Need recommendation for Neck Turner

[snoopy001]

I have been shooting F-Class for several years but have not tried turning the necks. I shoot Lapua .308 Win cases.

Need a recommendation for a good neck turner. I don't buy huge supply of cases at a time, 100-200 so don't need anything fast, but want accuracy.

Thanks very much for your input.

Unfortunately all those tools serve just to make spend money for nothing,if you wont seriously approach the question then go stright to Brayan Blake and his IDOD machine.
Outside turning is just for your eyes but have nothing to do with the real concept !!

 

[Papa Charlie]

Update:

I decided to go with the 21st Century Neck Turner. I spoke with Pete and I liked the idea of a lathe that he offered over the PMA. Sadly the entire lathe does not fit into the budget, at least at this very moment. But Pete seems to have thought this out very well, you can purchased different components to the lathe and that allowed me to buy the turner and the head stock that I will mount to one of my Inline Fab quick plates for now. There seems to be various options to go on the lathe configuration so will take a little time to get use to the turner and decide on the final path.

Thanks very much for the input. So nice to hear all the different views on equipment. Getting so many different inputs really is a big benefit.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Cant get any better than pete and 21st century. Did you get the expander nandrel and expander body from him too?

 

[Ranger188]

If you've never turned necks, then you will forget something.
Frustrating adding the extra time and shipping.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

If you've never turned necks, then you will forget something.
Frustrating adding the extra time and shipping.

Good thing about dealing with a guy like pete he will check to see if you have all youll need

 

[209jones]

I bought the 21st Century over a period of years, started with the neck turner, then the lathe part, then added the 3way trim stuff. I leave it set up for trimming now, just put the turning head on when necc. Pretty straightforward setup, works well. I didn't buy a motor, just use a drill.

 

[1bamashooter]

Good thing about dealing with a guy like pete he will check to see if you have all youll need

Truth! I emailed him about what I needed to get the one I bought on here a couple weeks ago ready to turn Dasher brass he answered in just a few hours with exactly what I needed!

 

[DeerHunter82]

I use the K&M Turner with the ergonomic handle adapter. I like it a lot.

 

[Papa Charlie]

Pete and I talked about what I would need. I already use an expander in my current reloading. For .308 Win Pete's expander is 0.3072", don't know the tolerance, my gauge pin for final sizing is a Minus 0.3075". So there shouldn't be more than a couple of tenths difference. I also have an expander die that uses ER25 collets, so covered there.

Pete ensured that I ordered the correct cutter with the turning tool, which is the 20Degree Carbide tool. We also discussed the case holder. His uses a O-Ring that allows for flex and there is a similar flex mount on the head stock or what he calls the "Neck Turning Tool Swivel Bracket". I purchased the bracket as I would only need the base and tail stock if I wanted to complete the lathe down the road. I may be in a better position then to go with the motor driven setup. But until then will step into this slowly.

One thing I forgot to ask Pete about was what lubricants he would recommend on the turning arbor and if any lubricant is used on the case neck to improve the cut.

Any suggestions?

 

[Petros284]

Pete and I talked about what I would need. I already use an expander in my current reloading. For .308 Win Pete's expander is 0.3072", don't know the tolerance, my gauge pin for final sizing is a Minus 0.3075". So there shouldn't be more than a couple of tenths difference. I also have an expander die that uses ER25 collets, so covered there.

Pete ensured that I ordered the correct cutter with the turning tool, which is the 20Degree Carbide tool. We also discussed the case holder. His uses a O-Ring that allows for flex and there is a similar flex mount on the head stock or what he calls the "Neck Turning Tool Swivel Bracket". I purchased the bracket as I would only need the base and tail stock if I wanted to complete the lathe down the road. I may be in a better position then to go with the motor driven setup. But until then will step into this slowly.

One thing I forgot to ask Pete about was what lubricants he would recommend on the turning arbor and if any lubricant is used on the case neck to improve the cut.

Any suggestions?

I have experimented with quite a few lubricants over the years and always come back to the Shooters Choice FP-10 oil. Works great! Ballistol oil works well too if you can handle the stink of it. Make sure to apply plenty of oil and keep the arbor and cutter clean.

Thanks

Pete

 

[Papa Charlie]

I have experimented with quite a few lubricants over the years and always come back to the Shooters Choice FP-10 oil. Works great! Ballistol oil works well too if you can handle the stink of it. Make sure to apply plenty of oil and keep the arbor and cutter clean.

Thanks

Pete

Thanks Pete,
I found some of the FP-10 locally so will pickup some.
Looking forward to setting this up and using it.

I have to do load development, new Varget powder lot number and Berger Jugg lot number. How much effect will turning the neck have on the overall load development. Meaning if I do development before turning will the turning require additional load adjustments?
Seems like it would have some affect.

 

[Petros284]

Thanks Pete,
I found some of the FP-10 locally so will pickup some.
Looking forward to setting this up and using it.

I have to do load development, new Varget powder lot number and Berger Jugg lot number. How much effect will turning the neck have on the overall load development. Meaning if I do development before turning will the turning require additional load adjustments?
Seems like it would have some affect.

I’ve always done my lead development after turning necks. I feel that all of the details and case prep steps should be done before development. I’ve never done any development before turning so I am not too sure how it will affect the final outcome after the necks are turned. My guess is the load may need tweaking a few tenths either way from the original load. It will be interesting to see what happens. Maybe someone else on here has experienced this.

 

[Papa Charlie]

I think your right, the metal tension, despite the interference fit of the neck to bullet being the same, will be less with thinner metal, how much I don't know. I need to get the load development done in time for my next match (7/9). So will probably start with the rough development and hope that the turner will be here in time for me to do the fine load adjustments.
Last time I had to switch powder lots of Varget, I ended up with almost 2 grains difference. Hopefully not this time, but will start from scratch to ensure that I don't over charge, as I run a pretty hot load.
Thanks,
Patrick

 

[1bamashooter]

Pete and I talked about what I would need. I already use an expander in my current reloading. For .308 Win Pete's expander is 0.3072", don't know the tolerance, my gauge pin for final sizing is a Minus 0.3075". So there shouldn't be more than a couple of tenths difference. I also have an expander die that uses ER25 collets, so covered there.

Pete ensured that I ordered the correct cutter with the turning tool, which is the 20Degree Carbide tool. We also discussed the case holder. His uses a O-Ring that allows for flex and there is a similar flex mount on the head stock or what he calls the "Neck Turning Tool Swivel Bracket". I purchased the bracket as I would only need the base and tail stock if I wanted to complete the lathe down the road. I may be in a better position then to go with the motor driven setup. But until then will step into this slowly.

One thing I forgot to ask Pete about was what lubricants he would recommend on the turning arbor and if any lubricant is used on the case neck to improve the cut.

Any suggestions?

If I do use lube it's a smear of sizing wax

 

[Papa Charlie]

Received my 21st Century Neck Turning tool. Very impressed by the quality of this tool. Even more impressed by Pete's Customer Support, even when I was a dumb *ss.

I would highly recommend 21st Century to anyone seeking quality product and service. They have a customer for life in me.

Thanks very much to Pete for his support and knowledge.

 

[Papa Charlie]

Update:

When I first ordered the 21st Century Neck Turning tool, I ordered the tool and the head stock support. I was planning on running a drill and thought it would be fine. After turning the first 100 cases I ordered the tail stock and one of Pete's shell holders. I didn't order the base to make a full lathe as I have been learning Fusion 360 and a friend of mine has a Tormach that with careful supervision is allowing me to test some of my designs. So I decided to make my own base.

When talking with Pete, he indicated that he had a new case holder that was more rigid than the current model. I had ordered the Flexible model and Pete offered to send me one of his new Rigid models to try out. I must admit, both are built to the standards one would expect from 21st Century. I did 70 of the next batch of cases with the Rigid case holder and was amazed at the control and quality of finish that I got.

On the next 5 units, I switched to the Flex case holder and must admit, I didn't care for the flex and found it more effort to get the case on the mandrel than with the Rigid case holder. I pulled the Neck Turning tool off of the head stock and holding the Neck Turner in my hand used the Flex case holder on the last 25 cases and found that in this manner, the Flex was much better at allowance of any misalignment.

So my conclusion, the Rigid Case Holder is, IMHO, the only way to go with the lathe configuration. There is more than sufficient flex in the Neck Turner mount to compensate in the lathe config. If you are going to hold the Neck Turner in your hand and drive the case with a drill, then the Flex Case Holder is the right approach.

I want to thank Pete for all his advice, letting me try his new Rigid Case Holder, which will be available as of 9/1/2022 if my memory serves me correctly. I am very happy with my choice of supplier.

P.S. I went back and did the last 30 cases again on the lathe. So much nicer finish.

Here is a image of one of the cases, sorry my phone wouldn't focus directly on the case:



Here is a video I took of one of the cases being turned. I was running the drill in my right hand and holding onto the phone in my left. Sorry for the movement. I ended up turning the drill away from me and letting it rest on the bench. Then I could apply a little force in or out and the vibration of the drill helped me move it in a fairly controlled fashion.

 

[dannyjbiggs]

Update:

When I first ordered the 21st Century Neck Turning tool, I ordered the tool and the head stock support. I was planning on running a drill and thought it would be fine. After turning the first 100 cases I ordered the tail stock and one of Pete's shell holders. I didn't order the base to make a full lathe as I have been learning Fusion 360 and a friend of mine has a Tormach that with careful supervision is allowing me to test some of my designs. So I decided to make my own base.

When talking with Pete, he indicated that he had a new case holder that was more rigid than the current model. I had ordered the Flexible model and Pete offered to send me one of his new Rigid models to try out. I must admit, both are built to the standards one would expect from 21st Century. I did 70 of the next batch of cases with the Rigid case holder and was amazed at the control and quality of finish that I got.

On the next 5 units, I switched to the Flex case holder and must admit, I didn't care for the flex and found it more effort to get the case on the mandrel than with the Rigid case holder. I pulled the Neck Turning tool off of the head stock and holding the Neck Turner in my hand used the Flex case holder on the last 25 cases and found that in this manner, the Flex was much better at allowance of any misalignment.

So my conclusion, the Rigid Case Holder is, IMHO, the only way to go with the lathe configuration. There is more than sufficient flex in the Neck Turner mount to compensate in the lathe config. If you are going to hold the Neck Turner in your hand and drive the case with a drill, then the Flex Case Holder is the right approach.

I want to thank Pete for all his advice, letting me try his new Rigid Case Holder, which will be available as of 9/1/2022 if my memory serves me correctly. I am very happy with my choice of supplier.

P.S. I went back and did the last 30 cases again on the lathe. So much nicer finish.

Here is a image of one of the cases, sorry my phone wouldn't focus directly on the case:

View attachment 1364209

Here is a video I took of one of the cases being turned. I was running the drill in my right hand and holding onto the phone in my left. Sorry for the movement. I ended up turning the drill away from me and letting it rest on the bench. Then I could apply a little force in or out and the vibration of the drill helped me move it in a fairly controlled fashion.

Might take a look at the blog a little further down titled "Neck Turning on a Lathe" to see how to turn up into the case shoulder a mite.

 

[BoydAllen]

I know that just abut all competition shooters turn their necks, but some years back Lou Murdica compared the accuracy of turned and unturned necks (using chambers dimensioned properly for each) using a very accurate 6PPC rifle, in his tunnel. He reported that the difference was very slight, to the point where if one was shooting outdoors that you might not be able to see it. More recently Bart Sauter has been competing with unturned necks. Notably his 600 yard HG record was shot with unturned necks, and a suitable chamber. IMO you may be just as well off to simply oversize your necks a bit and expand up with a suitably sized mandrel.