Lathe as a case trimmer

BoogieMan · October 1, 2013, 02:33 PM

I have many lathes in different configurations and I am thinking that using one (Hardinge DV59) would give me better results and accuracy to trim case length after resizing. I am talking about 30-06, 8x56r, 30-30, 5.56 (223), 303 etc. I can use soft collets and bore them as needed or in some cases I think I can order off the shelf collets to fit. Has anyone has tried this? Other than everyone not having access to the machinery is there a reason to use the case trimmers and prep tools from reloading manufacturers?

precision_shooter · October 1, 2013, 02:50 PM

Seems like a lathe is overkill. When I trim, usually 2-5 turns is all that is needed to take the case back to spec. Seems like you would waste a lot of time chucking up a case, turning machine on, etc compared to a hand trimmer.

You could look into The World's Finest Trimmer from Little Crow Gunworks. Rig up a drill motor/chuck mounted to your bench and just feed the cases in and chuck into a bucket. Would be a lot faster...

mjes92 · October 1, 2013, 04:22 PM

I was thinking the same thing. The trick is designing a quick change case holder to mount on the compound rest. Let us know what you come up with.

iraiam · October 1, 2013, 10:21 PM

Been there, done that. I just took the cam over shell holder out of my Lyman universal and mounted on the tool post on my lathe with a simple piece I made, I chucked an end mill for the cutter. Put a stop on the ways to move the compound up against, it wound up being slower this way. I can easily maintain less than .0005" variance on my Lyman Universal case trimmer, and it's faster than my lathe was.

A sharp end mill will trim the brass case nicely, just a matter of making the process faster.

BoogieMan · October 2, 2013, 06:26 AM

I am using the term Lathe loosely because I didnt think many know what I am talking about. A Hardinge DV59 uses a 5c collet and a bed turret with a quick lever operated cross slide.

Above is not my machine but is similar. I am thinking that I can put the cases in the collet (at headstock) and use 3 stations on the turret,length, cham id, cham od. With this setup I wouldnt have to stop the spindle to open and close the collet.

Magnum Wheel Man · October 2, 2013, 08:32 AM

I don't have one, but my retired machinist buddy does, & they can do a much better job, much faster than a "normal" case trimmer... also there are times that a "regular" case trimmer is just not practical ( for example, when I made my 257 Special, we made cases out of 22 K Hornet cases, & the lathe with a collet was invaluable to trim all those Hornet cases to 38 special length...

you will still want to camphor the case mouths, in & out ( which I do on my RCBS case prep center, rather than a hand tool ) but I think you'll find once you have the proper collets, you'll trim them on the lathe from now on

F. Guffey · October 2, 2013, 11:13 AM

Boogieman, I can not dispute the results, I have one friend that trims some cases for bench rest type cases with a lathe, I have the lathes, I also have the trim equipment, my favorite tool for trimming is the 'man tool' the hack saw and file especially when forming.

F. Guffey

F. Guffey · October 2, 2013, 11:16 AM

Magnum Wheel Man, the RCBS case prep center is the first tool that comes out of a drawer, plugged in and set up when reloading.

F. Guffey

iraiam · October 2, 2013, 07:19 PM

Boogieman,

I could see it being faster and quite accurate on that, I didn't initially realize you were talking about a turret lathe.

I guess my only remaining question would be about the collets, would you modify a 5c collet for use with a cartridge case of xx caliber? Similar the the RCBS case collets?

BoogieMan · October 3, 2013, 07:24 AM

@ iraiam- I will likely try 30-06 first. I think they will fit fine in a 15/32 collet. Back them up with a spindle stop. Other cartridges can be done with a "emergency collet" that gets bored to size. Taper and rimmed cartridges would need a sleeve and might not be practical. Ill post it up as soon as I get a 15/32 collet. Somehow it ended up missing

reynolds357 · October 5, 2013, 09:45 AM

It would definitely work and work well. How is it faster? Not disputing you, just curious. I average probably five seconds per case on my Fosters. In, trim, out; less than five seconds.

Gunplummer · October 5, 2013, 12:38 PM

I don't know how advanced you are with machining. I am assuming you intend to hold on the case wall. You will run into problems with the taper. I used a homemade mandrel in a collet and held on the rim. I guess you could under cut a collet to hold on the rim, but I don't know if there would be enough stroke to open up. As others said, it will work. A lathe works really well to remake one type of casing into another. It is up to you to make what tools you have work for what you are doing. Not everybody has the same set up.

October 1, 2013, 02:33 PM	#1
BoogieMan Senior Member Join Date: April 4, 2012 Location: South Jersey Posts: 2,217	Lathe as a case trimmer I have many lathes in different configurations and I am thinking that using one (Hardinge DV59) would give me better results and accuracy to trim case length after resizing. I am talking about 30-06, 8x56r, 30-30, 5.56 (223), 303 etc. I can use soft collets and bore them as needed or in some cases I think I can order off the shelf collets to fit. Has anyone has tried this? Other than everyone not having access to the machinery is there a reason to use the case trimmers and prep tools from reloading manufacturers? __________________ Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it. Milton Freidman "If you find yourself in a fair fight,,, Your tactics suck"- Unknown

October 1, 2013, 02:50 PM	#2
precision_shooter Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 2,475	Seems like a lathe is overkill. When I trim, usually 2-5 turns is all that is needed to take the case back to spec. Seems like you would waste a lot of time chucking up a case, turning machine on, etc compared to a hand trimmer. You could look into The World's Finest Trimmer from Little Crow Gunworks. Rig up a drill motor/chuck mounted to your bench and just feed the cases in and chuck into a bucket. Would be a lot faster... __________________ "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes...Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." - Thomas Jefferson, 1776

October 1, 2013, 04:22 PM	#3
mjes92 Senior Member Join Date: January 28, 2013 Location: Land of 10,000 taxes Posts: 211	I was thinking the same thing. The trick is designing a quick change case holder to mount on the compound rest. Let us know what you come up with. __________________ Dad !!! "It's only going to be perfect if you do it yourself." - my teenage daughter Dad !!! "I'm not scared" My Cancer fighting daughter." Cancer Sucks NRA - Life Member

October 1, 2013, 10:21 PM	#4
iraiam Senior Member Join Date: September 6, 2012 Location: Lakewood, CO Posts: 1,057	Been there, done that. I just took the cam over shell holder out of my Lyman universal and mounted on the tool post on my lathe with a simple piece I made, I chucked an end mill for the cutter. Put a stop on the ways to move the compound up against, it wound up being slower this way. I can easily maintain less than .0005" variance on my Lyman Universal case trimmer, and it's faster than my lathe was. A sharp end mill will trim the brass case nicely, just a matter of making the process faster. __________________ NRA Lifetime Member Since 1999 "I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people except for a few public officials." George Mason Last edited by iraiam; October 1, 2013 at 10:54 PM.

October 2, 2013, 06:26 AM	#5
BoogieMan Senior Member Join Date: April 4, 2012 Location: South Jersey Posts: 2,217	I am using the term Lathe loosely because I didnt think many know what I am talking about. A Hardinge DV59 uses a 5c collet and a bed turret with a quick lever operated cross slide. Above is not my machine but is similar. I am thinking that I can put the cases in the collet (at headstock) and use 3 stations on the turret,length, cham id, cham od. With this setup I wouldnt have to stop the spindle to open and close the collet. __________________ Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it. Milton Freidman "If you find yourself in a fair fight,,, Your tactics suck"- Unknown

October 2, 2013, 08:32 AM	#6
Magnum Wheel Man Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2006 Location: Southern Minnesota Posts: 9,333	I don't have one, but my retired machinist buddy does, & they can do a much better job, much faster than a "normal" case trimmer... also there are times that a "regular" case trimmer is just not practical ( for example, when I made my 257 Special, we made cases out of 22 K Hornet cases, & the lathe with a collet was invaluable to trim all those Hornet cases to 38 special length... you will still want to camphor the case mouths, in & out ( which I do on my RCBS case prep center, rather than a hand tool ) but I think you'll find once you have the proper collets, you'll trim them on the lathe from now on __________________ In life you either make dust or eat dust... Last edited by Magnum Wheel Man; October 2, 2013 at 11:19 AM.

October 2, 2013, 11:13 AM	#7
F. Guffey Senior Member Join Date: July 18, 2008 Posts: 7,249	Boogieman, I can not dispute the results, I have one friend that trims some cases for bench rest type cases with a lathe, I have the lathes, I also have the trim equipment, my favorite tool for trimming is the 'man tool' the hack saw and file especially when forming. F. Guffey

October 2, 2013, 11:16 AM	#8
F. Guffey Senior Member Join Date: July 18, 2008 Posts: 7,249	Magnum Wheel Man, the RCBS case prep center is the first tool that comes out of a drawer, plugged in and set up when reloading. F. Guffey

October 2, 2013, 07:19 PM	#9
iraiam Senior Member Join Date: September 6, 2012 Location: Lakewood, CO Posts: 1,057	Boogieman, I could see it being faster and quite accurate on that, I didn't initially realize you were talking about a turret lathe. I guess my only remaining question would be about the collets, would you modify a 5c collet for use with a cartridge case of xx caliber? Similar the the RCBS case collets? __________________ NRA Lifetime Member Since 1999 "I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people except for a few public officials." George Mason

October 3, 2013, 07:24 AM	#10
BoogieMan Senior Member Join Date: April 4, 2012 Location: South Jersey Posts: 2,217	@ iraiam- I will likely try 30-06 first. I think they will fit fine in a 15/32 collet. Back them up with a spindle stop. Other cartridges can be done with a "emergency collet" that gets bored to size. Taper and rimmed cartridges would need a sleeve and might not be practical. Ill post it up as soon as I get a 15/32 collet. Somehow it ended up missing __________________ Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it. Milton Freidman "If you find yourself in a fair fight,,, Your tactics suck"- Unknown

October 5, 2013, 09:45 AM	#11
reynolds357 Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 2012 Posts: 6,164	It would definitely work and work well. How is it faster? Not disputing you, just curious. I average probably five seconds per case on my Fosters. In, trim, out; less than five seconds.

October 5, 2013, 12:38 PM	#12
Gunplummer Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 2010 Location: South East Pa. Posts: 3,364	I don't know how advanced you are with machining. I am assuming you intend to hold on the case wall. You will run into problems with the taper. I used a homemade mandrel in a collet and held on the rim. I guess you could under cut a collet to hold on the rim, but I don't know if there would be enough stroke to open up. As others said, it will work. A lathe works really well to remake one type of casing into another. It is up to you to make what tools you have work for what you are doing. Not everybody has the same set up.

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