Expanding necks before turning necks - what die??

Gunneegoogoo

Gunneegoogoo

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So, at the advice of a very wise, almost Oracle like, CGN member, I've been "reading about my new hobby".

Salazar's article on neck turning says to size the neck of the brass with a NON-BUSHING FL die prior to turning, makes sense, but my dies are Redding Match S Bushing dies. He suggest the Hornady New Dimension die for this.

My question is that the only Hornady new dimension dies I can find are BUSHING dies. Does he mean to just use the bushing die without a bushing, or am I missing something?

If anyone has any other brand suggestions I'm all ears.

Thank you.

-Jeremy.
 
So that takes the place of the non-bushing die to flare our the neck to spec?? It threads into a press just like any other die??

Thx,

-J.
 
Yes, for sure. I've been looking at them (right now in fact). What is the difference between the cutting and the non-cutting pilot on the turning tool?? Do the cutting ones cut the inside of the neck too??

-J.
 
Sorry, I keep answering my own questions on the K&M site - the cutting pilots are to get rid of the donut.

What are your thoughts on the ones that have a vice setup - such as the 21st century ones??

-J.
 
One important thing to consider is to use the same manufacturer when it comes to your expander and turning mandrel. That way your necks are expanded to the exact dimension required for a perfect fit on the turning mandrel. Not all mandrels are equal so don't mix and match.

I personally use 21st century tooling for my competition rifles. I use their floating mandrel expander die and their mini lathe to turn my PPC cases. My mandrels are from Sinclair and not 21st Century only because that is what I had on hand when I started to buy their tooling.

Consider using a carbide turning mandrel. The theory is that it won't heat up and therefore expand during the turning process and cause inconsistent neck thicknesses. It obviously won't wear nearly as much either.

PMA is another source for high quality tooling. Pat is a super guy and in my experience their customer service is excellent.
 
I see that carbide is only another 10$ over stainless, so I'll do that for sure.

Do you suggest the cutting carbide mandrels, or non??

-J.
 
I don't do enough to comment on other systems. I needed to make good 260 brass before lapua started offering. I used lapua 243 necked up, so wanted tooling to turn and remove donuts if need be.
 
My process on new cases is use the K&M expander, then Lee collet neck sizer, then Forster outside neck turning tool on their case trimmer.

I set it up for the power adaptor and can rip through the piles of cases I need to prep.

Hand turners, like the excellent K&M units, is great for low volume prep but you better have strong hands if doing a bunch. Forster makes a decent hand turner but would go K&M for a few extra rubles.

BUT, you are going to need a trimmer and the Forster unit then allows for several tasks to be mechanised... and to me, saving time and blisters is a huge thing.

Enjoy...

Jerry
 
The 21st century cutter and lathe is light years ahead of anything else in my opinion. And like a previous member said, use the same manufacturer for the expander mandrel and the cutting mandrel.
 
+1 for the 21st Century. The turner has better ergo than the tiny K&M.
Don't have the lathe, take a look at the video, looks good for those doing lots of brass.
 
Gunneegoogoo said:
I see that carbide is only another 10$ over stainless, so I'll do that for sure.

Do you suggest the cutting carbide mandrels, or non??

-J.
Click to expand...

I suggest the carbide turning (cutting) mandrel and the stainless expander mandrel, to save some $$$. Make sure you trim your case necks to length before turning to ensure the cutter stops at the same location on the neck each time.

If I'm expanding up in caliber before turning, I always adjust the cutter so it cuts into the neck/shoulder junction a predetermined amount. This ensures removal of the donut because at this point in the process the donut is on the outside of the neck. After fire forming it moves to the inside and is more of a pain to deal with IMO, if one decides they want to that is. I basically try to cut very slightly beyond the point where the new neck/shoulder junction will be. It's easier to see after fire forming because it's more defined. Takes a bit of fiddling to get it right. With all that said, I don't know what your situation is. Just figured I'd throw out some more info for you to consider.
 
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I was thinking of picking up a neck turning tool. From the vids I seen, they say to get something that you can hook your drill up too.

Edit: or a lathe
 
That would work.

From what I was gathering from the videos was, that with the drill spinning faster it made a smoother cut which in turn helps even out a even pressure on the bullet. Dont know if its true or not, but it sounded good to me. :)
 
titch-- said:
That would work.

From what I was gathering from the videos was, that with the drill spinning faster it made a smoother cut which in turn helps even out a even pressure on the bullet. Dont know if its true or not, but it sounded good to me. :)
Click to expand...

I added a link to my previous post.

Usually the cutter is stationary and the case is spun - either by hand or other means. Can't say I've ever seen a cutter spinning on a stationary case but I'm sure it's been done and works equally as well.
 
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