best motorized case trimmer?

[castalott]

I need to buy a motorized case trimmer...But which one...Lyman or RCBS? Tell me your thoughts....

Thanks, Dale

[Hip's Ax]

Its more expensive than the RCBS or Lyman but if your doing a lot of one caliber at a time the Giraud is the 800 pound gorilla of power case trimmers.

http://www.giraudtool.com/prod02.htm

[ron brooks]

You might want to look at Dillion as well.

Ron

[straightshooter1]

I have the Giraud in 30'06 and a conversion in 223. It is THE BEST bar none. Works like a pencil sharpener and if you alternate hands (pick up brass w/right hand, shove it in hole, pull out, shove the piece in left hand in, pull out-keep alternating-right, then left) it is REALLY fast and it chamfers/deburs the mouth at the same time. Lifetime warranty, and real simple.

I have four Dillons, each set up for a different rifle caliber. The Dillon is really fast, too, but you have to completely reset everything if you change calibers. Hence, I have four. You have to have a trim die for each caliber. You still must chamfer/debur in a separate operation, though a lot of 223 shooters don't bother when loading on a Dillon press because, I guess, the inside is chamfered when the casing goes into the powder die. I don't trust not deburring and I use the Giraud for 223.

I have the RCBS Trimmer, motorized for the calibers that Dillon and Giraud don't make specific dies or conversions for like 30-40, 7.7 & 6.5 Jap, & 8X52 Siamese.

All work, all work fast, but the RCBS is the slowest. But compared with a Lee or Lyman it is fantastic.

Bob

[garandsrus]

Castalott,

I bought a Gracey (http://www.matchprep.com/trimmer.htm) without a motor for $121 and then bought a motor and the Giraud carbide cutter. It works great and cost at least $150 less than a Giraud. I tried a Giraud once and it wasn't much different than what I ended up with. Here's a link to the Gracey Upgrade (http://www.giraudtool.com/motorupgrade.htm).

The trimmer is so fast that I don't bother to use a case gague on the fired brass anymore. It is faster to run it through the trimmer than it is to gague it.

One substantial benefit to the Giraud or Gracey trimmer over the Dillon is that it chamfers the inside and outside of the case mouth at the same time it trims the brass. The Dillon cuts the case mouth square. If you are using cast boolits it may not matter as much since you are going to flare the case mouth anyway which means the chamfer doesn't come into play, but it helps load jacketed bullets.

John

[Jack Stanley]

Another Giraud fan here . Mine is in 3006 , if I ever get into a lot of .223's I'll get another .

Jack

[rbt50]

i have rcbs.dillon and giraud these are all good trimmers

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

I believe the RCBS, which I have and am extremely happy with, is one of the more versatile trimmers out there, due to the heads and such that come with it along with the extra heads you can buy for it for chamfering purposes-One of it's nicer features. The chamfering heads make trimming the case mouth a single step operation.

I also have the trim mate to clean up the primer pocket when I'm done trimming. They make a great pair.

That said, if you're doing massive quantities, the Giraud is the best hands down. It isn't cheap and isn't for the lower volume reloader though.

[Lloyd Smale]

ive got an rcbs one with a bunch of pilots and shell holders (mostly hangun) that i would sell for 125 shipped. if your interested email me at lws43@hotmail.com

[376Steyr]

I have a Gracey, and it works great once I finally manage to reset the trim, deburr, and chamfer cutters. If you're going to process more than, say, 200 cases at a time, or leave it set for a single cartridge forever it's a good choice.

[Bret4207]

Forster and a cordless drill. CHEAP!

[Newtire]

Forster and a cordless drill. CHEAP!

Yeah howdy trooper Bret,

[PatMarlin]

LEE shell holder chucked in a Makita cordless in my lap with left hand set on high speed, LEE case chamfer case trimmer tool in my right. I can trim cases so fast I can't imagine anything much faster or easier.

Trim and chamfer in one step. This is the least of my favorite tasks in the process.

[robertbank]

Probably as dumb a question as you will read but from my mechanically challenged brain comes this. I have the Lyman Case trimmer. Is there a way to motorize this set up?

Aside from calling me dumber then a stump no answer will insult me. There was a reason why I spent my life as a banker.

Take Care

Bob

[PatMarlin]

Robert,

I would gladly trade my mechanical knowledge for your financial knowledge any day.. :mrgreen:

[Hackleback]

Patmarlin has the right idea in Post #13. I do the same thing but I have ground 2 flats on the shell holder so I can put a wrench on it. 11/16" if I rember correctly.

[PatMarlin]

I forget what Lee call's it, but the shell holder is the one they make for trimming cases. It clamps the case with a twist... :drinks:

[versifier]

robertbank,
You can buy a "power adapter" for your Lyman Universal to hook it up to an electric drill. (Midway #726-582, $15.99US.)

[Win86]

Hello everyone. Being new to this website I must say; Lots of cool stuff to read!

My first question is along the lines of this thread about power trimmers: If a guy wanted to trim lots of 45-70 brass which power trimmer works best for that type of case?

Appreciate the help and suggestions,

Win86

[straightshooter1]

For the 45-70 I use my RCBS trimmer. I am unaware of any faster way to do 45-70. I only have to do it once, when it is new, or when I buy once-fired. I haven't seen it "grow" is several firings.

Anyway, the motorized RCBS or most any similar is probably the fastest.
As to best, any that trims to the length desired consistently. My RCBS does that.

Bob

[Win86]

Thanks Bob,
I may look into the RCBS. currently, I use the Forester trimmer for about everything but is it ever slow with large cases like the 45-70.

Win86

[woody1]

Here's what I did to my RCBS case trimmer. Pretty much no cost as I had all the motor, pulleys and sewing machine controller. Is it overpowered? YUP, but it's fast! I control the motor with a salvaged sewing machine foot feed. It works for me. Regards, Woody

[jhalcott]

robert bank, I cut an X in the end of the shaht of my Lyman hand crank trimmer with a cutting blade in the dremel tool I made it big enough to fit a Phillips screw driver bit. Chuck the bit in the cordless drill and trim out in the sun shine if I want! I don't normally trim hundreds of cases at a time ,so the Giraud and gracey are too pricey for me !Plus the fact that I load for so many calibers the cost of the pilots is much more to my liking.I "fixed" my rcbs the same way.I also use the Lee trimmer for quick touch ups occassionally. Lyman does make a shaft that is designed to work with a drill.

[robertbank]

Thanks fellows. Midway won't ship to Canada but Lyman will. Just a couple bucks more. Was going to have it shipped by Midway to a friend in Texas but that would involve double postage and I might as well support a company that ships to Canada. I am going to get the new shaft, I have a few more .38spl cases to trim up then I want to do by hand.

Take Care

Bob

[dagamore]

Damn Woody1 tahts a monster, i just used a cordless screwdriver and spin it with that. Wow thats massive overkill, i need to ukpgrade mine i guess, i wonder what a B&S 2stroke will run......

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Woody1,

Awesome. How do you get the cutter to move into the brass and still keep the belt in alignment?

Regards,

Dave

[woody1]

Woody1,

Awesome. How do you get the cutter to move into the brass and still keep the belt in alignment?

Regards,

Dave

As you can see from the photo the belt is in alignment before pushing the cutter shaft into the case. The belt is loose in that position but tightens as the shaft is moved right into the cutting position. There's a free spinning handle at the left end of the shaft that allows me to push the shaft to cutting position and tensions the belt. When finished with the cut I just quit pushing the shaft right and the belt alignment pulls it away from the cut for the eject of the case. I hope this is making sense. I'm drugged up and in pain from trying to pass a kidney stone! Regards, Woody

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

OUCH!! I've been there done that kidney stone thing. I'm entirely sympathetic. Make yourself some weak sweet tea and enhance it with lemon and drink a lot of that, seemed to work real well for me along with a couple of beers in the evening.

Thanks for the information.

Dave

[Win86]

Thanks Bob, your suggestion sounds reasonable and cost effective. If anyone has trimmed large cases like the 45-70 with their Forester trimmer, it is a pain!

Win86

[grumpy one]

I may be missing something Win86, but the Forster trimmer has two mounting positions for the tailstock, plus an optional extra-long base, to suit those long cases. I agree it's a pain to shift between long cases and short cases though.

Personally I hate setting up case trimmers, and I only load two calibers, so I keep a separate case trimmer permanently set up for each. Because one of them is 30-30, and those cases don't seem to grow much if at all, it works out pretty well (that one is an el cheapo trimmer). The Lee device is an even more convenient solution, but doesn't work for me because it gives too much variation in case length (measures from the inside of the web instead of the rear of the case), and can't be adjusted for length - trims them way too short to suit me.

[PatMarlin]

Get well soon... I get those stones too Woody. I can't eat chocolate anymore. Makes em grow.. :mrgreen:

KO'd me one time.. :roll:

[Win86]

Grumpy One;
Your right about the Forester being adjustable for longer cases. What is a pain is this: 45-70 cases are to large in the rim area to fit into the case holder like normal so, the t-handle must be unscrewed each time to allow feeding of cases into the holder through the handle end of things. Replacement of the threaded t-handle then allows for tightening of the case for trimming. Doing this for each case is a pain.

Win86

[KYCaster]

The Lee device is an even more convenient solution, but doesn't work for me because it gives too much variation in case length (measures from the inside of the web instead of the rear of the case), and can't be adjusted for length - trims them way too short to suit me.

Grumpy: The Lee trimmer should go through the flash hole and contact the lock stud to control the length rather than inside the case. Length is pretty consistant, from what I've seen, although as you say, somewhat short. But there's an easy cure for that. Screw the pilot in till it contacts the cutter then back it out a bit. At 24tpi., one quarter turn will add just over .010 to the length, 1/8 turn = .005...etc. The threads are tight enough to maintain the setting.

Chuck the lock stud in a drill clamped in a vice, plug it into a foot switch and trimming goes pretty quick.

It works for me.

Jerry

[toecutter]

I did something similar to Jerry (KYCaster). I put the lee lock-stud in a little vise on the table of my drill press, and then chucked the cutter up in the chuck. I have noticed the variation with the case length guage, typically it's caused by uneven pressure. To combat this I set the drill depth lock on the press, this usually comes out pretty good for my .223 brass.

I am currently working on a new setup for doing the same. I want to build an air-chuck arrangement for locking the cases into place (this replaces the lock-stud). and I was working on a redesign of the cutter that would be similar to the GTC cutter arrangement. I was thinking of a set of twin opposed carbide inserts set onto a mandrel.

I figure with an AC and the new cutter, I could just use the drill depth guage on the press to make sure I'm at least close to where I want to be. All this cutting, deburring, and other processing of bulk brass is really getting me down.

[MikeSSS]

I use a half inch drill resting on my left leg. A Lee case holder is chucked in the drill and the speed stop is set for a nice low speed.

The Lee case trimmer is held in the right hand as is the Lee inside case camfer tool or a VLD camfer tool.

Light trigger tap the drill to get the case holder to the right place. Twist, remove last case, insert new case, twist, trigger, trim and deburr. Next.

I like to be able to feel the cutter cut and stop cutting. This rig works really well and is cheap.

I bought a mini hand cranked lathe type, benchrest style trimmer for my 6PPC and 6BR cases. Using it really is a bummer. My hands hurt. I need a Lee trimmer for those cases too.

Richard Lee is a genius.

[PatMarlin]

Yep that LEE guy is pretty sharp. It's amazing how fast a drill and $2 bucks in tools will process brass. I bet it's quicker or as fast as an expensive rig.. :drinks: