case trimmer options

[paraord]

Hey all,

So I thought I was dead set on an RCBS pro trim 2, but then I happened across the lee cartridge trimmer deluxe system that goes right in a press. That seems pretty slick. Takes up less room, just grab a 10 dollar die for whatever cartridge you do and go. I would imagine it would be hard to get some less popular cartridge sizes though. Edit * The one I was worries about, 35 whelen, is available.

Either way I am looking at manual because electric is crazy money. I can figure something out for a drill mount im sure but I wanted to know some thoughts. Edit* Looks like Lee has a power adapter for a drill/impact driver.



Right now I would only be trimming .270 and 30-30. Next thing would be .223.

Thanks,
Andrew

[ShooterAZ]

If you are going to go with a manual trimmer, I recommend the Forster kit. It comes with four collets that fit virtually all calibers. It's obviously slower than an electric trimmer, but it is well made and made to last. I have no regrets with mine. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/614276/forster-original-case-trimmer-kit

[Ianagos]

I have been going through this same decision for a while. I bought the lee quick trim case gauges because I had the other part and that is getting me through for now.but I have a machine shop so I plan on making a wft 2 type trimmer but If I couldn't make one I think theirs or the trim pro is one on the better solutions but they don't do pistol cases. I also thought about buying the hornady case trimmer on midway for $68 since I have some of their shell holders but I I watched some videos and accuracy on a lot of those lathe types seems to leave a lot to be desired. If none of those options suit you maybe try the stripped basic le Wilson trimmer but like the wft it requires special dies for each caliber.

[hc18flyer]

I started with a simple Redding trimmer. Last year I bought a Forster with the power adapter, which I really like. I haven't been able to sell the Redding yet. hc18flyer

[1Hawkeye]

The RCBS trimmer is hard to beat. Iv'e had the lee kits,the forster,& 2 different lyman models each had there good points and each had problems but i have had no problems with the RCBS it cuts square, hold cases tight and with the lever its quick to change out casings. Also you don't have to worry about a caliber specific die just the pilot and shell holder.

[EDG]

The Forster trimmer is widely available used for $25 to $35. I have been using mine hard since 1975.

You can get pilots and collets to fit almost everything. Once you have the basic 2 or 3 collets you can trim practically any cartridge with at most another pilot. Once you add all the pilots you don't need anything to trim new rounds.
With careful use it will trim each case exactly the same length.

Get a 5/16 -24 high nut and a 9/16" nut driver socket and you can drive it with a drill motor.

It can also be set up easily for case neck turning. Forester makes a nice inexpensive case to store it all in.

[dverna]

I have the RCBS powered unit and it works well but is a bit slow. I use it for hunting, and load development rounds.

I have a few thousand 5.56/.223 and 7.62/.308 cases to process and I am thinking about making up a jig for the drill press.

Don Verna

[paraord]

Well I had some funds come in and Amazon had that pro trimmer 2 come in stock after being 2-5 weeks backorder for a bit soooooo I ordered it. Now I am hoping to put a forster on the bench as well for some high runner stuff. Maybe have one setup just for one specific caliber.

I was so close to that LEE quick trim but I read in more than one place that the little catch tray missed some brass and people had brass shavings work into their presses. Now if I rendered my Original Rock Crusher inoperable because I wanted to save the equivalent of 20 bucks (I had it all priced out for the QT deluxe, power trim adapter, and 3 dies) I would be one sorry son of a gun.

Bench space was a concern of mine....and then I went down cellar and brought up another bench. Moved my 1980 Ironhead motor to a different table and refinished an old nice wood workbench. Not something I would mount a press to unless I anchored it to the floor/wall, but for sure a trimmer or two.

I also brought home my grandfathers Buffalo drill press which will get a full restoration, and maybe someday get fit with the forster setup for drill presses. That seems a pretty slick setup too.

[Tonto]

Just started using the Lee, works great and is fast and chamfers and deburrs. Seriously, cranked out a ton of 300 BLK and 308 over the holidays, going to get the Makarov die and 223 too.

[lightman]

Over the years I have used most all of them. They all work ok, although some work better than others. Finished case length can vary with the collet trimmers due to how tight you tighten the collet. Most can't shoot the difference though. The Lyman has a universal chuck that worked ok but it did not fir everything. Seems like it stopped before you got to the 45-70 size rims. Most of the hand powered rotary trimmers have an optional adaptor that lets you use a drill. The Lee cases length gauges work ok and can be used with a drill.

I have settled on using the Wilson trimmer for my custom rifles and a Giraud trimmer on my higher volume stuff. I bought the carbide cutter for the Wilson and turn it by hand. The Giraud will trim and debar at the same time and I can sustain a rate of 15 to 16 cases a minute. The trimmed case is within .001 in uniform length. Its an awesome machine, though expensive.

[dragon813gt]

I have three Forster trimmers. Two are setup w/ three way cutters on them. It's a very versatile little tool. But it's not the fastest. The handle to tighten the collet is hard on your hands over a long run. And if you aren't paying attention you can tighten the collet w/out a case fully inserted and you end up trimming to much off the case. I'm heavily invested at this point so won't be switching. When I eventually build a workshop under my garage something like a WFT in a drill press is on the list.

[Pee Wee]

I bought a Used gracey off our S&S for $200.00 It came with one set up for 308, I added 223 and 300 blackout for total cost of $281.00. Best money I ever spent. I have processed over 15,000 pieces of brass with it in the last year. I added the carbide blade and made the caliber conversions with lock nuts so just screw in till set marks and done.

[Tackleberry41]

I had the RCBS for a long time, but bought it back in the 90s, when you still had to buy the various shell holders. I have been buying the Lee hand trimmers, they work well, just non adjustable. Tho handy as theres no adjustments and they all come out the same, but slow.

Came a point I needed to proper trimmer, so it was buy the shell holders for the RCBS or something else. I looked at the new Lee, but it looks like it could get expensive fast buying each die basically. Not a big deal if your only doing one or 2 cals, but do a wide variety, and Lee doesnt sell dies but for most popular. I opted to get the upgrade head for my RCBS, fitss pretty much everything, maybe a pilot of 2 for some odd balls, and fits the RCBS neck tool I have. Its screwed down to a board, just clamp it down when I need to use it, out of the way when I dont.

[JWT]

I use an old Lyman Universal case trimmer. It's has been rock solid for over 20 years. I have used it on brass from 22-250 to 416 Rigby and 458 WinMag. I just recently picked up an RCBS Trim Pro II with the auto feed case neck turner attachment. I am just using this one for neck turning and reaming. The handle on the Lyman is more comfortable. I find both benefit from being attached to a riser to get your hand clear of the bench top and to allow for something to clamp them down.

[paraord]

I ran about 150 of my .270 win through that pro trimmer 2. That is a sweet machine but 2 things are on the short list to get. 1, the 10 dollar adapter to use my porter cable impact driver and 2 a three way cutter. Deburring and chamfering by hand for a few is ok, but 150 is tough on the hands.

[racepres]

I use an old Lyman Universal case trimmer. It's has been rock solid for over 20 years. I have used it on brass from 22-250 to 416 Rigby and 458 WinMag.

Me too!!! What's Not to like??? I also have the neck Turning attachment, and the Arbor that has a hex for a Power drill!!!
All That...and I still use the old Fashioned Lee fixed pilot trimmer system the Most....especially with the Hex adapter for the shell holder part!!!

I never did check how many Hundreds of any Brass I turned out in an Hour!!!!
I could go thru a couple of my Calibers in that time...and it would Not be Hundreds!!!!
Call me "Small Time"....or....just "Slow"

[paraord]

Well I ordered that little attachment to hook up a drill or driver to my trimmer. Nice that I found that it was made in the states and 12.50 delivered. I should see it by Thursday and will post a few pictures and a report of how it does. I setup the trim length for my 30-30 brass that needs to be trimmed and I have a little pile of it so this should give a good feel of how it will work.

[JMax]

I have an old grey Lyman trimmer that I have had for 3 plus decades with one manual and two power trimmer shafts. The manual is for most calibers and the two power trimmer shafts are set up for 223 and 30-06 that I shoot in gas guns. I use a 3/8" battery powered hand drill to power trim. Easy to use and fast to boot.

[paraord]

Well like I said I would report when I got that little power shaft in. Here's part in question

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/zz154/paraord1911/Mobile%20Uploads/0111171254_zpskqkcz5vb.jpg (http://s823.photobucket.com/user/paraord1911/media/Mobile%20Uploads/0111171254_zpskqkcz5vb.jpg.html)

Pretty easy to take off the hand knob and put this in it's place

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/zz154/paraord1911/Mobile%20Uploads/0111171255_zpsaymxvfdi.jpg (http://s823.photobucket.com/user/paraord1911/media/Mobile%20Uploads/0111171255_zpsaymxvfdi.jpg.html)

Chucked up the drill, put it on low speed and torque level 1 and we are up and running.

http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/zz154/paraord1911/Mobile%20Uploads/0111171306a_zpsnmuz3rfp.jpg (http://s823.photobucket.com/user/paraord1911/media/Mobile%20Uploads/0111171306a_zpsnmuz3rfp.jpg.html)

Went through a big coffee can of 30-30 pretty quick, with no hand fatigue obviously. I timed myself early on and did 12 in one minute. I'm sure that got a little better as the pile shrunk and I got I to a groove.

All and all this little power adapter was worth the 12.50 for sure, and made here in the states to boot. I'm sure it would fit other trimmers if it is the same threading for the knob.

[Tmaloy]

I bought a Trim It trimmer and mounted it in a scroll saw motor. Going to add the Forster 3 way cutter eventually.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0iV5B2jfWs&t=9s

[Johnny_V]

I use the Forster unit for the drill press with the 3 way cutter. Once set up trimming hundreds of cases is mere child's play. Best power trimmer setup ever. Just my 2¢

[paraord]

I bought a Trim It trimmer and mounted it in a scroll saw motor. Going to add the Forster 3 way cutter eventually.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0iV5B2jfWs&t=9s

Tmaloy sweet setup but woof on the cost. That would hurt. 130+ shipping for the unit, then 20 bucks a pop for dies? That could get expensive really fast. My whole setup was less than 100 bucks including that power drive.

Is that video of your actual setup? I dig the plastic jar for catching shavings.


If I'm going to ever go with a mounted unit it will be the forster drill press one. Hooked up to my soon to be fully restored Buffalo 15 drill press.

[paraord]

I use the Forster unit for the drill press with the 3 way cutter. Once set up trimming hundreds of cases is mere child's play. Best power trimmer setup ever. Just my 2¢

Care to post a picture of your setup? In really interested in how it is anchored to the work plate.

[wv109323]

I have not found a fast and cheap solution to case trimming in large quantities. I have 3-4,000 .223 cases that I have picked up at local ranges.
I tried the Lee deluxe case trimmer that mounts on your press. I could not get consistent lengths. They varied .010 or so and after a while it just seemed like it took forever to trim a case. It seemed the cutter got dull.
I had a old RCBS trimmer that I rigged up to a spare battery drill. It is slow but gets the job done.

[Electric88]

I have not found a fast and cheap solution to case trimming in large quantities. I have 3-4,000 .223 cases that I have picked up at local ranges.
I tried the Lee deluxe case trimmer that mounts on your press. I could not get consistent lengths. They varied .010 or so and after a while it just seemed like it took forever to trim a case. It seemed the cutter got dull.
I had a old RCBS trimmer that I rigged up to a spare battery drill. It is slow but gets the job done.

The best solution I found for large quantity trimming like that is the World's Finest Trimmer by little crow gunworks. Chuck that puppy up in a drill press or hand corded drill and get going! They make a WFT 2 that has interchangeable bushings for various calibers as well. The trim length can be changed by adjusting the depth of the cutter.

[M-Tecs]

These http://www.giraudtool.com/Tri%20Way%20Trimmer.htm work well and while not cheap they are more cost effect than the Gracey, Dillon or full blown Giraud.

[dragon813gt]

That looks a lot like the WFT.

[jonp]

My wife bought me the Lee Deluxe last year for Christmas and I have all of the calibers you mention plus many handgun. It is easy to set up and pretty darn precise as my gauge cant see much if any difference in the brass length. I recommend it and for the price you cant beat it.

Since you do it one at a time I would not recommend it for someone doing more than 100pcs or so at a time although it would work eventually if you had the time.

[Tmaloy]

Hi paraord,

When I was looking at the Trim It, they had a special on it. It was on promo, The deal was the Trim It with the HSS cutter, 3 caliber dies of my choice and also a free gift which turned out to be the scissor adjustable rifle/pistol rest. IIRC, I paid $99 plus $10 shipping, at the time it was a great deal for me. This was maybe 3-4 years ago. I believe they were trying to move old stock since they were pushing the newer version with the 3 way carbide cutter.

To your other question, yes that is my actual setup, I use it all the time, just swap dies, set the micrometer barrel and trim away.

I've seen the Forster drill press trimmer in action and I have to say it is a very sweet setup, you can't go wrong with one of those or a Giraud.

Troy


Tmaloy sweet setup but woof on the cost. That would hurt. 130+ shipping for the unit, then 20 bucks a pop for dies? That could get expensive really fast. My whole setup was less than 100 bucks including that power drive.

Is that video of your actual setup? I dig the plastic jar for catching shavings.


If I'm going to ever go with a mounted unit it will be the forster drill press one. Hooked up to my soon to be fully restored Buffalo 15 drill press.

[Johnny_V]

Care to post a picture of your setup? In really interested in how it is anchored to the work plate.

The anchor plate is the drill press table. Once properly set up (centered on the spindle and depth gauge set) the process goes as follows:
1 - Put the case in the collet and tighten
2 - Lower the cutter and trim
3 - Remove the case
4 - Repeat steps 1 thru 3

Trimming a case takes just a few seconds. Below is a picture of my setup. Hope this helps....
185084

[jhalcott]

I paid about$50 for a CTS trimmer.. It appears to be like the WFT but has no bearings. I use abattery powered drill to go thru about 200++ .308 cases in under two hours. I don"t have to chuck the brass in the trimmer or unchuck it when done.

[jhalcott]

I have a Lyman AND RCBS trimmers for short r uns, but the CTS isquicker!

[tankgunner59]

Well, call me a cheapo if you will, but being on disability and required to use either creative thinking or plan ahead financing (saving the money before buying) I try to adapt when ever I can. Most of what I use is Lee equipment. So I saw the lee trimmer with the wooden ball attached and had an idea. I had an old piece of round banister rail in the basement. So I cut off a piece about 1.5 inches, drilled a hole in one end, slightly smaller than the case trimmer. Then I used a rubber mallet and gently drove the trimmer into the hole. When I trim cases, I chuck the trimmer stud into a cordless drill, attach the shell holder, load a case in the shell holder and trim using the drill at low speed. It works really well.
This isn't to say that I don't want a different system, but you do what you can afford.

[laveritt]

Since I rarely trim over a 100 cases at a time I'm not trimming with power - all manual. I use a Wilson trimmer with the micrometer adjustment.
Using their case holder system I know I'm trimming square with the center line. Repeats to the .001".

[6bg6ga]

I generally sit down and trim 500-1000 cases at a time. I bought the Giraud trimmer for my 5.56/.223 cases and it works great. Giraud also makes the tri-way trimmer for the .308 case. Recently acquired several 22-250's and Giraud doesn't sell their individual tri-way for this caliber. Has anyone been able to purchase just the head assembly off the full blown machine?

[6bg6ga]

Tmaloy,

I watched your video on the trim it trimmer with interest. I have been trying to find a trimmer for 22-250 but Giraud doesn't make one in 22-250 unless you want to purchase their $450+ machine. I have their .223 and will purchase their .308 based on the performance of the .223 unit.

The Trim-It allows one to purchase an insert so one can trim different calibers? How accurate is the unit?

[Tmaloy]

Hi 6bg6ga, when I set the trimmer for the video, I was trimming some LC brass. I set it to trim to about 1.750. I measured some with my calipers and they would run between 1.7504 and 1.7515. I used my General digital caliper to measure the trimmed case length. I full length size and the dies use the case shoulder/neck of the brass to headspace off. Same basically as the WFT.

You can order other trim dies for each caliber you load, it is held in place by a grub set screw and just swap it out to another and adjust the cutter if need be, then use the graduations on the barrel/sleeve to fine tune to your desired cut length.

[kayala]

I've tried RCBS with hand drill, Lee with drill press - they all would work; downside is the locking case in the collet takes time. Recently I've purchased Dillon trimmer - now that's convenience: mounted it on dedicated 650 toolhead with resizing die and I get trimming step "for free" while I size and deprime :) Obviously downside is that price is not for the faint of heart.

[bkbville]

When creating a bunch of 300 blk cases I found it slow going on my lyman trimmer so I tries the Lee quick trim dies - fantastic... and doubly so with the drill attachment (recent addition) - with an AC drill I trimmed 20 7.5 swiss cases in a few minutes (that PPU brass stretches!).

My results are actually better than I get on the Lyman and much quicker both to set up and operate. I use the Lyman for things I don't yet have quick trim dies for.

[Gunners Mate]

Giraud, I have one and the Lyman and forester are dust collector now. I can trim 750 / 1000 CPH no problem

[6bg6ga]

The only thing I have against the Giraud is its hard on my hand. Hand starts to cramp after a while.

[Shiloh]

I have a Wilson and a Forster. Prefer the Wilson. Slow but gets the job done.

Shiloh

[RogerDat]

I went with the Lee Ez-Trim using a hand crank I can get the job done, and some such as straight walled pistol I only do once so they all line up for a consistent roll crimp. One of these days I'll probably buy the drill driven cutter and drive it with an electric screwdriver (much lighter and smaller than a drill).

I set mine up in an older C press, do them 20 or 30 at a sitting for larger calibers, more in a batch if it is the small stuff like .223 as for brass chips they haven't presented any problems. I find it hard to imagine how softer brass can harm a steel and cast iron press much or easily. I use a paint brush to clean up but no big mess or problem and I don't even use the catch piece some of the time, just an extra piece in the way.

[Big Mak]

I have not found a fast and cheap solution to case trimming in large quantities. I have 3-4,000 .223 cases that I have picked up at local ranges.
I tried the Lee deluxe case trimmer that mounts on your press. I could not get consistent lengths. They varied .010 or so and after a while it just seemed like it took forever to trim a case. It seemed the cutter got dull.
I had a old RCBS trimmer that I rigged up to a spare battery drill. It is slow but gets the job done.

For 223, I went with a CTS trimmer. $49. I can blast through 1000 cases in an hour.
See video-->
Note: Video is case prep for 556 Nato once shot brass.
https://vimeo.com/150221979