Case trimming and primer crimp removal tool options.

[marine6680]

Right now I am using the Lee case trimmer hand tools. Effective, but slow and a pain to use. Chucking the case into the holder has proven to be difficult for my fiance who likes to help with the reloading. She has on several occasions not chucked in the case tight enough and had it spin out while trying to trim.

So I am looking to get an easier tool to do this with. I was looking at the following.

Hornady trimmer

Lyman trimmer

Lyman budget trimmer

Lee quick trim... Used with special (low cost) press dies, trims and deburs and bevels the case mouth at the same time.


I also have started acquiring enough military type brass that getting a crimp remover would be worth it.

RCBS swager A lot of people like these types, but the cost is getting up there.

RCBS on press option

Lyman pocket reamer I have seen the end results and like that it doesnt remove but the minimum required to eliminate the crimp. I have seen the RCBS reaming tool results and it creates a shallow but wide chamfer to the brass. So while not too deep, it does seem excessive.


For all the tools I want ease of use, speed and value... the last can be fairly subjective though.

Thoughts on your prior successes and failures with these various tools would be helpful. Thanks

[waveslayer]

Get the world's fastest trimmer by Crow I believe

[marine6680]

Looked at those... I really like the ease of use. You just have to have more than one if you have multiple calibers to do.

[me26245]

I use a Forster bench mounted case trimmer and a Dillon rapid trim depending on the number of rifle cases I'm wanting to process.
Dillon rapid trim is great once you have it set up, but they don't have dies for handgun cartridges.
The Forster I have mounted on a board that I can clamp on my bench or use on my lap. It's set up for .38 Special and I've run about @12K through it so far.

[ncrypt]

If you're up for it, You could do what I did and drill and tap a little hole for a small screw in your lee shell holder. Made a huge difference. I use this in a variable drill with a foot pedal. Works well for me.

For crimp removal I very gently put the neck in the drill and use the chamfer tool to remove the crimp. Just did 200 of these.

[marine6680]

I seen quite a few nice options that seemed very fast, usually motorized... the problem was the high cost.

I like the Lee option because it trims and deburrs/chamfers at the same time. Seen some reviews that were very favorable as well.

I have a turret press, and I can mount the trimmer die and sizing die on the same turret and trim immediately after sizing and that will not take much time if I do it regularly and keep the case from getting too long.


But what thoughts on the primer crimp?

[me26245]

Lots of ways to trim out a primer crimp.

Cheapest is to get a drill bit oversized for the primer pocket wrap the shank with duck tape and go for it. Hold the case in one hand and the drill bit in the other and turn the drill bit.

I've done that and used the drill bit in a cordless drill. Got to be careful that you don't hurt your hand if the drill slips or the case turns in your hand.

Several makers produce deburring/ chamfering tools that can be used by hand.

I like the RCBS primer pocket swaging tool. I've used it for years.

Finally I've just started using the Dillon Super swage.

[marine6680]

From my reading the swage tools require setting up for different headstamp due to variances in web thickness.

May get a dedicated reamer. The Hornady version seems to be preferred to the Lyman.

I may end up trying the Lee quick trim.

[bt380]

Consider picking up either a drill holder, a small drill press from Harbor Freight. I have a full size drill press from wood working. I configure it for the slowest speed and use the Lee cutter, the Lee case gage with shell holder. I set the cutter in the drill press chuck and then go thru the brass very quickly. Then I use the Lyman larger gold handled tool and the bits either by hand for a few shells or I place the bits in a short aluminum rod that was threaded to hold the bits and place it in a hand electric screw driver and do all the chamfer and deburring. It goes fairly quickly.

[CTS]

I like the RCBS trim pro with 3 way cutting head. It trims chamfers and deburrs all in one step. I adapted it to run with a power srewdriver and it is even faster and less work.
I also use the RCBS swaging tool. It is well worth the money if you use a lot of crimped primer brass.

[rebs]

I use the Lee trimmer in my cordless drill and the RCBS primer pocket swager

[Whisper 300]

marine,

I have been reloading for a bit over a half a century now and my experience with removing a swaged primer pocket (and I have tried them all)- is that if the cost of acquiring it does not scare you away, the Dillon primer pocket swager is the way to go. I used the RCBS method for many a year, and hundreds upon hundreds of cases, but when i acquired a multi thousand lot of military 5.56 I jumped to the Dillon and flew through the ordeal. Yes, it is a PITA but the blue unit makes it less so than every other way. No, I have not consumed the blue kool-aid but in this case they make the better of the units out there.

If I have just a few to do, you can easily remove them with a chamfer tool or any other way you can think of to scrape off a few thou. of lip around the primer pocket but if you value your time and frustration levels are not those of a saint, try the Dillon unit.

I am the owner of Red, Green, Blue and a few other manufacturers of reloading supplies and have no dog in the fight over who makes the "best".
I use what I can afford and does the job up to my needs. That's it.

Gary

[marine6680]

I will look into some of these options.

[totalloser]

I would pay extra attention to bt30 and slappy's posts. Fast, cost effective methods.

Spinning a cutter fast may make a clean enough cut to eliminate all chamfering depending on the cutter.

I got tired of the whole trimming process and automated it into the press turret. Not expensive, but machining required. Been using it for a while now.

http://thefiringline.com/forums/show...ve+single+pass

If I were to do it again, I'd use a press fit collar over the motor though. I NEVER have to worry about a case too long, or inspecting/trimming with this setup.

[Gadawg88]

I use the Lyman case trimmer. I bought the power pack with the power adapter. Cheaper than buying just the trimmer then later getting the power adapter which you will want if you do any volume at all. It works very well and with a drill attached will run through a bunch of rifle brass in no time. Very consistent and no ware on the hands. I use the Dillon super swage 600. Excellent piece of equipment. A little high in price, but you get what you pay for IMO.

[marine6680]

Been working so much lately, I haven't been able to look into anything yet.

[Ritz]

I've been using the Lyman trimmer:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

No complaints with it. It's a lot more consistent if you use the power adapter.

I had about a 100 5.56 cases that needed to be de-crimped and used this:

http://www.amazon.com/Lyman-Case-Pre...s=lyman+reamer

It worked OK, but if I could do it over again, I think I'd have gone the drill press route and saved some wear and tear on my hands.

Best,

[Merad]

I just got the RCBS swager dies. They aren't perfect, but are much better than using a reamer based in my experience. Ran about 300 .223 cases through it this weekend then loaded 250 of them. All of the primers slipped in perfectly, so I give it a thumbs up.

For trimming, I use the Lee hand held trimmer (the model with the wooden ball handle), mounted in a cordless drill. Then I have the Lyman case multi-tool linked earlier that I use in combination with the drill to deburr and chamfer.

I'm not 100% happy with this setup, but it's alright to process a moderate number of cases on a moderate budget. Eventually I expect that I'll upgrade to the Dillon swager and something better on the trimming end eventually.

[RC20]

The best trimmers are the ones that index off the shoulder.

The Gerard is the Cadillac for self power electric and works a treat but requires work and time to change between calibers.

The Little Crow trimmer is dedicated to a round and works in a drill.

Lower levels of re-load the Little Crow is the way to go.

The rest go on COAL (or try) and the inconsistent in the web and case still don't get consistent resutls. It sounds wrong but its proven to be true.

Theory says you should be able to set the trimmer and they come out and I find I have to trim and check each one on any other than the shoulder case trimmer.

I use the Little Crow and each time its right in the vicinity of the COAL trim length with no fuss. Worth every penny and lack of frustration with the others. It the one tool that I never want to give up it works so well.

[Mr.RevolverGuy]

This is my recently acquired trimming setup and after 17 years of loading I was like a little kid with a great big smile after setup.

CTS Power Trimmer
Hornady Trio -- Removes the primer crimp

I will be posting a review on my website soon. Trimmed 1000 cases without hand cramps or soreness --- this is a fantastic setup.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnvzuOBagdM

[1stmar]

Looks nice mr revolver guy. Mind if I ask how much and who makes it?

[marine6680]

Looks nice... Looks costly.

I'm looking for cost effective solutions at the moment. A combination of speed, price, and effectiveness.

Picked up a Hornady reamer local, gave it a try, and it works well with minimal material removal. Doesn't take too long to do a case. More control doing it by hand rather than a powered device, leads to removing what is needed and not relying on the mechanical stop of the reamer.

I may give the quick trim a try. I have turrets and can mount it and make it a step in my loading. Resize, turn turret and trim, repeat.

Knowing a bit about metal fatigue crack propagation... I think trimming regularly may help prevent it. Big cracks form from little cracks, and trimming may remove the tiny micro-cracks before they can be a starting point for a split neck.

Maybe... Maybe not... I guess I can try and see.

[DarthNul]

For getting rid of primer crimps I have both the RCBS press mounted swager, and a Hornady primer pocket reamer in a Hornady case prep trio.

The RCBS swager requires elbow grease and a VERY solidly mounted single-stage press. The swaging bit is easy. Getting the swager back out of the primer pocket requires considerable force/impact. Oiling the tip of the swager makes that easier but you have to do it every 8-10 cases (and then clean the oil from the cases when you're done). It is also quite easy to overdo the swaging and end up with loose primer pockets. What works with "LC 79" cases may not work with "LC 80" brass.

I have not used the swager since I got the case prep trio, which has been quicker to use, required no adjustment, and hasn't produced any loose pockets even when I've tried to overdo it.

For trimming, If you are dealing with any volume, go with the Little Crow Gun Works trimmers. I have one for 223 Rem and it is very fast, very accurate and very consistent. I barely have to touch the chamfering tool after trimming with the Little Crow, and deburring becomes optional. Absolutely DO heed the manufacturers warnings about using eye protection!

[Ritz]

@Mr Revolver Guy:

That looks like an amazing setup. I see the drill mounted trimmers online. Where did you get the beefy motorized version you've got or did you put it together yourself?

Best,

[BWM]

I have the LEE and it is very good it does it all at one time. The adj is a little cheep but does a good job. Jest adj it easy one click at a time. I did a 100 243 in about 2 Hr I am 73 years young. I have done around 500 223 all ready. If you go with the LEE get your self the Deluxe cutter and a extra deluxe cutting blade. GOOD LUCK