Neck turners??

Lee,

Do what the thread says and make a mandrel in the lathe an then turn. You need to make a new mandrel everytime as making it in the lathe keeps it straight with the lathe and turning brass will be more accurate than any handheld turner can do. Outside the lathe, buy a pumpkin. I usually have mine with me and if you want, I'll try and remember to bring it to st. louis and you could try it out.

Hovis
 
how about the pumpkin in a lathe.....
mike in co
skeetlee said:
I am just curious as to what brand of neck turner you prefer and why you like it over the others. I am in the market for a new neck turning tool and i think i will either go with a 21st century or the PMA tool. The PMA tool adjust by the mandrel moving in or out towards or away from the cutter. Thats seems kinda cool, but is it practical? The 21st century is a nice tool as my good friend has one that i sometimes use. I have been cutting my .262 necks with one pass and all seems fine? I havent turned my own cases until recently so i am still a bit of a newbie to all of it. Just looking for some different opinions. Lee
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Kevin
I am glad you coming tot he east west shoot. I will bring your trigger and scope. Ya, if you can remember it bring the pumpkin. i would love to try it out. I will bring some cases. thanks Kevin. Lee
 
I have had K&M, Pumpkin and the new Sinclair. I've been happy with all of them once I got them dialed in. The Pumpkin has been the easiest to adjust and get dialed in. The Sinclair close and the K&M the hardest. But, the Pumpkin was the most expensive, the Sinclair in the middle and the K&M cheap enough that I have two. You guessed it, the two K&M are set up for coarse cut and fine cut so that I don't have to change them. Take it FWIW from a duffer. Greg J.
 
DSCN7887.jpgWon a JACO turner at a club banquet and have never looked back. A few are still available from AJ Walker @ 512 836 0203 for a price. They are infinitely adjustable for depth and even angle of cut. With a 3/8 cutter, the cut is smooth and fast.

virg
 
Virg, there are some nice things about the JACO, but some idiosyncrasies, too. On mine, anyway, even with the dial indicator setup, it is hard to adjust the depth of cut. If I can set up up & leave it, fine. Mine's set up for the 6 PPC, and I ain't going to change it.

If you use the tapered cut, and ever re-turn your cases after firing, you have to remember to size the necks down & expand up -- the JACO's were designed for dies that used an expander ball, so if you want to re-turn your necks after firing, you need to transfer the taper from the inside of the neck to the outside.

That said, I use mine for the PPC, and it isn't for sale.
 
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Charles E said:
Virg, there are some nice things about the JACO, but some idiosyncrasies, too. On mine, anyway, even with the dial indicator setup, it is hard to adjust the depth of cut. If I can set up up & leave it, fine. Mine's set up for the 6 PPC, and I ain't going to change it.

If you use the tapered cut, and ever re-turn your cases after firing, you have to remember to size the necks down & expand up -- the JACO's were designed for dies that used an expander ball, so if you want to re-turn your necks after firing, you need to transfer the taper from the inside of the neck to the outside.

That said, I use mine for the PPC, and it isn't for sale.
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You're right on both counts. The JACO is the most complicated neck turner I'm familiar with. I stay away from the tapered cut and use the straight cut only. But...put that JACO in a vise and run the brass in with a drill and super fast, one has a smooth accurate cut. Mine's not for sale either; namely because I was fortunate enough to know T.J. Jackson who made them after (I think) a Pindel design. Couldn't afford one at the time, so I was lucky to win one later on.

In my opinion, most of the neck turners available will do a great job if applied right. Most of it is just what one prefers in design and handling; kinda like our custom rifles and different wind flag designs.

Keep your groups small and your VFS scores high,

virg
 
Does anyone know if the pumpkins are still around? Where to buy them?
 
Smitty
I got to meet don neilson in st louis last weekend. As you may or may not know don is the maker of the pumpkin turner. I got to put my hands one one and they are very nicely made tools and yes don is still making them. If I had the extra cash I would have bought one right then and there. They are tops for sure. Lee
 
Pumpkin
The Pumpkin is expensive,and if you keep looking for a better turner you will end up with one eventually in spite of it's high price, I did.
The K & M is the most bang for your buck but not nearly as easy to adjust as the Pumpkin.
 
May not be a great place to ask this but didn't seem necessary to start another thread.

How much tension is too much on a turning mandrel?

Reason I ask is that my turning mandrel is .243 and the sizing mandrel is .242. Doesn't seem like much but there's a good amount of resistance from the turning mandrel.

I know the simple solution would be to just size with the same mandrel as I'm turning but unfortunately it requires a different holder (die body) than what I have (expander is the sinclair type, turning is a threaded type from turner maker that I'm trying to find a holder for).
 
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I believe that K&M used to make expander mandrels in custom sizes. You would need one of their dies to hold it. Your expander needs to be bigger than your turning mandrel. When your brass it too tight on your turning mandrel, you risk transferring brass to the turning mandrel, right under the cutter, and if this happens, and you do not catch it, all of the cases that you turn after that will be thinner. I won't get into it in this post, but there is a general bit of misinformation running around in the shooting world,that cases need to be a wring on fit on turning mandrels to produce accurate results. If proper technique is used, this is not true. Having a proper fit greatly reduces turning problems.
 
Hmm, the turner mandrel is already showing a brass color from the 100 I've turned so far, wondering now if I should just replace that mandrel with the one I purchase extra for expanding and try to find a .2435 expander that will fit in the Sinclair holder.
 
Are you using a good lubricant on the mandrel.
I use mobile 1 mixed with stp and it works great. I can do 10 cases will very very minimal heat from friction.
Its usually best to get the expander and turner mandrel from the same company. They should be sized for each other.
 
Tried using Balistol and a paste lube similar to sizing wax, both gave about the same results, squeaked and tight.

I'd like to use an expander and turner mandrel from the same company, the 2 I have are identical in size, problem is no one makes a die body holder for it (nice to find that out after you've dropped cash for it), the maker told me he could make one for around $60. Thinking of scrapping this one and going a different route.
 
I used Imperial wax until I found FP-10 which works the best so far.

AGE-FP10Lub.jpg


Glenn:cool:
 
PMA sells a lube that looks a lot like mobil 1. I didn't ask them what it was. Seems to work good.
 
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