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Thread: Lee Quick trim

  1. #1
    Boolit Mold
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    Nov 2022
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    Lee Quick trim

    I got one of these the other day as I have thousands of 308 win cases to prep. It works but it is kinda cheaply made for the cutter. The blades are made of sharpened spring steel. They are very thin and I don't see them lasting very long.

    The cheapest part of it is the adjustment collar. It makes it so you can fine tune the length you want. Sort of. It can get out of alignment very easy. You have to make sure it is not off center or the cutter will lift up and down.

    I got mine with the drill adapter. I was using it with my corded 3/8 drill. It works, But it is made for the use of a cordless screw driver. I am going to get a cordless drill to run it. We will see how it holds up.

  2. #2
    Boolit Buddy
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    Oh man i tried to do 60 cases with one of those 15 years ago. Had blisters after 40 cases and frustrated. I have a rcbs crank trimmer now, it has its own bugs.

    Check out Worlds Finest Trimmer by Little Crow gun works. It indexes off the shoulder, but once set its fast. 20 to 30 cases a minute. Uses a 1/2" endmill, that a simple order to McMaster Carr for replacement. Some like it some dont.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master trails4u's Avatar
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    If you have thousands to trim.....I might suggest;

    https://www.littlecrowgunworks.com/s...ter-p117204287
    "Do not follow where the path might lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" Ralph Waldo Emerson

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Craighi View Post
    I got one of these the other day as I have thousands of 308 win cases to prep. It works but it is kinda cheaply made for the cutter. The blades are made of sharpened spring steel. They are very thin and I don't see them lasting very long.

    The cheapest part of it is the adjustment collar. It makes it so you can fine tune the length you want. Sort of. It can get out of alignment very easy. You have to make sure it is not off center or the cutter will lift up and down.

    I got mine with the drill adapter. I was using it with my corded 3/8 drill. It works, But it is made for the use of a cordless screw driver. I am going to get a cordless drill to run it. We will see how it holds up.
    Have done thousands with one of these, I use a drill press, works great, stand and trim.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master


    Walks's Avatar
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    I tried it about 12yrs ago. Threw it in the trash.
    Went back to Lyman Univeral Power Trimmer.
    Set the Lyman Case Prep Express behind it and I become a case processing speedster.
    I HATE auto-correct

    Happiness is a Warm GUN & more ammo to shoot in it.

    My Experience and My Opinion, are just that, Mine.

    SASS #375 Life

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master


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    I think some of you may be confused by Lee's poor naming. I don't think you have tried the deluxe quick trim like the OP is talking about. This particular setup has not been around very long. It came out somewhere between 5 and 10 years ago. It trims, chamfers, and deburs all in one step. It is turned by a drill or similar.

    My thoughts are similar to the OP's, however I've had a little time on them now and I am having very few problems at all. I don't trim many calibers, mainly 308, but I do have 30-06, 350 rem mag, 6.5 rem mag, and a couple others. I've done at least 1000 cases of 308, and I'm on the original cutter still. It works as good as it ever did. I'm not sure how you would use one on a drill press. I use mine on a single stage press, and whatever drill is closest by. 20-30 cases per minute is no problem at all. It's been surprisingly consistent, it's hard to find case length varying more than .002". My RCBS with 3-way cutter is not that accurate. I'm have no idea what this statement means "You have to make sure it is not off center or the cutter will lift up and down." Mine has never done that.

    I too worry that the plastic adjuster will break, but so far so good. The only real problem is you can over chamfer a case. In 308 my cases always grow so it's never an issue. After a thread about a guy who said his 45 acp cases were being trimmed to a knife edge I played with my trimmer. What I found is that if you put a case in that is already shorter than the trimmer is set to, and run it for say 4 seconds, all it is doing is chamfering for 4 seconds. It will turn your case into a knife edge. This is just something you will have to learn. If your cutter doesn't raise up when you ram the case into the trim die, then your case is already fully trimmed. Don't run the drill on that case. One day I'd love to own a Giraud, but that's a steep price. For most peoples rifle shooting, the Lee deluxe quick trim is a fantastic tool. The RCBS with 3 way trimmer does work, but it is not quite as nice to use as the Lee if you ask me.

  7. #7
    Boolit Mold
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    I have the newer Lee Quick Trim that I use for trimming .223 brass. It works great for me and changing the setup for a different caliber is really cheap. I can get about 300 done before my hand gets tuckered out turning the black handle. I would buy it again after using it.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    I have several Lee deluxe Quick trims and have used them over several years without issue.
    If there is one thing I have learned when using them, it is to regularly clean out the trim body and cutter blades of brass shavings.
    I also put literally one drop of Ballistol on the cutter shaft to make it run smoothly.
    I have found them to be very consistent in use.
    ukrifleman

  9. #9
    Boolit Mold
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    Thank you all for your answers!
    ...

  10. #10
    Boolit Grand Master


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    One thing I can add is that it is possible to use this with the APP press. I had five hundred 5.56 cases to do and I wanted to do it as easy as possible. I had already sized them on the APP so the case feeder was set up. I decided to try the QT and I have to say I'm impressed. You have to remove the cutter and drill every case, but it becomes automatic fast. Cycle handle, trim, pull out drill, and cycle handle. I was able to trim those case in half the time as I can doing them in a single stage press. The shavings did not seem to hurt the case feeding much at all. A smaller drill may have made it easier, but I didn't have much issue with my Milwaukee M18 drill.

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