SmallCaliberCentral

There have been several posts lately mentioning neck turning. I thought I would start a thread where we could all share techniques. The following picture is my usual setup for neck turning. I have to turn my necks to .011 because I have a tight necked chamber.



My first step is to full length size my new brass. My expander ball openes the necks to fit almost perfect on the Forster .204 mandel. I set my neck turning tool with a set of flat feeler gauges. Then I chuck up my Hart Power Adapter with a Redding #10 Shell Holder. RCBS shell holders won't work because the primer hole is too small. Next, I lube the mandel with a little 3-IN-ONE oil and start the drill. I make one slow pass all the way to the shoulder and actually cut just a little of the shoulder with the angled part of the blade. I make a second pass with the tool because brass usually gives a little as you cut it. I then use the tooth brush to get the shavings out of the cutter and run the extra fine steel wool over the neck to take out any machining marks. The last step is to check the thickness on my Starette neck thickness micrometer.

Here are some close-ups of the tools I use. This is the Hart Power Adapter with Redding #10 Shell Holder.



This is my Forster Neck Turning tool with .204 mandel and carbide blade.



This is my Starrette Neck Thickness Micrometer.



What's your setup look like?

Here's what I use. I've made about 500 20 Vartarg cases from Lapua and Winchester .223 brass, and the necks have to be turned. This is the Sinclair case holder in my drill, and the second photo shows my Sinclair 3000 neck turner, adjusting fixture and digital neck thickness micrometer.

Vartarg

What is the black tool with the dial gauge used for? Second Question. Is the case holder just for a certain diameter brass or will different diameters fit?

looks like a digital tubing micrometer to me Skipper.

I mean the one on the left. Do you know what it is?

From the Sinclair site: The Sinclair Neck Turning Tool Adjustment Fixture makes setting the cutting depth on your Sinclair Neck Turning Tool an easy task. This fixture can be used to adjust NT-1000 and NT-3000 tools. The fixture utilizes our .001 inch dial indicator or you can use one that you may already have (.001" x 1" travel with a 3/8 mounting stem). A .0001" dial indicator can be used but it does require an extension piece due to the shorter length of the plunger on these indicators. We recommend the use of a .001" dial indicator for most applications. You will easily be able to get within .0005" using a .001 dial indicator.

To use the adjustment fixture, place the neck turning tool in the fixture and lock it in place with the clamping arm. The indicator tip on the dial indicator (we supply the tip) engages the cutter at this point. You zero the cutter to the mandrel and then adjust the cutter to the desired thickness or cutting depth. Remove the turning tool from the fixture, cut a sample case and adjust if necessary.

The adjustment fixture is a big timesaver whether you are setting your tool up to turn cases for a factory chamber or for a custom tight neck chamber. It is especially useful if you are adjusting from one caliber to another. The fixture is solidly built and will last a lifetime. Works with any Sinclair NT-1000 tool, our NT-3000 tool, and our discontinued NT-2000 tool.

The case holder in my drill is size specific, at $13.95. It's extremely fast and easy to use. Here's what Sinclair says:

http://www.sinclairintl.com/cgi-bin/cat ... type=store

To clarify my previous post: the case holder is caliber specific, but it also requires a driver, which fits into the drill chuck, and engages with the caseholder.....the driver is $11.50.

Thanks. When I see other people's toys I have to decide if I want to buy one, too.

With the Hart Power Adapter you have to buy Redding Shell Holders but, that's the only thing you need to change when switching calibers. I pretty much have a Neck Turning tool for each caliber I reload. Changing mandels and resetting the blade depth is rather tedious. I just use feeler gauges to set the cutting depth.

Skipper: I like that feeler gauge idea.....much simpler (and less expensive--if you haven't already bought one ) than using the Sinclair tool......I'm going to pick up a set....

George

The nice thing about the K&M turner is that it has a place to attatch a dial indicator that measures neck wall thickness, neck wall thickness variation ect. To set cutting dept you just install the indicator, adjust the cutter in .001 increments that are clearly marked on the tool and when you get the first case where you want it you are done. Remove the indicator and go for it. I also use the Sinclair case holder in my cordless drill and like it.

skipper wrote: With the Hart Power Adapter you have to buy Redding Shell Holders but, that's the only thing you need to change when switching calibers.

Skipper,

Sinclair also sells a Universal Caseholder that is very much like your Hart. It uses the same Lee shellholders as their hand priming tool. The part number is 05-290, and includes the driver.

Since I own lathes, I chuck the driver in the headstock, the appropriate mandrel in the tailstock, and once I have the cross slide set to the right depth, I can turn necks rather quickly.

Mike

I've used the Forester Neck Turning Attachment on my Forester trimmer now for many years, and am completely satisfied. I use hand power over an driven power supply so that I can better feel the cutting action. All methods work well that have been shown, but as I set up for this many years ago, I've not seen any reason to change, as I've got tooling for all calibers/cases that I shoot that require neck turning.

Here's my setup on the job:



I made up a base and chip bin enclosure out of aluminum in the shop; crude but works well.



A closer view....



Some R-P cases formed from 221FB into 17 Mach IV and neck turned for my Sako Vixen rat-zapper.

You guys got all the cool toys. Like that last setup too! I can't wait to get my shop set up in my house. We just moved in a few months ago and I am still remodeling all the other rooms so my shop has taken back burner status for now. I gotta buy a few cabinets and once I get those, I hope to be able to set up and play too! Looks great guys, thanks for all the cool pics!