My neck turning setup

[dreever]

Neck turning in general, and what to buy in particular is a mystery to some so I thought I'd write this just to mention what works for me. What works? Do you need a $375 case lathe? What do I buy? I hear these questions all the time so I thought I'd tell you what I use.
If your new perhaps this will clear up some of the mystery. If you use something else pass the info along.

I use a Sinclair NT-3000 neck turner with the following modifications. I've added a Ron Hoehn carbide turning mandrel which measures .2420, so you can't use the Sinclair expander. I bought a .25 caliber expander from Sinclair and had the local machine shop turn it down to as close to .2430 as they could get. I then chucked it in a drill and polished it down some more using first ring lapping compound, and then Flitz polish to a diameter of .24255.,Mitoyo digital Mic)Go easy, it dosen't take long. Works slicker than slick, can't say enough about carbide.

To power the chore I thought about case lathes, but sticker shock got me so I bought a rechargeable screwdriver at Wal Mart for $14.59 turns the Sinclair power adapter at 180 rpm. I bought two thinking the batteries would wear down quick. Not so, so save your money and only buy one. For lube the synthetic oil/STP mix works great, but clean-ups sort of a chore. Imperial die wax works well and cleans up with boiling water. I've heard that one or two drops of Ronson lighter fluid works well with no clean-up so I'm going to give that a try.

Yep, it would be nice to have a Pumpkin or Bruno case lathe, a Pumpkin neck turner, and all the other bells and whistles, but this works well enough to keep me happy. Just thought I'd pass it along.

Perhaps this thread will help shed some light for the new to neck turning guys.

 

[Caduceus]

Thanks, Danny,

Some good tips there. I too am a long time user of the Sinclair NT-3000 tool and find it to be a good piece of kit. However, since I neck turn for multiple calibres, it is a bit of a PITA to set up each time, even with their adjustment tool which I have.

Recently, I splurged on two of Jerry Stiller's neck turning tools. One in 6mm and one in 6.5mm. I haven't used a Pumpkin before but from all reports, these are pretty much identical in operation and half the price. I looked at it as buying two Stiller's for the price of one Pumpkin and now that I have a total of three tools, I should never have to change the settings again. I'll still use the NT-3000 for my 22cal neck turning.

If I could only have one - I'd choose the Stiller over the Sinclair. Fine adjustment is much easier.

One final note is that the 6.5mm turner is for a 6.5/284. If you want to get right down to the bottom of the neck with it,as you should), you really need to swap out the cutter for one with a 40deg bevel. The OEM supplied cutter has a 30deg bevel and since the 284 case has a 35deg shoulder, the cutter will kiss the shoulder before it reaches the bottom of the neck. I had a spare Sinclair 40 deg cutter on hand and it fit perfectly into the Stiller tool so the problem was easy to solve.

 

[dreever]

Hi Greg,

One thing I like about the NT-3000 is that you can see whats going on. Do you find with the Stiller that due to it's design it's hard to see whats happening, especially with the cut into the shoulder?
I understand the Stiller uses a Sinclair type of mandrel. Can you swap it out for a carbide Hoehn? I'm really sold on the carbide, heats basically nill.

I'm still looking for a satisfactory lube that will completely disappear in a water bath without having to resort to naphtha, gasoline, or other nasty chemicals. Since I have asthma I try to stay away from anything that might aggravate the condition.

Danny

 

[Caduceus]

Danny, I agree that the open design of the NT-3000 does give a better view of what is going on. It's a little harder to see what's happening inside the Stiller but really, it isn't too bad.

The cutter is the same as the Sinclair model but the Mandrel is a totally different design. This website has a good photo of a disassembled version under the Tools and Gear tab. I'm not sure whether it is carbide or not. It has a gold/bronze colour to it so maybe it is Titanium Nitride coated. I'm sure the answer would just be a phone call or email away.

I use FP-10 as for lubrication. I just fill up a little medicine cup to a depth of about 3mm and dip the case neck into the oil. It covers both the inside and outside that way. When I'm finished, I just run the whole batch of cases through my tumbler with untreated media for about 10 minutes. They come out perfectly dry with no residue after this. I also don't believe tumbling damages the necks, provided the cases are placed into the tub and removed from the tub gently.

 

[dreever]

Greg,
Thanks for the info. I'll have to try the FP10 since I have some.
I tried the Ronson lighter fluid, and it just wasn't enough lube with my set-up. I tried some RCBS case lube 2 this morning and it seems to work pretty well and is water soluble. Rinses right off your fingers without soap. The slickest stuff is the Mobil 1 STP mix, but it's hell getting out of the case. You have to use naphtha or the like, which I don't like. Ken Turner says it won't even come out of the case upon firing, leaves carbon in the case, which we don't want. I tumble too, but let me tell you using Imperial die wax for a lube I boiled the cases in water on the stove, then dried them in the oven, then tumbled them and had a heck of a time getting the media out of some of the cases! Had to blow each one with compressed air. That's why I'm still looking and experimenting.
I have hopes for the RCBS lube, and will try some FP10 also.
I'm always experimenting....it's a sick obsession I know! LOL!

Danny

 

[Gollum]

Great timing on this discussion as I'm a coin toss from buying one or the other of these turners. Some questions on the operation of the respective turners:

The Sinclair Kit comes with an Expander body die, an Expander Mandrel, and a Turning Mandrel, the cutter and the case holder, so it would appear you have to specially size the necks to prep the brass for the turner.

The Stiller set,from the pictures on the site) looks like it has a turning mandrel incorporated in the turner. What case prep do you have to do ahead of the Stiller? Or do they assume you have the sizing tools on hand to set up for using their tool already?

The only turning I've done is inside neck reaming on a Forster tool, outside neck turning will be a new experience for me. I want to buy something simple to use, but effective.

Thanks

Rob

 

[Caduceus]

The instructions for Stiller's tool state that you need to expand the necks before use but don't supply an expander.

The instructions say "Sinclair and most K & M expanders should work". I can confirm that the Sinclair expanders are the correct size but can't speak for the K & M.

 

[dreever]

Rob,

The K&M is definately NOT the correct size as compared to the Sinclair mandrels. I have a K&M expandiron and it measures .24335 which is way bigger than the .2420 of the Sinclair expander. I wasn't happy with the loose fit on my carbide turning mandrel that's why I made my own expander so to speak.
I will say I definately agree with Greg on the fact that the Sinclair is a P.I.T.A. to get set up initially, but once set works fine. The Stiller /Pumpkin design is probably the easiest to set, a bonus when having to change it often.

Ok, some of you other silent guys come on out and help Rob who's just getting started. Perhaps you can help him save some money down the road.

Danny

 

[mikecr]

I vote Sinclair.
Other turner systems, although easy to adjust, pretty much leave you hanging as far as sizing.
Sinclair's expander mandrel system works great, is cheap, and can be used for other neck formings. I use the turner mandrels for final neck sizing, for straighter bullet seating. This is another plus for Sinclair, their mandrels are a good size. After turning, clean the brass, and you can seat bullets without further sizing.
I got a mandrel die and every mandrel Sinclair offers, right up front. They payed for themselves bigtime. Just wish they had carbide available. Also, take them to a local machinist and have a set screw dimple drilled in them. Then they won't pull out of the die on ya.
For the price you can pick up a couple of their turners. I only use one though, as I haven't had a problem setting it with feeler guages. Nor have I had a problem with temperature/expansion. I use mobil one for lube.
Also, get the different shoulder angle cutters. I wish these were available in carbide too. But they're cheap enough.
I've been prepping 6.5wssm brass of late. It's a pain, and has taken nearly every mandrel and redding bushing I have. But they've turned out as good as any.
I use a case lathe,Bruno's I think), with a Lee 3-Jaw chuck.