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Measuring Neck Wall Thickness

danny

Silver $$ Contributor
Some time ago, one of the earlier times when components were scarce, I started to make some .22-250 brass from .308W. At some point, I am going to have to measure the case necks and turn them. I have a Forster Co-Ax Case and Cartridge Inspector, which is said to be able to measure neck wall thickness, but it uses a dial indicator. I also have a Neco unit, which may also do the same. I did not check if it does, but it also uses a dial indicator. I have seen units such as this "Brownells" (formerly Sinclair International) Case Neck Wall Thickness Micrometers.

www.brownells.com

SINCLAIR INTERNATIONAL SINCLAIR/STARRET CASE NECK MICROMETER | Brownells

The Sinclair Case Neck Micrometer is built around a Starrett micrometer head capable of measuring in .0001inch increments.This tool is designed specifically for handloaders to accurately measure case neck wall thickness. The micrometer head and an...
www.brownells.com www.brownells.com

Which is the best way to measure? I am thinking the direct reading micrometer style tools vs. any of the units I have, or any other utilizing an indicator, but I am not really sure. The simplest and cheapest would be using what I have, but I also want to do it the best way.

Danny
 
I had Lester Bruno's son-inlaw turn some 6BR necks for me at $1.00 apiece. I wanted them perfect. When I got them a friend who is a retired areospace machinest wanted to check them and said the only way to correctly get an accurate measurment within .00005 is with a ball micrometer. He said the necks were the most consistant ones he's ever checked.
 
Not trying to derail your thought, but I have had good luck and a lot less work making .22-250 from 6 and 6.5 Creedmoor brass. One pass in a standard FL die works for me. No neck turning needed with a standard chamber, only about .040 to trim off. I've made 150 in the last few months from once fired range pickup brass.

I have the #220 Starrett multi anvil micrometer for the times I do turn necks. I made the hardened .175 dia. ball stem, adjusted the thimble to read zero when closed on the ball. You can substitute a 1/16" dia. and up dowel pin.
 

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Martin52 said:
Your current tools may be fine. If you're looking for an alternative, I have used this, and still do:

Amazon.com: iGaging Reloading Micrometer Tube Ball Spherical Anvil 0-1"/0.00005" : Industrial & Scientific

Buy iGaging Reloading Micrometer Tube Ball Spherical Anvil 0-1"/0.00005": Outside Micrometers - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
www.amazon.com

Amazon say out of stock but if you're interested there are other suppliers
Click to expand...
Thanks. My problem with the tools that I have are that they use a neck pilot. The pilot may, in some cases, not touch the inside of the case neck, so in effect, using an indicator, you are just measuring the distance from the pilot OD to the case neck OD, which could be measuring some amount of gap, or at other points, the fit could be perfect, and it would work better. If I am correct on how these units "measure", then, I think that it might not be the best method.

Danny
 
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bobm said:
Not trying to derail your thought, but I have had good luck and a lot less work making .22-250 from 6 and 6.5 Creedmoor brass. One pass in a standard FL die works for me. No neck turning needed with a standard chamber, only about .040 to trim off. I've made 150 in the last few months from once fired range pickup brass.

I have a Starrett ball micrometer for the times I do turn necks.
Click to expand...
You are correct, but at that time, the brass you mention was probably no more available than .22-250 itself, and maybe even less available. I had extra .308 at the time. Sometimes you have to work with what you have, or can get, not what makes the best or simplest solution.

Danny
 
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danny said:
Some time ago, one of the earlier times when components were scarce, I started to make some .22-250 brass from .308W. At some point, I am going to have to measure the case necks and turn them. I have a Forster Co-Ax Case and Cartridge Inspector, which is said to be able to measure neck wall thickness, but it uses a dial indicator. I also have a Neco unit, which may also do the same. I did not check if it does, but it also uses a dial indicator. I have seen units such as this "Brownells" (formerly Sinclair International) Case Neck Wall Thickness Micrometers.

www.brownells.com

SINCLAIR INTERNATIONAL SINCLAIR/STARRET CASE NECK MICROMETER | Brownells

The Sinclair Case Neck Micrometer is built around a Starrett micrometer head capable of measuring in .0001inch increments.This tool is designed specifically for handloaders to accurately measure case neck wall thickness. The micrometer head and an...
www.brownells.com www.brownells.com

Which is the best way to measure? I am thinking the direct reading micrometer style tools vs. any of the units I have, or any other utilizing an indicator, but I am not really sure. The simplest and cheapest would be using what I have, but I also want to do it the best way.

Danny
Click to expand...
These tools area just find for measuring neck wall uniformity, but not for measuring "neck wall thickness". If you want a good measurement of neck wall thickness, you really need to us a micrometer, like this one:

www.midwayusa.com

Hornady Vernier Ball Micrometer 1

The Hornady Vernier Micrometer is designed to take precise measurements. Its unique design makes the Vernier Ball Micrometer ideal for accurately...
www.midwayusa.com www.midwayusa.com

Not only can you measure neck wall thickness with this, but I find I don't really need those other uniformity tools to check consistency as this can do it too.
 
The Sinclair/Brownells unit seems like the nicest unit, having a stand, but it is a non-digital unit. I can read a non-digital unit no problem and usually prefer them, but the iGaging looks like a lot of tool for the money, and it is digital, which should be a lot faster, a big plus. It just lacks a stand and is a lot cheaper. Possibly, I could buy, or even make micrometer later if I could not live without it.

Danny
 
Straightshooter1 said:
These tools area just find for measuring neck wall uniformity, but not for measuring "neck wall thickness". If you want a good measurement of neck wall thickness, you really need to us a micrometer, like this one:

www.midwayusa.com

Hornady Vernier Ball Micrometer 1

The Hornady Vernier Micrometer is designed to take precise measurements. Its unique design makes the Vernier Ball Micrometer ideal for accurately...
www.midwayusa.com www.midwayusa.com

Not only can you measure neck wall thickness with this, but I find I don't really need those other uniformity tools to check consistency as this can do it too.
Click to expand...
I think that you are correct, and I needed to hear some opinions on this. One probably does need the micrometer to measure the case directly. With the dial indicator units, you could probably zero on the pilot, put the case on, then "measure" the thickness, but it is not a direct measurement, and probably not the most accurate way to do it.

Danny
 
dhagerty40 said:
This is the ball micrometer that I use. does well for me and it did find a problem with my lapua 6br brass that i did not see without it.
https://www.amazon.com/Anytime-Tool...eywords=ball+micrometer&qid=1644113310&sr=8-4
Click to expand...
I bought a micrometer that is probably of the same make, and while it works ok, the measuring lines were very light and did not seem really substantial. Also, some of the lines were slightly off when I zeroed it. I got it set and figured out its quirks.

Danny
 
The Hornady, (post #8), which might be made by Mititoyo, is good because of the narrow spindle, giving you a better single point contact On the outside.
 
danny said:
I think that you are correct, and I needed to hear some opinions on this. One probably does need the micrometer to measure the case directly. With the dial indicator units, you could probably zero on the pilot, put the case on, then "measure" the thickness, but it is not a direct measurement, and probably not the most accurate way to do it.

Danny
Click to expand...
I use a micrometer like dhagerty40 showed in his post above and it has worked well for me, except . . . it's design doesn't allow me to get as close to the neck-shoulder junction as I would like and this Hornady one does better for that, but I make do.

Oh, and yes . . . it'd best used when you have a stand, which you'd have to buy in addition to it.
 
Straightshooter1 said:
These tools area just find for measuring neck wall uniformity, but not for measuring "neck wall thickness". If you want a good measurement of neck wall thickness, you really need to us a micrometer, like this one:

www.midwayusa.com

Hornady Vernier Ball Micrometer 1

The Hornady Vernier Micrometer is designed to take precise measurements. Its unique design makes the Vernier Ball Micrometer ideal for accurately...
www.midwayusa.com www.midwayusa.com

Not only can you measure neck wall thickness with this, but I find I don't really need those other uniformity tools to check consistency as this can do it too.
Click to expand...
Will that work on .17 cases?

Danny
 
dhagerty40 said:
.17 cal is just a Pain in the you know what! I measured the size of the ball on mine and it measures .182" which I think is the same for the hornady.

this is the only one I know is designed for measuring .17 Cal: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012725281?pid=134296
Click to expand...
Thanks for the help. I think that I am going to need one that will also work for .17. It seems like the Sinclair/Brownells also works on .17. It has a stand, for not a lot more.

Danny
 
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Once you get some brass measured with the tube micrometer, later on down the road you should also compare the diameter over the neck with the bullet seated using a standard micrometer.

That over the seated bullet diameter is smoother and less noisy and should come close to the bullet diameter plus two times the neck thickness.

The surface roughness and waviness of the cut on the brass can make the individual tube mic measurements noisy and a challenge so it is good to play with both measurement styles to see how they match.
 
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