Wrench for die lock nuts

[scattershot]

Anyone else using a wrench?

I do. I usually use a crescent wrench, even though I have Dillon dies, which are 1”. I bought the Dillon wrench, which is absolute garbage, and I don’t recommend it.


OP, that looks like a nice little tool. Let us know how it works out for you.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Most old guys, if they ever worked on old cars, would know them as “monkey wrenches”.
Bob


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

"Monkey" wrenches are pipe wrenches or stilson wrenches.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

RCBS make a good one and the price is reasonable IMO.

RCBS Die Locking Ring Wrench

 

[rwsmith]

Sometimes I need a wrench.....

...to get dies loose even after I hand tighten them.

 

[raljr1]

I should have mentioned that I use a turret press which makes using a larger wrench awkward and difficult.

 

[Ole Joe Clark]

I use a wrench, but don't really wring them down. I remove the O ring from the Lee nuts then turn them upside down to use. I also check them on occasion during use, I don't want them coming loose.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

 

[raljr1]

Works fine

Robert

 

[Narragansett]

Nothing works like a metric adjustable

 

[Fanner50]

Nothing works like a metric adjustable

Just don't get the newer Chinese metric adjustable wrenches, they're inferior quality. Ask around if any shops have the older Craftsman or Stanley metric adjustable wrenches, perhaps on a back forgotten rack somewhere. Worth a try.

 

[terry_tr6]

It worked!

this has me thinking of a trip out to the shop and get out a piece of 1/8" aluminum or steel and start hacking. The flats on the Hornady hex rings are just a tiny bit smaller than the Lee hex nuts and the teeth in the newer "gear toothed" rings are big enough that a couple teeth cut into the jaws of a wrench made to fit the other rings would make it fit all 3!

It isn't made for hard use, but is plenty strong enough for spinning those locking nuts. someone with a waterjet could turn these out pretty quick and cheap and with a lot better fit. maybe one end open for the nuts and flats and the other cut in a ring to fit the new Lee rings.

 

[Tom Beavert]

DEEP SOCKET!!!!
Enough said, go to NAPA
Tom B.

 

[Exmilcop]

I have an old router wrench that just needed a little file work to fit the lock nuts just fine. I only give it a little seating tweak once I've tightened it down. As an aside, my buddy calls an adjustable wrench "the Polish micrometer".

 

[jdh]

This Channel Lock is 8" long and opens to 1.625".
Made in Spain but it will work on dies other than 9mm.

Or the Northern Tools version:
Error | DNS Resolution | Northern Tool + Equipment

 

[smoothshooter]

I've always kept a couple sizes of common adjustable wrenches in a drawer near my press. However, for an adjustable wrench that opens wider than common Crescent style wrenches I have automotive wrenches. They pre-date the common kinked Crescent style. Their jaw moves down their handle. I do not have a smaller size handy to measure but to give you an idea my 19" automotive wrench opens to 4 1/2". They are still sold new with Crescent's name on them. You can find them on Amazon searching for automotive wrench. Even though they are U.S. made mine were only a few bucks at a swap meet.

I work in Army helicopter maintenance as a civilian employee, and was military before that. Some of us older guys have have one or two of the old non-crescent wrenches that are referred to as “Ford wrenches “. Don’t know if that is the proper name or not.
From the looks of them, I’ll bet some of them are 60 to 90 years old ( the wrenches, not the guys ).
Well, SOME of the guys.

 

[GypsmJim]

So I have been using pliers to lock my dies in place since I don't have a 1-3/16 or 1-1/8 open end wrench...searched the web and found a small box wrench with both sizes, but it was one off and no longer available...the thought of buying a couple large, expensive wrenches just bugged me , but so did having a bunch of different sized tools laying around the bench. I searched online and came up with this. 8 inches long adjusts up to 1-3/8"...probably cheaply made, but it isn't like i am torquing cylinder head bolts. Arrives tomorrow and I will see how it goes.

Robert

Adjustable wrenches make me cringe. Even the good ones don't stay parallel.

I hand tighten as a rule, but once in awhile I need a wrench to take one off. Used ones come up once in awhile on E-Bay, but a deep socket may be the best option. I just bought a 1 1/16" at Home Depot for 7 bucks.

 

[bobbyd]

I got this one with a bunch of reloading stuff in an estate. I've never seen one before but its pretty slick. With the handle down at a 90 degree angle you can loosen a snug die. When the handle is up you can spin the die out of a tight spot on a turret head press.

I have one just like it....these were made specifically for this task , I think by either rcbs or Lyman.

 

[Drm50]

If you do much loading at all a couple wrenches aren’t going to break you.
I have small drawer full of the stamped wrenches that use to come in dies.
I lent a guy dies one time. He used Channel Locks on them. That tears up and marrs dies. He still walks funny and don’t come around to barrow no more. I also notice that people that aren’t familiar with precision type stuff act like they are torquing bolts on a bulldozer.

 

[lihpster]

A good place to buy single open end wrenches for cheap is pawn shops. Usually have boxes of loose tools for sale.

 

[ggibson511960]

If one is tightening die lock nuts tight enough to need a wrench, it is a good idea to make sure the die is centered on the cartridge case. The thread fit between die and press is a running fit that can be wobbled. CoAx presses don't have the issue, but all other conventional "C" or turret presses do. It is a very good practice to tighten the lock nut with a cartridge case part way into the die to make sure the die is coaxial and centered. Fussy? Yes, but when I used to use a "C" press it made a difference on badly bulged brass (SMLE) with a lot of runout I was trying to get to feed again.

 

[scattershot]

If one is tightening die lock nuts tight enough to need a wrench, it is a good idea to make sure the die is centered on the cartridge case. The thread fit between die and press is a running fit that can be wobbled. CoAx presses don't have the issue, but all other conventional "C" or turret presses do. It is a very good practice to tighten the lock nut with a cartridge case part way into the die to make sure the die is coaxial and centered. Fussy? Yes, but when I used to use a "C" press it made a difference on badly bulged brass (SMLE) with a lot of runout I was trying to get to feed again.

Good,tip, thanks.