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The best die lock rings that will never ever come loose?

Troutslayer2

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 28, 2010
Messages
786
I want to buy some lock rings that will actually stay put so that when I pull out a seldom used die I can trust that it is 100% exactly where I left it. What's the best out there?
 
I want to buy some lock rings that will actually stay put so that when I pull out a seldom used die I can trust that it is 100% exactly where I left it. What's the best out there?
I hope there is such a lock ring 100 % , but I doubt it . I lock my lock ring then pull it carefully not to change the setting from the press then retighten , that seems to work nearly 100% of the time . Good luck on your search.
 
those Forster cross bolt rings work well for me but they're a little bulky and you have to make sure you can get to them on a fully loaded progressive press.
you could purple loctite what you've got for the cheapest option

 
Hornady make a good lock ring. It will stay put if secured properly.
 
those Forster cross bolt rings work well for me but they're a little bulky and you have to make sure you can get to them on a fully loaded progressive press.
you could purple loctite what you've got for the cheapest option

This
 
I was just comparing the Forster and Hornady a couple days ago. I have used both and I think I like the Hornady better and they are cheaper. They arent as bulky and are very nicely made. I pull the lock rings off all my dies and put the cross bolt style on.

McJ Tools also makes a decent looking crossbolt lock ring as well as many other gun/reloading related products.
 
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I want to buy some lock rings that will actually stay put so that when I pull out a seldom used die I can trust that it is 100% exactly where I left it. What's the best out there?
We use Whidden.

 
Redding are the best out of the box, grub screws are steel, have lead shot under them so they stay put and you can't over tighten them unless you have 2 gorilla hands on the wrench.
I do the same to RCBS lock rings, replace the brass grub screw with steel and put a #4 lead shot under it, they never move.
To move them after loosening the grub screw, you need a soft hammer to whack the ring over the grub screw…

I hate those lock rings with cross bolts…

Cheers.
 
Hornady make a good lock ring. It will stay put if secured properly.
I replaced all of mine (Redding, Forster, RCBS, Lee, Lyman, Hornady, Whidden, Newlon, etc.) with these.
 
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Redding are the best out of the box, grub screws are steel, have lead shot under them so they stay put and you can't over tighten them unless you have 2 gorilla hands on the wrench.
I do the same to RCBS lock rings, replace the brass grub screw with steel and put a #4 lead shot under it, they never move.
To move them after loosening the grub screw, you need a soft hammer to whack the ring over the grub screw…

I hate those lock rings with cross bolts…

Cheers.
That's good information, I've never paid attention or thought about the shot under a steel set screw. All I know is I hate the rcbs brass set screws and have switched mine out with the old split rings from years ago.
 
Im going to throw another vote out for the hornady. Now going by your criteria, I would say go redding. The redding, once you set the lead shot under the set screw are NOT moving unless you tap it and un seat the lead.

I found that you have to be very precise and careful with how tight you intially run the lock ring down against the press, because too tight and once you scre in the set screw, you're gonna be using pliers to remove the die. Then the next time you go to put the die in, it could be anywhere from one to a few thousandths off. The redding definitely wont be moving after you set them, but it becomes a pain to make small adjustments.
 
I replaced all of mine (Redding, Forster, RCBS, Lee, Lyman, Hornady, Whidden, Newlon, etc.) with these.
Same here... most of my lock rings are now Hornady, with a few Lyman rings and a few Lee cross-bolt rings too (I couldn't get Hornady once when I wanted a few sets). I've had to reset most of my dies lately after fixing my Rockchucker and buying my Redding, so it was the perfect time to pull the set screw rings and toss them in the corner.
 
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