21st Century Neck Turning Lathe v RCBS Lathe

[Ccrider]

I wasted two and one half hours of my life Thursday night trying to do my first neck turning with a RCBS self guiding lathe:



By 11:30 I was wore out, pissed off and generally dejected. I had turned one neck and screwed up one piece of brass. I was done.

Friday I ordered a 21 Century Lathe. It was promptly shipped. Got it Monday. Opened it last night and I was trimming necks in 10 freakin minutes:


Buy once cry once. Hopefully this will help someone Save some of their valuable time and patience. By the 21st Century out of the gate.

 

[DngBat7]

I wastes two and one half hours of my life Thursday night trying to do my first neck turning with a RCBS self guiding lathe:

View attachment 1071943

By 11:30 I was wore out, pissed off and generally dejected. I had turned one neck and screwed up one piece of brass. I was done.

Friday I ordered a 21 Century Lathe. It was promptly shipped. Got it Monday. Opened it last night and I was trimming necks in 10 freakin minutes:
View attachment 1071955

Buy once cry once. Hopefully this will help someone Save some of their valuable time and patience. By the 21st Century out of the gate.

Got my 21 century yesterday in the mail, love it. No regrets.

 

[DngBat7]

I wastes two and one half hours of my life Thursday night trying to do my first neck turning with a RCBS self guiding lathe:

View attachment 1071943

By 11:30 I was wore out, pissed off and generally dejected. I had turned one neck and screwed up one piece of brass. I was done.

Friday I ordered a 21 Century Lathe. It was promptly shipped. Got it Monday. Opened it last night and I was trimming necks in 10 freakin minutes:
View attachment 1071955

Buy once cry once. Hopefully this will help someone Save some of their valuable time and patience. By the 21st Century out of the gate.

If there was thing I would change and one thing only, I like the pma depth adjustment knob. It’s much more definitive and much easier to read.

 

[Ccrider]

So much better than the RCBS I have 0 complaints.

 

[Fotheringill]

BTW-

A Black and Decker (or similar) power screwdriver may give you more consistent low power turns than one of those fancy drills without galling or other problems.

Either way, it is a good way to turn.

 

[foxguy]

If there was thing I would change and one thing only, I like the pma depth adjustment knob. It’s much more definitive and much easier to read.

Dan do you have both the PMA and 21st Century neck turners. How did you like the PMA over all?

 

[DngBat7]

Dan do you have both the PMA and 21st Century neck turners. How did you like the PMA over all?

I just have the 21st century. But I have heard a lot on here that the pma is also very very nice and well made. I like how the arbor moves. Not the blade. Over all, I prefer the “lathe” style setup. Easier on the hands. But the pma has a nice micrometer type adjustment knob

 

[1K6BRA]

I wasted two and one half hours of my life Thursday night trying to do my first neck turning with a RCBS self guiding lathe:

View attachment 1071943

By 11:30 I was wore out, pissed off and generally dejected. I had turned one neck and screwed up one piece of brass. I was done.

Friday I ordered a 21 Century Lathe. It was promptly shipped. Got it Monday. Opened it last night and I was trimming necks in 10 freakin minutes:
View attachment 1071955

Buy once cry once. Hopefully this will help someone Save some of their valuable time and patience. By the 21st Century out of the gate.

 

[jobhopper66]

That certainly is good advice that will never become obsolete.

 

[Campbell]

May I offer my observation based on my experiences?

I have a DeWalt drill (variable speed). The run out is pants, so I will no longer use it during any case preparation processes.

I use the K+M neck turning lathe and I now use it by hand as it produces superb consistency. Prior to this I used it with the DeWalt and the result was no where near as consistent.

IMO, using any powered tool to neck turn will result in an inferior consistency due to heat buid up.

 

[RedfootRanch]

I run my K&M setup with a Ryobi screwdriver, which I run on the slow speed (200 rpm), and it produces great results without heating up.

 

[Campbell]

I run my K&M setup with a Ryobi screwdriver, which I run on the slow speed (200 rpm), and it produces great results without heating up.

OK! Do you have ANY run-out on the chuck?

I will have a ganders.

Many thanks

Cam

 

[dolek]

Cordless drills are just fine for me .They will surely have a ton of runout if not properly braced . A simple V-block will line things up nicely. I clamp it in and use a strap on the drill trigger to adjust speed. Leaves both hands free, and things are locked up tight .Many ways to skin a cat.

 

[michaeljp65]

To negate the heat build up, i keep a ice pack next to me and when i turn one case i put the turner on the ice pack to cool down before i turn the next piece. I dont use the lathe anymore, both 21st century and PMA i hand hold and use a milwaukee driver to turn the case.

 

[RedfootRanch]

OK! Do you have ANY run-out on the chuck?

I will have a ganders.

Many thanks

Cam

With devices held in individual hands, and not 'captured', chuck run out has no impact on the intended results.

 

[dolek]

With devices held in individual hands, and not 'captured', chuck run out has no impact on the intended results.

In layman's terms is that ...wobbly in is wobbly out ?

 

[Mozella]

I really like my 21st Century lathe. The price, including the cutter head, is just enough to make you choke, but you soon get over the pain because the unit is actually enjoyable to use. It makes a rather tedious job quite easy.

I do have one tip though. If you put a battery in that drill, things will go much faster.

 

[Ccrider]

Thanks for the tip Mozella. I think that fixed it.

Campbell, I have a black and decker power drill on the way. What type of crank do you use. I will get one and measure the difference.

I did not measure runout on the two test cases that I turned. They hit about the same on the target at 100 yds-in the ones.

 

[Ccrider]

I turned 10 more cases using the pictured Dewalt drill. It is clunky and difficult to control the speed.

Despite this, the highest runout I had was 15 thousandths. No heat problem and evidently, the thing wobbles very concentricly. You wouldn’t think so looking at it.

 

[RedfootRanch]

I turned 10 more cases using the pictured Dewalt drill. It is clunky and difficult to control the speed.

This is the reason that I won't use a variable speed device in attempt to reduce labor intensity for this project. The Ryobi screwdrivers I use have a 2-speed gearbox (200/600 RPM) and I run on the low speed without heat buildup. I am fixing to turn necks in the very near future for a couple new chambers and will look close at the runout when I do.