21st Century neck turning lathe

[zipollini]

Anybody use the 21st Century neck turning lathe ? Does it work well ? Anything better ?

 

[Snuggie]

I have been using one for a while now. Works great and is a finely crafted piece of machinery. Easy to use also.

 

[BenPerfected]

Don't know if it is any better, but I lot of shooters use the Forster turner. It gets good reviews on the Sinclair and Midway websites.

 

[Gabe22BR]

I like mine. Haven't had any problems. I do custom 221 fireball, and 22BR necks. Can't imagine doing it all by hand. Let some of the tools do the work.

 

[CPorter]

I have the Forester and the 21st Century. The Forester has the angle on the wrong side of the cutter and is slighty harder to adjust cut depth. The 21st Century has a vertical position adjustment on the neck. Overall the 21st Century is better.

 

[zipollini]

Joe - To what tolerance can you hold your 6mm neck thickness with the Gracey ?

 

[BenPerfected]

zipollini said:

Joe - To what tolerance can you hold your 6mm neck thickness with the Gracey ?

I'm shoot F/TR mostly and only occasionally play with a 6CM (a.243 improved variant). I haven't tried to "thin to win" as benchrest people do, so I really don't know how thin it will go. When I shave the Winchester .243 brass I generally stay around 0.012 and it does that pretty well with maybe 1/4 thou variance at the most. I only spot check the brass and very seldom find variance, they usually show up on the runout gauge. I give it a second pass after I've fired the brass twice and that results in very little pixie dust.

I hope I've answered you question.

Joe

Joe,
Have you tried a two cut process where the second cut is in the .0005 range? This works pretty good on the Forster.
Ben

 

[BenPerfected]

BenPerfected said:
Joe,
Have you tried a two cut process where the second cut is in the .0005 range? This works pretty good on the Forster.
Ben

Ben,
I know that many of us speak of 1/1,000th of inch casually, but that is such small amount that I/most people can't even see it without magnification.

To start talking about 0.0005 its a little ridiculous to me, I can barely measure it with a micrometer. But the way the Gracey works you could do it if you were willing to keep trying numerous times until you get it right. It is a threaded cutter, so if used an allen wrench with a long arm it would work, but I've never felt the need for that kind of accuracy. My objective is to simply make the case necks of uniform thickness. If one wants have case necks that are exactly 0.00825, it can be done, but you are going to have to spend some time and waste a bunch cases getting there.

That is exactly why I have two Gracey shavers, one set for the 6mm and the other for the .308, so that I don't have mess with it once I set it up. The only time I mess with it is when I have to change the cutter and I've done it once because the cutter lasts thousands of cases. On my 308 I have shaved at least 5,000 cases. Many I shaved two or three thousands in one pass. It makes an nice golden curly thread that has to be removed once every 50 to 70 cases to avoid interfering with the cutter or the spinning shaft. You can see them in the plastic cup next to the shaver. That's from the LC brass, some necks were .017 thick and I take them down to .014 in one pass without issues. To eliminate heat from the mandrel I apply petroleum jelly in the neck with a q-tip.

I guess I need to make a video and post it to YouTube sometime, it seems no one has made one. One of these days, when I have time, I will make one. I guess they sell by word of mouth because they do zero marketing.

Ben I hope I've answered you question.

Kindest regards,

Joe

 

[Patch700]

Ok Guys,
I said I was going to make a YouTube video of the Gracey Neck Shaver and I did today. Here's the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4SSkMuDeDE&feature=youtu.be

I want to apologize for the jumpy video, but I forgot to turn off the auto focus feature of my camera.

Joe

Thanks for taking the time to put up the video Joe , looks to be a nice piece of kit.

I currently am a big fan of the K&M line of tools but the setup you've shown could convince me to change over.

Couple questions , I did not catch in the video where any reference was made as to what is used to adjust the length of the cut.. I'm assuming it is merely a stepped mandrel?

Secondly where do you get shirts like that? A nice touch indeed as compared to watching a guy who wears lapua blue lol.. (Sorry Erik lol)

 

[Baer45]

IMO there is something way better, but as usual it isn't cheap http://www.matchprep.com/shaver.htm.
I just finished turning 250 cases (308) this evening and it took me slightly less than an hour. I generally average out about four or five cases a minute. On the web site they say 20 cases a minute, but I have no idea what kind of cases they are referring to. The motor spins at 1,480 rpm so it gives me a very smooth finish indeed. I am very pleased with mine, actually I have two, one for my 308 and one for my 6mm.

Kindest regards,

Joe

I have one also but have not yet used it as I have been using a 21st Century. How hard I i to set up? I love Gracey trimmers as well. Giraurd is good but the Henderson beat them all for simplicity....(on trimming)

 

[Geronimo Jim]

I have the 21 Century Power trimmer. Pricey but pretty easy and fast. I am a rookie at this
but figured it out pretty quick and it is fast. Absolutely no heat while trimming.

 

[Baer45]

What tube mic are you guys using to measure neck thickness? I’d rather spend money on a good one that is repeatable, fits inside a 223 case mouth and is digital for my aging eyes....

 

[quest450]

Here’s the one I like

 

[BeefyT11]

Sorry to go off track... but can anyone tell me the thickness of the base on the lathe, not including the L brackets? And the center to center measurement of the mounting holes I the base to mount to the bench?

 

[bozo699]

Sorry to go off track... but can anyone tell me the thickness of the base on the lathe, not including the L brackets? And the center to center measurement of the mounting holes I the base to mount to the bench?

I can tonight
Wayne

 

[BeefyT11]

I can tonight
Wayne

I'd appreciate that thank you

 

[Baer45]

Sorry to go off track... but can anyone tell me the thickness of the base on the lathe, not including the L brackets? And the center to center measurement of the mounting holes I the base to mount to the bench?

I like everything about that one. Will a 223 fit on the tip?

 

[Whisky Tahoe Foxtrot]

Anybody use the 21st Century neck turning lathe ? Does it work well ? Anything better ?

I load 6SLR which is a die formed 243 wildcat with longer neck and 30 degree shoulder. Prepping new quality brass means turning. One thing better than a 21st century lathe is having 2 of them so you don't have to change settings unless you want to. At the very least, get a 2nd complete head assembly so you can preserve your settings. The parts are all interchangeable just like Mr potato head...

The new powered lathe is very consistent and a breeze to use. Like all buy once cry once decisions, set a value for your time and decide what you would rather do. The powered version makes the best "turns" however the non powered version can come close provided you do your part and use a hand drill with a consistent RPM, hold it level, and work smoothly.

As for Forster, their lathe is good for trimming if you didn't ante up for a Giraud trimmer but the Forster turning tool is not very effective and leaves spiral cut marks at least for me anyway. You would be better with a hand tool like 21st Century, PMA, or Wilson, though after a few dozen cases using a hand tool, if you don't have arthritis, it will sure feel like it. If you start with the 21st century cutting head, you can later add the parts to make it a lathe you know like Mr Potato head...

21st century has a trimming attachment that can be added to the cutting head but it's pretty new and with other trimming solutions, maybe best to stick to just turning with their lathe.

 

[bozo699]

I'd appreciate that thank you

sorry I worked late tonight I’ll send that to ya tomorrow
Wayne

 

[fourpower]

Anybody use the 21st Century neck turning lathe ? Does it work well ? Anything better ?

i got the 21st century and use it on 8 different calibers and love it. they do a great job once you get use to it!