Cutting off 223 brass

[roysha]

I have a couple of guns that use shortened 223 brass as the basis for the round.

I have a small band saw that would work very well for shortening the brass using a jig that I could make with very little problem.

So, what would you folks recommend for TPI for the blade?

[bangerjim]

Any band saw, no matter the TPI of the blade, will leave VERY jagged and rough mouths! You will spend unbelievable amounts of time trying to clean up the jagged, rough, uneven mouths. If you must cut 223 brass, look at using a metal slitting saw like the little Harbor Freight metal cut-off saw which many on here use with success.

A bandsaw cutting round stock is an accident looking for a place to happen! If you do go that route, PLEASE be very careful to insure you have 10 fingers left.....even with the best of jigs you can come up with. I have been doing lots of metal and woodworking for over 5 decades and still have all my digits....and am VERY cautious!

Good luck

[country gent]

A simple jig from square stock with a "chamber" thru center and true can be used to hold cases to cut. A small metal cutting fiber saw blade with correct blade will cut these cases quickly and effiently. A small fiber bladed saw will leave a decent finish. A true saw blade even a 28 0r 32 tpi will leave a very rough edge, grabbing and pulling possibly bending the case at the cut. We made some of these small saws up using die grinders and 3" cutt off wheels for areas at work. They did a wonderful job. A jig or fixture with stop built added to the guide rail can be very accurate.

[JHeath]

I have noticed several people mention Harbor Freight has a small $40 abrasive chopsaw ideal for cutting down brass. I'd look into that.

[jmorris]

I would get the finest tooth blade and run it as fast as you can, that will likely still be too slow.

I built this machine to cut .223 brass, it uses a HSS blade turning 3000 rpm.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNXz97yWp2w

[jmorris]

I did make this simple fixture to cut down a hand full of 308 cases to form my 45 acp shot shells.

The knurled knob/screw locks the case in place and the stock sits in the angle iron clamped into the saw so everything stays square.

http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20140401_171403_613_zpsib8u8sqw.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/reloading/45%20acp%20shotshell%20die/IMG_20140324_174317_588_zpsbb497e50.jpg

It is slow but also works.

[roysha]

All righty then, it would appear to not be such a good idea. Oh well, it's not the first nor will it be the last. I guess it's HF mini chop saw.

[bangerjim]

I have noticed several people mention Harbor Freight has a small $40 abrasive chopsaw ideal for cutting down brass. I'd look into that.

It is NOT an abrasive wheel! It is a tool steel slitting saw mounted on a teeny brush-type universal motor. I use similar saw blades in my milling machines to precision-cut metals and make screw slots. The under-powered HF saw will cut thin stuff but the blades will not last long at all against good steel. I use the 3 HF saws I have for wood, plastic and brass bar stock Gives an ultra-clean cut! Do not use an abrasive cutoff wheel as it will overheat the brass, burn it , and you will have a bunch of useless brass. Abrasive wheels are made for ferrous metals, not brass, copper, or bronze.

Get one. You will use it for a number of cut-off jobs around your shop.

[Artful]

I use whatever sears sold me as a metal cutting blade in my band saw and
patterned my jig after this to make 300 Whisper brass.
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii127/freedell/null_zpse61a3d7c.jpg (http://s263.photobucket.com/user/freedell/media/null_zpse61a3d7c.jpg.html)

worked ok didn't leave that jagged an edge IMHO - I did have to final trim with a rotary trimmer.

I then had a friend offer to use his Dillon trimmer in his 1050 which not only cut them down
but swaged primer pocket and rough sized 'em [smilie=w:
Didn't cost me much to do it that way so I quit making mine from scratch.

[paul h]

As I recall the rule of thumb is three teeth should be in contact with the surface you're cutting, so with brass ~0.015" thick that would be teeth spaced 0.005" apart or 200 tpi.

[bangerjim]

Good point I forgot to mentioned. A rule I use when cutting bar and plate stock in my horizontal bandsaws.

AND.........the slitting saws I use are 80 to 100 TPI and will cut/slit thin metals.....if those metals are rigidly held and cannot grab, move, or shift!

I really do not think your can find OR afford a 200 tpi bandsaw blade for your "small bandsaw".

banger

[Bodean98]

One of these works like a charm!!!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TruePower-919-High-Speed-Mini-Miter-Cut-Off-Saw-2-Inch-/321918752625?hash=item4af3da5771:g:0VwAAOSwZVhWRAP 7

[bangerjim]

One of these works like a charm!!!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TruePower-919-High-Speed-Mini-Miter-Cut-Off-Saw-2-Inch-/321918752625?hash=item4af3da5771:g:0VwAAOSwZVhWRAP 7


That is the HF saw in a different box. Same China stuff - different brand.

[jmorris]

FWIW the blade on the machine I posted in #5 is about 14 TPI but at 3000 rpm that is just shy of 4000 FPM blade speed. Quite a bit faster than the 320 FPM of the bandsaw posted in #6.

[BigEyeBob]

what about those tubing cutters used for copper tube? Just need a mandrel that fits into the case with a radial groove for the blade to cut to made to a good fit it makes a nice cut .
Ive used one a few years back while to cut 500 x 3"1/4 cases down for my double rifle to 3" .
Didn't have a case trimmer in those days .

[Artful]

If my counting is correct it appears to be 31 teeth per inch on the bandsaw blade for cutting metal on my little bandsaw.

[NavyVet1959]

I used a diamond bladed wet saw for tile cutting once for curiosity's sake. It worked and there was no chance of the brass overheating. :)

I've also just hooked my trimmer up to a power drill and cut from full length .223 down to .300 AAC and it worked pretty well. All in all, it probably was quicker than the way I was doing with the rough cut, followed by finish trim once I factored in the loading the brass in the holder each time for the rough cut.

[rbuck351]

I would use either my mini lathe or my tile saw but I doubt you want to buy something that expensive for cutting off cases unless you're going to do a bunch.

[paul h]

True a mini lathe is expensive just for trimming brass, but you can make so many odds and ends for reloading and casting not to mention gunsmithing projects that they are really, really handy to have.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

I generally do not think much of Harbor Fright but the Mini chop saw is a real gem for shortening cases.

BvT

[Wolfer]

When making my 34-57 cases from 35 Whelen after I push the shoulder back I hold them up to a preset caliper and mark them with a new sharpie. I cut the 1/4" or so off with a tubing cutter. Then I run them back into the sizer to take the bell out and finish trim with the Lee trimmer.
Takes longer to type it than to do it.

[marlinman93]

I've been using the HF mini chop saw now for case shortening. I'm pretty happy with it, and for rough cutting it does a good job. I set a stop up for the rim of the case, so I can clamp it on the mini saw, and then just drop a case in and clamp it at a set length. It makes quick work of brass cases, and that's all I use the HF saw for.

[1_Ogre]

I use a tubing cutter to cut down 308 brass for my 45ACP shot shells. Time consuming but clean cuts. Good thing to do if your sittin infront of the boob tube some night

[6bg6ga]

An elcheapo cut off wheel saw works great for cutting down .223/5.56 brass to make 300 blackout. I doubt that we could commission jmorris to build something for us so the next best thing. There are a few sellers on ebay that market jigs to do this. One word of caution is this.. use a magnet and go thru the shell casings you wish to cut back. This will allow you to pull out any steel cases. The steel cases quickly make junk out of a new saw blade rendering it useless. Have made hundreds of 300 black cases and haven't regretted the money spent on the saw and jig. In addition a small case deburring setup to deburr the case mouths inside and out as well as the primer pockets works well. I opted for the Hornady unit.

[jmorris]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaBON6F1LlQ

[wonderwolf]

Jmorris is that a dickeys cup as your "spoils container"? lol that is a slick set up you have there...looks great!

[perotter]

I would get the finest tooth blade and run it as fast as you can, that will likely still be too slow.

I built this machine to cut .223 brass, it uses a HSS blade turning 3000 rpm.

.....

That machine is certainly is slicker than snot on a hoe handle!!!!

Thanks for taking the time to video it and post it.

[Elkins45]

Any band saw, no matter the TPI of the blade, will leave VERY jagged and rough mouths! You will spend unbelievable amounts of time trying to clean up the jagged, rough, uneven mouths. If you must cut 223 brass, look at using a metal slitting saw like the little Harbor Freight metal cut-off saw which many on here use with success.

A bandsaw cutting round stock is an accident looking for a place to happen! If you do go that route, PLEASE be very careful to insure you have 10 fingers left.....even with the best of jigs you can come up with. I have been doing lots of metal and woodworking for over 5 decades and still have all my digits....and am VERY cautious!

Good luck

That hasn't been my experience at all. I did 1000 with a metal blade on my tabletop bandsaw and trimmed them to length with the Lee trimmer just like normal. You would be surprised how much gets ironed out by the sizing die neck and the expander ball. Once I formed the necks on them trimming wasn't any more difficult than trimming any other bottlenecked round.

I made a wooden jig so I could use the miter guide as a sliding pusher and length reference. I don't remember the tpi of the blade other than to say it was the finest one that Lowe's had to fit my little 9" machine.

[NavyVet1959]

I went with the L.E. Wilson case trimmer for making my .300 AAC brass. Initially, I did it as follows:


rough cut with a mini circular saw blade in a Dremel tool
trimmed to length in the Wilson unit
resize the case with the normal resizing die
trim to length again in the Wilson unit
debur the case again


After the first 20 or so cases, I decided that I would like to power the trimmer, so I added a nut on the cutter head in place of the handle and put a socket adapter on my power drill so that I could put a socket on it and power the trimmer. That worked pretty good. I could even just start with the full length brass and skip the rough cut stage. My procedure then became:



trim the case to length with the Wilson unit
resize the case with the normal resizing die
trim the case to length with the Wilson unit again
debur the case


So, now instead of having small pieces of brass that have been cut off from the original cartridge, I just have a lot more brass dust laying around. :)

I recently got a .22 TCM handgun and decided to try making my own brass for it out of either .223 or damaged .300 AAC. Wilson wanted a custom fee for creating a holder for the .22 TCM, so I thought that just maybe it would work in the .300 AAC holder if I put it in far enough. As it turned out, if I press fit it with a arbor press, it would go in, but I needed an arbor press to take it out. If I didn't press fit it hard enough, then the cutter head on the trimmer would start taking off steel from the holder. Turned out that it cut the steel pretty good, so I let it cut a recess in the holder far enough that I could then use the holder for .22 TCM also.

[jmorris]

Jmorris is that a dickeys cup as your "spoils container"? lol that is a slick set up you have there...looks great!

Yes it is, good eye and thanks.

[P Flados]

I have done plenty of case cutting for my 30 Herretts.

I also played around with 357 max rimless and thought about the potential for a 360 DW rimless.

I have also considered a 300 BO (1.36" trim length).

I did a test drive of the easiest case shortening ever.

Step 1: Clamp tubing cutter in bench vise

159156

Step 2: Insert case in cordless drill

159155

Step 3: Line up cutting wheel on body ~ 1/32" from shoulder.

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Step 4: Advance cutter with left hand while rotating case at slow speed with drill

With care you could trim to just over 1.4", but getting cut closer to 1.37" is what you want for a BO. For larger volumes, I would make a jig where I would have the end of the case up against a fixed stop to quickly position the case perfectly every time.

Results shown below. They will probably be like the ones on the left early on and/or if you are going for speed cutting. You can get results more like the one in the middle with care & practice.

159153