I've found it's time to trim some cases down to size and looking at the trimmers available I got a lil lost. There's ones that look like they'll use my existing shell holders, some with special collets for each size and some with some universal hootie that holds it all. From hand cranks to dewalt to stand alone motor driven. Most every thing has it's own stand but lee has one that goes into the press. So what's everyone useing to get things done with the most speed and accuracy?
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That's like asking is Ford or Chevy better. I'm sure you will get you varied answers. This is the one I've had for almost 30 years. Yes there are faster or marginally more accurate ones out there but I love my Lyman, and the case retainer is universal.
Domari Nolo
I have an electric lyman trimmer. I only use it for 30 carbine. The motor is slllooooowwww and underpowered, but it beats the hand crank models. The accuracy is good. I trim everything else on CTS gen I trimmers. They will go into a drill or drill press. I have a motorized base that I built for mine. They are very similar to the WFT but cts doesn't have bearings in it. They are $43 each from ebay. Set one up for a caliber and then leave it be and just swap out the whole trimmer when you switch to different brass. I even have one for 460 mag straight cases, but it uses a holder since it is straight walled brass. The bottle neck cts trimmers work off the shoulder of the brass. There is a little variance, but I don't sort my brass. I do FL size all my rifle brass. I am more into action shooting and plinking than shooting tiny groups, so I don't care about extreme accuracy. I am able to crimp to a crimp groove and have pretty consistent results. As long as I don't have to change my die and it all chambers fine, I am happy.
The CTS trimmers take 1-3 seconds per piece of brass to trim. It is much easier on my hands than using the lyman electric trimmer, but I have to be careful not to push myself too hard. You do have to hold the brass with your fingers and I did get an uncomfortable blister on my trigger finger once, right where the trigger would rest. CTS is excellent for cost vs. speed. I would love to use a dillon trimmer on my dillon presses, but I don't really need that speed and I can't really afford the price. Giraurd looks like a great machine and I wanted one in the past. Now that I have the CTS trimmers, I will save my money. I don't have to debur after using the cts. My flare dies or powder dies will take the inner burr off and a light crimp will knock the outer burr off the case.
Amen to that Dryball. I have used the Lyman, and although it is a good trimmer, I prefer my Forster over even the motorized ones. When I use the 3 in 1 cutter heads on the Forster it saves me from the chamfering and deburring tasks. Just my 2¢Originally Posted by Dryball
If it is for speed and I'm not too concerned with absolute consistency then my Lyman power trimmer does the job and gets most of my trimming work.
For as much consistency as possible for long range work then my hand trimmer Forster gets the job.
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Pukka Bundhooks
I've been asking the same question, having tried a few different approaches in search of a good toolset. Even the Dillon trimmer, that is expensive and kind of a pain, has it's drawbacks.
The conclusion is the Franklin brass prep center and trimmer looks like the best solution, I'll be trying it soon. It will take a pilot from Hornady to aid with consistent trimming. It has different tools running at the same time, the biggest difference is the integrated case trimmer that doesn't require screwing the case into a holder, and you can do a case from beginning to end very quickly. There is no batching case by operation. This looks to be the most promising solution. There are also primer crimp remover tools that fit the primer pocket station. Looks like a great solution to many problems and is very easy to use. Per the videos and posts I've read.
Last edited by 357shooter; 07-13-2014 at 06:53 AM.
I have a Forster and it works great. I had an RCBS and it worked great. My best friend has a Lyman and it works great. I hope you are seeing a pattern here. I have to admit I like the universal chuck on the Lyman, but the Forster collet set up works very well and is very quick. My son uses a Lee Zip trim and he loves that thing. It is a tedious job that needs doing, the products out there all get the job done.
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Well we all know fords better then Chevy but fords just a f' old rebuilt dodge
I'll keep looking at em seems that for consistency one I can chuck to the drill or hand crank will be best
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No shame in getting a little lost while looking at case trimmers, there's more than a few to choose from. I think it comes down to speed and consistency. I prefer one of the hand cranked, lathe type trimmers but they are slower than some of the other types. If you're not trimming huge numbers of cases at a time, they give good results and are fast enough to preserve what little sanity I have left.
Mostly runs of 50 or so up to maybe 150 at a time I like to have 300 or so rounds on hand ready to make up
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I use the Lee case trimmers as they are cheap to buy and are probably the most consistent trimmer out there bar none.
I also use the Lee ball handled cutter head and universal chuck, which I put into a battery drill and clamp in a vice.
The universal chuck takes all my brass (14 calibres)from 45 Colt to 30-06 with no problems.
In my opinion, the Lee system might not be the fastest method, but it is certainly the cheapest and most consistently accurate.
ukrfleman
I have a Forester....however I now use a Lee 3 jaw chuck on a drill and their cutter on a hardwood ball & pilot. Very fast .... The pilots are about $4.00 each and when using you can never trim too short.
I quite like the Lee piloted type on the Zip Trim or a drill.
Trim, chamfer, clean with some steel wool and a brush in the case mouth, remove it and hit it with a primer pocket tool, and it's fully processed. Takes longer to type out than do; I've never timed myself but I imagine 2-3 per minute?
I have a Pacific that uses regular shellholders, but it doesn't cut quite square, I have to turn the case 180° and cut twice.
If I were to get another lathe-type trimmer, it would be a Redding, as it turns the case rather than the cutter. That would tend to keep the mouth more square, and you could still buff it clean.
I have the CTS for 300 BLK and looking to get one for 223. I don't have to deburr anything. There is not burr left
There are a few things that Lee does right and their case length gauge and cutter are one of them. When used in conjunction with a cordless drill, trimming to length, and chamfering and deburring takes mere seconds. There isn't any time consuming measuring and setup required. It's a consistent and repeatable system.
Wilson for me!
Look up "Worlds Finest Trimmer" that's what its called. chucks in a drill or better yet a small bench top drillpress. Takes about 5 seconds to trim a case.
Also one can take a batch of brass and do a dry run with the Lee system while watching TV...you use it to check case length. Those too long, you can trim later....It is very fast and convenient. When checking a batch of a few hundred cases I find that maybe only 5% need to be trimmed...
I have a Forster hand trimmer and a Gracie for volume in 223/308
Trimmers are really easy if you have been loading 45 years.
There were only 2 good ones and a number of bad ones back then.
If you don't have too many different calibers the Wilson is very good but the cost of the case holders is a bit much if you need several dozen of them. The Wilson does not need pilots and it can be used to neck turn with an optional neck turning head.
The Forster uses a set of collets. If you do not load too many rounds you might get by with one or 2 collets.
The Forster uses pilots. All in all once you have a set of pilots and collets you can trim almost everything.
Add a new cartridge - who cares. You will have the collet and pilot for everything short of a 50 caliber on the top end and 17 caliber on the bottom end. Your can buy optional cutters for .17 cal.
If you troll ebay and classifieds you can often buy the Forster less collets and pilots for $25.
Some of the other brands may work fine. The self propelled RCBS is probably my next choice.
The other brands never impressed me enough to fool with them.
EDG
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