Load-master users, help me out.

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XDm45
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Load-master users, help me out.

Post by XDm45 »

So me, being new to this whole reloading thing, ran into my first issue today. I am trying to load up a batch of 45s (large primer), and one particular pull of the lever, I had a tough index. It happens on occasion, and usually is a primer issue. But, this time was different. I heard a snap. Did some investigating, and found 3 things happened at once, and I have no idea what caused it.

Issue #1- Decapping pin broke in my universal decapper.
Issue #2 & #3 - The rod for my case feeder bent, and the clip on the bottom of the plastic slide broke. (see pic)
Image

Now, I sent Lee an e-mail, and am waiting for a response, but since this happened, I have noticed my primers are not seating properly, unless I run through that stage twice. (first time through, they are barely seated at all.)
At first I thought maybe I had a crimped primer, but then realized I was loading brass that I had already reloaded once.... Everything indexes fine now, and after the second go round, the primer is seated properly, but who wants to do them all twice?

Any ideas to what may have caused this, and how to fix the primer seating issue?
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mreising
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Re: Load-master users, help me out.

Post by mreising »

Did the shell plate carrier slip up on the ram? I don't have a Loadmaster but if the carrier mounts to the ram similar to the way the Pro1000s do that could be the reason for the poor primer seating. Lee will probably have a better answer to you in short order; I've had excellent customer service from them.
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Re: Load-master users, help me out.

Post by Jake »

Is it possible you were trying to seat a large primer into a small primer hole?

I actually had to deal with this yesterday (and likely later today) due to some of the .45acp brass slipping past my inspections.
There are some (Blazer, mostly from my experience) 45's that are using small primers.

Shouldn't there be a law that they have to have special markings on the cases to help identify these little buggers?
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XDm45
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Re: Load-master users, help me out.

Post by XDm45 »

Was another thought that ran across my mind, but It's all brass that I reloaded and shot last week, and was all large primer cases.
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BobK
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Re: Load-master users, help me out.

Post by BobK »

This is too complicated in terms of diagnosing for me too want to write it all up. I'll also send you a PM with my phone number.

Needing two passes to seat your primers makes no sense at all if your press is setup correctly. Did you read the manual and set the primer seating depth per instructions? Re-read the instructions that came with your press and set the primer-seating depth bolt correctly and lock it down. I set my depth once when I got the press and haven't needed to change it in years.

Your primers should be seated about 0.003" below the case rim. When you run your fingertip across the seated primer, you can feel the slight indentation. Compare it to commercials ammo.

Is your shellplate locked down tightly using both the rubber o-ring and the nut?

Your Universal Decapping die is in station one, correct? Breaking the pin could only happen if there was a Berdan-primered case, your case was only partially inserted into the shellplate and you forced it up where it wouldn't enter the die correctly, or your turret is not properly aligned. If you have a case in two in three stations and raise the ram, do all of them enter the dies cleanly without any misalignment issues? If so, your case was probably only partially inserted.

For you to bend the case inserter rod like that, you were forcing the press. A general instruction on the Loadmaster is NEVER FORCE the press. If something seems jammed, stop and figure it out. In fact, best practices on the Loadmaster recommend that you always slow down and ease the cases into the dies and press against the press stop using even pressure, about 15 lbs worth. Similarly, at the bottom of ram travel right before the shellplate indexes, slow down and ease into it with even pressure. Never force the ram at the top or the bottom. In between, you can go as fast as you want.

Go over to the forums at http://forums.loadmastervideos.com/forums/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; to get these questions answered by people who really know the Loadmaster. Also, there are a lot of great setup videos at http://loadmastervideos.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I'd suggest watching all of them.

There is a video of a case inserter modification that I like where you drill a hole in it the change the bolt depth. It is easier to watch than explain: http://loadmastervideos.com/23FEEDERSETUP.WMV" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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XDm45
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Re: Load-master users, help me out.

Post by XDm45 »

Thanks Bob, Lee support has already contacted me, and once I get the new parts, I am going to completely break it all down, and set it back up. I verified the bolt for seating is where it was and should be. I did notice however, that the O-ring for my shell plate nut has gone missing, which is very weird. Will have to run to the hardware store and pick up a new one.
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The German
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Re: Load-master users, help me out.

Post by The German »

It could be a single shell coming in upside-down. Trying to force it through the decaper might have cause the issue with the pin. If you then lowered it to check and ran it up again, a second shell might have made it half way which (with some more force applied than normally needed) could have caused the bent guide rod and broken plastic.

Regarding the primer seating, I also have two loadmaster, adjusted them once and never had to touch it again (lowering the silver screw on the left will seat the primer deeper). By running it through the second time, it should not seat any deeper than the run before unless you are still feeding new primers ...
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