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Posted: 4/2/2017 11:43:18 PM EDT
blackgunfun sent me some lock rings to review.
He sent me 3, two in brass and one in SS? That's a Dillon nut for comparison. These are beautifully made with trimmer line under the set screw. This is a much better feature than a lead shot. 
This is my Lee Universal decapper. to the left is a Lee nut I drilled and tapped to convert it to a locknut. It has a shot under the setscrew. The thing with shot is after it's tightened, you have to use pliers to move it if you want to change the adjustment. With the trimmer line, the locknut moves with just your fingers after you loosen the locknut. Next to the modified Lee nut is a plain unmodified Lee nut, then the SS? locknut. You can see the red trimmer line on the inside of the brass locknut. Notice one of the brass locknuts has 2 set screws. This is in case the setscrew ends up in a place you can't get to, so you can use the other set screw to lock the adjustment. These locknuts would be a good addition to a set of Lee dies if you're not handy with a drill and tap and desire locknuts. Look for these in the EE as they are not for sale in this forum. I typed SS? as I was not sure of the material used to make the silver one. My guess was Stainless Steel. |
Nostalgic! Lock rings are what RCBS used when I bought my first die set in the '70's. We used channel-lock pliers not a wrench to loosen a die set off a press........when they were too tight to do it bare-handed. The double set screw is a good idea. Pliers vs. a wrench has the advantage of being able to use them effectively in all 360 degrees.....not sure why everyone went to nuts.
Years ago I bought some Forster rings that were slotted and tightened with a screw through the slot, that squeezed the ring around the die threads rather than using a set screw to push away from them.  Forster obviously still makes them. (Picture just lifted from Brownells, priced at $5, or 10 for $45.)
Oh, one more thing.....and maybe this is why they went to nuts....diameter is important on a progressive press.....some rings are pretty wide. On RCBS's latest 7 station progressive, diameter is crucial. Notice in Dryflash3's picture, the two front items. The Dillon nut is one of the smallest nuts o.s. diameter-wise of all die nuts. Not so surprising when you think about Dillon being first and foremost a progressive manufacturer. |
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dryflash3, thanks for giving the brass and stainless rings a go.
I too like and use the Hornady rings. They are top notch. My only complaint is that it always seems that the lock screw is always on the backside of the die  .
I just figured I'd try the dual set screw configuration. The other plus is that they'll never rust.
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| Oh yeah, I forgot about Hornady's split rings.....they copied Forster, but have wrenchable edges. I have a half dozen I use. They are still on the big side though. Dillon's size is better for a progressive, but I don't have any yet. They don't have a set screw? |
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Quoted:
dryflash3, thanks for giving the brass and stainless rings a go. I too like and use the Hornady rings. They are top notch. My only complaint is that it always seems that the lock screw is always on the backside of the die .
I just figured I'd try the dual set screw configuration. The other plus is that they'll never rust. Hornady's biggest flaw is the long side which makes adjusting on a progressive die plate harder, and I agree, the lock screw is always in the wrong place on a die plate. Two would be neat. On a single stage Hornady's wouldn't be a problem.....but they are a pain on any progressive other than their own LnL. |
Picture below shows 6 die nuts to compare size. (my measurements with calipers)
Top three L to R w/ o.s. diameters: RCBS New, RCBS Old, Forster split 1,261"..........1,396".......1.380" Bottom three L to R w/ o.s. diameters: Hornady, Redding, Lee 1.315"......1.259"....1.252" Somebody else will have to measure a Dillon....I don't have one of those, but I think they will win the smallest size war. Hex Nut & Hornady flats all measure about 1.118" flat to flat. |
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One more observation: the old RCBS, the Forster, and the Lee nuts are light.....aluminum I surmise.
The new RCBS, the Redding, and the Hornady are heavy......steel. Don't think any are stainless. I really like the stainless and brass options. Either would be an improvement. The two set screws, definitely, too! I found out that the new RCBS 7 station press caused a concern with RCBS because the 7 stations were really close together. They thought that meant that every die plate would have to have its own powder measure......to be set once. So the super expensive die plate p.m. combo was the result. One engineer assured me a couple of weeks ago that they would soon offer a p.m. powder die/die plate (with the lower linkage parts) combo instead. That will be a much cheaper solution. These small round nuts offered by blackgunfun with two set screws just might be the ticket to make that combo an even better offering, imo. |
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Quoted:
dryflash3, thanks for giving the brass and stainless rings a go. I too like and use the Hornady rings. They are top notch. My only complaint is that it always seems that the lock screw is always on the backside of the die .
I just figured I'd try the dual set screw configuration. The other plus is that they'll never rust. 
Use the quick change die system. Set screw ends up at back no problem just loosen quick change die turn it around and lock it with set screw at front. 
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