Press Longevity

[alfsauve]

As some may know, I keep a trash can under my Hornady LnL to catch the primers.  Same can for 5 years.  I don't purport to be the most prolific of shooters or reloaders, but I think I do my share.

<Picture below>

This morning I decided it was time to empty the can not because it was full but because it was getting too heavy for the poor plastic trash can to be moved.


 I also decided to count the primers.  This will give me a good indication of how many rounds I've loaded on the press.   Now this isn't exact, because it overlooks the times I've loaded unprimed brass, but that's not that many.  Also there's a mixture of small and large, but if my samples are representative of the whole bucket then it'll be a close approximation.   Also my counting abilities might suffer but I just wanted an idea of how many I've loaded.

The contents weighed 33#s on my bathroom scale.

I scooped out a sample and weighed 8oz of primers, then counted them.  1,033/8oz.  My scoop contained a fair amount of the "dirt" so I think it's a fair reprentation.

Rounding down to 2,050/lb that's 67,650.  Given the inaccuracy of the bathroom scale let's say 65,000.

Yes, the LnL press occasionally has little problems, but don't they all?  And at 65,000 rounds all I want to replace is the plastic powder column.  I'm still on the first generation of all the springs.  (I have spares JIC.)   I'm sure other quality consumer presses, would probably rate about the same.

[Majer]

Alf, spot price for brass is $1.32/lb. so you have almost $44.00 in primers sitting there,Plus the 5 gallon pail next to it might make it worth taking it to the recycler.

[Solus]

If you are willing to spend $214 for a scale that will give a count of items after a sample has been weighed, you might be interested in this.

It would also work for empty brass, loaded rounds...anything that you might need a count off..

http://www.uniquetek.com/site/696296/product/T1445

[alfsauve]

Alf, spot price for brass is $1.32/lb. so you have almost $44.00 in primers sitting there,Plus the 5 gallon pail next to it might make it worth taking it to the recycler.

I checked with two recyclers and they won't take spent primers.   I need to double check with a local commercial reloader on that.

The bucket next to it is good brass that I don't want.  Odd calibers or things just out of tolerance or things like 9mm with overly tight crimped primer pockets.   I'm saving that to trade with the local brass company, "The Brass Exchange," for brass I do want.

[alfsauve]

If you are willing to spend $214 for a scale that will give a count of items after a sample has been weighed, you might be interested in this.

My $20 kitchen scale does counts, but you still have to enter a sample count or weight per unit to start with.  With brass you can weigh 10 or so and figure that's a good average per round. With primers however, it's such a mixture of cups, anvils and residue.  So I'd still have to do a manual count to figure a good average #/oz.

[Sponsor]

[MikeBjerum]

I checked with two recyclers and they won't take spent primers.   I need to double check with a local commercial reloader on that.

Check around.  There are recyclers in most areas that will take spent primers and cases.  Most are afraid of a live primer, alone or in a case, that will explode in the heat.  But, our club found multiple recyclers who don't care and pay just as much.

One club I belong to has winter leagues for rifle and handgun.  Both are .22lr.  We recycle the cases, and it brings in enough to cover the cost of the targets for the leagues plus extras we sell.  Pretty good, and simple, fund raiser.  We would recycle the lead, for cash, but two club members who do more than you could get out of a paid employee clean the sand pit every year, and they get to keep the lead as "payment" for all they do.  They are very open about what they get, it is worth quite a bit, but it is cheap pay for what they do for the club.  By the way, they don't sell the lead - They make their own bullets for their SASS addiction.

[alfsauve]

SH-h-h-h-h.



Driving home today it dawned on me how much I've spent on bullets over the last 5 years.  I hope Miss Kitty doesn't find out.

[billt]

Aren't the primer anvils made from sheet steel?

[alfsauve]

<Resurrection of old post>

I've had my Hornady LnL AP for 12 years now.  WOW!  How time flies.  Other than replacing the plastic powder hopper it's been working fine.  A few tweeks and of course all the "improvements" I've made have served me well.  This post was in 2016  where I estimated ~65,000 reloads and now it's been 6 more years.  I didn't do much reloading in 2020 or 2021 because I was hoarding primers.  I'm starting to ramp back up now.  I'll easily estimate I went over 100,000 now.

There is one problem though.  I notice about 1 out of every 100 .38spl rounds have had a high primer.  Takes a 2nd strike to fire.  Puzzled over this.  Figured maybe my "primed switch" which is under the primer arm was interfering.  But that can't be because it actually wears down with age and would be just the opposite effect.  Then I saw it.

The primer punch is hard steel.  And with each primer it pushes against the press's base, which is aluminum.   And yes, it has worn a little hole in the base.  Not very big or deep but evidently deep enough.   If a case has a deep primer pocket. Deep as in 0.001" deeper than most, then maybe that one primer in a ~100 wasn't getting fully seated.  But how to "fill" the hole.

Two things dawned on me, eventually (I can be a slow thinker).  1-nothing I could melt and pour in there wouldn't wear away rather quickly be it epoxy or some soft metal.  2-I need something as hard or harder than the primer punch.  3-And maybe something easily replaceable in the future.  4-I can't count.

But what, I thought, as I was changing out the blade on my box cutter.  AH-HA.  Why not just glue the box cutter blade, hard steel, over the divot?  It would definitely stand up to the primer punch better than aluminum, it's cheap and easily replaceable. 

Load up a 100 rounds and fired them with no mis-fires.  Then reseated the 1,000 rounds I already had loaded.  Gone through about 300 of those rounds with no more problem.  I'm guessing this press gonna last another 6 years.

[Rastus]

Ingenious.