Neck turning tool recommendations ?

[Sam Walker]

Need to get one and measuring equip. for turning 6PPC cases. Does anyone here have any recommendations on which tools are good ,bad or whatever ?
thanks
Sam

[VickiMcc]

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[bjld]

I use the Forster hand-held turner. I bought the neck turning accessory for the case trimmer but never used it - I didn't like the lack of an index for adjusting the depth of cut, and I don't like the collet setup for holding cases (I bought the Wilson/Sinclair trimmer and I like it the best).

The Forster hand-held trimmer has one thou' increments, which is adequate. I bought a Mitutoyo tube wall thickness micrometer from ASTEG engineering in Adelaide for about $120. It measures to 0.1 of a thou', although it is very hard to reproduce a measurement with that sort of precision using a hand-held tube mike. If you want better, try using a stand mounted Sinclair unit.

There are more expensive neck turners. The KM turner can be matched with a neck expander to give cases a smooth fit on the turning mandrel. Check Lock Stock & Barrel for some competitive prices.

Regards
Ben

[Sam Walker]

The KM turner can be matched with a neck expander to give cases a smooth fit on the turning mandrel.
Regards
Ben

Surely this is a must - do some of the others not have a smooth fit on the mandrel ?
thanks
Sam

[AlanF]

Sam,

I'd recommend the K&M (with expander for your calibre). I'm not sure what happens when necks are too sloppy on the mandrel - have always used the expander.

If you want to spend very big bikkies, there is a turner called the "Pumpkin" which some say is the best, but I've found the K&M results to be very good if reasonable care is taken.

For measuring wall thickness, I just measure the neck of a loaded round with a digital caliper, subtract bullet diam, and divide by two.

I have heard of some who measure neck walls to 0.0001, but given that the thickness variation of my new brass can be up to 0.003 from one side to the other, I believe getting it accurate to about 0.0005 must be a big improvement.

Alan

[bully_eye]

I'm not advertising for anyone, but the gunsmith who's building my new FO rifle turns case necks for about $70 per 100 cases. Sounds pricey, but with a tight neck chamber in a PPC I would think you would be getting at least 10 reloads and probably a hell of a lot more per 100 cases. In fact you might wear out the barrel before the brass. I'll still buy a K&M neck turner or maybe one of Stiller's- similar to a Pumpkin but much cheaper- but the first lot of brass is already done so the pressure is off.

Michael

[bjld]

"do some of the others not have a smooth fit on the mandrel ?"

Cases must be FL sized and trimmed before turning so they are uniform (unless your turner indexes from the base of the case for length, instead of from the case mouth). The expander ball in the FL die typically produces necks that fit well enough on the turning mandrel. If you remove the expander in the FL die you can expand using a dedicated expander, like the K&M, instead.

Regards
Ben

[Sam Walker]

I've got Wilson neck and seater dies that came with the rifle, no FL die and new cases will have to be fireformed.
I've been using the economical Lee case trimmer for my other "ordinary" rifles but it seems that they are not available for PPC or .220 Russian.
So that's another tool to buy
Sam

[Lynn Otto]

LOL, get used to it Sam, there's always something new that needs buying. Just be grateful there isn't three of you in the family that shoot, otherwise you would need to convince yourself that reloading really is how you choose to spend your relaxation time, I'm not sure Trev is convinced yet, however.

Lynn

[Tony Z]

edited 20/4/06

[Tiger]

To those who like the Lee style case trimmers as I do, if you have a wildcat, it's just a matter of buying the trimmer in the correct calibre, and a length longer than you need, heating the flash-hole/length pin up and pulling it out of the tool and drilling this hole deeper with a close fitting drill bit.

Now cut the shaft of the trimmer down to the approximate length desired, cut the drill bit you used to deepen the hole off long enough that the flutes are buried in the body of the shaft and loctite the remainder of the drill bit into the shaft.

Now cut the drill bit off to the correct length measuring from the cutting flutes on the trimmer to the tip of the flash hole/length pin.

Job done.

I like the Lee unit because it has no adjustment, and can be relied upon. I have had the little adjusters work loose on other style trimmers before, ending up with useless shortened brass after a while.

Cheers.

Tiger.

[Sam Walker]

Now cut the drill bit off to the correct length measuring from the cutting flutes on the trimmer to the tip of the flash hole/length pin.

Job done.

Cheers.

Tiger.

thanks for sharing that tip Tiger, I was thinking about doing something like that but hadn't figured out the details.
regards
Sam

[ned kelly]

G'Day Sam,
I've neck turned many cases in .224 and 6mm cal's. with my K&M turner, you will need to ensure you order the appropriate expander mandrel at the same time to ensure the correct fit of the case neck onto the mandrel on the turner. I suggest you read Precision Shooting Reloading Guide (see Precision Shooting magazine) as it is a great reference book on case prep for various target shooting needs.
The K&M will deliver excellent consistency for your necks at great value for your $, with the neck turner adjustable to less tha 0.0002" (2/10th of a thou) and case neck wall thickness can be measured down to 0.0001" (1/10th of a thou) using a modified 1/10,000th inch tubing micrometer sourced from Russ Haydon's Shooting Supplies in the USA, also Russ is an extremely good souce of BR and Hi power style equipment. I would not hesistate in replacing my K&M gear woth more of the same!
Regards Ned