New Lee Locknuts

[Mytmousemalibu]

I use Dillon rings on all my progressive stuff just because of tight space. Just about anything else is fine on other equipment.

[jmorris]

Might want to consider they're intended for the breech lock bushings.
You twist the die body back and forth to insert/remove the die/bushing pair from the press.

Finger tight will allow the die to rotate inside the bushing and throw off the adjustment.

Screw in press or turret, finger tight is coolio.
Quick change bushings, need to lock the die down.

I prefer their lock ring eliminator bushings that don’t require any nut at all.

[Rapidrob]

If anyone needs the old style LEE Lock rings,let me know. I have a bunch of them and cannot use them in my press.
Maybe we can do some swapping?

[Drew P]

I’m surprised at the confusion why these are an improvement over the classic lee rings. A lot of people like to set the lock ring permanently while changing dies frequently right? That’s why people also over tighten them at times. I can imagine single stage press reloaders would be annoyed with the classic rings, as they lack a locking method. I’ve had rings come loose and cause problems. I have presses with limited clearance that these would be very beneficial on. They also appear to be able to be used without clamping, and have similar function to the old rings, which is great.
But really for me, I like to have many styles of lock rings because I find they all work best of a certain application. For instance I like to use a pair of Dillon rings on my powder measure because it makes micro adjustments easier for me. But any others won’t fit.
I like the classic lee ring for some things too where I want to have a controlled friction fit.
So, I don’t see any reason to fault Lee on these, and 8$/3 is an extremely low price for such a piece of hardware, and I know this because I’ve purchased thousands of shaft collars of various sizes and if this were for any other application they would cost 10 ea, or more!

[Ed in North Texas]

I replaced the lock rings on the few sets of Lee dies I own with RCBS lock rings.They work better for me and hold adjustment when changing dies.

This! The Lee rubber "O" ring works fine if you are installing dies in removable turrets where you have no intention of removing them. I use them in that manner. But for those calibers where I don't use a progressive press and swap dies as needed I find that the Lee lock rings tend to lose their place and I have to reset the dies for the same press they were previously used with. So I use Hornady (most often) or the rings which came with the non-Lee die sets. Set them and forget them (unless I change the crimp). And I don't use a wrench to tighten them, though sometimes a wrench is needed to remove a stubborn die after extended use.

[megasupermagnum]

My only hope is that they continue to sell the old style nuts, as I love them. I won't pretend like they are the most accurate method, but they always worked for me. Rifle bullet seating dies bottom out on the shell holder, meaning having the die body screwed in perfect is a moot point. In handguns, it has not given me any problems. I have repeatability of within .002", which is fine by me. If I have to ever so slightly tweak the seater sometimes, so be it.

Now why I like them, they are stone simple to use, easily adjustable on the fly, and do hold their spot. I just hand tighten them, maybe 1/8 turn past touching the o-ring. RCBS style is easily the worst. They are a threads worst nightmare with a set screw that jams straight into them. The Hornady lock rings are quite good, and I could see why people like them. I do not, as they are tricky to adjust. I am loading different things each time more often than not, I'm not one to keep loading the same load over and over every so often. The other thing is they can come loose unless you use a wrench. Not a big deal, but Lee does not come loose. Forester may have solved this by having very aggressive knurling, but I have only used one set of dies with these. Hornady has knurling, but it is rather smooth.

Another thing to consider is if you have to cut the ring off, aluminum is much easier. The only one I've had to cut was RCBS, with the set screw. About the only reason you would need to cut a cross bolt style Hornady or Forester, would be if you boogered up the bolt. It can happen.

Lee lock rings are cheap, often under $1 each, and work very well.


Now onto the new style, I don't like it. They kept them aluminum, which is good. They use a crossbolt, which if that's your thing, great. The o-ring is pointless. If you have a wrench, you don't need an o ring. They are more than double the cost, about what Hornady goes for. The big problem is they use a strange wrench. All you need is two flats. Something to get a standard wrench on, not a fancy Lee exclusive plastic wrench I would loose.

If Lee really wants to be innovative, they should find another solution to the cross bolt. Something like a thumb lever to lock down would make adjusting them so much easier.

If they got rid of the o-ring and groove, changed ratchet teeth for just two flats, they would cut down on cost. If sold for a cost less than Hornady lock rings, they would make more sense. As it is, I'd just buy Hornady so I could use a standard wrench on them. If I were to spend that much, and didn't like the old style Lee's, I'd take a good look a Forster's.

[1hole]

I despise lock rings with set screws no matter who makes them. IF we put a lead pellet (bird shot) under the screw the lead will easily deform into the threads deeply enough to make small die adjustments quite difficult. I prefer Lee's standard "O" lock rings first and anything with a cross lock screw is second but NOTHING with steel set screws! And if someone gave me a couple hundred of the currently popular "twist lock" (Lee/Hornady) die bushings I'd try to find someone who likes them and happily give him the whole bunch; I just don't need or want to add any threaded slop maker between my dies and presses ....

I'm indifferent to Lee's new cross lock rings and "Y" wrench. I'm convinced that cinching dies solidly into a press with steel wrenches is a noob practice because it's likely determintial to fine reloading - our threaded presses just aren't all that precise; that's why bench shooters rarely use them! But, Lee's wrench looks too short to allow over tightening and it really would be easier on aging fingers so .... they may be okay.

[jmorris]

I despise lock rings with set screws no matter who makes them. IF we put a lead pellet (bird shot) under the screw the lead will easily deform into the threads deeply enough to make small die adjustments quite difficult.

You could always just get nylon tipped setscrews.

[Conditor22]

I got nylon tipped setscrews for all my dies from Fastenal

or:
#10-32x1/4" BRASS CUP POINT SOCKET SET SCREW (INCH) | Size: #10-32 | Length: 1/4" | Material: Brass | Finish: plain | Fine Thread | (QUANTITY: 100)

That you can use on your molds

[GWS]

I’d just get the small Dillon ones and use a boxed end wrench I already have lots of vs some special tool to keep up with.

I do like the idea of that neat little wrench Lee's showing....hang it next to the press....little and handy.

While I love box end wrenches, they are too wide on my stuff....and sometimes there's no room to get the long handle where I need it. True, Dillon 1050's would have plenty of room for them.

On the other hand, the new Lee nuts look too big around for my Pro Chucker 7.

RCBS's weird wrench and RCBS rings work on the PC7 most of the time, but not when you have a powder measure above it. Dillon rings are the smallest. Wonder what wrench they sell for them.

[Kenstone]

I do like the idea of that neat little wrench Lee's showing....hang it next to the press....little and handy.

While I love box end wrenches, they are too wide on my stuff....and sometimes there's no room to get the long handle where I need it. True, Dillon 1050's would have plenty of room for them.

On the other hand, the new Lee nuts look too big around for my Pro Chucker 7.

RCBS's weird wrench and RCBS rings work on the PC7 most of the time, but not when you have a powder measure above it. Dillon rings are the smallest. Wonder what wrench they sell for them.

this
https://www.amazon.com/Dillon-Precis...2&sr=8-1-fkmr1

[smithnframe]

I've never liked the Lee rubber O-ring! I replace them all with lock nuts from Fastenal.

[redhawk0]

I prefer the clamp style lock ring for all my die bodies except the Lee Factory Crimp Dies. Especially for my FL sizer dies. Once set...they don't need to be moved and I have no desire to set it up every time I hit the press. I do make adjustments to the FCD depending on the rifle that I'm shooting so the standard O-ring style works best here. Tube mag rifles get more crimp. But I never felt the need to wrench it down.


redhawk

[1hole]

You could always just get nylon tipped setscrews.

Well, yeah. You can also cut small square chips of nylon or such and use them as a point pad. That works too and it's very inexpensive. But, IMHO, no matter how it's done, lock ring set screws still suck.

[GWS]

I have a question....has anyone actually buggered a die's threads with RCBS rings since they replaced their steel setscrews with brass setscrews?

I haven't.....and they hold quite well. Since they went to brass I quit changing them out for Hornady ones on my 5 station press. Hornadys work when the short side happens to screw in between dies....not so great when the long side is. The Forster round ones have their own problems (they are huge, and you have to use pliers since they are round). Dillons? no set screws right? So you have to double them on each die or never unscrew them. The one thing I like...especially for my 7 station press is Dillon's smallest size....but I'm getting by with RCBS's. May yet try Dillon ones, since on progressives once set up you shouldn't have to move them.....same with the Lee O-ring versions.

[Rapidrob]

Times have changed for sure. RCBS used to use a steel set screw OVER a single lead shot. The screw would crush the shot into the threads and lock the ring. I still have dies I bought 50 years ago and the lead shot, now flattened still holds the lock ring tightly.
The split ring with screw works well until the screw brakes,and it will given time.
The RCBS and Lyman type rings are the only type of lock rings I can use in my press. The Lee/o-ring cannot be used so I have a large bunch of Lee lock rings hanging on the wall.

[1hole]

Use pliers on a die lock ring? ARRRGHHH!

[engineer401]

Use pliers on a die lock ring? ARRRGHHH!

I use the piers with my plastic sleeves that go over the jaws. Hardware stores sell them. You get several sizes for a few bucks. I haven’t damaged any lock ring since using them. I also tried Plasti Dip but that didn’t stay intact well. None of my rings have plier marks.

[Tim357]

Gag.

Those of who understand why Lee's lock rings have always been made the way they were - and used them correctly - won't be making tracks to buy the new ones so I don't care one way or the other. (Anyone using a wrench of any kind to jack down hard on a lock ring is doing it wrong, a hand tight die is plenty tight.)

This ^^^^^^^^^^

[DiverJay]

Gag.

(Anyone using a wrench of any kind to jack down hard on a lock ring is doing it wrong, a hand tight die is plenty tight.)

Not only do I use a tool to tighten my lock rings, in some cases I even use Locktite. Especially for my Dillon Trim Dies because precision matters.