First neck turning attempt.

[AJC]

So I picked up a toy, the 21st century neck turning tool. I have never seen a turned case in person or know personally anyone who does. My purpose was only to skim cut/uniform the necks as I dont have a chamber that requires a size. I measured several pieces to get a good idea of what I was dealing with. Thickness ran .0145 to .01675. This is with a manual mic so I am estimating a bit but I can see .0005 being exactly between two Mark's and used enough measurement tools to estimate .00025. Anywase my plan so far is to cut cases to .015 or as close as I can get for a good cleanup pass.

1. Is .015 a good dimension to try and hit for 308 cases?

2. Is imperial sizing wax a decent lube to put on the turning mandrel.

3. Any other comments that are productive also welcime.

 

[DocBII]

AJC,

You may wish to anneal first, especially if the brass has been fired.

Q1. It's a matter of preference and function of the rifle/brass combination. 80% cleanup is considered good enough for all but the longest or precise functions.

Q2. Absolutely.

Q3. Be careful about how much you cut into the shoulder, and get a good neck expander.
Lots of good articles on this site, search is your friend.

HTH,
DocBII

 

[farmerjohn]

Turned 200 cases myself today while it was raining, imperial wax applied with a qtip to the turning mandrel lightly ever third case. Been working for a long time....

 

[Sixgun]

Oil is better than wax. Lubes the mandrel and the cutter and I think it's easier to clear the shavings away. Just my thought.

 

[Kurt Blasser]

Oil is better than wax. Lubes the mandrel and the cutter and I think it's easier to clear the shavings away. Just my thought.

Would Hobo Oil work!?

 

[Sixgun]

Would Hobo Oil work!?

Just as long as its oil...think of cutting fluid for a pipe threading machine. I use oil from Wilson Combat. It's just about the same as Lucas Oil from the auto part store but a little thinner...its very "stringy".

 

[Fotheringill]

Little tip I picked up here:

Go to an auto parts store and pick up a feeler gauge. Set your thickness between the blade and the mandrel.

 

[muleman69]

AJC,

You may wish to anneal first, especially if the brass has been fired.

Q1. It's a matter of preference and function of the rifle/brass combination. 80% cleanup is considered good enough for all but the longest or precise functions.

Q2. Absolutely.

Q3. Be careful about how much you cut into the shoulder, and get a good neck expander.
Lots of good articles on this site, search is your friend.

HTH,
DocBII

How much do you cut into shoulder area?

 

[AJC]

Little tip I picked up here:

Go to an auto parts store and pick up a feeler gauge. Set your thickness between the blade and the mandrel.

My curiosity is that depending on the grab or hardness does this really give you a good final dimension or just a close start?

 

[Mikemci]

How much do you cut into shoulder area?

You just kiss the shoulder.

 

[BenPerfected]

My curiosity is that depending on the grab or hardness does this really give you a good final dimension or just a close start?

Sneak up on your goal. It is not easy to get a consistent .0001 neck thickness brass variance. How close to perfect neck thickness is related to how much you are willing to spend. The real question is, does perfect neck thickness show on paper?
Ben

 

[AJC]

Sneak up on your goal. It is not easy to get a consistent .0001 neck thickness brass variance. How close to perfect neck thickness is related to how much you are willing to spend. The real question is, does perfect neck thickness show on paper?
Ben

My question was related mostly to the small amount of lathe work I have done and what a huge mess i made while trying to turn brass. My dad was teaching me a lesson and he got a big giggle out of the whole thing. I believe the annealing comment was related to getting a consistent material hardness for a better case to case consistency while turning. I am curious if the softer case turns better or if a quality finish is harder to get when soft. My plan is to try for a speed around 500 rpm based on previous posts. I dont have my lathe here so I was planning to use my drill press.

 

[DocBII]

How much do you cut into shoulder area?

Muleman69,

10 to 15 thousandths, depending on the thickness of the brass. For example, LC would be 15, Lapua would be around 12, Remington or Winchester 10.

HTH,
DocBII

 

[DocBII]

My question was related mostly to the small amount of lathe work I have done and what a huge mess i made while trying to turn brass. My dad was teaching me a lesson and he got a big giggle out of the whole thing. I believe the annealing comment was related to getting a consistent material hardness for a better case to case consistency while turning. I am curious if the softer case turns better or if a quality finish is harder to get when soft. My plan is to try for a speed around 500 rpm based on previous posts. I dont have my lathe here so I was planning to use my drill press.

AJC,

I turn by hand, so I cannot comment on the speed. I get better results with softer rather than harder brass. Anneal before sizing and expanding.

HTH,
DocBII

 

[Fotheringill]

As above, just kiss. If you wind up with a pimple or dent, get a new feeler gauge and redo. As to accuracy, I have measured afterwards and the cut is dead on.

 

[geraldgee]

Lots of good advice above. Here’s a link to an article of neck turning basics. Good luck with it.

Gerald

https://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/neck-turning-basics/