Neck-Turning by Hand vs. by Power

[South Pender]

Please cut me some slack with what will probably seem to be a trivial question (I'm still learning!), but is there some advantage--other than speed and convenience--to neck-turning by a power source (power screwdriver, etc.) over doing it by hand? I ask because I contacted a maker of neck-turning tools about his tools, and he indicated that he advises his customers to go the power route, rather then doing it by hand. He does sell a clamp-type holder for doing the job by hand, and I assume doing it that way, you would turn the tool, rather than turning the case, whereas with power, you'd be turning the case.

 

[LHSmith]

Based on the performance of a extremely accomplished competitor (not me), he claims absolutely no difference other than it's quicker and easier using some means of power. When using either method, he was very particular to keep the cutting tool at as near a constant temp as possible, insists on using carbide mandrels, and only used a tiny amount of lube on the mandrel only.....not on the cutting side.

 

[jimcasey01]

Fewer cramps for us mature gentlemen, using power.

 

[INShooter]

Not trying to be a smarta$$, But after you start turning case necks, you will answer your question. Maybe the best of many purchases I have made is a case turning setup similar to the Benchrite.

 

[ireload2]

Hand turning will actually discourage you from turning and you might aggravate any tendency toward repetitive motion injury or carpal tunnel.

You can learn the basics doing hand turning. If you do only small lots you can get by.
Larger lots need power or a lot of time to prevent injuring you wrist.

Turning itself is not a good answer if your chamber neck is already much larger than a loaded round.

 

[South Pender]

Turning itself is not a good answer if your chamber neck is already much larger than a loaded round.

I've read this before, and I must confess I don't get it. As I understand neck-turning, it's done to make sure that the neck tension is identical from one round to the next, and at all positions around the bullet seated in the case. Unless you have a chamber so tight that neck-resizing is unnecessary after firing a round, you will size the neck down via some accurate tool like the Wilson chamber-type neck sizer (that, I believe, resizes only the last 3/16" of the neck) prior to reloading. The only disadvantage I can see for a larger chamber is that you end up working the brass in the neck more than is ideal. What am I missing here? I'm asking because I'm going to be loading for a .222 Rem. with a standard (not BR) chamber.

I understand the potential injury angle, guys; thanks a lot for your thoughts. I too am a "mature" gentleman and hadn't considered this possibility.

 

[Barlow]

I use a power tool. I believe it just works better. Barlow

 

[INShooter]

I believe the main purpose of neck turning is to produce the most concentric loaded rounds possible. By doing this, it allows the round to be centered in the chamber and theoretically producing the best accuracy. It may be difficult if not impossible to determine the benefit in a factory chamber. Actual testing at the range will give you the answer with your rifle.
As brass is fired over and over work hardening varies with each case. Therefore even turned case necks have some variation in neck tension. This is the reason for annealing.

 

[LHSmith]

I've read this before, and I must confess I don't get it. As I understand neck-turning, it's done to make sure that the neck tension is identical from one round to the next, and at all positions around the bullet seated in the case. Unless you have a chamber so tight that neck-resizing is unnecessary after firing a round, you will size the neck down via some accurate tool like the Wilson chamber-type neck sizer (that, I believe, resizes only the last 3/16" of the neck) prior to reloading. The only disadvantage I can see for a larger chamber is that you end up working the brass in the neck more than is ideal. What am I missing here? I'm asking because I'm going to be loading for a .222 Rem. with a standard (not BR) chamber.
I understand the potential injury angle, guys; thanks a lot for your thoughts. I too am a "mature" gentleman and hadn't considered this possibility.

When we talk about a tight-neck chamber, it usually infers a barrel was chambered by a gunsmith with a custom reamer that also has other design characteristics (i.e throat angle, free-bore, base diameter, case length) that are conducive to getting that last bit of accuracy out of the cartridge...many times designed around a specific brand of brass such as Lapua. Compare this to a factory chambering which has a wide acceptable tolerance range and due to mass production reasons most likely have a non-concentric throat and other accuracy killing manufacturing defects (too numerous to list) the sad fact is your accuracy is limited by how well your chamber was executed by the factory and how well it interfaces with the specific brand of brass and type of bullets you use.In other words, with a factory chamber you'll most likely never reap the benefits of consistent bullet release due to other accuracy robbing defects.

 

[dcali]

Turning by hand always worked very well for me. But there are two problems with hand tools. First is that they're not very well designed to be held in the hand. Go figure. They're too small and not shaped right. The second is the case holders suck. I have a Sinclair set, and the cutting tool is small and blocky. The case holder needs to be tightened securely, but it's only got those crappy plastic thumb screws to do it. Sometimes you just can't get enough torque on them to secure the case, especially once you get a little lube on your fingers.

So basically, it gets to be a pain in the rear very quickly.

I like the floating design of the hand tool (as opposed to some sort of fixed lathe setup), so a logical step up is to use a drill chuck style case holder in a good electric screwdriver to power a hand held turning tool. I have a battery powered Bosch unit that does well, and a sinclair case holder works great. I tried a drill, but I couldn't control the speed as well as I could with the screwdriver. Getting cases in and out of the holder is very quick.

The only downside to the power is that if you go too quickly the case heats up and you wind up with a less consistent turn. If you keep the speeds low, it works just as well as hand turning, but faster and with less annoyance.

 

[CatShooter]

Turning itself is not a good answer if your chamber neck is already much larger than a loaded round.

I've read this before, and I must confess I don't get it. As I understand neck-turning, it's done to make sure that the neck tension is identical from one round to the next, and at all positions around the bullet seated in the case. Unless you have a chamber so tight that neck-resizing is unnecessary after firing a round, you will size the neck down via some accurate tool like the Wilson chamber-type neck sizer (that, I believe, resizes only the last 3/16" of the neck) prior to reloading. The only disadvantage I can see for a larger chamber is that you end up working the brass in the neck more than is ideal. What am I missing here? I'm asking because I'm going to be loading for a .222 Rem. with a standard (not BR) chamber.

Most decent brass has very little run-out - so maybe one side is 0.014", and the other is 0.0145"-ish.

To make them even, you "skim-turn", to just clean up the case necks - you take 0.0005" off the neck.

But if you are using an off the rack rifle with a factory chamber, then neck turning is a waste of time - the one thing you can do that is most beneficial to neck tension and accuracy, is anneal the case necks.

If you are not annealing the necks, then all the rest is a waste of time.

 

[waldo1979]

Ijust bought a 21st Century Lathe to replace my Forester Original. Could just be all the money spent but I'm swear is far more accurate (we're talking 0.0001" of an inch at that point).

I have a new rule, I'm not going to spent a lot of money for accuracy unless it also reduces time as well.

 

[bdale]

I pretty much agree with all the posts on this subject, I tried the hand route, to slow hurt my old arthritic hands and I didn't get a good finish. Bought the Sinclair adapter for my electric screw driver and got a lot better finish and less pain