RCBS Neck Turner

[@elcidcampeador9629]

Here is an idea: when you measure the neck with the caliper, mark the thinnest side with a sharpie, then set your cutter on the neck where the mark is. This will set your cutter so that it immediately cuts close to if not already at your desired final diameter. Just a thought, never tried it myself.

[@MrSjcod]

I can’t even tell you how useful this video was. Thanks for taking the time to make it.

[@elcidcampeador9629]

You can use dykem or just a sharpie to color the neck to make seeing where you are cutting easier

[@GeorgeGeorge7]

EXCELLENT Demo !! Thank you so much for posting. I just order my RCBS hand case neck turning tool after watching your video .

[@meastwood05]

A tiny drop of oil on the cutting head tip helps speed things up. Great vid!

[@mertonsilliker4858]

Well done, I have never tried this but stands to reason same amount of grip on the bullet equal pressure, better results

[@pstewart5443]

Great idea on the polishing. Will be doing that tomorrow on mine.

[@ericm3876]

Great video, just what I needed to hear about neck turning. Once and done seems like the simple steps here, though time consuming only need to be done once, so why spend more money on automation. I also concur with previous comment about oil, all other demos have used some.

[@davidharris5795]

Good video, it explains in detail how and why to use this tool.Thanks again.

[@robertrivasarroyo1174]

Just learned something new today, thank you!

[@WestDesertShooter]

Awesome video you made it seem very straight forward and simple to do. Looks like I will need to buy some new tools! I don't see many people talking about this so good job on getting some info out there!

[@vaughnprecision]

West Desert Shooter stay tuned..! I'll be publishing more videos on tools over the next 2-4 weeks that will help you out.

[@pepepepito623]

After 7 years, i ask:only fire formed cases,right? ​@@vaughnprecision

[@tomharrell1954]

Great job!! After turning I take some fine sand paper a polish them so they are very smooth.

[@TinManReloading]

Just ordered me one of these today. Awesome video, man. Thank you!

[@trenthaverfield5836]

i bought this neck turning tool vs others in part due to your video and the fact best bang for the buck compared to others as well.

[@robertgwalsh5878]

Thank you

[@leewithey2014]

Excellent video!! Thank you. 😺

[@cr500mike]

Skeleton at the bench is so funny - good stuff .

[@joekirk167]

I got the tool and it is fantastic. Thanks Kurt

[@yz8096]

Thank you very much for this video. Now it makes sense to me!

[@martinaddison1461]

For a precision shooter I would think you would have a better trimmer like a power trimmer

[@barndweller4573]

Your video many be a little old but it helped me today. Thank You

[@drone4higher]

Great vivdeo

[@DLN-ix6vf]

so if you neck turn a case that should be it for life of the case correct ?

[@davidleasure9138]

Do I understand this correctly? Measure all necks to find the lowest, thinnest, and turn the entire batch to the thinnest. What happens when another batch is introduced? Do you continue the same process or just turn them to the thinnest of the first batch to keep the cases consistent? Thanks for sharing and any answers

[@howardschwartz1462]

Do you anneal all your cases and then do neck turning before anything else?

[@LeewardStudios]

Okay I get that you have put the outside if the neck in round but that does not make the inside of the neck, holding the bullet concentric to the bore. Also once the bullet “ jumps” to the lands and engages the rifling a 0.002 difference is what the spin is designed to cancel out. I think that tool would be great for necking down 7.62x39 cases to Grendel where the neck gets to thick for spec and needs to be turned. I guess I would be more convinced if the brass was shot, the hits plotted then reloaded exactly the same and shot again. I may not be from Missouri, but show me, please.

[@jamespollard1670]

Thanks , I have one of these coming and it is nice to see it in action rather than rely on the instructions .

[@joekirk167]

Kurt, after awhile the little black contacts in the turner start to lose traction and you really have tighten it to keep it from slipping. What can you do about that.

[@hammerheartoutdoors9146]

great video dude, ive been reloading for awhile, but ive recently wanted to get into precision reloading, im sure ill be hitting you up for advice

[@PRACERZ]

Fantastic vid, thanks a ton !

[@jasonfedeli]

Thanks I've been wanting to toss this thing for 2 years now I get it

[@cademarti1365]

Kurt, is there any resize mandrel necessary to get a snug fit on the pilot so there isn't any wobble? Looking at the rcbs neck turner and pilots for a good option

[@milboltnut]

you only need to neck turn if you have a custom chamber.

[@Aldocello1]

So Ive been looking into adding neck turning to my process , wasnt sure which I was going to get , as you mentioned , some can be quite pricey yet all do the same thing , well , a friend of mine has had one of these sitting around in his shop for a couple years never used , he gave it to me yesterday to try . My choice has been made lol . I do like the bigger body, as well as the shell holder on the RCBS than all the others , Ive got ape hands so this makes it easier for me . My question Vaughn is , do i wait til after first firing/forming to turn , or do it when the brass is new or does it matter ? Thanks

[@vaughnprecision]

No you can turn them any time you want, I usually turn new brass.

[@briankeenan1023]

Thanks for the video. I just got one of these, measured a dozen or so cases, found what I thought would be my minimum wall (0.0.125), and started turning. I have ~150 cases of Hornady. As I was going, some of the cases just barely scratched the surface, while others cleaned up nicely. I've read the comments on how thin is too thin - looks like I'm right about where others are turning necks to. My question: would it be better to take it down another half thou or even a full thou so that they all cleaned up and were consistent from round to round, or would it be better to leave them alone?

[@vaughnprecision]

Brian Keenan I usually leave about 1/2 thou runout in the case. If you have some areas that aren’t getting cut but you’ve taken down the high spots you should be fine

[@briankeenan1023]

@@vaughnprecision Thanks. Love your channel

[@wolverinekut]

Thank you Sir👍

[@joekirk167]

Kurt, If you clamp that tool in a vice, can you use a small drill motor to do the turning?

[@vaughnprecision]

Joe Kirk you can but I would run it very slow

[@curtiswest262]

Seems to me if you are only removing material from the outside of the case then you are still not centering the bullet at all. Only making the neck shiny..

[@ibrahim10910]

Good post. Thank you.

[@howardschwartz1462]

When do you trim? After neck turning?

[@jeancharlesmujor9963]

Hello thanks for this video are you expand the neck before turning or just resizing the brass ? The RCBS pilot is directly at the caliber size or with a smaller size? Thanks from France

[@brianedward2986]

What is the minimum neck thickness required? What is too thin? And does it shorten the life of the case? And would the thickness depend onThe cartridge pressure? Thank you

[@vaughnprecision]

Personally I don’t like to get below .012 thickness. If you get thinner it will shorten the life and split the neck of the case

[@timfarley6493]

A good how-to video, and easy to understand, however I do have one question. After setting the cutter to remove the desired amount of brass from the first case, do you keep the setting for the rest of the cases to be turned, or back off and start the adjustment process again?

[@vaughnprecision]

Tim Farley keep the same setting for all the brass. This will give you consistent neck wall thickness across all the brass you shoot. I usually turn mine to .013 or .014 depending on the thinnest neck in the box of brass. Usually you'll find that .013 is the most common to turn down to. If your lucky and get a box of brass that's a little thicker you might get .014.. but once you have the cutter set up, no need to change it.

[@jaxwest6289]

Very helpful

[@howardschwartz1462]

If I have two fired cases, case a has a headspace of zero in case b has a headspace of plus one. If I bump the shoulders back 2 thousandths case a will have a reading of -2 and case B will have a reading of -1. Does this make a difference? Or should I be bumping back caseb 3000 so that all of the cases have a reading of -2

[@howardschwartz1462]

Sorry, I had some typos

[@howardschwartz1462]

If I bump base case a 2000, it will have a reading of -2. Case b 2000 it will have a reading -1

[@vaughnprecision]

@@howardschwartz1462 those are minimal numbers and in my opinion not enough to lose sleep over. I would bump case A and leave it there

[@howardschwartz1462]

@@vaughnprecision As always, thank you for the quick response and the great sage advice. Sometimes I think I try to get too cute with reloading and it’s one of my weaknesses.

[@howardschwartz1462]

do you do bullet pointing? is it useful for ranges less than 300 yards?

[@vaughnprecision]

I’ve done it but never have seen the results to make me want to keep doing it

[@jimcastillo8950]

Hello, I watched one of your videos and saw that you anneal your brass after you resized. I normally perform this before I resize my brass. When does neck turning come into the process ? after resizing? thank you for your videos, you have my subscribe.....

[@vaughnprecision]

I Anneal mostly before resizing these days. Neck turning should be done before anything else most the time.

[@blueridgeboy6791]

So my question is this, once you determine where you want the thickness to be on the cutter do you cut all rounds to that same thickness or have to reset to each round?great video btw. Thanks

[@vaughnprecision]

Cut them all the same

[@RangerCaptain11A]

so you uniformed the neck thickness, but how do you know the opening is center of the case?

[@vaughnprecision]

By using precision dies and checking case run out

[@timfarley6493]

I use a shoulder bump FL sizing die, and a bushing neck sizing die. Am I correct in assuming I should neck turn after using the bump FL sizing die, and before using the bushing neck sizing die?

[@vaughnprecision]

Tim Farley howdy man.! So I size my brass then neck turn. Now this is on the RCBS so I guess I can’t speak for all brands. The pilot for the RCBS is turned shy of the actual diameter.

[@inkykendrick5140]

We’re can I get a rcbs neck pilot for a 6.5

[@vaughnprecision]

Midway, Brownells etc.

[@inkykendrick5140]

Vaughn Precision I call midway their representative said she couldn’t find one in their stock

[@davidleasure9138]

Can the case master gauge be used to measure the case thickness too? Thanks for your help.

[@vaughnprecision]

Neck thickness yes, not internal case wall though

[@howardschwartz1462]

do you still do neck turning????

[@vaughnprecision]

Yep, I always turn all my new brass

[@howardschwartz1462]

In part, one of your KZbin video series on case prep, you stated that you do not do neck turning. I’m a little confused about the difference in opinions.

[@yojimbo05]

Do you need to anneal before or after neck turning.

[@vaughnprecision]

Either way, but I typically do it before

[@yojimbo05]

@@vaughnprecision the neck turnig doesn't have to be done everutime correct only to even out the thicknes of the neck outside wall?

[@vaughnprecision]

@@yojimbo05 yes, you only neck turn one time per the life of the case.

[@yojimbo05]

@@vaughnprecision oaky thanka bro i didnt realize how vital it was until after i got into relaoding yesrs ago. It does make better accurate ammunition when reloaded properly.. i wish RCBS made a kit with all the madrels or gauges together

[@timfarley6493]

Would you recommend using a bit of cutting oil? I noticed you have 4 mandrel's, my set came with three. did you buy an additional mandrel? I found the mandrel's to be .002" undersized, is this standard? And my last question, do you know the mandrel # for .264" brass as in 6.5 Creedmoor?

[@vaughnprecision]

Tim Farley I’ve used it before but all it did was make a mess. You could use a little dry lube from Redding.! I bought the extra mandrel, #26 and you can find them on MidwayUSA. Yes, they are undersized so you can cut brass that’s new before firing it.! Hope that helps ya out

[@timfarley6493]

@@vaughnprecision Do you think given the chuck that holds the brass is not stationary and the mandrels are undersize, that these things could cause uneven turning of the necks?

[@vaughnprecision]

Tim Farley I’ve taken some measurements on the neck. I’ve not seen any inconsistencies using this tool.

[@timfarley6493]

@@vaughnprecision It's probably my anal mide-set that has me thinking over the top.

[@eddieb9110]

So I ordered one of these and the cutter does not sit flat on the mandrel when you touch it off. Is that normal or does yours sit flat?

[@vaughnprecision]

Mine sits flat, I’d email RCBS and have them send a replacement.

[@eddieb9110]

@@vaughnprecision they sent another casting. Cutter still doesn't sit flat. I can bottom the cutter out and slide a .0015" shim half way under the cutter. I went over the mandrel with a damn good micrometer and it's straight. Guess I'll ask for another cutter to try. I really wanted this to work but my experience with rcbs since they sold out has been nothing but a disappointing circus with every single product I try.

[@aaronstokely7984]

I really enjoyed the video! I also have the RCBS neck turner but I cannot figure out what pilot I’m needing for my 243win. Was wondering if you could help me out

[@vaughnprecision]

Aaron Stokely it’s a number 24 pilot. You should be able to find it on Midwayusa

[@nielsonnc]

It says 24 cal on the neck turner pilot wrapper

[@howardschwartz1462]

Do you still recommend this item or are there other neck turning tools you now recommend

[@vaughnprecision]

Still use it to this day, never been unhappy with it.

[@howardschwartz1462]

@@vaughnprecision after you neck turn initially are there any circumstances when you would do it again?

[@vaughnprecision]

@@howardschwartz1462 nope, it’s one and done.!

[@howardschwartz1462]

@@vaughnprecision Anyway to make the process less manual

[@vaughnprecision]

@@howardschwartz1462 it’s good wrist exercise you won’t get in trouble for 😂 No short cuts here… sorry

[@mrtheplague2895]

What would you recommend I do with a case of 1500 .223 brass to do? Do I need to go through and measure all of them to find the lowest spot? In the video you said you deburred them prior to turning them, is there a set procedure to follow as far as those steps or is that just preference.

[@vaughnprecision]

I would measure a handful of them and find the low point, turn them all down to that. If you deburr them, use the Lyman tool , I find that very simple to use. You'll need to cut each case to length first to ensure you have the deburr tool depth set right.

[@mrtheplague2895]

Vaughn Precision Okay thanks. Wasn't sure if they all needed to be turned to the same length or if a .01 difference between batches would make a big deal or not. They have already been deprimed, trimmed, tumbled and I uniformed the primer pockets last night. The lyman case prep tool is what I have. I pretty much bought every tool you said you keep coming back to in your video :)

[@mrtheplague2895]

Vaughn Precision Sorry I meant to say didn't know if a .001 difference between batches would make a difference. So I found my low side of .010 and have the rcbs neck turner set and that case is good now. Can I just throw the rest of the cases in and cut them down to .010 with it set like that or do I need to work down a .001 at a time with each case since some are .013-.014

[@vaughnprecision]

Wow, .010 is unusually thin, I do try to stay at a minimum of .012 but thats just me. I know others who have gone down to .006 and .004 but I wouldn't recommend it personally. Just my opinion, but I'd weed out anything below .012 and keep everything .012 and above and turn everything else to match. However, that's just me, you may want to experiment and see what shoots. .010 in most cases isn't dangerous.

[@mrtheplague2895]

Vaughn Precision Yeah it seemed low when you were saying .013 was usually a magic number but thought maybe it was a different caliper with a different thickness. I messured 150 and only 3 were down to .010 but 90% of them had a low spot at .011

[@clays7741]

What about the next case? Would you raise the blade and then bring it down so it trims off brass down to that case's low spot (resulting in every case has a different thickness), or after the first case, would you now leave the blade locked and turn down all cases to the same thickness (which may be too much or too little for each case's low spot)? Thank you for the video!!

[@yolo-qr2fq]

Find the lowest spot in all the cases and neck turn down to that. You could have a majority at 0.16 but a couple at 0.14 and for precision shooting if you don't go down to 0.14 on all you'll have flyers.

[@markJohnson-mu2pf]

Good video thank you , very informative

[@geraldbondoc5974]

What are some of ur recommendations on how to polish the pilot? I'm attempting to neck turn some 300 blk cases converted from 556 brass. Even tried expanding the neck but still impossible to fit. Thx & appreciate ur vids!

[@vaughnprecision]

Hey there, first off thanks for watching! What I did was use a Dremel tool and some car polish, just a little goes a long ways. I used a polishing brush on my Dremel and took my time. I can do a video on the polishing if that would help, I think it would be a good learning video either way. Let me know!

[@geraldbondoc5974]

Vaughn Precision thanks for the reply & recommendation! I think making a How-To vid would be awesome!! Thx in advance & keep ur vids coming.

[@vaughnprecision]

Sounds like a plan to me. I'm in the middle of remodeling my reloading shop right now. You might even see a vid posted tonight on that. If I get time this weekend I'll make it happen. But it might be next weekend if thats cool.

[@geraldbondoc5974]

Vaughn Precision no problem. Whenever you can, ur viewers & I would appreciate it. Have fun remodeling. 👍🏻

[@motorgearhead]

Good review! Been trying to sort how much effect turning the neck really has on consistency in grouping. From what I’ve heard it’s about 50/50 among the top long range shooter regarding if they neck turn or not. Have you been able to quantify the improvement in group consistency between turned and not groups with otherwise identical loads?

[@vaughnprecision]

motorgearhead what I’ve been able to tell on this is it seems to boil down to the quality of brass. Brass like Lapua and Starline shoot great either way, cheap brass it does seem to make a big difference on.

[@motorgearhead]

Vaughn Precision - thank you the insight! Just didn’t want to drop down the rabbit hole if there wasn’t some measurable reward for the addition step and expense in time and equipment.

[@Bodhi1satva]

@@vaughnprecisionqq

[@elcidcampeador9629]

Vaughn’s response is exactly right. High quality brass is made so that the neck is already concentric with the bullet, so further turning is unnecessary. Cheaper brass, meanwhile, is made with looser standards and often has necks that are out of round, hence the need for turning

[@motorgearhead]

@@elcidcampeador9629 - makes sense

[@lanceschul]

Curt are you still using this item and do you still recommends its use for hunting load development?

[@vaughnprecision]

Lance Schul yep, just used it the other day.!

[@lanceschul]

Glad to hear it. I’m thinking about getting one. I size my necks with the Sinclair expander mandrel which is, I think, .001 smaller than caliber size. Will that work on with the rcbs mandrel in the neck turning unit?

[@vaughnprecision]

Lance Schul possibly but you have to check to be sure. I’m thinking it will

[@maxcoatlhunter4322]

Like always and like all your videos, awesome job man! I want to order the RCBS neck turner, does it come with different caliber pilots or do I need order the one specifically for the caliber I need?

[@nielsonnc]

Yes they have different pilots

[@garypersons9320]

I can understand where you are coming for but how can the outside of the case neck being out of round cause the bullet to be off center? If the inside diameter is not concentric I could understand how that could cause a problem. The case body should center the neck in the chamber. It seems to me that more good would be served by turning the ID on the case neck rather than the OD.

[@vaughnprecision]

Gary Persons I see what your saying and in some instances you will need to turn the inside with a neck reamer. It's been my experience that in most cases turning the outside corrects this runout issue. I do have a handful of cases that need the inside reamed.

[@luvtahandload7948]

Gary Persons If I may add my two cents worth, case necks must be pulled (or pushed) over an expander before they can be neck-turned. Doing so moves the unevenness to the outside where it can be both measured easier and turned off effectively. That's why Sinclair provides both an expander mandrel and a turning mandrel in their tool.

[@davidpaulk785]

Would neck turning make a difference at 100 yards?

[@vaughnprecision]

david paulk it can, most likely will

[@timfarley6493]

I just received my RCBS neck turner, and tomorrow I will begin trimming the necks. I do have another question for you regarding the install of the cutter, brass lock nut and adjustment dial, which was not covered in your video. Can you go over the install steps.

[@vaughnprecision]

Well, it's actually simpler than you might think. I don't set it up to use the dial as an actual measurement because you would have to re-zero it for different calibers (pilots). The easiest way I've found to use it is to insert the pilot to the base of the shoulder, making sure to have the cutter out of the way. Once you do that, run the cutter down until it just skims the brass as you spin it. Now you have a reference point on the dial, so if you want to cut .001 more you just dial that amount. Or you can back off the brass lock and set screw allowing you to zero it on the pilot and dial from there. If you have any questions on it when you get it let me know, I'd be happy to help.

[@timfarley6493]

Ah, so you eliminate using the dial as intended, leaving that process to the anal crowd, I like that.  The dial’s calibration is used once you begin trimming brass and to give a reading on the amount of brass left to be removed. Yup, your instructions are so much easier than those supplied by RCBS. Thank you sir.

[@fan-jo2je]

Should I resize before neck turning?

[@vaughnprecision]

1911fan yes definitely

[@JoeyD3]

How hard would it be to convert 308 brass down to 6 creedmoor brass?

[@zachphirman6219]

posjoey the pull of the handle

[@luvtahandload7948]

.308 cases are almost a tenth of an inch longer than CM's so you would have a LOT of trimming to do.

[@jaxplane]

I have a really stupid question. I just received my rcbs neck trimmer but i cant seem to figure out how to use the dial, it seems to me that the spring in the cutter always presses against the pilot. what am i missing? no matter what i do the spring pushes the cutter into the pilot bushing.

[@vaughnprecision]

On the turner, set up the pilot depth and loosen the set screw for the cutting blade. Once you have everything set up, lock down all the set screws. If you need to move the dial, you'll need to unlock the set screw before adjusting it and then lock it back down. Not sure if this is what you were looking for or not. Email me a picture if this isn't fixing the issue and I see if I can help.

[@jaxplane]

thanks for getting back to me, believe it or not i had the spring in backwards. spring in right location, works great. keep up the great work.

[@bryanbetournay5557]

What neck thickness is too thin?

[@vaughnprecision]

Bryan Betournay I know guys that run as thin as .006 but I don’t run below .012 at my thinnest. Typically I run .013-.014

[@bryanbetournay5557]

Just starting to play with mine and I had some 7mm-08 necks measuring at .011

[@medhist2006]

I have a lot of new brass. I assume it must be full length sized and trimmed to length before you can neck turned. Does it need to be fired first?

[@vaughnprecision]

medhist2006 you don't need to, but I would recommend firing then trimming and neck turning.