Neck turning with a 21St Century

[oldiron]

Here’s how we been turning our necks with a drill press

 

[mikecr]

Would work better with hand holding (floating) of the turner body.

 

[JBO]

Would work better with hand holding (floating) of the turner body.

+1

 

[Immike]

Very clever!! Thanks for posting that and sharing.

For precisely cutting the neck axis must run with the mandrel axis. Since brass and dies have inherent flaws this needs to be able to articulate with the 2 for uniform cutting. This is built into the 21st century lathe and something like that needs built into your idea for the same results. The down power of the drill press is another thing that eliminates the feeling needed for smooth cutting so maybe a different handle would help. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the concept and I’m sure you will enjoy the cutting tool. Thanks, Mike

 

[mikecr]

For precisely cutting the neck axis must run with the mandrel axis.

The best turning is with NEW brass, with which the necks are rarely concentric.
So forcing axis alignment with new brass is a bad idea. Anybody experienced in producing well turned necks knows this.

 

[Immike]

The best turning is with NEW brass, with which the necks are rarely concentric.
So forcing axis alignment with new brass is a bad idea. Anybody experienced in producing well turned necks knows this.

Exactly! If you watch the video you can see the wobble that is all brass weather due to thickness variations or case holder and platform. There is enough flaws that are inherently there so flexibility is a must. If you read closely it was mentioned...

 

[Shynloco]

Exactly! If you watch the video you can see the wobble that is all brass weather due to thickness variations or case holder and platform. There is enough flaws that are inherently there so flexibility is a must. If you read closely it was mentioned...[/QUOT

+1

 

[SpencerS]

We actually put a router bit in the drill press and ran the 2x4 through it to make sure the spindle of the drill was aligned with the cutter. There is enough slop in the 2x4 to allow for out of round cases. We’re getting better results using the press than we were by holding the cutter in our hands.

 

[SpencerS]

Very clever!! Thanks for posting that and sharing.

For precisely cutting the neck axis must run with the mandrel axis. Since brass and dies have inherent flaws this needs to be able to articulate with the 2 for uniform cutting. This is built into the 21st century lathe and something like that needs built into your idea for the same results. The down power of the drill press is another thing that eliminates the feeling needed for smooth cutting so maybe a different handle would help. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the concept and I’m sure you will enjoy the cutting tool. Thanks, Mike

If you notice at the beginning of the video, there’s a lot of slop in the 2x4 which allows for the cutter to move around quite a bit. There’s no forcing of alignment going on. We’re getting better results doing it this way than by hand

 

[JBO]

IMHO, I'd put the routers, 2x4's and drill press away for turning necks and invest in a 21st Century lathe, someday you'll thank yourself, again just my opinion.
Good luck.

 

[SpencerS]

IMHO, I'd put the routers, 2x4's and drill press away for turning necks and invest in a 21st Century lathe, someday you'll thank yourself, again just my opinion.
Good luck.

We did try one. This is much easier

 

[Tommie]

Been thinking of doing the same thing. Looking forward to a range report.

 

[SpencerS]

Man if you think this is easier you've missed the boat. For around $100 this one is a bargain.

We tried one of those too. Also tried the RCBS. There’s a reason we’re doing it like this now haha