Die Bushings- Bad Idea?

[SporterII]

I am loading for five different rifles with one single stage press.
Hornady Die Bushings look to be a good idea. It has been mentioned that they do not support a best use solution. Sure look handy. I am tightening, adjusting loostening.... a lot. Should I get another press or are these bushings really not going to worsen my quality of assembly?

 

[Deadshot2]

I have converted both my RCBS RockChucker and Summit presses to accept the Hornady LnL bushings.

They work great. When I size cases using a Forster Benchrest F/L sizing die I get less than .0005" of runout at the neck. Changing the die to my Micrometer seating die (Forster) I get total indicated rounout of < .001". Consistency from die setup to die setup is great. Never need to readjust once initially set. I have several calibers set up this way and all that's needed is a quick change of the pre-set die and pop in the appropriate shell holder.


One thing I have done that I feel assures consistency from setup to setup is to grind a witness mark on the edge of each bushing and one line on the press. When changing, I make sure these marks line up to there is no possibility of any tolerance in the lugs causing changes in my results.

 

[SporterII]

Thanks for the tip to clock the dies after set. Good tip.
I am hoping that this is a sound method for changing dies. I have a Rockchucker and seating the jam nut always shows a thread fit / alignment / inconsistency that could not be worse than the bushings. If they always repeat, should be good right? If they lock fast, should be good.
These lock down as strong as the jam nut?
ETA; I m using RCBS fl die sets.

 

[Deadshot2]

These lock down as strong as the jam nut?
ETA; I m using RCBS fl die sets.

The lock down strength is more than sufficient. As for the jam nut, that's only there to make sure that the die doesn't turn and lose adjustment. These LnL bushings have a rubber o-ring that provides some tension to keep the bushing from unlocking and also add another benefit. It allows some ability of the die/bushing assembly to align itself to the case during sizing operations. Makes for some darn nice and straight cases. It's not unusual for me to check a sized case and see absolutely ZERO runout at the case neck. The average is <.0005".

One other tip. When you install the adapter bushing in your RCBS press, make sure it's T-I-G-H-T. I didn't use any loc-tite when I installed mine as there are times I want to be able to remove it. Just keep a big wrench handy so you can periodically check the bushing for snug. You will also want a Hornady die nut wrench for the times your lock nuts won't loosen easily. Use it to hold the bushing and then just use a regular wrench on the lock nut.

 

[SporterII]

Thank you for this help. I will give this a try. Hope to have a much smoother operation with the single press.