straightshooter1 Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 First I am a newbie to the forum but have been lurking a while before registering and have reloaded w/Dillon products for almost twenty years. Secondly, in the interests of disclosure, I am absolutely a klutz with no mechanical ability at all. I read with interest the thread(s) concerning replacing the Bench Wrench with (I thought) a deep socket and, finally, went to Sears and bought one. It was a 1 1/8" 1/2" drive and I took it home, proudly dropped it over the FL resizing 30/06 die on my RL550B and found it would not fit because of the close space. Chagrined, I returned to Sears, mumbled something about it not being what I needed, took the refund and slid dejectedly out of the store. The Bench Wrench is usable, but a socket with a breaker bar would be quicker, more certain in its grip but I can't understand how you guys are using one, if you are. Please advise, but remember to talk down to me as I am obviously challenged at least on this matter. (BTW-even for someone like me, my 550 loads rifle rounds which will shoot better than any, and I mean any, factory rounds I can buy-and cheaper and consistently). Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sc0 Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 With a socket how would you hold the die while you tightened the nut? The Dillon 1" plain wrench does it for me, the dies don't necessarily have to be torqued down just tight enough not to loosen, fully within the capabilities of their $6 wrench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 I don't like the "feel" of the Dillon wrench either, but, as Sc0 says - it get the job done. Oh Yea...Welcome to the Forums! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Yup, This is the one that works for me Works fine on the dies and would probably never get used anywhere else which means I can find it when I need it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPatterson Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 Yup, This is the one that works for me Works fine on the dies and would probably never get used anywhere else which means I can find it when I need it! The 1" wrench & new lock rings are what I went to for all 4 of the heads I have. Beats the multi-purpose wrench all to pieces. Works great for the powder measure too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sc0 Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 Since I am rather new to the Dillon I never tried the earlier multipurpose wrench. I do have the newer lockrings and the slim wrench which works better than anything else I have laying around. About the only other solution which would be "better" would be sort of a crowsfoot 12pt socket opened up a wee bit to fit the dies with a bar welded to it. (grab 5 corners instead of 2) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronson7 Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 The Dillon 1" wrench works great and as another poster stated, the lockrings don't have to be killer tight. Bronson7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 Ha...! I did a double-take on the title of this thread..... I thought it said "Bench Wench"....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim M. Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 Straightshooter, since you are using 1-1/8" die lock rings, you might try the RCBS Die Lock Ring Wrench., RCBS part No. 9634. That works very well on rings with minimal clearance. It has a wire bail handle, so the wrench is complete, with no other handle required. I don’t think I would try to loosen the lug nuts on your truck with one, but for loading dies, they work very well. Price is right, too, at $4.06 (from one of the mail order reloading suppliers). You might have to pay a bit more at your local gun shop. I load more calibers than I have toolheads for, so I change dies on one toolhead to use it for several different calibers. I like the 1-1/8" lock rings, and there is plenty of room for those on the Dillon 1050. I understand that some other presses don’t have enough clearance for the large lock rings, so the 1" rings are required. If you change dies on one toolhead and use 1-1/8" lock rings, you might want to consider using RCBS die lock rings with the set screw. Once your dies are adjusted, you tighten the set screw on the lock ring, and you can remove and re-install the dies with no change in adjustment. The RCBS part No. for one lock ring is No. 87501, and the price is $2.20 each. A pack of five lock rings is part No. 87507, and the price for the five-pack is $7.76. The RCBS lock rings work more smoothly if you add a piece of bird shot under the set screw before you put the lock ring on the die. I use #6 shot, but that is just because that is the largest I had on the bench when I put the rings on. Slightly larger shot would probably be even better, but I didn’t have any around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
straightshooter1 Posted December 7, 2005 Author Share Posted December 7, 2005 Thanks Jim and all of you. But I decided I was out of date and ordered several packs of the 1" rings especially since I noticed I already had the "new" wrench. Not sure when or why I got it since I had nothing to use it for, but I hope to now enter the current century with my loading. Thanks again, Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSEMARTIN Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 Bob, I'm sorry the socket idea didn't work out for you. I don't load for rifle. Is it possible that the rifle dies are taller than pistol dies? I wasn't sure exactly what you meant by not enough space. Again, I'm really sorry the socket idea didn't work. Anyhow, taking a couple trips to Sears isn't such a bad thing is it? Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
straightshooter1 Posted December 14, 2005 Author Share Posted December 14, 2005 (edited) Trips to Sears are great except at this time of year when parking spaces are at a premium. It was not the height of the dies, but the closeness of everything next to the die that kept the socket from fitting the ring. However, I purchased new 1" rings from Brian and am in the process of changing over. I load for 18 calibers as of today, so it will take a while. Bob Edited December 14, 2005 by straightshooter1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico567 Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 The 1" die lock rings and the dedicated wrench are the biggest advance in mounting and adjusting dies since the 7/8 x 14 die system was introduced. And what several previous posters have said is worth repeating: you're not torquing down head bolts on a car here. The new wrench will snug that ring down very nicely, and that's all it takes, not 200 ft/lbs. I ordered the wrench and sufficient rings to replace the ones on all 4 of my toolheads. About the older Dillon "Swiss Army Knife" wrench, the less said the better...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
straightshooter1 Posted February 20, 2006 Author Share Posted February 20, 2006 Rico-I did the same. I have been trying to order all my Dillon stuff thru Be and I think I ordered a total of either eight or ten packs of five of the one inchers. Slowly replacing the old ones. I agree the old Benchwrench is pretty awful. I, sadly, have two. One fell from the magnetic strip over my bench and is lodged behind it. I have little interest in recovering it. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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