Fast way to trim/de-burr rifle brass

[Deep Six]

I don't load a whole lot of rifle ammunition, so the Lee Zip Trim + a drill system has worked perfectly fine for me so far. At least until last week anyways. I got a call from one of my buddies saying that he scored 1200 pieces of Lake City 30-06 brass at the local gun show and he wanted to load them for his Garand. My Hornady LnL AP will make quick work of the loading, but I need a faster way to trim the brass after sizing them. Without getting into the $$$$ commercial operation-type equipment, I don't see anything out there that would significantly speed up the process. What method is everyone using to trim rifle brass in a hurry?

Also, does anyone have a source for an 8 lb jug of 4895? It's currently as available as unobtanium at my usual sources.

[thebigmac]

I don't load a whole lot of rifle ammunition, so the Lee Zip Trim + a drill system has worked perfectly fine for me so far. At least until last week anyways. I got a call from one of my buddies saying that he scored 1200 pieces of Lake City 30-06 brass at the local gun show and he wanted to load them for his Garand. My Hornady LnL AP will make quick work of the loading, but I need a faster way to trim the brass after sizing them. Without getting into the $$$$ commercial operation-type equipment, I don't see anything out there that would significantly speed up the process. What method is everyone using to trim rifle brass in a hurry?

Also, does anyone have a source for an 8 lb jug of 4895? It's currently as available as unobtanium at my usual sources.

DEEP SIX;
Check "C-H" tool co. I have an electric case trimmer/inside & outside deburring. It will trim and deburr the outside, then you
have an inside deburrer at the other end of the drive shaft.
Need a picture? e-mail me={thebigmacm@yahoo.com}
Can do 1200 in one evening..

[Deep Six]

Their power case trimmer looks like it'd do the job pretty quick. Unfortunately, at $326 without any pilots, it doesn't fit in the reloading tool budget at this time. Certainly something to ponder for the future though...

http://www.ch4d.com/equipment/case-trimmers/PCT-1000

[Ickisrulz]

The World's Finest Trimmer works well. About $75/caliber family. I use it for .223 and can do hundreds in an hour.

[Mk42gunner]

If this is a one time thing to help your buddy out, the old Lee trimmer and an electric drill will be the cheapest, and not all that much slower than one of the lathe type trimmers. Downside is most of the cases I trimmed with the Lee cutter and lockstud were on the short side when I actually measured them.

The lathe type trimmers like the Lyman accu-trimmer, work a bit faster and you can adjust the length to whatever you want. I used mine with the hand crank for a very short while, then sprang for the power adapter to use a drill for rotational power.

Have I mentioned that I really loathe and detest trimming brass? I usually wait until I have a significant quantity to do before I set up my trimmer, I do not like to mess with it for short runs.

Robert

[GRUMPA]

If you have one of these trimmers or access to one the custom trimmer head works great, I do just under 1k an hour when I make my 300BLK brass.

81020

Trimmer head cost me $65 and has done at least 750k and all I've done to it is sharpen the cutting blades.

[Sensai]

I use the Lee trimmer and case length guage/pilot on a drill press without the case holder. it's as fast or faster than my Forster trimmer and a heck of a lot easier. I haven't run into the problem of the cases being short like MK42gunner has, but it would be worth checking. If you don't have a drill press I suppose a drill would do the same thing, you'd just have to use the case holder. I just hold the case against the drill press platform by hand. The pilot keeps me honest about keeping the mouth square. I suppose the smaller cases would require a different approach to the holding thing. The closer to the center axis the more leverage you would loose. I do 30-06, 243 and 45/70 with no problem.

[41 mag fan]

Worlds Finest trimmer by Little Crow Gunworks.

I can trim 223 cases at 500/hr. Quick easy and very little if any burr left on the trim. Most times i don't need to chamfer.
I also got it in 300blk out. Same rate of 500/hr.

[SODAPOPMG]

The best way is to setup the trimmer that you have then give it to your buddy and have him trim his brass
after all it is for him so he should do some of the work

[d_man2]

I agree wholeheartedly with Sensai. just chuck the Lee case length gauge and trimmer in your drill press and hold the case in the Lee Case holder with a handle, it makes super quick work out of them.

[Cmm_3940]

I use this for .223 but it will work for 30-06 as well.. RCBS makes a 3-way cutter head for their trim-pro trimmer. It trims, deburrs, and chamfers at the same time. Fully adjustable as to inside/outside cut. It looks a lot like the one GRUMPA posted, but is available off the shelf for common calibers. Add your cordless drill and you can crank out identically trimmed/deburred/chamfered cases really fast.


http://www.sinclairintl.com/reloading-equipment/case-preparation/case-trimming/replacement-cutters/rcbs-trim-pro-3-way-cutters-6-5-mm-sku749006007-33450-63454.aspx

Chris

[Maximumbob54]

I don't see any for sale at the moment but CTS trimmers work pretty good. A drill chuck adapter for a case chamfer tool would make two quick steps.

[M Hicks]

I'd check to see if they need trimming first. If they don't, great and run with it. If they do, show your buddy how to do it. Same with lubing and sizing all those cases. Not to mention removing the crimp in the primer pocket. If they are LC they have a crimped primer pocket, or did at one point.

There can be some very valuable lessons learned from this.

Your buddy will greatly appreciate the reloading process, especially case prep.
He will learn some things.
He will have a new found respect for each trigger pull when firing off the rounds.
It will provide you a little entertainment.

As for the powder, I don't have a clue.

[Lead Fred]

you measured them cases? even once fired are normally short.

Ive always used a wilson case trim lathe. Not fast, just darn accurate

[W.R.Buchanan]

If you read the above posts you will see one method repeated several times. It is the simple Lee trimmer used in a drill press.

You can easily hold onto .30-06 cases while doing it and the speed will be determined by how fast you can pick up and drop cases. If you had another small drill press or just a electric drill you could clamp to the bench next to your drill press you could break the edge on the case you just trimmed very quickly and drop it into a bucket on the floor.

As far as deburring the outside just throw them in your tumbler with no media and let them run for an hour or so and that action will knock off all the burrs on the outside.

This job will be more about handling the parts than how you actually trim the case. There is literally a hundred different ways to do the job.

Randy

[benellinut]

There is a company named Possum Hollow that has been making a trimmer like (and long before) the Worlds Finest Trimmer came along. The two main differences are, the Possum Hollow Kwick Case Trimmer cost much less and the Possum Hollow has a Derlin insert for a indexing stop (where the datum of the sized case touches) where the WFT uses a bearing. The Derlin is tough stuff and slippery, no need for any lube. I've been using my Possum Hollow trimmers for about eight years now, thousands of cases trimmed and not a hint of wear showing on the Derlin. By indexing off the datum, you'll get a consistent trim length every time, unlike some other trimmers that will just frustrate the hell out of you. The cutter inside the trimmer is a regular four fluted 3/8 end mill. I keep a case that's the corret lenght with the trimmer. If I need to adjust it, just lossen the set screw, insert the case, slid the mill bit to just lightly touch the case mouth, tighten the set screw and I'm done.

They also make a drill adapter that holds the trimmer which happens to be the same size as the RCBS (and many other brands) chaffering/de-burring tool, so you can chuck up and use the de-burring tool in the same adapter. You could mount a drill to the bench and feed the cases into the trimmer to speed things up. I mounted mine to an old second hand small 1/3 horse motor with 1/4 inch drill chuck I mounted onto the shaft. I set the motor on the edge of my bench and put a cardboard box on the floor under it. With my left hand I'll grab a few cases from a pile, with my right I push the case in the trimer for 1 or 2 seconds, you'll feel and hear when the trimming is done, then I just pull the case out a tad and just let it fall from my hand into the box, you can do 1000 in one setting with no problem. Once they are all trimmed, I swap the trimmer out for the de-burring tool and run the cases the same way. With the de-burring and chaffering, you only have to just touch the case for a split second and it's done.

Over the years I've used file trim dies (which I also like but it's slow), a conventional Hornady trimmer (hate it), the Lee Zip trimmers (not bad) and the Possum Hollow, I have one Possum Hollow for my .223 brass and one that will do my 30-06 & .270 cases. I now use the Possum Hollow for everything I can, the Lee is 2nd runner up, lastly the good ole file trim dies. The Hornady I got rid of because you can't get a constant trim length with it because of the way it holds the cases but that's a long story for another day. The Possum Hollow is hands down, for the money I spent, the best value for an easy, fast, reliable and accurate trimmer. Midway sells them at $25 for the trimmer and $10 for the drill adapter but they are all sold out right now. Maybe you can Google and find them elsewhere or order them right from Possum Hollow, they make some other handy tools too. https://www.possumhollowproducts.com/KWICK_CASE_TRIMMERS.html

[Lloyd Smale]

fastest way ive found is mounting a dillon power trimmer on a progressive press but its sure not the cheapest way.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

fastest way ive found is mounting a dillon power trimmer on a progressive press but its sure not the cheapest way.

I agree with Lloyd. I have the Dillon RT1200. If you use an RCBS Lube Die in station 1, then the Dillon Trim Die W/1200 Trimmer in any station from 3 to 5, your brass is lubed, sized and trimmed while on the progressive press. If you attach a small Shop Vac (very affordable at Lowe's) to suction off most of the brass trimmings, then when they come off the press, they're ready to tumble to clean the primer pocket and any lube/missed brass trimmings. At that point, toss the ready to load brass in a plastic bin until you're ready to use them. Fast and convenient.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I have a Dillon Trimmer also but haven't gotten to use it yet. It was part of a package deal.

Dave's set up above sounds like it could be a really fast way to do multiple operations.

I might set mine up to do my .223 brass. I have extra tool heads and dedicating one to this function seems feasible.


Always looking for better ways to make ammo. It's part of the hobby for me.

Randy

[Browningshooter]

The LEE deluxe quick trim should be here tomorrow. I'll give it a whirl and let you know my results.
- Will

[1Shirt]

I use lee trimmers (have one for each ctg I load for) with a cordless drill. Do it watching t. v. with a towel in my lap to catch the trim. Works well, and I found it faster than the redding and lyman trimmers I had, so sold them on e-bay, and bought the lees. Never looked back!
1Shirt1

[Whiterabbit]

I can do 500 pcs of brass in 15 minutes with the lee trimmer. Here's how:

first, I use a lathe. A drill press would work, but speed is about ERGONOMICS! It's much better to push sideways than push up on the case to cut it. The cutter goes in the jaws, I hold the case by hand.

Second, I ditch the lee handle. That takes too long to chuck a case in and out of the handle. slow! I use a primer as the datum point. Spent or not, it makes no difference.

You can't use the bottom of the case as the datum point, it's not uniform. Primer location in the case is, you can trust that. The only thing is the lee pilots are too long, so you have to grind off the tip a smidge and polish (since you technically CAN run this on live primers, it works like a champ).

Two buckets, pull a case out, push against the cutter till the pilot hits the spend primer in the case, toss in the trimmed bucket.

-------

When finished remove the lee cutter, install the chamfer bit. start over. When finished, flip around and deburr. Each operation takes roughly 5 minutes (about 4.5) to do 500 pcs.

I can do 500 pcs of brass in 15 minutes, from "cutter chucked and ready to go" to "remove debur from lathe and take my bin of prepped brass back to the loading bench"

[Sensai]

You can't use the bottom of the case as the datum point, it's not uniform.

I really can't see not using the case head as a datum point for trimming when it's used as the datum point for every other operation that's performed during the reloading cycle. Every measurement taken, from case length, to cartridge overall length, to shoulder length, is referenced to the head of the case. Not trying to be contrary, but it seems to me that changing an established reference point would not be a good thing.:???:

[rondog]

Nobody here uses a Giraud? Mine is priceless to me!

[madman]

Dillon XL650 and their trimmer. I have done thousands of 223 and larger rifle brass and there is nothing faster that I have found. I have done over 10 thousand this year so far and I have never looked back. I do all the prep work for several friends to feed a bunch of AR's and varmint rifles every thing from 223 to 338 win mag. Money well spent. You could also advertize your services to process brass and pay for the equipment. There are several guy's that do it for a fee arond here.

[Whiterabbit]

I really can't see not using the case head as a datum point for trimming when it's used as the datum point for every other operation that's performed during the reloading cycle. Every measurement taken, from case length, to cartridge overall length, to shoulder length, is referenced to the head of the case. Not trying to be contrary, but it seems to me that changing an established reference point would not be a good thing.:???:

You are not being contrary, you are confused about my words.

You see, LEE pilots go INSIDE the case, not the outside. So the LEE pilot, with no handle or primer in place, will seek, as the datum point, the bottom of the INSIDE of the case.

This is not uniform from case to case. You can try it yourself and see. I don;t think that'll be needed though, you clearly misunderstood the bottom of the case as NOT in reference to the LEE pilot.

[Whiterabbit]

So, let me re-explain in another way, where the datum point is in the method I suggested above:

The LEE METHOD (lee method here), does NOT use the bottom of the case as the datum point. The LEE METHOD uses a secondary surface as the datum point. This secondary surface (the ball handle) is located using the bottom of the case as a primary datum point. So your cases come out uniform because, at the end of the day, the REAL datum point is defined by the de-facto datum point of the bottom of the case.

Now, when I made my suggestion, I did the same thing. However, I replaced the LEE primary datum point with my own primary datum point. In my case, the inside of the anvil of a primer. This will only yield uniform results if the inside of the anvil is in a uniform loction with respect of the secondary datum point, the bottom of the case.

Well, it is. You can try it.

Therefore, the method I suggested above will provide uniform results with respect to the BOTTOM of the case.

[Whiterabbit]

By the way, it should be noted (I'm using separate posts to keep each major point separate), that the giraud and similar trimmers dont use the BOTTOM of the case as the main datum point, but rather the shoulder of the case as the datum point for trim length. This requires your case shoulders to be at the same location for the same results. This may not always be the case.

UNLESS, your standard of same results is the same amount of neck tension on the case, since that is what is gonna vary after trimming if shoulders are not in a uniform spot.

Just more food for thought.

[Sensai]

OK, now I understand what you're talking about. I'm not using the inside bottom of the case as a reference. The Lee case length gauges that I use go through the primer flash hole and use whatever is supporting the case head as the reference datum point. Lee uses their shellholder case tightening screw, I just use the clean cast iron drill press table. Either should be the same point as the case head surface. Using your method, how do you measure the case length and how much difference is there between case length and your modified case length gauge?

[Whiterabbit]

I measure by trimming a case first then screwing the pilot in farther if it is too long. It's eventually right. I measure progress by the neck to base length. (total case length)

I don't care what the length of the gauge is, so long as the finished product is right. It's repeatable after that.

[Sensai]

Well, one advantage of doing it your way is that you can vary the case length. Doing it my way, you're at the mercy of the case gauge length, unless you want to file it down. I haven't had a problem with the length, though.

[Whiterabbit]

I like your way. you can still vary the length, just unscrew the pilot. What, do you mash the pilot into the cutter or something? I'd never do that to my cutter! and the pilots are really short, anyways.

I still like my way better (ergonomics), but I never considered using the drill press table as the datum point. pretty clever.

[popper]

Shoulder based trimmers are the best as once the shoulder is set you only trim what and when needed. Been trying to find a 308 PH trimmer for 6 mo.

[Browningshooter]

The LEE quick trim worked ok. Only ran about 30 cases thru it so I need to use it a little more. I like that it trims AND deburs in one step.
- Will

[IROCZ]

I use a Gracey from Matchprep.com. Great machine for producing lots of match grade CMP ammo.