Case Trimmer Question

[wv109323]

I have an older RCBS Case Trimmer. The thing has one major drawback that I need help with.
When you trim a case to length you can not remove the pilot out of the case mouth. I mean it takes a lot of force to remove the pilot.
The brass that is trimmed causes a flange that makes the easy removal of the pilot impossible.
It seems like the smaller the caliber the more difficult the task becomes.
Is there a solution that I am overlooking?

[parrott1969]

Are you sure your sizing die is not under sizing the necks? You could put the pilot in a drill and polish/sand it down a little.

[swamp]

I use a Forster and once in awhile I will have that problem. In my case it is the pilot not seated all the way against the cutter head. The tiny gap lets a small edge of brass get in there. Makes it a pain for sure.
swamp

[km101]

Make sure there is no "gunk" between the pilot and the cutter that would hold the cutter away from the shaft. If the cutter in not a flush fit, it will cause this problem. Polish the pilot if necessary, but try not to round the shoulder as this will make the situation worse.

[GRUMPA]

I have an older one just like you do, there I was fiddling with the thing trying all the things I could think of. Well to make a long story short anything pistol related I had a custom trimmer made up, as far as rifle RCBS makes the 3-way cutter trimmer and that's by far the easiest route to take, here's a picture of but 1 of the heads I had custom made.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/162764ea7503a8fadb.jpg

I have them in pistol and rifle and I trim the heck out of pistol cases when I do my swaging, I typically take off over .075 from the case for swaging and it takes me longer to load the case to the trimmer than it does to trim it with the drill hooked up to it. So far I've done over 150k with my conversions I sell on this site and I have yet to sharpen it, it trims the inside, outside, and face all in 1 shot.

[wv109323]

Thanks for the replies.
I took a file to the pilot and it made a world of difference. I may have taken .001-.002" off the diameter. Thanks again.

[Mohavedog]

I have the exact same complaint with my older RCBS trimmer. I have to use a rag to grasp the cutter knob to be able to overcome the burr and pull the cutter out of the neck on .223 (which is 90% of my trimming). I have given some thought to filing a small bevel on the cutter side of the pilot while trying to leave the od of the pilot full size.

[1hole]

I'm no great fan of RCBS trimmers but that pilot hang-up thing is common with a lot of trimmers, for the reasons explained above. It's easy to 'fix'; withdraw the pilot after a couple of turns and reinsert. That will turn the inward burr and let it get cut on the next turn. Doing that will also make your finished trim lengths more consistant.

[Mohavedog]

I'm no great fan of RCBS trimmers but that pilot hang-up thing is common with a lot of trimmers, for the reasons explained above. It's easy to 'fix'; withdraw the pilot after a couple of turns and reinsert. That will turn the inward burr and let it get cut on the next turn. Doing that will also make your finished trim lengths more consistant.

Yep, I can see that working if you're turning the cutter by hand, but I use a electric drill to turn the cutter so that solution doesn't work.

[Whiterabbit]

The 3-way trimmer is a GREAT way to go.

Even though you already solved your problem, consider this: You can get the 3-way pilot for very very cheap. So when you trim, you'll get a nice chamfer too. And no burr to stick under your pilot.

I suggest buying one, even though you already solved the problem.