I am writing this post to share my experience with the Autodod neck turning lathe from F Class Products.
Spoiler Alert - It is excellent.
My rifle is chambered in 7 SAUM with a custom reamer built to my specifications, featuring a 0.316 neck diameter. I am using ADG Brass.
The remarkably consistent ADG brass comes right out of the box and goes into the Autodod. No fire-forming necessary. You press the start button and the cutters go to work. I am turning to 0.0135 wall thickness. About .003 is being removed from the neck wall (0.0015 each from the outside and inside, allowing for total clean up of the brass) leaving me with .005 total clearance in the chamber.
I have now turned 1,000 cases and this machine has not skipped a beat. What is most impressive is the consistency. Not only in the measurements of the brass, but in the overall process of using the machine. Plug in the machine, feed in a case, machine whacks the case out, set the case aside, repeat however many times you want, then clean up the pile of brass shavings. I usually do 200 cases at a time.
You will have shavings inside of the case after completion that need to be removed. At first I addressed these shavings after the case came out of the machine, and then turned the next case after the first case was dealt with. But I found it faster and more enjoyable to simply run them all through the machine without pausing, and set aside all those cases in a bin.
To address the shavings, I have a trash can next to me. Most of the time, you can just shake them out with a quick snap of your wrist. I have a bright LED light overhead and I can look directly into the bottom of the case to see if any shavings remain. You can also use a magnifying glass lamp if your eyes won't cooperate.
If stubborn shavings remain, the Autodod comes with a handy little hook to pull them out. I then take an oversized 30 cal nylon brush on a Sinclair Handle (or you can use any mechanized case prep center) and run the brush down the neck for a few strokes. This displaces any tiny clingers.
Then the cases go in a bin ready to be lubed, FL sized for overall case uniformity, and then tumbled to remove the lube. From there, it is trim, prime, lube the neck ID, charge, seat, blast. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. [FYI: I use a single stage press]
A word on setup: Don't be the guy who just tears the machine out of its crate and starts turning screws and removing parts to figure out how it works. I think you'll be sorry. Read the instruction manual first (I know, I know, reading is hard) and better yet, watch all of the published videos on the F-Class products YouTube channel where this machine is featured.
I think what is most important is getting a working understanding of the machine and how to make its adjustments before you actually turn a single screw on your machine. That's just my two cents. I really did not spend a lot of time on setup and wasted about 7 cases getting it dialed in. Not too bad if I do say so myself.
Is this machine the only way to turn necks? Nope! If you want to spend less money and still get amazing results, there are other high quality tools on the market. So why buy the Autodod? 4 words: FAST, CONSISTENT, STRUGGLE FREE.
Like many of you, spare time is the thing i have the least of and what I consider most valuable. I also put a huge premium on things that don't aggravate me. This is what drew me to this unit in the first place. My expectations were high with this investment. I expected it to work at what I consider a commercial level. And I can honestly say my expectations have been met. From what I can tell after 1,000 cases, this machine will easily chew through many thousands more. Thanks for reading! - Ben
Spoiler Alert - It is excellent.
My rifle is chambered in 7 SAUM with a custom reamer built to my specifications, featuring a 0.316 neck diameter. I am using ADG Brass.
The remarkably consistent ADG brass comes right out of the box and goes into the Autodod. No fire-forming necessary. You press the start button and the cutters go to work. I am turning to 0.0135 wall thickness. About .003 is being removed from the neck wall (0.0015 each from the outside and inside, allowing for total clean up of the brass) leaving me with .005 total clearance in the chamber.
I have now turned 1,000 cases and this machine has not skipped a beat. What is most impressive is the consistency. Not only in the measurements of the brass, but in the overall process of using the machine. Plug in the machine, feed in a case, machine whacks the case out, set the case aside, repeat however many times you want, then clean up the pile of brass shavings. I usually do 200 cases at a time.
You will have shavings inside of the case after completion that need to be removed. At first I addressed these shavings after the case came out of the machine, and then turned the next case after the first case was dealt with. But I found it faster and more enjoyable to simply run them all through the machine without pausing, and set aside all those cases in a bin.
To address the shavings, I have a trash can next to me. Most of the time, you can just shake them out with a quick snap of your wrist. I have a bright LED light overhead and I can look directly into the bottom of the case to see if any shavings remain. You can also use a magnifying glass lamp if your eyes won't cooperate.
If stubborn shavings remain, the Autodod comes with a handy little hook to pull them out. I then take an oversized 30 cal nylon brush on a Sinclair Handle (or you can use any mechanized case prep center) and run the brush down the neck for a few strokes. This displaces any tiny clingers.
Then the cases go in a bin ready to be lubed, FL sized for overall case uniformity, and then tumbled to remove the lube. From there, it is trim, prime, lube the neck ID, charge, seat, blast. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. [FYI: I use a single stage press]
A word on setup: Don't be the guy who just tears the machine out of its crate and starts turning screws and removing parts to figure out how it works. I think you'll be sorry. Read the instruction manual first (I know, I know, reading is hard) and better yet, watch all of the published videos on the F-Class products YouTube channel where this machine is featured.
I think what is most important is getting a working understanding of the machine and how to make its adjustments before you actually turn a single screw on your machine. That's just my two cents. I really did not spend a lot of time on setup and wasted about 7 cases getting it dialed in. Not too bad if I do say so myself.
Is this machine the only way to turn necks? Nope! If you want to spend less money and still get amazing results, there are other high quality tools on the market. So why buy the Autodod? 4 words: FAST, CONSISTENT, STRUGGLE FREE.
Like many of you, spare time is the thing i have the least of and what I consider most valuable. I also put a huge premium on things that don't aggravate me. This is what drew me to this unit in the first place. My expectations were high with this investment. I expected it to work at what I consider a commercial level. And I can honestly say my expectations have been met. From what I can tell after 1,000 cases, this machine will easily chew through many thousands more. Thanks for reading! - Ben
