Question about neck turning 6.5 Creedmoor

[BRU15]

Hey all,

So I took delivery of my new 21st Century neck turning lathe, I just started converting 308 LC LR to 6.5 Creedmoor to use in my AR-10 as I've found that Hornady brass doesn't hold up because it's quite soft and Lapua 6.5 Creedmoor is too expensive to risk using in a gas gun.

After I convert them the necks are running .0175" - .0180" so my question is, what should I be turning them down to? I was thinking .0140" would be a good place to start but I wanted to check with others.

Thanks!

 

[BRU15]

What is the dimension of your chamber's neck? That and that alone,dictates that which is requisite,if anything at all.

Hint.

Unfortunately that information didn't come with the barrel. I have an email out to Criterion asking for the reamer specs that they use in the barrels that they make for Fulton Armory.

So really I guess I'm asking what would be a safe bet? I know it's not a super tight chamber.

 

[BRU15]

Less that info,you are pissing up a rope.

Odds are,that it is "roomy" and you'll be fine as the necks set now.

I tried it before I decided to post, .0175" is too thick to chamber .

After looking around at other posts I think I'm going to go with .0145", hopefully the thicker neck will stand up to the abuse a bit better.

Thanks for your help

 

[padom]

308 LC converted to 6.5cm necks will be WAY too thick and requiring turning. I turn to .015 which gives me loaded round neck clearance of .003. Your best bet is to find out the reamer specs so you dont remove too much brass which will result in overworking your brass.

 

[BRU15]

308 LC converted to 6.5cm necks will be WAY too thick and requiring turning. I turn to .015 which gives me loaded round neck clearance of .003. Your best bet is to find out the reamer specs so you dont remove too much brass which will result in overworking your brass.

Hornady brass has a neck thickness of roughly 0.0135" and I've never lost a case due to a split neck as I anneal after every firing so I figured if I go with 0.0145" (assuming I'm unable to get the specs) then that should be a pretty safe thickness. I bought this barrel before I really got into reloading so the reamer specs weren't on the forefront of my mind when I ordered it.

Anywho, Criterion should be able to help me out so until I hear back from them I'll hold off on neck turning all 225 pieces that I've converted.

 

[padom]

Sweetheart,

You did NOT cite chamber specs...so how in the fuck could you Imagine a neck diameter? The OP could not cite his chamber specs and you are in a tizzy to turn same,less any data that matters. Hint.

For giggles,cite the neck thickness which in your estimation,"overworks" the brass. It WILL be funny!

Windowlickers crack me up.

I didnt post MY chamber specs because that data is irrelevant to the OP. Turning to .015 neck thickness gives me loaded round neck diameter .003 under chamber neck. Does that mean if you turned your necks to give you .004 or .005 loaded neck diameter clearance your going to get split necks?? NO. Its pretty common knowledge the less expansion you get the better brass life your going to have.... Sweetheart

And Ill have the last laugh

 

[padom]

Hornady brass has a neck thickness of roughly 0.0135" and I've never lost a case due to a split neck as I anneal after every firing so I figured if I go with 0.0145" (assuming I'm unable to get the specs) then that should be a pretty safe thickness. I bought this barrel before I really got into reloading so the reamer specs weren't on the forefront of my mind when I ordered it.

Anywho, Criterion should be able to help me out so until I hear back from them I'll hold off on neck turning all 225 pieces that I've converted.

Your making your own brass, we arent talking about Hornady here who commercially makes brass to fit a wide range of chambers. Clownbuster who has been selling 308 to 6.5cm Lapua brass on the Hide for what over a year now turns his to .015 as well. You can turn them to whatever you want

 

[cav has been]

Dang it! Larry has only just made an appearance and he is already using terms of endearment to a Mod. I had hoped he would be around longer.

 

[padom]

Have you even converted LC 308 to 6.5cm??? Obviously not because it doesnt chamber, necks are too thick (point of this thread). And your cypher ability is fucked to high heaven.

 

[wilson1911]

I have the same lathe. I turned my necks to 14.

I also got better results trimming the case before sizing it down.

Just do not go too short, they will shrink up a small bit the first 2 firings.

I ran a grain less powder also.

 

[digrazir]

I turn mine to .014 also. Ray

 

[BRU15]

I have the same lathe. I turned my necks to 14.

I also got better results trimming the case before sizing it down.

Just do not go too short, they will shrink up a small bit the first 2 firings.

I ran a grain less powder also.

No worries there, I trim to 1.925" and they come out to 1.915" which allows me to trim down a little after forming for a finish trim using my 3 way cutter.

Just finished forming 355 LC LR cases, did it all in one step as well, after trimming to 1.925" then I run them through my Forster full length sizing die and at that point they will chamber in my rifle then in station 3 run them over my expander mandrel to prep them for neck turning.

They are currently tumbling and then they'll be trimmed to 1.910", neck turned, annealed, primer pocket / flashholes uniformed and then finally loaded.

 

[wilson1911]

They are currently tumbling and then they'll be trimmed to 1.910


This is the part where I would leave them longer. 1.915 would be better because of shrinkage. If you go 910 now they will end up short after fire them.

You will enjoy the lathe if you have not used it yet. I use the dewalt gyro screw driver to spin mine.

 

[Threadcutter308]

In my 6 x 47 Lapua, I turn my necked down, Lapua 6.5 x 47 brass to .0135" finished neck wall thickness. The intent is to make the neck wall thickness as consistent as possible around the entire circumference of the brass. The loaded round neck diameter is .243 + .0135 + .0135 = .270". My chamber's neck diameter = .271" (tight neck, non-SAAMI standard, match chamber). I have found that Lapua's non molested neck diameter for 6.5 x 47 is about .0145", maybe .0150" occasionally. I only remove enough of the neck to make the thickness consistent all the way around, no more. With these numbers, I have consistent thickness and very little expansion from loaded round diameter to chamber neck diameter, which means less work hardening from each firing. Each of my bolt guns has a specific batch of brass that lives with it. It is the only brass that gets fed to that specific rifle and that same brass is never used in any other rifle.

You may find that you will dedicate a specific turner to a specific caliber and just leave it set up that way. When you want to turn brass of a different caliber, you may find yourself just buying a new turner. I'm lazy, that's what I finally ended up doing. And like Wilson 1911 mentioned, if you don't already have a shell plate adapter for a cordless drill, definitely get one.

Hope this helps,

 

[BRU15]

They are currently tumbling and then they'll be trimmed to 1.910


This is the part where I would leave them longer. 1.915 would be better because of shrinkage. If you go 910 now they will end up short after fire them.

You will enjoy the lathe if you have not used it yet. I use the dewalt gyro screw driver to spin mine.

You think they'll shrink that much? They're pretty tight to chamber. I do have to trim them to a uniform length in order to neck turn, hopefully 1.915" will cover all of them as I think a couple ended up around 1.912" due to getting cut a little short initially.

On the plus side I got the print for the barrel, the neck chamber is .296 which according to my math would be .016 maximum neck thickness before it wouldn't chamber at all. I think I'm going to neck turn down to .0145" which will give me .003" of clearance.

 

[wilson1911]

Sounds like your on a good track. Remember when you fire them the first 2 times or so, the shoulder will become sharper. I think this is where the shrinkage comes from. Mine shrank about 5 thou the first 2 firings. They will eventually grow back out if you end up short.

Not sure how much neck turning you have done....but I use imperial on the mandrel and outside the neck when I turn. Any light lube on the outside will work, it takes away that small amount of chatter you get sometimes.

I turn my necks to where a bullet will just slide in/out on a fired case. What I can say...is 12 thou is a bit thin. I also have a reamer, I got a very light donut on some cases after a few firings.

Post up a few pics of your handy work bud. It's the long road to make the cases, but very gratifying when you shoot them.

OH !!! I just forgot, I also use a 40 degree cutter as it blends the neck/shoulder junction better.

What are your thoughts on the lathe ??? I think it's the shitizzle.

 

[BRU15]

Sounds like your on a good track. Remember when you fire them the first 2 times or so, the shoulder will become sharper. I think this is where the shrinkage comes from. Mine shrank about 5 thou the first 2 firings. They will eventually grow back out if you end up short.

Not sure how much neck turning you have done....but I use imperial on the mandrel and outside the neck when I turn. Any light lube on the outside will work, it takes away that small amount of chatter you get sometimes.

I turn my necks to where a bullet will just slide in/out on a fired case. What I can say...is 12 thou is a bit thin. I also have a reamer, I got a very light donut on some cases after a few firings.

Post up a few pics of your handy work bud. It's the long road to make the cases, but very gratifying when you shoot them.

OH !!! I just forgot, I also use a 40 degree cutter as it blends the neck/shoulder junction better.

What are your thoughts on the lathe ??? I think it's the shitizzle.

I actually haven't done any neck turning at all, I bought the lathe solely to form 6.5 Creedmoor and 6mm XC brass from 308 brass as there aren't very many good options available for either. (Lapua is too expensive for an AR-10 and I haven't been impressed with Norma 6 XC brass for $1.15/ea)

However, it is pretty sweet and I did use it to neck turn my first couple trial pieces and I can say that I'm glad I bought it! When I get home I'm planning on trimming and neck turning so I can get to annealing them!

 

[BRU15]

Sounds like your on a good track. Remember when you fire them the first 2 times or so, the shoulder will become sharper. I think this is where the shrinkage comes from. Mine shrank about 5 thou the first 2 firings. They will eventually grow back out if you end up short.

Not sure how much neck turning you have done....but I use imperial on the mandrel and outside the neck when I turn. Any light lube on the outside will work, it takes away that small amount of chatter you get sometimes.

I turn my necks to where a bullet will just slide in/out on a fired case. What I can say...is 12 thou is a bit thin. I also have a reamer, I got a very light donut on some cases after a few firings.

Post up a few pics of your handy work bud. It's the long road to make the cases, but very gratifying when you shoot them.

OH !!! I just forgot, I also use a 40 degree cutter as it blends the neck/shoulder junction better.

What are your thoughts on the lathe ??? I think it's the shitizzle.

Heres 3 that I neck turned tonight, I did find out that I have a small donut though I'm able to push through it on the turning mandrel. I suspect once I anneal and use my carbide mandrel to set neck tension it should push it out.

Anyways, how do these cases look? Unfortunately I only have a 30 degree cutter for right now. Should I go a little farther into the shoulder or no?

 

[wilson1911]

Far left looks excellent bud !!

On the other 2, make sure your just kissing the shoulder. It looks like you used light pressure which makes the best necks. If your trim length is a thou off, go ahead and set it to cut your longer cases and eyeball/feel them at the junction.

If you already have donuts you will be reaming them as it will increase. I normally trim with a giraud, but I have the wilson trimmer that I use to ream with. If your expander is not pushing it out resizing won't get rid of it either.

I would seat bullets in those to see it they chamber correctly, then stop by the range to see if they will shoot ok.

Are you using a ball end mic to measure your necks ?

 

[BRU15]

Far left looks excellent bud !!

On the other 2, make sure your just kissing the shoulder. It looks like you used light pressure which makes the best necks. If your trim length is a thou off, go ahead and set it to cut your longer cases and eyeball/feel them at the junction.

If you already have donuts you will be reaming them as it will increase. I normally trim with a giraud, but I have the wilson trimmer that I use to ream with. If your expander is not pushing it out resizing won't get rid of it either.

I would seat bullets in those to see it they chamber correctly, then stop by the range to see if they will shoot ok.

Are you using a ball end mic to measure your necks ?

Unfortunately there's going to be some variation until after the first firing and I can properly trim them to a uniform length. I'm using the Sinclair neck thickness gage, those 3 are all at 0.0145" on the dot. I did not anneal the cases before I formed them so after I anneal them I suspect the donut will get pushed out instead of springing back like it did.

Some of them chamber really tightly in my bolt action so no matter what I'm going to have to resize them again after annealing, not to mention the neck tension isn't currently enough as it's .001" from the expander mandrel and I will be firing these in my AR-10.

I'm really hoping to avoid reaming as that's just one more set of tools I have to buy!