Neck turners?

B

Bustercluck

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
25   0   0
Location
Fort McMurray
What are you guys using for neck turners? The father in law dropped off a set of redding bushing dies for me, so I guess I have to turn some necks. Do I need to buy a mic to measure thickness, or just turn them until they're uniform?
 
I prefer a lathe style like a Lyman Universal. You can use it for lots of other things to.

I had a "premium" hand turner once. I killed it with fire. Unless you like spending 2 nights turning 100 pieces of brass.
 
Shawn_338 said:
I use a K&M set up it works very well but is time consuming. Yes you will need a mic. Is the brass your turning for a tight neck chamber?
Click to expand...

No, it's not tight. I just wanted them uniform. I was planning on fire forming, neck turning and then using the bushing die to size the necks. I'll probably look into bumping the shoulder back eventually.
 
I've got one Forster lathe set-up for neck turning & a second lathe set-up for trimming, chamfering, and deburring with the Forster 3-in-1 cutter head. Two separate lathes aren't necessary, but it saves a ton of time switching between the set-ups. Both are powered by a cordless screwdriver. They make VERY quick work of these stages of brass prep.

For measuring neck wall thickness, case & bullet run-out, and a host of other things, I use an RCBS Case Master.

55ot9k.jpg
 
This takes a little set up time but then you can do hundreds in a short time... you can trim to length and turn at the same time.

Forester...

trimmer4.jpg
 
Qball-16 said:
I've got one Forster lathe set-up for neck turning & a second lathe set-up for trimming, chamfering, and deburring with the Forster 3-in-1 cutter head. Two separate lathes aren't necessary, but it saves a ton of time switching between the set-ups. Both are powered by a cordless screwdriver. They make VERY quick work of these stages of brass prep.

For measuring neck wall thickness, case & bullet run-out, and a host of other things, I use an RCBS Case Master.

55ot9k.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice setup Q

I just have the one Forster and I hear yeah on it kind of being a pain in the azz for changing things around on em. Just might have to looking getting a second and doing just what you are.

And Ive always wanted to get some other means of power behind it, besides arm power. heh
 
titch-- said:
Nice setup Q

I just have the one Forster and I hear yeah on it kind of being a pain in the azz for changing things around on em. Just might have to looking getting a second and doing just what you are.

And Ive always wanted to get some other means of power behind it, besides arm power. heh
Click to expand...

It took a while, but I (somewhat) patiently waited for a good deal on an older model off the EE for my second lathe. It didn't come with any pilots or collets, which was just fine and made it even cheaper. I even cheaped out on the second power driver adapter, and JB Welded an old nut driver onto the threads of the shaft.

I drilled 4 holes in my reloading bench (in an out of the way spot) & installed T-Nuts from the bottom to quickly mount the lathe I'm using to the bench top. It only takes a second to switch them out, and they are 100% solid when in use.

For power, I would HIGHLY recommend a cordless screw driver rather than a cordless drill. Although a cordless drill works, they spin much faster than I would prefer (Forster advises max 200 RPM for neck turning). Plus, they're heavier & more awkward to use in this particular application. Again, I waited for this one to go on sale at Canadian Tire (just a matter of time) and got it for around $30.
 
Qball-16, great set up... I run a similar 2 lathe set up.

I found the Cdn Tire 12V driver to be the best option for powering these lathes. I used the electric screwdrivers for a while but found the torque to be lighter then I liked (most were in the 3 to 4V range) but if they work for you, dirt cheap to get and use. Definitely no to electric drills... way too fast.

Also, capacity of the 12V driver is much higher and spare batteries can be purchased if doing large volumes.

The method that Guntech is showing works really well too and if you have a good drill press and location to use it, makes short work of this task.

Many avoid neck turning cause most think of hand turners and that is a royal PITA. For those that use a few cases at a time, no problem but not the way if processing a hundred or two at a time.

By using a driver or drill press, it takes a few seconds to skim the necks. About the same time it takes to clean a primer pocket. The forster set ups use a quick release collet or stand so getting cases in and out is a breeze. Some other systems use a more complex and slow lock up process.

Making this chore easier and faster helps me keep the motivation to do this very important step in brass prep/maintenance.

I feel that Forster offers the best combination of tools to help get the job done properly and fast.

Jerry
 
Mystic Precision said:
Qball-16, great set up... I run a similar 2 lathe set up.
Click to expand...

Full Disclosure - Jerry, you are entirely where I got the idea for this 2-lathe set up ;)

Mystic Precision said:
I found the Cdn Tire 12V driver to be the best option for powering these lathes. I used the electric screwdrivers for a while but found the torque to be lighter then I liked (most were in the 3 to 4V range) but if they work for you, dirt cheap to get and use. Definitely no to electric drills... way too fast.

Also, capacity of the 12V driver is much higher and spare batteries can be purchased if doing large volumes.
Click to expand...

Is the 12V driver you're referring to an impact driver? I see CT has one on sale, and the ability to have an extra charged battery for bigger/longer jobs would be a welcome addition!

ht tp://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/mastercraft-12v-impact-driver-0543212p.html#srp

Thx!
 
I turn mine in my toolroom lathe on a small mandrel to snugly for the ID, after I ran a ball expander in all of them to get all the Id's the same size. For my use I only skim enough so they clean up all around since I don't use tight neck chambers. Works great.
I trim on the mill :)
 
Qball-16 said:
It took a while, but I (somewhat) patiently waited for a good deal on an older model off the EE for my second lathe. It didn't come with any pilots or collets, which was just fine and made it even cheaper. I even cheaped out on the second power driver adapter, and JB Welded an old nut driver onto the threads of the shaft.

I drilled 4 holes in my reloading bench (in an out of the way spot) & installed T-Nuts from the bottom to quickly mount the lathe I'm using to the bench top. It only takes a second to switch them out, and they are 100% solid when in use.

For power, I would HIGHLY recommend a cordless screw driver rather than a cordless drill. Although a cordless drill works, they spin much faster than I would prefer (Forster advises max 200 RPM for neck turning). Plus, they're heavier & more awkward to use in this particular application. Again, I waited for this one to go on sale at Canadian Tire (just a matter of time) and got it for around $30.
Click to expand...


I see them pop up every once in awhile, so Im sure Ill find one at a good price. Ill also have to find/rig up something to hook the drill up to.

I looked that Mastercraft up and they were on sale for 25 bucks, so I pick up the one that pivots. Thought that would work a lil better.


Also a little off topic. How do you like that 3-in-1 cutter head?
 
titch-- said:
I see them pop up every once in awhile, so Im sure Ill find one at a good price. Ill also have to find/rig up something to hook the drill up to.
Click to expand...

Forster sells an adapter, but it's not cheap - $20+. I just used an appropriate sized nut driver (drilled out the end a bit, to make it fit better) and some JB Weld. It's now permanently attached, but I've never taken the Forster one off & see no reason why I'd need to.

15npv61.jpg


titch-- said:
I looked that Mastercraft up and they were on sale for 25 bucks, so I pick up the one that pivots. Thought that would work a lil better.
Click to expand...

I though about that one too, but the one I got was on sale for 1/2 price & it does the trick!


titch-- said:
Also a little off topic. How do you like that 3-in-1 cutter head?
Click to expand...

I used to use the cordless screwdriver and the chamfer/debur bits from a Lyman tool in another nut driver with a couple small bolts JB Welded in. It worked well, but my hands would start cramping up after 50 or so cases. I also tried just chucking these into my cordless drill, but it spins so fast it was hard to keep them from chattering on the brass...

k1cmwx.jpg


The 3-in-1 cutter head from Forster is so much faster. It's easily the most cost effective purchase I've made for my reloading kit - ever!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom