• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

Km neck turner?s

Ok I'm shooting a 22-243 and want to start neck turning. I'm looking at the km stuff. What do I all need. I see on midway they have the neck pilots and the turner with cutter and the case holder and handle. What esle do you all need?
 
Ok I'm shooting a 22-243 and want to start neck turning. I'm looking at the km stuff. What do I all need. I see on midway they have the neck pilots and the turner with cutter and the case holder and handle. What esle do you all need?
Go to k&mshooting site. You will need an expander.They have kits.
 
I suggest getting the 'Ergo Holder'. It serves as a comfortable handle to hold the pilot/cutter assembly and also acts as a heat sink. I find the pilot jack useful to set 'length of cut'; it makes setting the the amount of 'kiss' into the shoulder very simple. I never use the handle that drives the case holder as I drive it with a gear motor on a Jacobs' chuck or a cordless drill.
 
You need an expanding mandrel and holder. (shown in a Lee press adapter) Having an additional one .0005" smaller would be good too. The expanded cases should fit snugly over the pilot but still easy to turn. Use lubricant in the necks. The pilot jack is also worth while for ease of setting the length of the cut. You should also get the case holder. If you have a dial indicator, you can use it for setup. It'd not necessary for turning. Best to practice on some old cases first.
K&M.jpg
K-M.jpg
 
The PMA tool power turning adapter is better than K&Ms. I have both. IMO when you are turning you should not try to hold the turner rigidly or for that matter the drill that is powering the case. Use low RPMs and go to the shoulder rapidly, leaving a rough cut, come back to the mouth very slowly, and do not go back. Finish by clamping (in your hand) a wad of 0000 steel wool around the neck and spinning the case (higher speed OK for this) for a second or so. While you are at it, if you have a trimmer that indexes off of case shoulders you can trim, chamfer and debur, before removing the case from the power adapter. If you are getting much heating your cases are too tight on the mandrel, you have a lube issue, and/or you are using too many RPMs. I check neck thickness for each case before turning the next one, with a neck mic, that reads to .0001.
 
If you are going to use a cordless drill for turning your cases, get one that has a 1/2 inch chuck. You won't need the special shell holder/case spinner. Just open the chuck jaws all the way and insert the entire case in. I use a Ryobi from Home Depot.
 
Someone who posted in this thread was kind enough to send me two different neck turning set ups to try before I purchased the PMA. Now I think I am going to send him a free round trip ticket to New York and have him come out to Long Island and finally get my new Short Range BR gun going!

Bob
 
K&M make Top Quality Products. The doughnut cutter / Pilot is GREAT. Gives great inside and outside results and the fairly new 'Ergo Holder' is wonderful.
 
The PMA tool power turning adapter is better than K&Ms. I have both. IMO when you are turning you should not try to hold the turner rigidly or for that matter the drill that is powering the case. Use low RPMs and go to the shoulder rapidly, leaving a rough cut, come back to the mouth very slowly, and do not go back. Finish by clamping (in your hand) a wad of 0000 steel wool around the neck and spinning the case (higher speed OK for this) for a second or so. While you are at it, if you have a trimmer that indexes off of case shoulders you can trim, chamfer and debur, before removing the case from the power adapter. If you are getting much heating your cases are too tight on the mandrel, you have a lube issue, and/or you are using too many RPMs. I check neck thickness for each case before turning the next one, with a neck mic, that reads to .0001.
Roughly what RPM are you using while advancing?
-
 
RPM-

I try to keep it at 250-300. I would not bother with the small screwdriver type tools since there is not enough torque. To save you some time, try the DeWalt full sized drill.
 
Roughly what RPM are you using while advancing?
-
I use the slow gear setting on my old Makita at part throttle. The reason for advancing (moving the cutter) to the shoulder quickly is to leave plenty to cut on the way back. By doing this the case neck is always cutting the whole time that it is on the neck, which keeps the neck firmly pinned to the mandrel. Doing this and letting the turner and case freely align to one another, letting them wobble as much as they "want" to improves runout. Doing it this way you can turn very good necks even though the fit to the mandrel is not as tight as some think they have to have.
 
RPM-

I try to keep it at 250-300. I would not bother with the small screwdriver type tools since there is not enough torque. To save you some time, try the DeWalt full sized drill.
Thanks. That's ~4 to 5 revs per second. FWIW (to no one in particular) if you count seconds like a young music student learning 16th notes "One-ee-and-ah, Two-ee-and-ah, Three-ee-and-ah ..." that's 240 rpm (4 revs per second.)

I wish I could lock in a fixed speed on my DeWalt drill, and avoid having to jockey the loosey-goosey variable-speed trigger.
-
 
For those of you still struggling with keeping your full size drills at slow speeds, not to mention holding unto that heavy thing for hours...
.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004Y74AU6/?tag=accuratescom-20
.
I bought mine at local Menard's , spent $8 on a 2-year extended / hassle free return warranty.. That was 4 years ago,,
I turn everything from 6mm to 50BMG with no problem, and this little guy is a hell of a lot more ergo,
I can turn about 20 50BMG cases on a single charge, ( So I bought extra battery) and anything smaller than that , it never runs out of juice.
 
Brian-

I chose the DeWalt because it was the only one at HD, Lowes, Ace or Sears that I was able to keep that slow speed with just finger pressure on the trigger.
 
Brian-

I chose the DeWalt because it was the only one at HD, Lowes, Ace or Sears that I was able to keep that slow speed with just finger pressure on the trigger.
Sure, I can control speed with finger, but not as precisely and easily as I'd like. Plus I'm trying to keep the finger pressure static while at the same time using the same hand to advance and retract the case. Probably would feel easier if I was 25 again.
-
 
For those of you still struggling with keeping your full size drills at slow speeds, not to mention holding unto that heavy thing for hours...
.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004Y74AU6/?tag=accuratescom-20
.
I bought mine at local Menard's , spent $8 on a 2-year extended / hassle free return warranty.. That was 4 years ago,,
I turn everything from 6mm to 50BMG with no problem, and this little guy is a hell of a lot more ergo,
I can turn about 20 50BMG cases on a single charge, ( So I bought extra battery) and anything smaller than that , it never runs out of juice.
It says:

"21 clutch settings + 1 drill setting for precision and control based on the application"
Is the "1 drill setting" feature where the precise speed control comes in?

Edit: Oops, my bad. There is no trigger, it's a fixed-speed (or possibly discrete multi-speed) screwdriver of course. Sorry.

-
 
Last edited:
It says:

"21 clutch settings + 1 drill setting for precision and control based on the application"
Is the "1 drill setting" feature where the precise speed control comes in?

Edit: Oops, my bad. There is no trigger, it's a fixed-speed (or possibly discrete multi-speed) screwdriver of course. Sorry.

-
.
Your right, just a fixed speed,, " Low" is 200rpm . .. It's easier to hold the trigger down, as it kind of is your natural grip anyway .. I know I hate turning necks, ESPECIALLY on the 50BMG,, so I look to make it as comfortable as possible
 
.
Your right, just a fixed speed,, " Low" is 200rpm . .. It's easier to hold the trigger down, as it kind of is your natural grip anyway .. I know I hate turning necks, ESPECIALLY on the 50BMG,, so I look to make it as comfortable as possible
As long has cramming the trigger down produces a steady slow speed, that beats the DeWalt I use. But with battery power, speed usually drops as the battery wears down, unless it has a constant-speed circuit which means it will run 200 rpm while possible, then simply shut down and indicate "charge me!". (I doubt it, it will probably gradually slow down.)

FWIW I have a Bosch Colt laminate trimmer (small router, A/C power) with a constant speed feature - it draws more current under load to maintain a constant rpm. Not a comparison to a screwdriver, just pointing out a parallel.
-
 
Sure, I can control speed with finger, but not as precisely and easily as I'd like. Plus I'm trying to keep the finger pressure static while at the same time using the same hand to advance and retract the case. Probably would feel easier if I was 25 again.
-

Get the Hitachi D10VH drill. It has an adjustable wheel to control the speed and it works sweeet. I simply mounted mine to my bench. Set the speed I want and then control the on/off with a foot pedal switch. I got the drill (3 of them) from Amazon. Around $35 each if I remember correctly. Don't remember where I got the foot switch but, they are readily available. No more cramped up fingers trying to maintain a steady speed!
 
As long has cramming the trigger down produces a steady slow speed, that beats the DeWalt I use. But with battery power, speed usually drops as the battery wears down, unless it has a constant-speed circuit which means it will run 200 rpm while possible, then simply shut down and indicate "charge me!". (I doubt it, it will probably gradually slow down.)

FWIW I have a Bosch Colt laminate trimmer (small router, A/C power) with a constant speed feature - it draws more current under load to maintain a constant rpm. Not a comparison to a screwdriver, just pointing out a parallel.
-
.
Yea, as it wears on battery, it will start to slow down, you can hear it, but it only does it for awhile, then *blink*, it's dead, time for new battery.. My full size Makita drill, has a low speed that compares, I think it's around 350rpm, With a fresh charge on a 18volt Lithium battery, it doesn't even know it's under a load while turning. But it's too dam big to hold unto for very long. At one point, I used monster-sized worm-gear clamps to secure it to the leg of my workbench, then rigged a simple foot-pedal out of wood to pull the trigger./ Problem there is you are feeding the cutter into the case, Which is at a fixed position, I have found better results if both the driver, and the cutter "float" in your hands
 

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Forum statistics

Threads
166,307
Messages
2,216,213
Members
79,551
Latest member
PROJO GM
Back
Top