Ledd Slinger
Silver $$ Contributor
I know a lot of people often dislike the tedious task of turning case necks by hand so I thought I'd throw a thread together with pictures showing how I turn the majority of my brass using a RCBS Trimpro. It's a very fast and fairly inexpensive method for turning case necks. Although I do have a 21st Century neck turning tool (just the handheld tool without the lathe) and really like it, I often find myself using the RCBS Trimpro because it is so much faster, easy to set up, and nearly as accurate for keeping uniform neck wall thickness. Only downside is the RCBS cannot turn down onto the shoulder as well as some of the more expensive hand held turners because RCBS does not offer various shoulder angled cutters.
I start by removing the Trimpro handle so I can chuck it up in my 1/2" Dewalt 20V cordless drill. Then set up a case to achieve the neck wall thickness and turning depth on the neck that I desire. After that it's off to the races. I check every 3rd or 4th case for neck wall thickness uniformity using a Redding Concentricity gauge. It's always a waste of time though because they are always exactly the same.
Here's a picture of my setup. One RCBS Trimpro is used specifically for trimming cases (which I also use my drill), the other for neck turning using the RCBS neck turning adapter.
Another angle of my setup. Be sure to keep the Trimpro cutter shaft and turning arbor lubricated. For the cutter shaft I use full synthetic automotive motor oil. Lubricate once per 100 cases or as needed. For the turning arbor I use PB Blaster. One small shot on the arbor every second or third case. If you do not lubricate the arbor, the high speed of the drill will create a buildup of brass from the inside of the case neck on the arbor that will cause a lot of issues with binding or neck wall thickness that are way out of spec.
On the left is a neck turned 6XC case. On the right is an unturned case.
A close up of the two 6XC cases turned and unturned. As you can see, the RCBS gives you very clean necks with almost undetectable cut marks. I usually make 3 full back and forth passes with the drill at about half speed. You can go pretty fast with drill RPM and it really makes no difference. I like to go a little slower to make sure my feed rate is steady and gets every spot on the neck.
Here is a picture of the neck wall thickness LOW level reading in my Redding Concentricity gauge. Reading is just below .014".
Next is a picture of the HIGH reading of neck wall thickness. Reading is just above .015".
So if we figure a spread of .0015", that is only a variance of +/- .00075". Very acceptable for this firearm which will serve as a hunting/varmint rifle. These readings are also repeatable from the base of the neck to the case mouth. Extremely uniform thicknesses throughout the entire length of the neck. Pretty good for a speed turning method that won't break the bank. Hope this helps some of you out and makes your task of neck turning a little less dreadful if you decide to try my method.
PS: Don't forget to tumble or sonic clean your cases when done so that the arbor lubricant does not contaminate powder charges.
I start by removing the Trimpro handle so I can chuck it up in my 1/2" Dewalt 20V cordless drill. Then set up a case to achieve the neck wall thickness and turning depth on the neck that I desire. After that it's off to the races. I check every 3rd or 4th case for neck wall thickness uniformity using a Redding Concentricity gauge. It's always a waste of time though because they are always exactly the same.
Here's a picture of my setup. One RCBS Trimpro is used specifically for trimming cases (which I also use my drill), the other for neck turning using the RCBS neck turning adapter.
Another angle of my setup. Be sure to keep the Trimpro cutter shaft and turning arbor lubricated. For the cutter shaft I use full synthetic automotive motor oil. Lubricate once per 100 cases or as needed. For the turning arbor I use PB Blaster. One small shot on the arbor every second or third case. If you do not lubricate the arbor, the high speed of the drill will create a buildup of brass from the inside of the case neck on the arbor that will cause a lot of issues with binding or neck wall thickness that are way out of spec.
On the left is a neck turned 6XC case. On the right is an unturned case.
A close up of the two 6XC cases turned and unturned. As you can see, the RCBS gives you very clean necks with almost undetectable cut marks. I usually make 3 full back and forth passes with the drill at about half speed. You can go pretty fast with drill RPM and it really makes no difference. I like to go a little slower to make sure my feed rate is steady and gets every spot on the neck.
Here is a picture of the neck wall thickness LOW level reading in my Redding Concentricity gauge. Reading is just below .014".
Next is a picture of the HIGH reading of neck wall thickness. Reading is just above .015".
So if we figure a spread of .0015", that is only a variance of +/- .00075". Very acceptable for this firearm which will serve as a hunting/varmint rifle. These readings are also repeatable from the base of the neck to the case mouth. Extremely uniform thicknesses throughout the entire length of the neck. Pretty good for a speed turning method that won't break the bank. Hope this helps some of you out and makes your task of neck turning a little less dreadful if you decide to try my method.
PS: Don't forget to tumble or sonic clean your cases when done so that the arbor lubricant does not contaminate powder charges.
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