Dull cutter on Pacific case trimmer

[Three44s]

Not my “daily driver” but I have a Pacific case trimmer that has a dull cutter.

It went south on me years ago and I bought a Lyman Universal and stuffed the Pacific onto a shelf to catch “dust bunnies”!

I was doing some man cave “revival” (tidying up, get my mind off current events) this afternoon and brought the old Pacific down to have a look at it.

Bringing a magnifier to bear and I see a groove ..... I kid you not ...... at about where 30 caliber would run on all four teeth. No wonder I kicked that trimmer to the curb!

I figure that Pacific forgot to harden that cutter at the factory. The other issue is that the shaft and cutter are one solid piece near as I can tell. For ID purposes, my trimmer is made of cast aluminum and it’s red. It takes standard shell holders such as RCBS and does not require the Hornady brand holder of current production.

Any thoughts?

Three44s

[Winger Ed.]

Like any cutting tool, the edge wears out over time.
With the right tool, you could probably sharpen it.

I found them sold separately years ago, and grabbed a couple.
Hornady probably still sells them too.

[Three44s]

The groove is about .030” deep so if I could manage to sharpen it, then it would likely need heat treatment as well.

Thanks

Three44s

[Three44s]

This is what I would do if it was not grooved:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ar2l1x-tLsc

Three44s

[Conditor22]

I took my RCBS cutter to my friends saw a sharpening shop and he put an edge on it like it never had before.

I had converted several thousand pieces of brass on top on my regular trimming so the cutter had done it's share of cutting, now it's better than new

[SweetMk]

99% of the time, cutting tools (like drill bits, for example) are made of through hardened steel.
Surface hardened steel is a cheap process that gives wear resistance against rubbing, at a low cost.

Sharpen the cutter,,

[Three44s]

You are right because I have nothing to lose but a little time. But I have to figure out a grinder and fixture to allow me to grind the tops of the cutter flutes to remove those radially arranged grooves across the faces of the cutters.

With the few years I used that trimmer, I am convinced that heat treatment was not applied or it was made with a poor batch of steel for those grooves to form so quickly and easily.

Three44s

[Pressman]

If it's red then Hornady made it. Real Pacific is blue.
Ask Hornady if they can help.

[CastingFool]

When my herters trimmer needed sharpening, I took the cutter to a shop that sharpens tooling for machine shops. The guy took it, 10 mins later handed it to me and said "no charge". I didn't think it would be too difficult to sharpen, it would be like sharpening an end mill, but I didn't expect the no charge

[Three44s]

If it's red then Hornady made it. Real Pacific is blue.
Ask Hornady if they can help.

I have heard that before as I own a red Pacific 366 press and have spoke with Hornady about upgrading it.

My trimmer is red also. Thanks!

Three44s

[Three44s]

When my herters trimmer needed sharpening, I took the cutter to a shop that sharpens tooling for machine shops. The guy took it, 10 mins later handed it to me and said "no charge". I didn't think it would be too difficult to sharpen, it would be like sharpening an end mill, but I didn't expect the no charge

I will ask around at my machine shops that are local as there are several before I try my own hand at it. Thanks!

Three44s

[redneck1]

I have a single lip tool grinder , makes life pretty easy to sharpen things like that .

But if your handy and it isn't hardened a person could use a file and a small stone to sharpen it without to much bother .

[Three44s]

I dropped some work off at one of my favorite shops today and the owner has a grinder as you describe redneck1.

I told him what I had and he said bring it by and he will see how it turns out.

I looked up that style of grinder and see them priced well over 1K new and 6-800 used.

The shop owner I will try on this has been very reasonable on charges in the past, I suspect this will be no different and by getting at it when I pick up my somewhat larger project I think he will be extra fair.

Thanks for the tips folks!

Three44s