Case neck thickness variance

[amlevin]

P.S. Also - I should turn my brass when new, not once fired, right? And if I use new brass, how do I get the neck over the mandrel of my Nielson neck turner? New brass won't fit over the mandrel, and full-length sized brass won't fit, either (I have Redding conventional FL and neck-sizing dies, not mandrel / bushing type.)

I wouldn't turn new brass until it's been fired once. That first firing can "move" a lot of metal in a new case and some of it's going to end up in the neck area.

If your sized brass won't fit the neck turning tool mandrel then get a mandrel type expander die that is designed to allow the turning tool mandrel to fit.

I find that my Forster Sizing die gives me a properly sized neck to fit my Forster neck turning tool's mandrel. For others it may be necessary to have the neck portion of the sizing die honed out or switch to a bushing type die for sizing.

 

[Jay Christopherson]

P.S. Also - I should turn my brass when new, not once fired, right? And if I use new brass, how do I get the neck over the mandrel of my Nielson neck turner? New brass won't fit over the mandrel, and full-length sized brass won't fit, either (I have Redding conventional FL and neck-sizing dies, not mandrel / bushing type.)

I wouldn't turn new brass until it's been fired once. That first firing can "move" a lot of metal in a new case and some of it's going to end up in the neck area.

Depending on your situation, you might not have a choice. If you have an extremely tight neck chamber for example.

 

[mikecr]

The very purpose of turning is to manage the end result. You're suppose to have a plan.
The best time to do this is right up front, while dimensions fall within the process. Otherwise you have to figure out how to get back to those dimensions -for the process.
Next best thing to do is follow the process. Expand new necks exactly as called for with your turning system.

 

[amlevin]

P.S. Also - I should turn my brass when new, not once fired, right? And if I use new brass, how do I get the neck over the mandrel of my Nielson neck turner? New brass won't fit over the mandrel, and full-length sized brass won't fit, either (I have Redding conventional FL and neck-sizing dies, not mandrel / bushing type.)

I wouldn't turn new brass until it's been fired once. That first firing can "move" a lot of metal in a new case and some of it's going to end up in the neck area.

Depending on your situation, you might not have a choice. If you have an extremely tight neck chamber for example.

Do you turn again after firing the first time to deal with any case growth into the neck?

 

[Jay Christopherson]

P.S. Also - I should turn my brass when new, not once fired, right? And if I use new brass, how do I get the neck over the mandrel of my Nielson neck turner? New brass won't fit over the mandrel, and full-length sized brass won't fit, either (I have Redding conventional FL and neck-sizing dies, not mandrel / bushing type.)

I wouldn't turn new brass until it's been fired once. That first firing can "move" a lot of metal in a new case and some of it's going to end up in the neck area.

Depending on your situation, you might not have a choice. If you have an extremely tight neck chamber for example.

Do you turn again after firing the first time to deal with any case growth into the neck?

No, there's no need if you have properly turned your necks - for example, on a tight neck dasher, if you turn the neck down far enough on new brass (to match the length of the neck on a Dasher plus a bit into the shoulder), the turned portion will end up just into the shoulder, so there's no "case growth". On a 7MM, made out of necked up 6.5x284, the neck length doesn't change and you only need to turn into the shoulder just enough to prevent the formation of a donut.

 

[mikecr]

I agree with Jay.
This is part of the planning I'm talking about.