Neck Turning....Again & again & again

bryan

bryan

Bryan Armatys
:mad:I started this game 10 years ago, and bought brass from Ron Hoehn turned to .0086 and it worked fine. As the years went by, I thought I would do my own and save a bit of $$ and have the ultimate control of my brass. Got a K&M turning tool, but found it hard to get adjusted...............trial and error and a few ruined cases. Not a problem, it goes with the territory. During the last few seasons, I find myself tearing up some cases. I hand hold the turner and drive the case with a battery operated drill and the supplied case holder.
My mind tells me that the .0027 cut is a bit much for a drill and a hand held cutter.
Should I make 2 cuts? If so, I need 2 neck turning tools? (so I don't have to waste cases adjusting the things).
This is in no way a slam on K&M..........I just want to know how to cut the necks without all the weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Bryan
 
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Im no expert or have I ever turned brass yet, but from what I have read, and have been told on somthing like that, is to go slow and turn twice. If it was me, and I had to do it, I would get 2 neck turners for sure. But I think I will just stick with Ron and have him do all my trimming. I dont think I could ever get it as precise as Ron, even if I had 20 years under my belt on trimming cases.
 
When I got my first fitted neck [ 30BR ] I bought all the stuff so I could turn cases. Like many newbies I actually looked forward to it as an advancement of my BR skills and knowledge.

A year later when I got my first 6PPC I ordered brass from Ron. I consider this proof positive that I am really learning !!!!

ETA: I have a .269 neck 6Beggs and you can turn those thick necks in one easy pass. I also recently acquired a .332 30PPC and one cut does good on it. I now own a "30 K&M set up" a "6mm K&M set up" and a Sinclair tool for doing other cases. Once I get the K&M's close I don't want to have to start over using one tool to do both 6mm and 30 cases.
 
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two (2) cuts and the final pass I do-over (hence 3 total passes).
Have 2 K&M tools......I cool my tools by placing in ice-water before each cut...constant temp.
 
Bryan back when we used the old Sako brass, I turned my necks with one pass of the neck turner. The necks were thinner unturned than what they are now with Lapua brass. If I try to turn the necks in one pass now for a .262" necked chamber, the necks will rip off. It takes two passes now to turn necks. That is one of the nice things about Jackie's .269" neck. As little that is taken off with that size chamber, it can be turned in one pass. I don't like turning necks, so will probably go more and more to a .269" necked chamber as it makes it easier. Jackie has certainly proven to me that the thickness of the neck doesn't make a difference as to accuracy of the round.
 
bryan said:
:mad:I started this game 10 years ago, and bought brass from Ron Hoehn turned to .0086 and it worked fine. As the years went by, I thought I would do my own and save a bit of $$ and have the ultimate control of my brass. Got a K&M turning tool, but found it hard to get adjusted...............trial and error and a few ruined cases. Not a problem, it goes with the territory. During the last few seasons, I find myself tearing up some cases. I hand hold the turner and drive the case with a battery operated drill and the supplied case holder.
My mind tells me that the .036 cut is a bit much for a drill and a hand held cutter.
Should I make 2 cuts? If so, I need 2 neck turning tools? (so I don't have to waste cases adjusting the things).
This is in no way a slam on K&M..........I just want to know how to cut the necks without all the weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Bryan
Click to expand...


Secret to (1) pass cutting of .262 neck brass using KM;

-must use "carbide" turning mandrel

-must pre-size neck i.d. to within .001" of turning mandrel o.d.

-must periodically hone negative rake KM cutter edge to keep finally sharpened so that brass peels in a continuos chip as it is machined

You can also go to a (2) pass cut, with 2 different turners, which will eliminate the need of the previously mentioned steps..................................................Don
 
I like the

idea that I adopted from Jackie and Gene.

.269 neck
1 turner
1 pass

The amount of brass I prep is minimal to you shooters who shoot a lot. I prep 20 pieces in one evening. Good enough for me for a season.

If I want to do more I do 20 more the next evening.

What else does one do during the winter up in Canada when it is cold and dark outside?

Have 5 months to turn brass and maybe a couple to enjoy shooting them.

Calvin
 
I do initial turner adjustments on free range brass of any .22 caliber(expanded up). After using the K&M expander, I do my first cut to within .001 or less with an old Sinclair turner that has an undersized mandrel relative to the K&M expander. This means no heat or brassing, and the thickness runout is taken care of on the finish cut. I use a K&M turner with a carbide mandrel for the finish cut, with some thin red oil neck turning lube that I got from Dan Kenneman. I "dehorned" the reamer on the end of the mandrel with a coarse diamond lap so that it would not scratch the inside of case necks. Other than that, I take Dick Wright's advice and go quickly to the shoulder and slowly back to the case mouth. This keeps the cutter working both ways which helps produce very small runout. Another thing that helps runout is to hold things as loosely as possible, so that nothing interferes with the cutter holding the case neck tight against the mandrel at all times. By paying close attention to this detail, one can get great runout without tight fit and the attendant problems that it causes.
 
Bryan ...

A few months ago I asked Ken Markle how many thousandths I could take off in one pass with his K&M turner. He told me he did an experiment once and found that .014" to .015" could be removed in one pass without a problem. (Info for what it's worth). I asked Bart Sauter not too long ago how he got down to .0088" on his brass and he said that he removed almost all of it in one pass then made another with another tool to finish it off. I use two tools also. Half the first time, the rest with the second tool. The final cut is made twice (two passes) per Ken's advice. :)
 
I am a new BR guy. I have only turned 300.
I use the Dick Wright method, abintx, Boyd.....
2 passes. 2 separate turners. I haven't buggered up any.
Keep things loose. Good lube. Battery screwdriver. All good. :)
 
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