New Lee locking die rings that look like a gear

[Ohio Rusty]

I want to start loading for .45 long colt for my .410/.45 contender barrel. It is impossible to find .410 slugs and the old Lee HP .45 colt mold I have will make a better bullet anyway. I notice the newer Lee carbide dies have a locking ring that looks like a gear. The older die sets have a locking ring you use a wrench on to tighten down the die in the turret.
Is this new gear type locking ring any good ?? Since you can only use finger pressure to lock the die in place, that might be an issue for us with arthritis setting into the hands.. is that not a good design ?? Does anyone have a set of these new Lee carbide dies with that new gear shaped locking ring ?? What is your opinion of this ??
Ohio Rusty ><>

[Tall]

I don't see much difference. Lee is hoping to minimize the torque used on the locking nuts. Both are fine.

[poppy42]

There is actually a little Plastic spanner wrench that’s used to tighten down those lock rings

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I have several die sets with the gear pattern locking rings. I've never found it necessary to tighten them more than finger tight.

DG

[MostlyLeverGuns]

There is a little plastic spanner for the gear type rings, Titan Reloding also makes a spover 'wrench for both the Lear Hex and gear type rings that help. Not big deal but I do prefer the hex nut style.

[GWS]

The hex nuts were easier to over-tighten, then with a die plate fully populated with dies and powder measure, hard to find an angle to get a particular die loose, exacerbated by the lack of room between dies. (small diameter die plates). Tho those same problems are not totally gone using the new spline nuts, it is a little easier because the spline wrench that is furnished can grab a die at many more angles than a hex nut allows......and does not allow over-tightening. I think they are a time saver, and plenty good enough.

I like both versions for different things. One version has a set screw, and I prefer those for setting sizers and seaters to a spot that you don't want to change. The ones with only rubber bottoms are great for other uses where need for frequent adjustment is the norm.




Then there is the breech lock ones for Lee breech lock die plates....


I found an old car door handle remover that is great to loosen dies on crowded breech-lock die plates with limited access angles.

[Buck Butcher]

One of these

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/...,0,0_SH20_.jpg

[Binky]

While Lee dies are seldom my first choice. I do own 4 or 5 sets. Eventually, I got tired of the micky mouse rubber O ring on the old style lock rings and replaced them with anybody else's rings. I waited for someone to put them on sale and bought in bulk. I lock my rings on the die and rarely readjust them. Somewhere in my stack of stuff is a bag or box or can with somewhere over a dozen of those old rings and the only reason I still have them is that, on occasion, I will trade a set of duplicate dies to someone and I put the original rings back on.

[Bird]

I prefer the old style hexagonal style locks. Given a choice of the new gear type rings, I prefer the 90534 finger tighten. The type with the allen screw are difficult to use with the plastic wrench, the screw gets in the way of operation.

[DougGuy]

They are cramping the fingers on the 4 hole presses by putting them too close. So they included the plastic "spanner"

[Gtrubicon]

They work well as intended.

[HNSB]

There's a guy in Amazon selling these:
3 in 1 - Die Wrench for Lee Precision Reloading Dies Using Spline Nuts


It's just 3D printed, but seems to be good quality for a 3D print. It fits the nuts real well and it's built so it clears the other ones on a die plate.

[Froogal]

Finger tight is NOT good enough. I still need a pair of pliers to get them tight enough.

[gloob]

With the o-ring, finger tight stays put for me. But I'm not a commercial reloader pumping out a million rounds a year of the same thing. It's the calibration that is not quite as consistent... you might be off a tenth when you screw them in/out.

As cheap as I am, I splurged on breechlock bushings for nearly all my calibration-sensitive dies. Best of both worlds. Die never moves. But if you want to adjust it, done before you can think about it. No tools required.

I've never gotten a lock ring with the set screw to stay put in the press unless I torque it down with a wrench. So they stay calibrated, but you still need a tool to insert/remove the die. Let alone if you ever want to change the depth.

[Dancing Bear]

One of these

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/...,0,0_SH20_.jpg

That's what I bought. Works great on a turret where the dies are in close quarters.

[JSnover]

With the o-ring, finger tight stays put for me. But I'm not a commercial reloader pumping out a million rounds a year of the same thing. It's the calibration that is not quite as consistent... you might be off a tenth when you screw them in/out.

As cheap as I am, I splurged on breechlock bushings for nearly all my calibration-sensitive dies. Best of both worlds. Die never moves. But if you want to adjust it, done before you can think about it. No tools required.

I've never gotten a lock ring with the set screw to stay put in the press unless I torque it down with a wrench. So they stay calibrated, but you still need a tool to insert/remove the die. Let alone if you ever want to change the depth.

I haven't tried the breechblock bushings but my experience with the others has been the opposite; I love the knurled rings with set screws, can't stand the O-ring style.