Neck Turning

[Norseman]

For those that have tight neck chambering or those that neck turn their brass,
are or is the entire neck turned from the case mouth to the shoulder?

 

[Varmint Hunter]

YES - The cutter should be adjusted so that it just touches the shoulder.

You should also know that the carbide cutter bit comes in different angles to match the shoulder angle. There is at least a standard angle cutter (whatever that is) and a 40 deg cutter, and may possibly be others.

 

[Bart B]

[ QUOTE ]
... the carbide cutter bit comes in different angles to match the shoulder angle.

[/ QUOTE ]Very interesting. I've got two neck turning tools; one a hand job and the other chucks in a drill press. Both have the lead corner of the sharpened edge radiused to about .010-inch to just touch the case shoulder so they can be used with all shoulder angles. The pilots on both are adjustable and its shoulder stops against the case mouth to keep the cutter from going too far into the shoulder

 

[mo]

depends on what kind of case neck turner u have. I have a wilson, and a sinclair for those you have to use a cutter with the same angle the shoulder of your case. With a foster lyman or rcbs u just set them up to stop at the shoulder. Hope i helped Mo

 

[jb1000br]

[ QUOTE ]
YES - The cutter should be adjusted so that it just touches the shoulder.

You should also know that the carbide cutter bit comes in different angles to match the shoulder angle. There is at least a standard angle cutter (whatever that is) and a 40 deg cutter, and may possibly be others.

[/ QUOTE ]

if you are JUST touching the shoulder, you WILL get donuts...need to go a bit into the shoulder...

JB

 

[Bart B]

[ QUOTE ]
if you are JUST touching the shoulder, you WILL get donuts...need to go a bit into the shoulder...

[/ QUOTE ]I just touch the shoulder with my neck turners' cutters and I've not seen a donut in over 50 reloads on the same .308 Win. case.

It would be interesting to compare in detail the tools and techniques that makes results not exactly the same between the "different strokes for different folks" stuff that reloaders do. In side-by-side comparisons with a buddy years ago we found a lot of little ideocyncricies that make a difference; sometimes a big difference.

 

[BountyHunter]

Agree with Jason on needing to go into the neck a little for most cartridges.

Also agree that the standard 308 is not noted for pushing brass in the neck either. Tight necked 308 is very unusual anyway, in fact cannot ever remember ever seeing one as most are standard chambers and would not show brass flow anyway.

However, take a case, neck it down one size and load a hot round and you will have brass moving into the neck.

I use the K&M Neck turner. It is the only one that I am aware of that cuts the donut, has the blade radiased to cut down onto the shoulder and has accurate .0002 markings and adjustments. Ken Markles number is (717) 292-3175

BH

 

[ATH]

Here's a rookie question. I was buying my first reloading supplies last night and looked at (but didn't buy!) the preassembled starter kits. They have nothing for neck turning (along with several other processes). I didn't get anything to do neck turning; when does it really become necessary (in a 300WM)?

 

[jb1000br]

[ QUOTE ]
Here's a rookie question. I was buying my first reloading supplies last night and looked at (but didn't buy!) the preassembled starter kits. They have nothing for neck turning (along with several other processes). I didn't get anything to do neck turning; when does it really become necessary (in a 300WM)?

[/ QUOTE ]

NO

If you are NOT shooting off a bench, neck turning will most likely get lost in the noise of driver error...

JB

 

[Buffalobob]

Here is a rookie answer

If you have a factory chamber you will most likely not do yourself much good and will ruin some amount of brass learning how to do it right. (what is right I don't have a clue being as I didn't turn into the shoulder as JB recommended and I got donuts as he says you will, secondly I turned weatherby cases with an angled blade and just thought the angle was a machining defect on the blade). I also ruined a hundred cases of 17 Rem by turning too much and getting the neck so thin that in the sloppy factory chamber I can't get the necks sized back down to the correct neck tension with my neck sizing die. Fortunately, my old full length die has a little tighter neck and will get it back down.

After doing all of that it seems to me that most of my shooting issues reside with me and not with the gun or the the cartridges.

Final thought - I bought 100 cases of 338LM and after considering my case prep skill and the cost of the brass I decided to just rely on Lapua to have made good brass and not do anything to screw it up. I have a lot of Norma brass and it is very consistent (by my standards) and if I hadn't already turned a bunch of it I would quit messing with it also.

These are just some examples of the learning curve associated with neck turning. There are more mistakes to make but it would take too long to list all of them I have made.

 

[BountyHunter]

Normally you do not need to neck turn factory cases. factory chambers normally have anywhere from .004-.008 or more slop in them.

If anyone turns cases for factory and find that their sizing die does not work, they have two choices.

buy a Redding bushing die OR send their original die to Jim Carstenson at [email protected]

JLC Precision
13095 450th ave
Bellevue, Iowa 52031

for $35 Jim will convert a standard die to redding bushings. He will also build a custom honed die from the $24 redding body bump die with neck bushings (cost is about $75). You can see his work on www.6mmbr.com under "tools"

Great dies, I have about 4 sets.

BH