're using lead, not plated then you will need to do a little more so not to cut the bullet.

try to flare as little as you can so you don't wear out the case and or split the case mouth
Click to expand...

No. I wish the adjustments were the same as Lee's.
 
rdinatal said:
Take all the dies out but the expander and powder (No powder, PTX in place). Then adjust that one don't worry about any other step.

Then follow this PDF, page 22 thru 25.

-R
Click to expand...

I'll give this a shot tomorrow.
 
I've solved the case flaring issue with the Hornady L-n-L. Yesterday I removed the Hornady powder measure and worked with my Lee powder through dies and used Lee Auto Disks/Auto Drums. Flare (case expansion) easily adjusted. I have Auto Disks set up for 9mm and .45 ACP. I have a Auto Drum that's adjusted to drop 7 grains of 231, for .45 colt. Today I'll set up the other Auto Drum to drop 3.0 grains of 231, for .380.

The accuracy of the Hornady Powder measure is outstanding. But, so are the Lee products. Especially the Auto Drum. I'm now questioning the purchase of the L-n-L. It's a dependable machine, but much more complicated than my Lee Classic Turret press. Maybe I don't shoot enough to justify the Hornady? Maybe a Hornady "PTX Powder Measure Stop" for each set of dies?
 
I have a LNL and the instructions for adjusting the PTX powder measure stop are not exactly written correctly (per a conversation with Hornady customer service).

If you do it the way the manual is written you don't have enough adjustment to get a proper flair. The way I did it was to coarse adjust by turning the powder drop die into the press and using the PTX powder measure stop for fine tuning. It was sort of a combination of the instructions for expanding the case without the PTX powder measure stop and the instructions with the powder measure stop.
 
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Do you have to do this for every caliber change?
 
Yes it is specific to the cartridge since you have different cartridge lengths, unless you have a separate powder drop die for each caliber. Then you would only have to adjust the PTX powder measure stop unless you have a separate one also.
 
I have separate powder drop dies, four of them. A poster on the High Road suggests adjusting the top screw, of the PTX Powder Measure Stop. If I get the adjustment right for each caliber, I'll consider a PTX Powder Measure Stop, for each powder drop die. This would eliminate re-adjusting the PTX Powder Measure Stop, each time I changed calibers.
 
When I first adjusted my PTX stop (tired of typing PTX Powder Measure Stop :)) I did adjust the top screw a little in attempt to get more flair on the case. But it limited the powder measure rotation so I was worried about drop accuracy.

I then looked at the old manual before the PTX stop and it used the powder adjustment as a stop by screwing in the powder drop die. I then coarse adjusted using the powder drop die, backed it out some (don't remember how much) and then used the PTX stop for fine tuning. I was talking to Hornady Customer Service after that for another problem and the person I was talking to said that is how he does it.

It just takes a bit of going back and forth and thinking about how each adjustment affects the case expansion and rotation of the powder drop.

I don't change calibers that much so the time to adjust the PTX stop isn't a big deal. However, to me, it is worth the cost of a powder drop die because of the pain of getting that first coarse adjustment right.
 
I only use a PTX in .40 which I think is also for 10mm which seeks to be a bad idea.

I adjusted the top screw, IIRC adjusting the die down had it hitting the shellplate and not even starting to move the drum. Maybe I lost a bushing/spacer along the way. Getting it to work took a lot of fiddling, drum rotation is limited, but drops accurate and flares well.

In nine and 45 I use a seperate expander and crimp and seat in one station. If I wanted to seperate those actions I'd pull the powder cop, seems a superfluous anyway. I think H markets lower assemblies as quick change kits, I'd get them if I was doing more than one caliber.

Sent from my SM-G360V using Tapatalk
 
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