Neck turning

[Handloader109]

I'm looking at the various neck turners trying to decide which to buy.
Opinions?
I've got 300 bo that brass is too thick when converted from .223, also 22tcm converted from the same. and I'm probably going to convert 270 or 3006 to 7mm mauser.
Looking at a forster, k&n also.

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[Tatume]

I use Forster, both outside neck turner and inside reamer. You should ream after firing or turn after sizing.

[1hole]

Reaming makes for thinner case necks for safety but does nothing for making the inside and outside concentric. Neck turning accomplishes both so it helps reduce bullet runout; that's a good thing.

Turners that look about the same will work the same. That said, Foster's hand turner has a few really nice features (like their carbide cutter) that make it my favorite tool of that type.

[country gent]

As was stated above reaming will thin the neck but not true it up, turning on a mandrel will thin and make a concentric wall thickness both. Another plus to turning is chips are on outside of case.

Neck turning you need to make sure you get all the way to the shoulder or a thick doughnut will remain. reaming you can run thru the neck so this isnt an issue. on some wildcatts wall thickness is enough that I can ream close then neck turn to size. If desired turning allows the neck to be fitted to the chamber. The cutters in most neck turners can be sharpened or honed as needed with out affecting size. A reamer gets dull sharpening will affect size.

Look at the sinclairs neck turner kits with the die body that allows the cutters mandrel to expand necks up after forming. This makes for an almost perfect fit when turning the cases.

When setting the cutter remember that .001 in makes .002 on neck dia.

I shoot several tight necked rifles and must turn for them, this is the "fitted neck". on my 243 chamber neck is .267 case are turned to a loaded neck dia of .2665 Factory ammo wont chamber

[rbuck351]

I use a mini lathe. It's a bit expensive for just turning necks but you can make mandrels to fit anything any size you want and it does a lot of other things as well.

[ndnchf]

I too use a lathe for outside neck turning. Here is a short video showing how I do it.
https://youtu.be/iVzb4WopeAM

[B R Shooter]

I have used the K&M neck turners for years. I bought a Sinclair first, and it's OK, but I like the K&M much better. Get the expander mandrel and holder to get the brass opened up for a good fit for the turner mandrel. I use the carbide mandrels for turning, it's more expensive but is much better than the steel mandrels.

[243winxb]

My discontinued Lyman neck turning attachment works well, its much like the forster type.

[Mr_Sheesh]

I like the Forster as well.

Turn just a BIT off there tho, I've seen someone turn the necks down to about half thickness and frequent neck cracking resulted...

You just want consistent reduction and uniform, acceptable neck thickness.

[Three44s]

I turn necks on some of my brass in varmint cartridges. It is easier to take too much off than to get it just right IMO.

Three44s

[MostlyLeverGuns]

RCBS used to or does make a reaming die that holds the case neck snug and holds its reamer in alignment to prevent out-of-round reaming. For doing a large number of cases it might work best. Long ago Lee made a handloader that had a similar neck reaming concept. Squeeze/size the neck then run a guided reamer through. Some others may make a similar item?

[Scrounge]

I too use a lathe for outside neck turning. Here is a short video showing how I do it.
https://youtu.be/iVzb4WopeAM

Thanks for that! Also enjoyed the video of your AAMCO shaper. When I'm not wasting time online, I'm working on getting my Lewis 10" shaper running.

Bill

[vernm]

I've used a Forster for the last 40 years. No complaints. Posters have given good advice, especially about turning the neck all the way back to the angle of the shoulder. You don't want to leave material that will become a doughnut when you full length size the case.

My latest project was several hundred 300BO from 223 Rem. The Forster made it easy. I don't use the attachment to control feed. Just use eye ball and hand pressure for a smooth cut.

[1hole]

This thread has drifted into much more than neck turning.

I used to make all of my .22-250 cases from LC Match .30-06 brass so I could make fitted necks for my SAAMI spec. chamber. Thinning the resulting thick necks was mandatory for chambering.

Tool flex normally insures that all neck reaming will be round so that's really not a problem.

The old RCBS reamer set with a multi-flute cutter bored case necks well enough but contributed little or nothing to concentricity and couldn't be adjusted for a desired neck wall so it soon died out of the market.

Lee's old zero error loading set had a single cutting edge reamer that did make the inner and outer neck sides match. It worked very well but, like the RCBS reamer, it wasn't adjustable for a desired neck wall thickness so it also died off.

I like to ream my reformed .30-06 necks a tad with a Forster reamer to insure the inside walls are smooth, then I turn the outside wall with a Forster hand held neck turner to insure total concentricity. My trusty 50 year old Lyman Universal Case Trimmer (or my "new" Pacific .22 Varminter file trim die :)) uniforms the length.

Then Lyman's primer pocket uniformer, flash hole deburr tool, plus a case mouth deburr/chamfer tool finishes the metal work. My beam scale lets me match cases by weight. Together, all of this work gives me very high quality cases that tightly fit my factory spec. chamber.

Carefully annealing the finished reformed cases from time to time helps my "new" case life. So does neck sizing with Lee's Collet Neck Sizer die ... so does a home shop modified (RCBS) FL die drill changed into a body die to approximate FL sizing when that's needed.

Bottom line, what all this means is there is no "Buy this, adjust that, push a lever and you'll suddenly have custom reformed cases." :)

[skeet1]

I too use a lathe for outside neck turning. Here is a short video showing how I do it.
https://youtu.be/iVzb4WopeAM

Excellent video! Let us know how it shoots.

Ken

[ndnchf]

Excellent video! Let us know how it shoots.

Ken

Here is a video of me shooting the rifle. In this video I mention that the cartridge was made from .41 magnum brass. At this time I was using both the lathe modified 303 Savage and shortened 41 magnum brass, but just mentioned the 41 magnum brass for simplicity.

https://youtu.be/f939OJjyNtQ

There are other antique gun related videos on my channel as well.

[ndnchf]

Despite the primitive barrel sights and my aging eyes, it does well if I do my part.

[ebb]

K&M and get the carbide expander mandrel

[243winxb]

The 300 bo may need reaming first, if a lot of metal needs removed. Then finish by neck turning. Removing more then .002" with 1 cut, when outside neck turning, may be hard to do?
Or make 2 cuts with outside NT.
My Lyman takes off no more the .0015" with 1 cut.

[Larry Gibson]

I like the Forster as well.

Turn just a BIT off there tho, I've seen someone turn the necks down to about half thickness and frequent neck cracking resulted...

You just want consistent reduction and uniform, acceptable neck thickness.

What he said^^^^^

I also prefer the Forster and use often on different cartridges. As mentioned, just a bit of turning is all that is needed for standard and even match 308W and 30-06 chambers. Remove just enough to remove the high spots. I usually won't have a "clean cut all around the neck but usually just about 50% or less is cut.

When turning a large number of necks I replace the handle with the adaptor for an electric screw driver or small variable speed drill. Makes turning a lot easier and quicker.

[popper]

variable speed drill and a large chuck. Replaced the small one on an old drill. Put case head in the chuck and just hold the tool. I take large cuts on converted BO brass, works fine. Cut, trim, turn, debur, size, load & shoot, anneal next time. Shoot til case/PP is worn out.

[Three44s]

What he said^^^^^

I also prefer the Forster and use often on different cartridges. As mentioned, just a bit of turning is all that is needed for standard and even match 308W and 30-06 chambers. Remove just enough to remove the high spots. I usually won't have a "clean cut all around the neck but usually just about 50% or less is cut.

When turning a large number of necks I replace the handle with the adaptor for an electric screw driver or small variable speed drill. Makes turning a lot easier and quicker.

I would agree. For most handloaders they would be better off just going for the high spots because in most instances, trying to have a 100% cut all the way around the neck results in too much brass removed.

Three44s

[paul edward]

RCBS used to or does make a reaming die that holds the case neck snug and holds its reamer in alignment to prevent out-of-round reaming. For doing a large number of cases it might work best.

Back in 1975 I gought an RCBS neck reamer for 308 Winchester. Got it as a new barrel had a tight chamber and would not accept loads assembled in military surplus cases. Recently discovered it will remove the neck step in SMI 7.35x51 Carcano cases.

[243winxb]

The Lyman outside neck turner attachment has been discontinued. May happen to the Forster later? If you already own the trimmer, then maybe buy the attachment?

Most are buying the new type Outside neck turner tool.

[243winxb]

FYI The Forster Outside Neck turning Pilots fit the Old Discontinue Lyman. I just used a Forster in my Lyman.

[Geezer in NH]

I use a Forster ONR using a power screw driver to turn it. Very fast and makes nice aligned necks.

[lightman]

There are a lot of good turning tools available. The little Forster works well and makes nice cuts but its harder to adjust. That would be ok if you are only going to turn one type of cartridge. Its also cheaper than most of the others. K&M, Sinclair and PMA make a quality tool thats easier to adjust. Buy the expander die and mandrels when you buy the tool. Also get a stud and shell holder that will allow you to use an electric drill. There are some other nice tools available but the ones that I mentioned are the only ones that I have owned.

[Wayne Smith]

I'm just getting into this and literally know nothing but what I've read here. Haven't looked at the various products, but the only caliber I would currently need one for is my 9.3. Does anyone make a mandrel for this? Do I need a mandrel for the fired case or for the sized case? The sized case I would think I would need to ream the inside, cause that's where the extra brass is - when making cartridges from 30-06 the outside of the neck is sized and the extra brass is inside, outside reaming wouldn't fix that?

[WRideout]

Wayne (the other one), I have had that problem with cases for 7.62 Tok formed from 5.56. I use the Forster, but when I ordered the pilot, I forgot that .308 was the expanded diameter, not the sized diameter. I have been drilling the case mouths with an appropriate sized drill, so that the pilot can fit. Then I neck turn the outside. It's a lot of work, but by now I have an ample supply of Tok brass. Any more I outside turn the cases that have been fired, before sizing.

Wayne

[midnight]

I use the K&M tool along with their expanders & use power to turn the cases. Be sure to get a cutter with an angle to match your shoulder angle. Works great when turning large numbers of 219 D Wasp cases.

Bob

[pworley1]

I use my lathe and a Lyman universal shell holder. It makes quick work of large numbers of brass.

[Three44s]

I use my lathe and a Lyman universal shell holder. It makes quick work of large numbers of brass.

I am surprised that a Lyman trimmer head in a lathe would hold a case straight enough for neck turning.

Three44s

[marshall623]

I use the Lyman neck turning tool that goes on the case trimmer , the only thing I ve had to turn is 7-08's formed from 308 . It works pretty well and faily simple to set up .

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[AntiqueSledMan]

I have an RCBS Rotary Case Trimmer with the RCBS Case Neck Turning Tool.
Kind of a bugger to set, but works well when set.

AntiqueSledMan.

[abunaitoo]

I have a few neck turning tools.
Lucky I haven't had to try using them on the cases I shoot.
I'm guessing it's more of a precision shooting must have thing.

[country gent]

Neck turning is a tool in the box that can be used for several reasons, I would imagine the most likely is when reforming or wildcatting sizing necks down thickens the brass making thinning it back to fit chambers required. Another popular reason for it is with the ultra precision crowd, thinning to get the most consistent wall thickness and bullet release along with fitting the neck to the chamber. Most bench rest shooters run in the .0005 - .001 range for clearance in the chamber.

The process can produce the last little up in accuracy and consistency to be in or out of the winners circle or the difference in a safe load and over pressure.

I formed 243 from 308 and they normally need a light touch and clean up to chamber easily and safely. The guys forming early 22-250 also required his step or having a reamer ground with a bigger neck.