Lyman Dies

[El Chivo]

Ok guys I have a question.

I have a Lee press but I'm thinking to the future when I may be traveling/reloading from my trunk. I noticed that the Lyman M dies I bought have an allen set screw in the big stop collar.

This makes it very easy to use them in the Lee Hand press. You can lock the collar where you want it, adjusting the depth of the die, then screw it in and out without the depth changing each time.

The Lee dies don't have this lockability, so unscrewing them means you have to find the perfect setting again. Leaving them set up in their turret solves this, but I'm talking about using them with a hand press.

Do all the Lyman dies have this set screw? Do any other manufacturer's dies have it?

I hate screwing up rounds because of dies not being adjusted right.

[bsaride]

I have a small coffee can of hex nuts for the 7/8-14 standard die thread
along with shim washers if anyone wants some.

Jay

[Lefty Dude]

Only Lee uses those cheap nut with out set screws. All the die Mfg's. sell locknuts.

I like the split nuts with allen set screws. I throw the Lee's away and replace them with the good one's.

[Gun Runner]

I thru away all the rubber rings that come on lee dies and drilled and tapped them for the allen screws.

Gun Runner

[J Miller]

TIP: Put a piece of lead shot behind the allen set screw to keep from buggering up the die body threads.

Joe

[Hobie]

Only Lee uses those cheap nut with out set screws. All the die Mfg's. sell locknuts.

I like the split nuts with allen set screws. I throw the Lee's away and replace them with the good one's.

I throw the cheapos out and get the locking rings, too.

[Lefty Dude]

TIP: Put a piece of lead shot behind the allen set screw to keep from buggering up the die body threads.

Joe

A small nylon ball works also.

[morgan in nm]

I think that Midway and Graff both sell spare lock rings but I don't know what they get for them. I prefer the split rings myself because the lead balls sometimes deform enough that I can't turn the rings from the die to readjust. The split rings don't have that problem. LEE lock rings are just junk.

bsaride, I would take you up on that offer if I wasn't flat broke.

[Glenn]

Morgan,
A little trick for the lead-shot set screws. Loosen the set screw until it sticks out a little, then smack it with a plastic or rawhide hammer. The lead comes loose from the threads and you can turn the ring freely.
Glenn

[El Chivo]

I see that Lyman sells replacement nuts, split ring and regular, for $2.50 each.

So, what are split rings?

[20cows]

Lyman's split ring:

[Ysabel Kid]

I guess I'm strange (as if you all haven't figured that out after 5,000 some-odd posts! ), but I've never had a problem with the die moving. When I go to unscrew them I very slightly unscrew the "locking" nut, then twist the die back a slight amount, reset the locking nut to where it was and back out the whole shebang. I load so many different bullet types for each caliber that I need to adjust the die usually when I start the next session because chances are good it is a different bullet.

That being said, I think I will pick me up some of these split-ring locking nuts. I will then add a note to the die set on when it was last used and with what style bullet. Who knows - I might save me a few minutes and some headaches in my reloading - never a bad thing!

[Hobie]

I guess I'm strange (as if you all haven't figured that out after 5,000 some-odd posts! ), but I've never had a problem with the die moving. When I go to unscrew them I very slightly unscrew the "locking" nut, then twist the die back a slight amount, reset the locking nut to where it was and back out the whole shebang. I load so many different bullet types for each caliber that I need to adjust the die usually when I start the next session because chances are good it is a different bullet.

That being said, I think I will pick me up some of these split-ring locking nuts. I will then add a note to the die set on when it was last used and with what style bullet. Who knows - I might save me a few minutes and some headaches in my reloading - never a bad thing!

I use that technique while awaiting the locking rings... I just ordered some ahead...

[AJMD429]

I guess I'm strange...

Unlike all the rest of us LeverNuts...

It seems like the little rubber "Lee" ones would be fine if the dies are left installed in a removable plate (i.e. Dillon) or turret (i.e. Lee), and you size them all the same, but if you're using a single stage press you'd sure want the locking rings, and if you're using a single stage press AND several adjustments for different specs, you'd want the 'split' locking rings just so you could easily adjust and re-lock them without too much wear and tear.

Perhaps someone really clever could come up with an indexing system to scribe on the locking ring and the die so you could go back to your 'other' sizing setting, etc...