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Hey, Neck Turners

M

milo 2.0

Guest
Well I said I'd never neck turn, no matter what. But I'm getting the dreaded donut on the outside of my cases, didn't notice chambering problems till after seating a bullet.
So what brand do you guys like? I researched Sinclair's and 21st Century, have their lathe in my shoppinig cart right now, pricey but looks qaulity. Give me some insight please.
Ok, my donut is on the outside only, near as I can tell, but what would one use if it was on the inside? I haven't found anything for that yet.
My donut is small, right at the begining of the neck, would a reg FL die knock it back? I'm using bushing dies with over reamed necks.
 
I haven't used it yet but I just got in a neck turner from K and M reloading. It was the one I liked the best when I looked, it is well built and quality gear. No experience on the use yet though.

Walter
 
I've been using the 21st for about a year with their lathe. Works great. Put a little battery operated "screw driver" behind it and turn till your hearts content.

A die would only push it to the inside...
 
Do I need the expander die, mandrel and arbor? Wish it was just a kit.
 
I ordered mine for multiple calibers. The cutter will come with the mandrel and the expander will come with the arbor. Run your brass through your sizer die with no expander. Then run it through their expander and turn.
 
GH,
Withn the lathe, what stops the case shoulder from getting into the cutter, by hand, thr doesn't appear to be a locking collar to stop it.
 
GH,
Withn the lathe, what stops the case shoulder from getting into the cutter, by hand, thr doesn't appear to be a locking collar to stop it.

There is a shoulder on the mandrel. The "length" of the cut is controlled by the length of the case so, you have to trim them to all the same length before turning the necks. You want to take a slight cut in to the shoulder to keep donuts from forming.
 
There is a shoulder on the mandrel. The "length" of the cut is controlled by the length of the case so, you have to trim them to all the same length before turning the necks. You want to take a slight cut in to the shoulder to keep donuts from forming.

OMG, trim also, shit I just need to get them in my chamber, taking any more material off my necks will just compound this problem.
I don't really have a problem with concentricity, but I guess while I',m ordering, might as well get one of those things too!

Makes me laugh at newer guys trying to get into this hobby on the cheap.
 
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The only gripe I have about the system is that there is a little backlash in the cutter adjustment. Not a big deal once you get it set but, making tiny adjustments can be frustrating.
 
I use a tool from Sinclair. A friend has a K&M. Another friend used the little Forester. They all work fine. You will need an expander die with a mandrel to properly expand your case necks. I would buy the same brand expander as turner. Most shooters who neck turn will cut into the should a little. This seems to combat the dreaded donut from forming. Most all of these tools work ok, the biggest difference in the ease of adjustment. Its easier to adjust to clean up the neck a little that to adjust for an exact thickness, like for a tight neck chamber. I personally would rather use a cordless screwdriver, and skip the lathe. I often do this chore, sitting with the family in front of the tv. Lightman
 
GH,
Thanks for the help. Just got off the phone with John, got stuff coming my way.

I think there's going to be some bushing dies for sale on here shortly!
 
I like my 21stCSS turner, I didn't get the Lathe attachment, please let us know how you like it.
 
I like my 21stCSS turner, I didn't get the Lathe attachment, please let us know how you like it.

I'll do that Cobra, tthe late bolted to bench just seems sturdy, but for what I'm trying to do, hand held would've worked fine, I'm really not trying to shave the whole neck.
 
I have the Sinclair myself but if your getting the doughnut on the outside after seating you may want ream the inside of your cases before resizing. To check your cases try dropping a bullet in the fired case if it doesn't go past the shoulder neck junction IMO you should ream the inside before you resize. I use the Forster inside neck reamers for this.
 
I have the Sinclair myself but if your getting the doughnut on the outside after seating you may want ream the inside of your cases before resizing. To check your cases try dropping a bullet in the fired case if it doesn't go past the shoulder neck junction IMO you should ream the inside before you resize. I use the Forster inside neck reamers for this.

The donut is there long before seating, I honestly don't think it's on the inside. The expander die should force it outward anyway.
I can't get a bullet past my case mouth by hand.
This is new ground to me, so I'll be leaning on you guys pretty hard.
 
I also recommend mount the unit inside a box to keep the brass shavings from going everywhere.

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Thanks for that tip. Looks messy, is your cordless drill supported, or just hanging off the drive?
 
Unsupported. The Lithium battery units are pretty light. I don't let it hang when it's not in use though. I just put it on there for the pic. Most of the time, you're supporting it with your hand.
 
OK guys,
i said I'd report back with how I like my setup. Going hot, this is a qaulity piece, took a little to get it set up right, probably wasted a few pieces of brass, all mixed together now so I'll have to cull them after they're fired, scraping necks out of chamber! Ordered stuff for 7mm Friday, talked to John yesterday, I couldn't grasp the gap between tool and bracket concept, he said that's what the washers were for, mine didn't come with them, so I might have big mess. Did set it kinda tight, with tool laid over at 90deg angle, didn't touch it, cut nice.
Some cases have donut on the inside also, so ordered K&M cutters, and adaptor for them to work. Had to buy a small Ryobi screw gun, my 7.2 Dewalt battries were tits up, no use lately! Speed and feed rate seem perfect for the cut. So thanks a bunch for the insight.

Cobra, spend the 165.00 and buy the lathe, for my old fingers, it's worth it's weight in gold, pricey but nice.

All told, with the order shipped today, I'm into the setup for $480.00. If I had to do it again I'd go th K&M route, had a chance to get one in my hands, the piece, small, but it just wreaks of qaulity. I'm ending up buy a few of their parts anyway, and the initial cost would be less. Anyone looking to buy K&M, should put a bug in their ear about making a lathe setup, best of both worlds.
 
Good the hear you got it up and running. Really, once you get the cut set correctly, you never need to mess with it again. The backlash on the cutter adjustment is my only gripe.

The lathe is really nice and keeps your hands from getting tired. Being able to use a screw gun to drive the case leaves a nice uniform finish to the necks. I have no regrets.

Good luck and happy shooting.
 
I went with the K&M setup with the cutter mandrel when I found I was developing donuts, I personally like it more than my old sinclair turner. A couple things I picked up along the way is to use a full length sizer die to size the neck and bump the shoulder back a little (to uniform all the cases). Then trim all cases to same length, and then neck turn. Most of all I just wanted to make sure you were using the full length sizer die and not a bushing die.
 
I only have bushing dies, neck and fl, having a hard time finding 6.5 x 47 reg fl die. Thanks.