What Case Trimmers do you all like and recommend?

[hermans]

I use this one.....works very well for all my rifle cases, don't know if you can trim straight wall cases with it?
https://www.littlecrowgunworks.com/s...inal-c31402029

[15meter]

No...but close! Lol...

I need to shorten .357 Maximum Cases to be about 1/8th of an inch Shorter.

These for use in an S & W New Model 3 chambering the original "38/44" Cartridge, which was/is essentially a long version of the 38 S & W Cartridge, where the Cartridge Brass is the full length of the Cylinder, and the .361 Bullets are inside the case entirely.

Since I can not so far find any original .38/44 empty Brass, I have elected to go with the .357 Maximun, which yes, is a little smaller, or if about .004 smaller in diameter, and I expect it will Fire Form to puff out a little bit.

Here is an image showing some original .38/44 Cartridges, still loaded -

OAL is about 1.465 Inches for the examples shown -

I have about 46 Rounds of original Ammunition but I do not want to fire these and shoot them up, so, I have been looking for empty Brass, and it may be who knows how long before I find any, so, I decided to go with the .357 Maximum Cases, and to shorten them, use an expander die for them accept .361 Bullets, and, give it go from there.
Hosted on Fotki


Hosted on Fotki

If you do decide to fire these, I'd pull the bullets, deprime then anneal. OLD brass will probably split due to age hardening. Rare, old brass needs to be handled gently.

[15meter]

And my 2 pennies, even though you've already bought a trimmer, I use the Lee because I can make my own custom length gauges. I load a number of odd ball cases and having a fixed gauge that never changes makes repeatable case length easy.

I chuck the cutter/length gauge up in a drill press.

I also have the Lyman version, it uses standard shell holders. You can only get Lee shell holders for pretty run of the mill cartridges. 50/70, 416 Rigby or a 470 N.E. Are not the kind of cartridges Lee will have a shell holder for.

[Oyeboten]

If you do decide to fire these, I'd pull the bullets, deprime then anneal. OLD brass will probably split due to age hardening. Rare, old brass needs to be handled gently.

Oh no, Lol...I do not want to use or fire these old ones, Lol...

They are somehow just too precious, so I will just keep them.

If I could find original empty Brass, I would gladly use it though.

It is such an obscure Cartridge now, even the Cartridge Collector Groups on Facebook no one had ever heard of it, or of the .32/44 variation.

[Oyeboten]

I use this one.....works very well for all my rifle cases, don't know if you can trim straight wall cases with it?
https://www.littlecrowgunworks.com/s...inal-c31402029

I do not understand how this design would be used -

There is no Carriage or other end of it.

Looks nice though!

[15meter]

I do not understand how this design would be used -

There is no Carriage or other end of it.

Looks nice though!

The website won't come up on the tablet I'm on, but I think that one goes off the gage point on the shoulder to establish the length.

[Oyeboten]

My new "WILSON" Trimmer arrived today!

I'll see if I can get it set up tonight sometime, and try it out!

Will Post Pics..!

[Hick]

Belt sander (I put the cases in a cartridge gauge, trim off the excess on the belt sander, then clean up the mouth with the hand tool). super fast and the cartridge gauge keeps it precise.

[Boolseye]

I use the Lee zip trim. If I’m removing a lot of material (such as when I’m making Mak brass from Luger or 8mm Mauser from 30-06), I chuck the cutter in my drill press.

How’s that Wilson? Reading this thread made me think about upgrading.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Oyeboten]

I use the Lee zip trim. If I’m removing a lot of material (such as when I’m making Mak brass from Luger or 8mm Mauser from 30-06), I chuck the cutter in my drill press.

How’s that Wilson? Reading this thread made me think about upgrading.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am on a work deadline which I did not know I was going to be on, Lol...so, be a couple days till I get any sit down time..!

Stay tuned!

[hermans]

The website won't come up on the tablet I'm on, but I think that one goes off the gage point on the shoulder to establish the length.

That is correct, there is a collet for each caliber, and you adjust the exact depth of the cutter, so it is fully adjustable to exactly the required length to be cut.
If you do a search on YouTube, you get many videos on this cutter.
It is way more accurate/consistent than the lathe type cutters, and much faster as well, so for high volumes of brass to be trimmed, this little cutter is hard to beat!

[Three44s]

My very first trimmer was a Pacific (Hornady) around 1975. The cutter got dull fast.

I have some of the Lee originals but they are fixed length. You would have to grind the length gauge shorter to uniform your batch of cases.

My next and dedicated trimmer was and is the Lyman universal. No collets or shell holders to fiddle with, just bore size pilots as the case head is held by a adjustable head. There is some length variation however.

Next was my Forester. I bought that one to do outside neck turning. It uses collets to hold the case head.

I also own an RCBS and it uses collets. I bought that one used on the net and was going to buy the 3 way cutting head but have not followed through.

In the meantime I fell into three Wilson trimmers and a pile of collets for that system. These collets are based on families of cartridges and hold the body of the case rather than the case head.

For background, a fixed chamber gun headspaces off the bolt face with properly sized brass.

Revolvers headspace off the forward edge of the case rim.

I find the Wilson to be the most accurate and consisent for cartridges that headspace from the bolt face bar none.

With a revolver round things get a little murky. The Lyman universal utilizes a pair of claws the grab the leading edge of cases and a hardened steel ball that centers the case in the holder head and applies forward pressure to keep the case in position during the trim.

I do see variation with my Lyman trimmer on revolver cases to some extent and some of it likely is caused by tightening of the head not being super consistent on my part, the rest being variations in the case heads.

The bit of trimming for length I have done with collet style trimmers that hold the head of the case leaves me suspect. I find it takes a fair amount of finesse to remove larger variations in set up for each trim and that small deviations in rim diameter and rim thickness still leave something to be desired.

I have been using my Lyman universal since I bought it new in 1983. The steel cutter got dull soon and I paid a princely sum for a carbide cutter but the results speak for themselves ..... I am still using that carbide tool. The Lyman is not perfect, my length varies some, my case mouths are not dead nuts square. However it is just about close enough.

Where I demand better, the Wilson system delivers the goods with fixed chamber gun cartridges to the highest standard I know of.

I was too cheap to buy stands for my Wilson trimmers so I went to our farm shop and have built my own stands. I bolt them down to used discarded plastic food cutting boards my wife gives me. I’m building my own hold downs to secure the Wilson collet on them.

So here is the bottom line: I use my Lyman trimmer for all the heavy and medium work and break out the Wilsons for getting down to shooting bugs. My three Wilson’s will be used in succession in that one will be set up for length, one for inside chamfer and number three for radiusing primer pockets on military brass post staging.

With the length and chamfer consistent, I take the case to an inside flashole debur and get that taken care of more consistently.

Three44s

[Oyeboten]

My very first trimmer was a Pacific (Hornady) around 1975. The cutter got dull fast.

I have some of the Lee originals but they are fixed length. You would have to grind the length gauge shorter to uniform your batch of cases.

My next and dedicated trimmer was and is the Lyman universal. No collets or shell holders to fiddle with, just bore size pilots as the case head is held by a adjustable head. There is some length variation however.

Next was my Forester. I bought that one to do outside neck turning. It uses collets to hold the case head.

I also own an RCBS and it uses collets. I bought that one used on the net and was going to buy the 3 way cutting head but have not followed through.

In the meantime I fell into three Wilson trimmers and a pile of collets for that system. These collets are based on families of cartridges and hold the body of the case rather than the case head.

For background, a fixed chamber gun headspaces off the bolt face with properly sized brass.

Revolvers headspace off the forward edge of the case rim.

I find the Wilson to be the most accurate and consisent for cartridges that headspace from the bolt face bar none.

With a revolver round things get a little murky. The Lyman universal utilizes a pair of claws the grab the leading edge of cases and a hardened steel ball that centers the case in the holder head and applies forward pressure to keep the case in position during the trim.

I do see variation with my Lyman trimmer on revolver cases to some extent and some of it likely is caused by tightening of the head not being super consistent on my part, the rest being variations in the case heads.

The bit of trimming for length I have done with collet style trimmers that hold the head of the case leaves me suspect. I find it takes a fair amount of finesse to remove larger variations in set up for each trim and that small deviations in rim diameter and rim thickness still leave something to be desired.

I have been using my Lyman universal since I bought it new in 1983. The steel cutter got dull soon and I paid a princely sum for a carbide cutter but the results speak for themselves ..... I am still using that carbide tool. The Lyman is not perfect, my length varies some, my case mouths are not dead nuts square. However it is just about close enough.

Where I demand better, the Wilson system delivers the goods with fixed chamber gun cartridges to the highest standard I know of.

I was too cheap to buy stands for my Wilson trimmers so I went to our farm shop and have built my own stands. I bolt them down to used discarded plastic food cutting boards my wife gives me. I’m building my own hold downs to secure the Wilson collet on them.

So here is the bottom line: I use my Lyman trimmer for all the heavy and medium work and break out the Wilsons for getting down to shooting bugs. My three Wilson’s will be used in succession in that one will be set up for length, one for inside chamfer and number three for radiusing primer pockets on military brass post staging.

With the length and chamfer consistent, I take the case to an inside flashole debur and get that taken care of more consistently.

Three44s

Thanks for this info Three44s!

I got the "Wilson"..!

[Oyeboten]

Thanks so much everyone for your help and input!

Please pardon me for being "MIA" here a while, Work has been taking up all my time lately.

Anyway, I did send off for the 'Micrometer' version "Wilson" Trimmer, and I got it from "Midway" who was was having a sale on them.

I forgot to also Order a Shell Holder at that time, and I do not even know if Midway sells those, but, no matter, I went on to 'Wilson's Web Site, and did not find a Shell Holder for .357 Maximum, so I got one for .357 Magnum, which would be the same diameter Shell.

I did not see options for ordering Shell Holders for use with Shells that have already been fired, and my Bag of 100 .357 Maximum Brass are all "once fired" shells.

So, Shell Holder arrives, it is beautiful and perfect in every way, and of course, none of the 'once fired' Brass will fit in far enough.

So, I called 'Wilson's today and they were very nice and helpful, and they said for me just to mail the Shell Holder to them along with some of my 'once fired' .357 Maximum Cases, and they will take it from there.

So, I wrote a Cover Letter and will package things up and Mail it to them tomorrow, and we'll go from there.

Pictures and further adventures once the Shell Holder comes back ready to accept my once fired .357 Maximum Cases.

[EDG]

There is no point in trimming fired cases as is.
You should resize them first. Then trim.
Sizing the brass changes its length slightly so it makes no sense to trim a fired case.

Thanks so much everyone for your help and input!

Please pardon me for being "MIA" here a while, Work has been taking up all my time lately.

Anyway, I did send off for the 'Micrometer' version "Wilson" Trimmer, and I got it from "Midway" who was was having a sale on them.

I forgot to also Order a Shell Holder at that time, and I do not even know if Midway sells those, but, no matter, I went on to 'Wilson's Web Site, and did not find a Shell Holder for .357 Maximum, so I got one for .357 Magnum, which would be the same diameter Shell.

I did not see options for ordering Shell Holders for use with Shells that have already been fired, and my Bag of 100 .357 Maximum Brass are all "once fired" shells.

So, Shell Holder arrives, it is beautiful and perfect in every way, and of course, none of the 'once fired' Brass will fit in far enough.

So, I called 'Wilson's today and they were very nice and helpful, and they said for me just to mail the Shell Holder to them along with some of my 'once fired' .357 Maximum Cases, and they will take it from there.

So, I wrote a Cover Letter and will package things up and Mail it to them tomorrow, and we'll go from there.

Pictures and further adventures once the Shell Holder comes back ready to accept my once fired .357 Maximum Cases.

[Oyeboten]

There is no point in trimming fired cases as is.
You should resize them first. Then trim.
Sizing the brass changes its length slightly so it makes no sense to trim a fired case.

Well...I have to re-size them to be a larger diameter.

In order to Load and fire them, I have to shorten the .357 Maximum Cases a little bit, then, I have to enlarge them one way or another.

I will re size the top 1/2 inch or so of the Trimmed cases, for the cases to accept .361 Diameter Bullets, or if possible, I will re-size/expand them as far down as I can anyway, then Fire Form them.

I do not expect them to get any longer with use, or they might even get a little bit shorter with the Fire Forming, we'll see.

Fan back through the Thread so you can see what I am working on with this...it's a little unusual...and fun!

[EDG]

Resizing your cases makes them smaller in diameter. As the case walls are squeezed in the displaced material will cause the cases to elongate slightly.
If you open your cases to a larger diameter you are really using an expander - not a resizer.
If you intend to resize them with a standard die after firing then your should trim them after resizing while they fit your case holder.

Well...I have to re-size them to be a larger diameter.

In order to Load and fire them, I have to shorten the .357 Maximum Cases a little bit, then, I have to enlarge them one way or another.

I will re size the top 1/2 inch or so of the Trimmed cases, for the cases to accept .361 Diameter Bullets, or if possible, I will re-size/expand them as far down as I can anyway, then Fire Form them.

I do not expect them to get any longer with use, or they might even get a little bit shorter with the Fire Forming, we'll see.

Fan back through the Thread so you can see what I am working on with this...it's a little unusual...and fun!

[Sig556r]

A bit pricey but Giraud is one of the most efficient trimmers there is...

[Tripplebeards]

I’ve been using the one included in my RCBS master reloading kit I bought in 99’. I purchased a cordless drill bit chuck for it to speed up the process. The only bad part is the Allen heads slip every once in a while if you push too hard and I’ll end up with a lot of short wrecked brass before I catch it.

[Three44s]

I’ve been using the one included in my RCBS master reloading kit I bought in 99’. I purchased a cordless drill bit chuck for it to speed up the process. The only bad part is the Allen heads slip every once in a while if you push too hard and I’ll end up with a lot of short wrecked brass before I catch it.

I had this problem with my Lyman trimmer as well. Switching to a carbide cutter and breaking the trim down with excessively long cases into a couple of runs with deburring and chamfering included in between runs helped. IE. Shortening those cases in steps.

The immediate solution was to washer or spacer up the shaft between the cutter handle and the base adjuster stop on the shaft so it could not slide away from the cutter head fixed the problem as well.

Three44s