I am in need of a concentric neck turning set-up. Does anyone have an opinion on one they have used and how well it turns necks (concentricity wise)?

I will purchase one with the guage if necessary, and am not a shy person when it comes to price tags, but I have, as I am sure you all have too, purchased things that were overpriced for their performance. I am looking for something that I can adjust to turn multiple calibers, and one that will also give a quality turning job.

thanks

Most guys that buy the K&M setup are pretty happy. Those of us that bought the Forster, however.

The Nielson is the best (and the most money), if the benchrester's get to vote. http://www.benchrest.com/nielson/ HTH, Dutch.

I got the Forster with a crank, and I can't get the thickness variation below .002".

Maybe I am not operating it properly.

Now the tool gathers dust, and I cull the cases that are bad.

[ 04-14-2003, 18:34: Message edited by: Clark ]

Dutch is right. K&M is excellent at a reasonable price. Easy to adjust. Cuts clean and even. Neilson is the best available, but expensive. If money is no object get the Neilson. Otherwise get the K&M as a close second, and a much less expensive, excellent tool. ...ol blue

K & M is the Cadillac. Wish I had it. I use the Sinclair which is quite good but not as easily adjustable as the K & M. Since I try to avoid neck turning in all but tight necked chambers, the Sinclair is good enough. Be careful about neck turning. It's not all it's cracked up to be, especially in standard or factory chambers.

Clark, sorry for the confusion. The Forster is a TRUE P.O.S. There, that should be clearer.....

The plastic handle broke on the 4th case......

I made the Forster work by using a tap handle, and by using the RCBS turner pilots. They are much longer, and allow you to get much closer than .002. The short pilots Forster uses are impossible to use, because they let you cant the case. If you size the cases for the right neck fit (I use a modified Lyman "m" die), this gives me somewhat acceptable results.

However, fine tuning the bugger is still absolutely impossible, so run, don't walk......

HTH, Dutch.

For small numbers of cases I would recomend Sinclairs, I have one and it works well, I also got a Wilson and I love it , no more sore wrists, I shoot large number of varmints and for lots of cases the Wilson is GREAT!---Shoot Safe---montdoug

Thank you gentlemen for your help.

Bob338, I am looking to clean my necks up, so that when sized, they produce less runout due to thicker areas of the neck,.....am I on the right track with this thinking? Also, when using a bushing die, will this help with neck tension uniformity?

Thanks to any who have/will help. I'm getting there.......

[ 04-14-2003, 21:22: Message edited by: JustC ]

I'm not a fan of neck turning, either from just the work involved or for trying to accomplish accuracy. I've never seen any benefit to it. You can accomplish much the same thing by culling brass which has neck wall variance of more the .001" or .0015". Lots of even our domestic brass fits those parameters. Even in using neck bushings, that much variance does not adversely impact concentricity, at least it never has for me. If you can reduce your runout to less than .002", any more reduction will not be discernable on paper in a hunting rifle and you are spinning your wheels. You are definitely on the right track, but there are other more important factors getting there.

I believe Saeed, the host here, has done quite a bit of testing on the neck turning question. There used to be data on it here and may still be available from the home page. My recollection of his research and testing was that he had reached the same conclusion as I. If you get brass with too much variance in the neck walls, over the limits mentioned, sell it at a gun show or give it away and buy some more. Or better still, buy some Lapua, Norma or RWS brass which almost totally eliminates those variances. I've not culled more than one or two lots of domestic brass that was worse than .0015" in the last 10 years. It IS available. It's just not worth the effort to turn necks. You may need to try it to convince yourself. Do it and I'm confident you'll reach the same conclusion. If you were shooting benchrest, or using a tight necked chamber, I would turn brass, and I do, but not for hunting calibers in hunting rifles.

Well, I guess (my)ignorance is bliss. I have used the Forster trimmer (mine has an aluminum handle) to turn large quantities of brass used in XTC match shooting and mine works fine. Accuracy is less than .0003-.0005" variation.

I think Dutch hit the nail on the head:

quote:

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If you size the cases for the right neck fit

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My unit is probably 12-15 years old and the pilot is longer than the case neck (someone mentioned short pilots) and I size to a snug pilot fit before turning.

I wonder if those who are having problems may stem from the flexibility of the aluminum frame of the Forster trimmer. I clamp mine in a Black & Decker Workmate which not only holds it, but stiffens the frame, also.

Another possibility as to why my results vary is that I replaced the screw that holds the crank on with a hex head screw and drive with a cordless screwdriver which eliminates any uneven pressure on the handle???

As Bob338 said, however, not much to be gained on hunting rifle by neck turning.

Regards,
hm

[ 04-15-2003, 05:43: Message edited by: hm1996 ]