Any experience with Hornady Neck Turning Lathe?
- Thread starter Ledd Slinger
- Start date
Brians356
Gold $$ Contributor
Define "big company".
Brians356
Gold $$ Contributor
My setup and trial run with the Hornady Lock-N-Load Neck Turn Tool:
I decided to try letting the cutter body float slightly, so I used a firm rubber gasket I found in my junk pile (may be some kind of hose or faucet gasket) and this allows a slight motion of the cutter body without much sag at rest:
Using a .013" feeler gage, I screwed the cutter adjustment down (with the .0005" detent disengaged) so there was a fair amount of drag on the blade between the mandrel and cutter, then tightened the cutter bit set screw:
The 6mm Rem case was first sized w/ a Redding FL die (not a bushing die), then expanded with a Sinclair turning mandrel measuring .2409". (Note: For calibers other than 6mm, just use the standard Hornady turning mandrel and the corresponding Sinclair "oversize expanding" mandrel for proper sizing.)
The Hornady turning mandrel is a special order (no charge) "oversize" measuring .2394" (the standard is .2390"). With spring-back after expansion (I waited a couple of days), I estimate the neck ID is about .0009" to .0012" larger than the turning mandrel.
The Hornady cutter bit is a special order ($10) 30-deg (standard is 45-deg) and the 6mm Rem shoulder is 26-deg.
This shows how I mounted and raised the lathe to mate with the cordless drill:
I set the neck engagement stop to barely cut into the shoulder, taking a "swipe" off the shoulder which is about .010" wide (barely visible in the photo). Using a cordless drill to spin the feed shaft, I advanced and retracted the case twice, retracting the case slowly each time. The case neck was lubed with Redding (Imperial) dry graphite applied with their ceramic ball media applicator.
Measuring the wall thickness with a tubing mic w/ homemade depth stop, it varied between .0130" and .0133":
The quality of the cut and neck thickness variation is plenty good enough for me. Considering the $98.99 (plus $10 for the alternate cutter) purchase price of this setup w/ four different size turning mandrels, I'd call it a best buy.
I decided to try letting the cutter body float slightly, so I used a firm rubber gasket I found in my junk pile (may be some kind of hose or faucet gasket) and this allows a slight motion of the cutter body without much sag at rest:
Using a .013" feeler gage, I screwed the cutter adjustment down (with the .0005" detent disengaged) so there was a fair amount of drag on the blade between the mandrel and cutter, then tightened the cutter bit set screw:
The 6mm Rem case was first sized w/ a Redding FL die (not a bushing die), then expanded with a Sinclair turning mandrel measuring .2409". (Note: For calibers other than 6mm, just use the standard Hornady turning mandrel and the corresponding Sinclair "oversize expanding" mandrel for proper sizing.)
The Hornady turning mandrel is a special order (no charge) "oversize" measuring .2394" (the standard is .2390"). With spring-back after expansion (I waited a couple of days), I estimate the neck ID is about .0009" to .0012" larger than the turning mandrel.
The Hornady cutter bit is a special order ($10) 30-deg (standard is 45-deg) and the 6mm Rem shoulder is 26-deg.
This shows how I mounted and raised the lathe to mate with the cordless drill:
I set the neck engagement stop to barely cut into the shoulder, taking a "swipe" off the shoulder which is about .010" wide (barely visible in the photo). Using a cordless drill to spin the feed shaft, I advanced and retracted the case twice, retracting the case slowly each time. The case neck was lubed with Redding (Imperial) dry graphite applied with their ceramic ball media applicator.
Measuring the wall thickness with a tubing mic w/ homemade depth stop, it varied between .0130" and .0133":
The quality of the cut and neck thickness variation is plenty good enough for me. Considering the $98.99 (plus $10 for the alternate cutter) purchase price of this setup w/ four different size turning mandrels, I'd call it a best buy.
Last edited:
Brians356
Gold $$ Contributor
For disassembly I retracted the cutter out of the way, then later used the .013" feeler gage again to set the cutter-to-mandrel gap, and it repeated exactly to a .0130" - .0133" neck wall thickness, first try. This is definitely the way to position the cutter for a specific wall thickness!
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