The press comes with a spare nylon turret "washer" I have used mine for years, thousands of rounds and am still on the original.
If you break it, you forced it or did something wrong.
What is good also with the LCT is you can take out the turret rod and you have a nice single stage press if you like to batch load, or only load a few rifle rounds or whatever.
"Square Ratchet" (part # 90933) 50 cents each, sold in pairs for a dollar.
Amen to everything you said, Roule3. You rule.
Get the LCT 4-hole press, NOT the deluxe or the 3-hole. You won't be disappointed and they sell fast on the used market if you decide to upgrade.
The Deluxe comes as a 4-hole, too (and there is a conversion kit to make the 3-hole into a 4-hole).
Buy some extra nylon squares as they break easy. But if you keep some oil on the index bar and don't try to turn the turret with the ram down they last a long time.
The square ratchet is designed to break before something more expensive gives way. Kind of like an electrical fuse. The oil acts as a drag to make sure the square ratchet engages and disengages with the notches inside the indexing arm.
When the ram moves downward the square ratchet is forced into engagement with notches inside the indexing arm. If the most recent movement of the ram was downward, the ratchet will still be engaged with the notches and can be broken by turning the turret in reverse direction, no matter what the position of the ram is.
If the ram's most recent movement was upward, the turret is free to turn in either direction.
If you don't remember which direction the ram moved most recently, grab the indexing rod, lift it 1/4 inch and drop it down. That will also disengage the ratchet from the notches.
I tend to lose small parts, or forget where I put them when I need them, so I put the spare square ratchet on the indexing rod, right near the turret. It is out of the way there, yet extremely unlikely to get lost and visible on the rod if I ever have to replace the original square ratchet.
Good luck.
Lost Sheep
In mnemonic form:
Most recent ram movement up, OK.
Down, not ok
Remember the signal from the Roman Coliseum:
Thumbs up, your square ratchet lives.
Thumbs down, your square ratchet dies.