I am going to jump into neck turning to see if I can get any more out of my custom 6mmbr. I have heard about Wilson, 21st century, Rcbs, K&M and a lot look very similar. Do they all produce roughly the same level of accuracy or are some better than others. Thanks.
What neck turning tool.
- Thread starter shelby78
- Start date
I compete against myself. I want 1/4 moa to say 600 yards. I'm leaning Twords 21st century.
Munkey1973
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Regina, SK
A 21st Century unit will serve you very well. Had mine for many years and I love it.
Consistent, Easy to Use and Setup, and Fast..... but they are certainly not the cheapest.
If you go this Brand, IMO stay away from the their powered version.
First, its way more expensive (and produce the same results as the original design).
Second, if that motor should fail in the future, then a what is a guy to do ?
I run the original version with a 4 volt cordless screwdriver (& bought 2 extra batteries)
Its made by Ryobi and the low speed is perfect (just under 200 RMP as recommended by 21st)......I also use this for my 3 way trimmers too.
Now if this screwdriver calves it guts in the future, then I go to the hardware store and replace it for less than $100
If I wanted to go that far down the hole I would use my lathe or mill...
Just remember if you neck turn you will start fighting donuts as brass flows upward into the neck.
I only skim turn the neck just removing 50% to 75% just to even them up.
On the flip side of this many reloaders just buy quality Laupa brass and do not neck turn.
It also good to have a cutter that matches your shoulder angle and blends into the case shoulder.
Bushing dies work best with custom tight neck chambers with neck turned brass. If you neck turn in a standard factory SAAMI chamber the case neck will expand more. Meaning you end up working the neck more, they will expand more and need reduced more in the sizing process.
Below a Redding bushing die, the area between the red arrows is not sized. This prevents the donut from being pushed to the inside of the neck. And the more you remove from the neck the bigger the donut will be.
Bottom line, buy quality brass and only skim turn if you must neck turn.
I only skim turn the neck just removing 50% to 75% just to even them up.
On the flip side of this many reloaders just buy quality Laupa brass and do not neck turn.
It also good to have a cutter that matches your shoulder angle and blends into the case shoulder.
Bushing dies work best with custom tight neck chambers with neck turned brass. If you neck turn in a standard factory SAAMI chamber the case neck will expand more. Meaning you end up working the neck more, they will expand more and need reduced more in the sizing process.
Below a Redding bushing die, the area between the red arrows is not sized. This prevents the donut from being pushed to the inside of the neck. And the more you remove from the neck the bigger the donut will be.
Bottom line, buy quality brass and only skim turn if you must neck turn.
I only use Lapua brass and Redding S type bushing dies.. I am trying to see what's left on the table...
The nice parts of the 21st century in my mind, is the versatility of the tool and the availability of all the proper setups for whatever you may be shooting, the others don't have that, yet, some may in the future. 3 way trimmer is simple, no lack of spindle sizes available, reamers, shoulder angle cutters galore, good selection of shellholders, tools adjust easily and stay that way. The one fault is like many other tools, not cheap, but for the price, you gain a lot of versatility over the others.
If you have a lathe you have us all beat who turn with dedicated turners. tighter tolerances, time is a wash; turner or lathe they take about the same per piece of brass.
And you have the ability to turn a custom mandrel.
There are several video's on youtube showing how to turn necks on a lathe.
here is one
Cheers
Trevor
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I was trying to be lazy and buy something vs make it lol. I really should use my lathe. Guess I know what I'm doing tommorow...
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If the chamber is done right for the bullets you shoot, then the base of the bearing surface should be forward of the donut. This takes the donut out of play.
To get the most out of your rifle, you need to understand there is a clear relationship between the bullet and the chamber configuration.
If you don't get your arms around this simple point, you will lose to a guy how does.
To get the most out of your rifle, you need to understand there is a clear relationship between the bullet and the chamber configuration.
If you don't get your arms around this simple point, you will lose to a guy how does.
Over 50 years ago, the Forster line appeared the route to go.
My Remington 40XB in 6mm Remington started to show some brass flow so trim to length was the first consideration.
With the Forster, the instructions lead to an outside neck reamer.
Most of my ammunition has seen some outside neck reaming and the most common signal was variation in the neck thickness.
Finding the thickest side, marking it and setting the carbide cutter to that point is a reasonable start.
With a little experimenting, you might find the cutter is removing 25% and some minor adjustments can move that to 50% of maybe 2/3rds.
"For hunting rifles it won't make any difference" . . . Don't believe it!
It may be a difference of only 0.002 of an inch, one side thickness versus the opposite side but after the first piece of brass at 50% and the second is 33% and the next 66% should be an indicator.
My ONR has been done on my rifles from 222 Remington through 338 Winchester. It is generally the brass that needs improving . . . not the rifle.
My Remington 40XB in 6mm Remington started to show some brass flow so trim to length was the first consideration.
With the Forster, the instructions lead to an outside neck reamer.
Most of my ammunition has seen some outside neck reaming and the most common signal was variation in the neck thickness.
Finding the thickest side, marking it and setting the carbide cutter to that point is a reasonable start.
With a little experimenting, you might find the cutter is removing 25% and some minor adjustments can move that to 50% of maybe 2/3rds.
"For hunting rifles it won't make any difference" . . . Don't believe it!
It may be a difference of only 0.002 of an inch, one side thickness versus the opposite side but after the first piece of brass at 50% and the second is 33% and the next 66% should be an indicator.
My ONR has been done on my rifles from 222 Remington through 338 Winchester. It is generally the brass that needs improving . . . not the rifle.
Munkey1973
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Regina, SK
I've seen a couple of Eric Cortina's videos on these...very interesting equipment.
0.0015 to 0.002 is pretty much I currently skim off my brass with a 21st Century.
If you have used other higher end turning systems, how would you rate this system in terms of repeatability/consistency ?
Did you have one the first models, or did you get the new CNC version ?
Cheers.
