Need guidance...case neck thickness

[bgbuck153]

I'm going to get into trimming down my necks to get better consitancy but I'm clueless where to start and what to buy. I don't want to break the bank but just want equipment that will get the job done correctly. Are the hornady lock n load stuff good enough? As far as trimming the necks I'd rather get one that attaches to my drill so my hand doesn't fall off. Ha. I have several hundred LRM cases that need this attention and I was reading about the Sinclair neck sorting gauge and it suggests the brass be NEW... I don't have any new brass.

 

[KyCarl]

A tubing micrometer.

 

[woods]

There are lots of ways and different equipment to turn necks so I'm just showing what I use

A Ball Micrometer with a hands free stand

Forster Hot 100 hand turner, has smooth turning mandrel and inside reamers

It has a wide blade for a smooth cut (unlike the K&M) whether skimming the high spots

or turning a complete turn

I know you said you wanted a power turner but IME turning the case too fast will heat up the necks and is less accurate. You only have to turn the cases once so I watch a tv program and can do 50 cases in about an hour. IOW more accurate IMO

 

[L.Sherm]

I use a K@m. Whatever you buy its gotta turn the necks true all the way around or your just wasting time might as well just do the no turn route.

 

[L.Sherm]

If you dont size the inside of the neck to fit snug on your mandrel then your necks wont be as true as sized properly. I used the RCBS one for years theres a huge difference now with the K@M

 

[BallisticsGuy]

You should be just knocking the high spots down to the least common denominator unless you have a neck-turn required chamber. In any event, I don't advise going under .010" thickness. Most of mine run .013-.014 neck wall thickness. The ball micrometer is an important part, get a good one. Doing this particular thing wrong is massively worse than not doing it at all.

How do you know they "need" trimmed? Needing case neck trimming is usually a function of having a deliberate tight neck chamber that won't accept brass of standard thickness. The normal distribution I see in neck thicknesses in any single bag of brass is ~ +/-.001 from the median.

 

[L.Sherm]

I saw .002 in 28 nosler Bertram brass, it's all in what the O.P is trying to achieve.

 

[newmexkid]

I always run my brass through a turning mandrel before neck turning. Doing so will create a smoother fit on the neck turner and keep things cooled down.

 

[RegionRat]

To turn necks with power drive, be sure to read as much as you can about precision loading up front. Some equipment can be run both ways, hand or powered. Think about learning to set up your process by hand and then add power when you get things dialed in.

Make sure you get your brass neck ID to the right diameter before you start, and think about lubrication and heat from friction if you motorized the process.

There is no shortage of brand name neck turning equipment. Your budget determines how elegant your tools will be, but even the most basic ones work well. The design of the cutter will determine how easy it is to blend at the shoulder, other than that, they all do about the same. Consider ones that blend well at the shoulder.

 

[30BR]

error...

 

[30BR]

You need a tube mike to measure wall thickness, and the 21st Century Titanium nitrided expanders and mandrels with a carbide cutter for the tool. Make sure you get the right angle on the cutter for your caliber.
Use a Lee power driver adapter and a good quality power screwdriver that has the right chuck for it.

 

[MagnumPW]

I'm going to get into trimming down my necks to get better consitancy but I'm clueless where to start and what to buy. I don't want to break the bank but just want equipment that will get the job done correctly. Are the hornady lock n load stuff good enough? As far as trimming the necks I'd rather get one that attaches to my drill so my hand doesn't fall off. Ha. I have several hundred LRM cases that need this attention and I was reading about the Sinclair neck sorting gauge and it suggests the brass be NEW... I don't have any new brass.

I use quick trim

I'm going to get into trimming down my necks to get better consitancy but I'm clueless where to start and what to buy. I don't want to break the bank but just want equipment that will get the job done correctly. Are the hornady lock n load stuff good enough? As far as trimming the necks I'd rather get one that attaches to my drill so my hand doesn't fall off. Ha. I have several hundred LRM cases that need this attention and I was reading about the Sinclair neck sorting gauge and it suggests the brass be NEW... I don't have any new brass.

Ol

I've been using quick trim dies that will trim and champfer inside and out. Once you get dialed to the length, you're good to run. I usually double check mine at the end of each row of cases just to be sure. I can keep my brass within 0.002" which turns out pretty uniform.

 

[Highdesertmike]

I have several of the Giraud tri-way trimmers and i really like them. If you have a lot of brass to trim to length, these are about as fast and easy as you can get.
https://www.giraudtool.com.

 

[newmexkid]

I am waiting on the new motorized Lyman trimmer yet to be released.