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Old October 24, 2008, 06:19 PM   #1
Dr. Strangelove
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Case trimmer recommendation?

I'm looking for a low to medium price method to trim cases, I don't really want to have to buy different shell holders, collets, etc. for each caliber. I'm currently loading .223, .270, MM, 30-30, .308, X and 9mm (pistol). I'll probably be loading 8MM Rem Mag as well in the next few months. I don't have any particular allegiance to any one brand, but I'd like to come in under $75.00. Volume wise, 50 rounds at a time is a big day for me, so I don't need anything capable of factory-type production.

Last edited by Dr. Strangelove; October 24, 2008 at 07:56 PM.
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Old October 24, 2008, 06:47 PM   #2
winchester243
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For cheap low volume case trimming, look at the Lee.

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpag...992&t=11082005

You will need to get a Lee Case Length Gage and shell holder for each caliber, but they are inexpensive.

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpag...eitemid=107333
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Old October 24, 2008, 07:56 PM   #3
Dr. Strangelove
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Thanks -

These look great, I'd like to know from those in the know how they compare with a lathe type trimmer, the Hornady Cam-Lock specifically. I don't mind spending a little more money and getting something a bit more capable. By the time I bought them in all my calibers, I'd be within spittin distance of the Cam-Lock price-wise.

Whoops - not even close price-wise - I'm going with the the Lee trimmers.

Last edited by Dr. Strangelove; October 24, 2008 at 09:22 PM.
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Old October 25, 2008, 01:48 AM   #4
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Yeah, they are a pretty screaming deal, and pretty fast, too. The only thing I would add, is to get a chamfer tool other than the Lee one. It works, but I would say the RCBS or probably any other would work better/cleaner. Mostly due to the angle. Look at a picture in a catalog, and you will see what I mean.
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Old October 25, 2008, 02:17 AM   #5
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Yep - I agree with you there - I have been using the Lee chamfer tool for years. It works well, especially for the price, but it won't deburr 9mm because the case length is too short. It does chamfer the case mouth ok, which is all I really look for, normally 9mm cases don't hang around long enough to trim anyway. I pick up enough range brass or shoot cheapies enough that I just give them to the range guy or toss'em when they get dirty/dented/whatever. Actually, I don't even pick them up usually - most folks at the public ranges don't reload, especially 9mm and since you have to police brass I just ask I can have them as they are headed to the brass can. I get all the once fired factory brass I need that way.

Anyway, I just ordered three more Lee chamfer tools, for $2.00 and some change it's all I need.

I picked up a Lyman 1200 vibratory polisher (wow, that sounds dirty) and all the case length gauges I needed for less than a lathe type trimmer and the shellholders/collets. I ordered both the ball end cutter (again - hmmm) and the one you chuck into a drill. I know it wouldn't work for some, but it's all I need. I just don't need to trim cases to anything other than factory length at this point.

I looked at the Hornady Cam-Lock trimmer, which was the least expensive, but I would have been looking at about $85.00 with the shellholders I needed. I don't mind spending the money, but when another solution is far cheaper and fits my needs, I can't justify the cost.
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Old October 25, 2008, 10:05 AM   #6
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Try something like this

I load lots, I MEAN LOTS, mainly for gas guns, thousands of rounds a year for shooting high power and practice for high power, not to mention my PD shooting.

Gas guns, more then most, cause stretched cases and need to be trimmed. This set up, requries a piece of roll stock (I use stainless steel) cut to the diameter of the inside of the case, Same size of your trimer pilot. Then cut to lenth to give you room to adjust your cutter for lenth. The roll stock has a slot cut in to allow the cutter to slide through, then a set screw is tapped in to allow the cutter to be locked in place. The bottom of the roll stock is rounded a bit to get rid of any sharp edges. It is to be bottomed out in the case. Then the cutter is slide down to trim the case to lenth, and locked in place. The upper end is chucked in a drill press. When the press is turned on, you just slide the case on the roll stock shaft, pushing it up until it hits the botton of the case, Then its trimmed to lenth. Takes a couple seconds. The cutter has a small v-notch that cut in to a small piece of high carbon steal so's it fits in the slot you cut in the roll stock. Then sharpened and hardened. The V notch trims and chamfers the inside and outside of the trimmed case. Just takes seconds. You have to make one for each caliber but there is nothing I've found thats faster.

I know I didnt explain it propertly, but maybe the picture will help.

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Old October 25, 2008, 10:22 AM   #7
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winchester243 hit it on the head.

Get the Lee ones. The trimmer can be chucked in your drill and it makes quick work of this task. All for less than $10.
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Old October 25, 2008, 11:20 AM   #8
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Shame economy is an issue. I bought a RCBS Trim Pro finally and it maybe the best $225 I've ever spent. Actually look forward to trimming now. Heck I trim stuff I'll never load. Easy setup and change out, consistent and fast.
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Old October 25, 2008, 11:39 AM   #9
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"These look great, I'd like to know from those in the know how they compare with a lathe type trimmer, the Hornady Cam-Lock specifically."

The Lee Trimmer tool's main "problem" is that it is a fixed length. Which, in many peoples methods, is an advantage in that you don't have to fight to get the right case length each time you change cartridge cases. They really work well, quickly.

Perhaps the Lyman "Universal" lathe trimmer is the best match to your criteria, it requires NO additional shell holders. It can be set for length fairly easily and comes with a standard set of 9 pilots. It indexes the case head against a solid stud, not dependant on a draw-in collet, for consistant trim length. Mine is some 30+ years old and I wouldn't trade it for any other brand or type, period. (But, I do use the Lee trimmers for volumes of pistol stuff!)

Lyman sells a series of accessories that are optional but quite useful; a neck turner, primer pocket reamers and uniformers, inside/outside de-burring tool, etc. Forster's neck reamers fit the Lyman trimmer too.
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Old October 25, 2008, 01:52 PM   #10
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Kraiwy-That's REALLY SLICK. I am assuming you built it, have you put up a thread? I built something similar using a Dillon trim die, have you seen my setup? (it's posted) You might get a kick out of it.
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Old October 25, 2008, 03:31 PM   #11
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I heartily recommend the Wilson trimmer. Trimmer is ~$35, case holders are ~$7.50 ea, one for each "family" of cartridges (e.g. all 308 derivatives use the same one). It is an amazingly simple, accurate, robust, and easy to use system. Sinclair and others make a micrometer length adjustment for it, but it is not necessary, just convenient. I would not recommend the Wilson for rimless pistol cartridges though. They have a new Q-type case holder for rimmed pistol cartridges which works very well, but honestly, the Lee trimmers are hard to beat for them.

Andy
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Old October 25, 2008, 04:44 PM   #12
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I just got a Wilson case trimmer and I'd recommend it. It's very quick and easy to trim out a lot of cases in a short amount of time, all at the exact same case length.
The only drawback is a separate case holder for each caliber/cartridge.
I bought mine on sale from Midway for $30.
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Old October 25, 2008, 09:25 PM   #13
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Wow - a bit much for me

Kraigwy - your setup is wicked cool and innovative, the description was easy enough to follow if I had access to the tools to make it and the need for such a device. I don't need that kind of setup, don't have/need a drill press at the moment. (I almost included want, but I would like to have one, just can't justify buying one. If I had all the tools I wanted I'd have my own version of the New Yankee Workshop {seriously, can they not make a show between that and the one with guy with the mallet and a block plane, something where you can make furniture without investing $100,000 in laser sighted chop saws and the like...}) Anyway, I feel like I could build/have one made from your description, but not having friends with a machine shop anymore and being limited to a Dremel tool, I can't swing it. Thanks for the information.... You should sell some of those trimmers!
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Old October 26, 2008, 12:38 AM   #14
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I bought a Forster trimmer kit at Cabelas last year. It comes with 3 collets each of which will do 3 cartridge base sizes, they only make four collets and it comes with three so you have most cartridges covered. It also came with 6 pilots, one of which is .25 which I would have to buy separately with most trimmers.

I went to Cabelas to buy a Redding trimmer but they were sold out. As I recall, the Forster was about 30 bucks cheaper and I would have had to buy the .25 pilot seperately because Redding doesn't include that size.

With the Forster you can get all kinds of attachments "Forster offers six different case conditioning accessories, unique to this unit. You can inside ream, outside neck turn, deburr, hollow point bullets, clean primer pockets, and chamfer military primer pockets." . All of those are reasonably priced. I'm intrigued by the idea of making my own hollow points but I only use mine for trimming so far and it's the only trimmer I'll ever need. I'm also interested in turning necks to improve concentricity especially for my .223 loads.

It's dead accurate (less than .001 variance from case to case even after processing 500 at once), simple to set with a great fine adjustment design (simple yet brilliant here) , and is as stable as can be once set. I bought the power adapter for my drill which was cheaper than some other brands (about $12) and is a must in my opinion. The trimmer works great without it but power is more better! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this trimmer. Oh, and if the cutter ever dulls Forster has a blade sharpening service that is nice and affordable ($8 postage included). I've trimmed about 1500 cases total now and haven't got a complaint yet.

Most places don't carry the Forster "kit" but sell only the trimmer. At Cabelas you get: "This kit comes with the Original Case Trimmer, holding collets 1, 2 and 3, and six trim guide pilots to accommodate most rifle calibers (22, 24, 25, 27, 28 and 30)." and the price is $67.99 plus shipping. Other places sell just the trimmer for about $10 less so I would say Cabelas is a great value for this item. I'm on a tight budget and was happy to save $30 that I could spend on other items but still get a tool with attachments that allow me to expand without buying anything later on. Collets are $13 and pilots are $5 so at Cabelas you get $39 worth of collets and $30 worth of pilots for not much more than the trimmer alone costs elsewhere. Normally I buy from other places but they seem hard to beat on this setup.
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Last edited by Inspector3711; October 26, 2008 at 01:09 AM.
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Old October 26, 2008, 01:48 AM   #15
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I'll second the Wilson. It is pretty fool-proof and keeps the cases perfectly coaxial with the cutter journal so they can't wobble or walk off. I use one for all my non-gas gun case trimming. I used to use if for the gas guns, too, before I got a Giraud that does cases about as fast as you can pick them up and put them in, but it's expensive if you don't have a substantial volume to do.

Kraigwy's tool is an interesting idea, but it will need more frequent adjusting than most others. That is because different brass makes have different internal head dimensions, and also because some cases have taller flash hole burrs than others. SAAMI and CIP only specifiy external dimensions, which is how it is that what you see looking down inside a Remington case is different from what you see looking inside a Winchester case. So, you will need to adjust the cutter by case brand and maybe by lot, and also to deburr flash holes to get consistent depth registration.
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Old October 26, 2008, 07:27 PM   #16
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I disagree, it will allow some variation depending on the case, but it should be close enough to easily keep the length between max and min. You have a bit of leeway with this. Obviously not as consistent as the Zip trim or any other type as they set the length to the end of the shell, not the bottom inside of the case, but save perhaps some oddballs with major differences between cases, for the volume loader it appears to be a great tool.

As long as you aren't expecting tolerances better than .005" for benchrest or something. I think it's a fantastic idea. I wonder if there is some way to redesign it so folks with less access to machine tools could make them...

Here's how I do it; http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...ss+progressive

PS I had an idea of how to make something similar Kraigwy's setup with virtually no machine work; dremel/polish down the pin on a Lee zip trim case length gauge to the correct length to engage the anvil with the old primer in place. Then spin the cutter in a drill and slip cases over that. I don't know if it would cut clean enough to not need chamfer, but at drill speeds, it might not. I'd try it, but my dusty, never used Zip trim only has the wooden handle cutters. It'd be FAST AND EASY if it worked.

Basically you'd just slip the case over the spinning cutterhead/length gauge and it would cut it to length as quick as you could slip shells over it. (At least in theory)

Last edited by totalloser; October 27, 2008 at 10:29 PM.
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Old October 26, 2008, 09:16 PM   #17
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I have a hornady, and it works for me, the only drawback is it will only work with hornady shell holders. The hole in the hornady holders is bigger than other brands.
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Old October 28, 2008, 12:53 AM   #18
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I'm going to have to second the Forster.....

I keep a trimmed case in the die box and can set the trimmer up in seconds. Little work in turning the crank as well.
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Old October 29, 2008, 12:24 AM   #19
Dr. Strangelove
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Thanks for all the replies

After much consideration, I went with the Lee case trimmer(the cheap one). I bought (1) case trimmer with ball grip $4.99 and (1) case trimmer for and lock stud $4.99(use with a drill), along with case length gages and shellholder @ $3.99 each for .223, .270 Win, MM Rem Mag, .30-30, .308 Win, and 9mm Parable. Total cost $33.92(Midway), I spent the rest of what I would have spent on a lathe type trimmer on a Lyman Turbo Pro 1200 Case Tumbler, and added a bunch of other small items I have been meaning to buy, more reloading trays, primer pocket cleaners, a set of Lee Powder measures (laugh if you want, but they are good to have) and a Lee Perfect Powder measure.

I just don't need to trim casings to a specific length at this point. I haven't bought any kind of case trimming device until now because, as you can see from the calibers noted above, I don't shoot anything I can't get piles of free brass for from the public range. Call me cheap, but admire a guys rifle (once you see it's in a caliber you want brass in), mention reloading, and they will usually drop their empties off with you before they leave. I ain't too proud... Then I just tosser when they get dirty. I do run them through the caliper to check length before loading.

I bought the tumbler to clean up the dirty .223 brass, as that rifle seems to be umm, "hungrier" than most, so I need a good way to pretty up range finds to ensure both function and not to scratch up my dies.

By the way, thanks to whomever mentioned ebay and gun broker, incredibly, I had not thought to check those sites for reloading equipment. There is a bunch of stuff on both, but I'd sure like to have some of whatever most of those folks are smokin' - used equipment at 75% - 100+% of new prices then add shipping? No thanks! If it's not 50% with shipping for used or 75% of new price with shipping for new, I'm looking elsewhere.

Again, thanks all, I will buy a lathe trimmer one day when I see a need. Right now the Lee trimmers are all I need. As an added bonus, I'll still have them when I get my trimmer for bulk or "quick and dirty" jobs.
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Old October 30, 2008, 04:34 PM   #20
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Report from the field

I always wonder what those who ask questions end up doing, so here's my report:

I received my Lee Trimmers today, finally. (Long story short, Midway , UPS ) I bought the ball end cutter and the regular one with the lock stud. Starting out on 140 .270 Win cases, I meant to switch to the drill bit part when I got tired, but well, I didn't. I mean if I had been cutting the cases down to 9mm length, sure, but for what little bit of trimming they needed, the ball end cutter worked great. I did try the drill bit thingy for the 7mm Rem Mag cases, I just ended up getting frustrated. It worked well, however by the time I got the case locked in the shell plate and everything lined up and then used my third hand to pull the trigger on the drill, it was much slower than just doing it by hand. I tried about six this way and then just sat down and knocked out 46 cases with the ball end cutter and the Lee chamfer tool in about 15mins. I did notice the 7 mag cases were harder to seat and seemed to not accept the gage as readily as the .270 win, also they tended to pop out of the holder if not really cranked down tight. They are PPY cases from Monarch ammo from Academy, so maybe they're not the best quality.


Summary:

Pros: Cheap, quick, very effective. Provides sort of a quick and dirty primer pocket deburr - hole cleaner as well.

Cons: No cool looking piece of equipment for the reload bench. Can't trim to specific length (although I suppose you could, if you modified one of the gages a bit...) Using it in a drill is effective, but not worth the extra hassle in my case. The lock stud that you screw the shell holders on could be larger, perhaps with a handle of some sort. (that's why it's $4.99, I guess)
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Old October 30, 2008, 10:31 PM   #21
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I use a stubby magnetic nut driver for a handle on the lock stud for pistol brass (I use the Wilson for rifle brass). I've also heard of folks chucking the cutter/gauge in a drill press, and holding the brass with a leather glove against the table beneath it (make sure it is not lined up with a hole in the table!) No lock stud to loosen/tighten.

Andy
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Old October 31, 2008, 12:48 PM   #22
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I have a pile of casings that need trimmed and was really interested to see this thread. After reading everything and looking over the options, I ordered a Forster kit from Cabela's. Thanks!
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Old October 31, 2008, 01:30 PM   #23
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case trimmer

I have used a Lyman Universal trimmer going on 30 years. I started out using it with the hand crank but as my volume of shooting and reloading increased, with the disease we all suffer from, I put a power adapter on it so I could use an electric drill and save my thumb and finger. It still works fine after trimming thousands of cases. I think you can get one for about what you are wanting to spend. Again I would get the power adapter for the extra bucks if you are going to trim alot of brass at one time. If you are going to use the trimmer with nickel cases you will probably want to get a set of carbide cutters. Nickel brass is a litter harder on reloading equipment. I hope this helps you out.
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Old October 31, 2008, 01:35 PM   #24
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Ditto on the lyman, I use a cheap B&D electric screwdriver for power.

I consider most Lee stuff to be cheap garbage.

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Old November 5, 2008, 10:38 PM   #25
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Wilson Case trimmer

I have been using a Wilson for 18 years or so and wouldn't use anything else now. Love it. Very consistent...
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