Best lubricant for neck turning

[jimcasey01]

For what it is worth, a quick dip in acetone will remove most products used for neck turning. Obviously you need to do it outside and wear gloves as the stuff is pretty hazardous.

 

[lurcher]

The PMA neckturning lube seems to work very well

 

[amamnn]

Imperial sizing wax (or Hornady Unique though it does not clean up as easily) on the pilot/interior neck and any light oil on the exterior. I don't find that I need any super duper professional grade cutting oil; I'm just shaving a little bit of brass....................BTW--folks might be interested in this--which I found by accident when googling cutting oil.......................................
"Most metalworking and machining processes can benefit from the use of cutting fluid, depending on workpiece material. Common exceptions to this are machining cast iron and brass, which are machined dry."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutting_fluid


I alaways thought the reason for oiling the outside of the neck was to stop the chips from flying all over...............................

 

[wolley]

Nothing works better than a drop of plain old motor oil on the mandrel about every 3rd case

 

[4xforfun]

DRY... I set my cutting tool in a bowl of ice water between each piece of brass to keep it cool. I have tried all kinds of lubes. none of them made a lick of difference, and the cleanup was a HUGE hassle!!!!

Think about it...you have a VERY hard piece of tool grade steel cutting butter soft brass.....the cutter will last FOREVER!!!

Tod

 

[kev77]

Well STP might be the best yet for what I'm doing. I'm not just skimming, I'm removing 2 thou per side in one pass!! so heavy lube is a must.

 

[BoydAllen]

FYI, I have seen neck turner cutters dulled by use. It can be difficult to appraise just how sharp you cutter is. One way to evaluate this is to measure the length of your cases before and after turning. A dull cutter will elongate them quite a bit more.

Also, particularly in the case of mandrels made from something other than carbide, I have seen brass transfer from a turned case neck to the mandrel which altered the thickness of turned necks.

Additionally, if one is doing a substantial amount of necking up, as we do when expanding .220 Russian to 6mm to make 6PPC brass, the amount of neck runout that is created in the process is directly related to the amount of friction that the mandrel creates in the case neck as it is being expanded. On that subject, with proper technique and optimal lubrication, the best expanding up mandrel that I have used is one that is made by PMA tool, it has a very long taper, a good finish, and is made from carbide. On the technique angle, if I raise the case on the mandrel until I feel the resistance build to a given point, that is below the level that will start to cause the shoulder to yield a little (asymmetrically, cocking the neck) and then back it off, a little, taking it out of contact with the mandrel, and then repeat several times until I have expanded the neck, with this mandrel, I get very straight necks.

 

[escopeta]

I use my lathe to spin my RCBS cutter with a mandril I made and use Tap Magic as the fluid. Works great.

 

[BenPerfected]

Has anyone rigged a lube system where the cutting oil is constantly fed on the neck?
Ben

 

[LHSmith]

Has anyone rigged a lube system where the cutting oil is constantly fed on the neck?
Ben

You guy's are starting to go off the deep end. The Machinery's Handbook states that when cutting brass no cutting fluid is needed....nada....not a drop. Buy a carbide mandrel and use a premium light synthetic oil on the mandrel only for absolute best results. See Daily Bulletin on carbide mandrels from earlier this week. Using Carbide mandrels will not generate the heat that causes inconsistent neck thicknesses.

 

[Erud]

I use hornady One Shot spray lube for this and many other reloading tasks.

 

[ericskennard]

No, no, no. Try Royal case lube from SharpshootR Supply, the folks that make wipe out. This is made from bees wax. It works fantastically for neck turning lube and is super easy to wipe off.

 

[Ackman]

What works for me is Lee Lube, water soluble. Comes in a squeeze tube. About an inch goes into a plastic Speer bullet box along with a little water. Microwave for 10 or 15 seconds and check. Adjust the consistency to where it's about like buttermilk or thick cream. The back end of a long neckturner mandrel goes into an electric drill. About every 3rd or 4th case, the mandrel gets a q-tip swipe of lube. Some stays on the mandrel, some gets onto the cutter. All it really takes is a very small bit of lube on both to do the job.

Also lube cases for sizing with this stuff. And bullets too.

 

[AckleymanII]

I use the Lee Lube that comes in the tooth paste tube. It reduced friction so well, I also used it to lube bullet jackets for the bullet making process...now that is a tough application! Not much of a clean up on this stuff, wipe off the outside, forget the inside, water soluable.

 

[22BRGUY]

I use the Lee Lube that comes in the tooth paste tube. It reduced friction so well, I also used it to lube bullet jackets for the bullet making process...now that is a tough application! Not much of a clean up on this stuff, wipe off the outside, forget the inside, water soluable.

Also will not contaminate powder when it dries

 

[searcher]

I used to use the "thicker" turning lubes and had also tried the Sinclair stuff. I get FAR better results dipping the case neck into a small container of Kroil and operate at slower speed. Then I swish the cases around in some paint thinner - then into a sonic cleaner with Hornady case cleaner to remove all traces of oil/solvent.

 

[lightman]

I have not really used anything that did not work. Mostly I have used either Shooters Choice FP-10 or Tap Magic. A can of either will last a long time.

 

[Juma]

I use Castrol 50 wt motorcycle oil - I turn necks on a steel mandrel at 1,440 rpm and they do not heat up and the cuts are glass smooth.

Superb tip. So right about how they cut like glass.

 

[Joe R]

I use petroleum jelly. A 13 oz jar from Walmart for $1.96 will last you years. Here's a video of me using it to turn necks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8326uVudvY

 

[JHardy]

50/50 mix of STP and Mobil 1. Makes for a nice float and a very smooth cut. No brass transfer to the mandrel and little heat build up while also protecting the blade. I bought a small antique oil can decades ago with a 4" flex steel tube, tapered brass spout and a trigger to control the application. Works absolutely great for consistent volume of any amount of application I need.

Jim Hardy