Gracey Power Cartridge Case Trimmer

[sdelam]

Anyone have one of these? Seems much cheaper than a giraud trimmer.

http://www.matchprep.com/trimmer.htm

[Cherokee]

I have a giraud, its great !! Folks on M14 forum really go for the giraud but some have gracey and are satisfied.

[sdelam]

I dont suppose you know the difference do you.

[zomby woof]

I bought just the trimmer head and added my own power, lots cheaper.

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/7617102_0688.jpg

[bohokii]

so what is the recommended rpm

could one use a vacuum cleaner motor they are fast and its easy to find a vacuum cleaner for free

[ETG]

Never seen a Gracey in person. I have the Giruad and wouldn't trade it for anything - 223 through 50BMG - slick as snot :grin: Not cheap but what quality tool is???

[sdelam]

so what is the recommended rpm

could one use a vacuum cleaner motor they are fast and its easy to find a vacuum cleaner for free

this is from the website "A 1/15 hp motor externally grounded to a steel frame turns 1550 rpm."

[c3d4b2]

I have used both the Gracey and Giruad. They both operate off the same principle are a very similar. For me the deciding point was how often I would have to change the tooling. One of the main benefits of Giruad is that it is easier to switch between different case sizes due to the interchangeable case holder & cutter head assy. The down side is they are more expensive. The Gracey is less expensive, however you will need to set it up each time you change case sizes.

You may already know this, but the case holders are only set uo for bottle necked cases.

[Russ in WY]

Have owned & used both. Sold the Gracey it could over heat if you ran it a long time & now have the Giraud. More cost Yes , but also much better Machine. Setting the cutters on the Gracey was a real PITA. At least the one I had. Used the two piece hard steel cutters. I had purchased the mod from another person that was a 1 piece carbide cutter. Heard that there was a battle between the two persons, don't recall the outcome of that. Anyhow now have the Giraud & is one fine machine. And the service if needed is great. I had one bearing start to slip the seal & it was repaired at no cost , in fact He replaced both bearings & had it back to Me quick time. If you can afford the Giraud, you will not be disappointed... My 2¢ Russ.

[garandsrus]

I purchased a Gracey without a motor and then bought my own motor and the Giraud cutter. The combination works great. Here's a link from the Giraud site with the upgrade information (http://www.giraudtool.com/motorupgrade.htm).

Giraud - $425
Combo (below) - $379
NON-POWERED TRIMMER......................$184.00
(Customer adds own power)
STAND AND BOARD ONLY......................$ 20.00
Motor and carbide blade from Giraud (you can find the motor at a better price) - $175

John

[anachronism]

I have a Gracey. In fact, we're going to be spending some morre quality time together this week. I've had mine for about six years & use it to trim .308, 30-06 & .223. I replaced the two piece cutter with a carbide one I bought from Doug Giraud. The Giraud looks like a really nice machine, but I'm not convinced it's worth another $100.00 or so. The original two piece cutter was a total PITA to adjust, the one piece cutter I now have is slightly less so. I usually process a thousand or so 223s at a time & you couldn't convince me to return to my Lyman power trimmer, although I have kept it for small lots of cases that aren't worth buying a Gracey case holder for. Once you get into the rythm of using a high-speed trimmer like the the Gracey, you can reasonably expect to trim 3-5 cases a minute, sometimes more.

[ETG]

I have a Gracey. In fact, we're going to be spending some morre quality time together this week. I've had mine for about six years & use it to trim .308, 30-06 & .223. I replaced the two piece cutter with a carbide one I bought from Doug Giraud. The Giraud looks like a really nice machine, but I'm not convinced it's worth another $100.00 or so. The original two piece cutter was a total PITA to adjust, the one piece cutter I now have is slightly less so. I usually process a thousand or so 223s at a time & you couldn't convince me to return to my Lyman power trimmer, although I have kept it for small lots of cases that aren't worth buying a Gracey case holder for. Once you get into the rythm of using a high-speed trimmer like the the Gracey, you can reasonably expect to trim 3-5 cases a minute, sometimes more.

I've never used a Gracy but the Giruad trims a case in 2 to 3 seconds - 5 maybe for the 50BMG. I've never timed how long it takes to do a thousand cases but it's just stick the case in, twist a quarter turn and toss in the bucket.

[NuJudge]

The Giraud works on the vertical. The Gracey works on the horizontal. Giraud makes much of how any chip from trimming is more likely to make trouble with a horizontal trimmer than a vertical trimmer. The Giraud is also very repeatable and adjustable.

I did 4000 cases with a Giraud one long evening.

CDD

[ETG]

The Giraud will work both vertical and horizontal - has rubber feet both ways. I use mine in the horizontal position. I have never had a problem with any chip clogging. Hummmm, maybe if I ran it vertically I wouldn't have as many chips in the cases. After years of using it horizontally I would have to get use to the vertical setup - think it's an old dog new tricks type thingy :confused:

[sdelam]

Man, you guy's suck. Your supposed to say that it is just as good and I found a secret to saving a hundred bucks. Now I have to decide between using my RCBS trimmer and a drill and then doing the chamfer/deber or maning up and spending 400+ bucks on a giraud. I have about 2k .223 to trim, Hmmmmmmm Anyone want to donate a giraud on a trial run.. for test pupose of course,,,I'll give it back .....I swear............

[NuJudge]

I don't mind bringing one by for you to test. Shipping a Giraud can be a problem, in that the motor used can if bashed in just the right way, telescopes inward and then not work. Mine arrived bashed in just that way, so back to Giraud it had to go for motor replacement.

I don't fault Giraud. He packs things Mil-Spec, but the USPS must have been using it for batting practice that day.

CDD

[sdelam]

I appreciate it, but I cant ask you to do that. It's a bit of a trek from Michigan. Thank you though!