Lee Case Trimmer & Military (Thick-Headed) Cases - Page 2

Gary L. Griffiths · August 28, 2014, 11:06 AM

Just got off the phone with Lee Precision. They're sending me a new case length gauge.

CowTowner · August 28, 2014, 11:58 AM

Very cool! Please let us know if there are any differences between the new and old.

mikld · August 30, 2014, 11:07 AM

K.I.S.S.; Install the "gauge" into the cutter, screwed in all the way possible. Shove the cutter/mandrel into a case. Does the pin extend beyond the case head when the cutter contacts the case mouth? The length of the case is determined by the distance from the case holder/"stud" to the face of the cutter. Regardless of pin dimensions the only important dimension is the distance from the tip of the pin to the cutter face. Kinda hard to mess that up...

RC20 · August 30, 2014, 02:14 PM

Better yet get a trimmer that indexes off the shoulder and all this goes way, saves a lot of futzing and measuring re-measuring cycle.

There are two mfgs that make a drill use type that I know of (top stuff, not cheap)

Little Crow makes a good one in the $60 range.

Giraud (sp?) makes an even nicer one that chamfers and deburrs in the 80 or 90 range.

Per Bart B there is a bit of variation, I just do them all each cycle and trim them back. I don't waste time measuring and then re-measuring to be sure they came out right.

I do a quality check form time to time and the variation is low and they don't ever get too long.

Little Crow now makes on that can be multi caliber if it’s the same shell family (30-06, 270 etc).

Or Girauds machine unit can get different heads (that’s expensive in the $450 area.

Aproach depends on how many calibers shot and how often. A few hunting loads and I would use my RCBS trimmer and do the multiple checks. More than 20 or so and then the shoulder trimmers pay off big time with a lot less fuss and plenty of accuracy.

Gary L. Griffiths · September 25, 2014, 01:14 PM

Here is a picture of the two gauges. The new one is on the top.

Quote:

The mandrel most certainly should be bottoming out on the shellholder.

You can clearly see in Lee's own picture of the device that the mandrel is nowhere near touching the inside of the case head/web and the tip is clearly touching the shellholder.

I tried chucking the cutter/gauge into my drill, then securing the case in the holder and pressing it into the spinning cutter.

DISASTER

Unfired LC-13 case with trimmed LC-13 case.

Unfired LC case at top. Note gap with trimmed case.

Trimmed LC Case.

Mouths of unfired and trimmed LC cases. The cutter is apparently so dull that it splays the brass more than it cuts it.

Biting the bullet and looking for a good quality trimmer for .223, .308, .45-70, .45 ACP & 9mm. Can get Forester or RCBS from Midway for around $100. Anyone like one over the other, or have any suggestions for something better?

243winxb · September 25, 2014, 02:15 PM

Looks like a defective cutter. I use a Lyman universal trimmer. It doesnt cut the case mouth square. Been in use for many years, i think there are better trimmers available??

F. Guffey · September 25, 2014, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Better yet get a trimmer that indexes off the shoulder and all this goes way, saves a lot of futzing and measuring re-measuring cycle.

'futzing' as I read through the replies futzing comes to mind. I have Lee case trimmers, as in a JIC thing, meaning 'just in case' I do not use them but 'JIC'. Then there is the measuring the case head thickness, I do that, I measure case head thickness from the top of the cup above the web to the case head, the reason, almost long ago forgotten, the reason had nothing to do with case length.

It always goes back to the L.E. Wilson case gage, the Wilson case gage is a compound gage meaning it does two things at once, it measures the case from the datum on the shoulder to the case head and it measures the distance from the datum on the shoulder to the case mouth. 'AND!' like a bonus it measures the length of the case from the head of the case to the mouth of the case.

Near impossible to keep up with, I have a chamber I add .014" t the length of the case from the datum to the head of the case, when trimming I do not trim the case based on the length of the case from the mouth of the case to the case head 'BECAUASE!?' trimming the case mouth would result in removing .014" from the neck. As I have said before I am a fan of all the bullet hold I can get, shortening the neck would reduce bullet hold. On some cases the neck of the case is .217", and we do not want to forget the 300 Win Mag. The 300 Win Mag has a short neck.

I keep up with the length of the chamber from the shoulder of the chamber to the bolt face, to disregard the length of the chamber from the shoulder to the bolt face when trimming is 'just futzing around' when trimming cases.

F. Guffey

SVTCobra306 · September 25, 2014, 08:33 PM

For .223 I use a Lyman universal trimmer, it is "backwards" to the lee unit, as it is set up for the cutter and case length gauge to chuck into the drill, and uses a standard shellholder in the other piece. It still bottoms the cutter out on the flat surface that locks the brass into the shellholder. Works pretty good for me, might not be the most square but I am making plinking ammo if I am bulk processing like this anyway. I have found that the lyman shellholder setup holds the brass much better than the Lee setup does. My only complaint is that the shellholder end needs to be more ergo-friendly, doing a lot of brass wears out my hand. I might have my neighbor throw the main piece of the shellholder end in next time he does his oven-baked tool grip rubber coating, that should help a lot.

August 28, 2014, 11:06 AM	#26
Gary L. Griffiths Senior Member Join Date: April 7, 2000 Location: AZ, WA Posts: 1,466	Just got off the phone with Lee Precision. They're sending me a new case length gauge. __________________ Violence is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and valorous feeling which believes that nothing is worth violence is much worse. Those who have nothing for which they are willing to fight; nothing they care about more than their own craven apathy; are miserable creatures who have no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the valor of those better than themselves. Gary L. Griffiths (Paraphrasing John Stuart Mill)

August 28, 2014, 11:58 AM	#27
CowTowner Senior Member Join Date: October 17, 2007 Location: Cowtown of course! Posts: 1,747	Very cool! Please let us know if there are any differences between the new and old. __________________ NRA Chief Range Safety Officer, Home Firearms Safety, Pistol and Rifle Instructor *“Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life......”* President John F. Kennedy

August 30, 2014, 11:07 AM	#28
mikld Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2009 Location: Southern Oregon! Posts: 2,891	K.I.S.S.; Install the "gauge" into the cutter, screwed in all the way possible. Shove the cutter/mandrel into a case. Does the pin extend beyond the case head when the cutter contacts the case mouth? The length of the case is determined by the distance from the case holder/"stud" to the face of the cutter. Regardless of pin dimensions the only important dimension is the distance from the tip of the pin to the cutter face. Kinda hard to mess that up... __________________ My Anchor is holding fast! I've learned how to stand on my own two knees...

September 25, 2014, 08:33 PM	#33
SVTCobra306 Senior Member Join Date: March 18, 2013 Posts: 434	For .223 I use a Lyman universal trimmer, it is "backwards" to the lee unit, as it is set up for the cutter and case length gauge to chuck into the drill, and uses a standard shellholder in the other piece. It still bottoms the cutter out on the flat surface that locks the brass into the shellholder. Works pretty good for me, might not be the most square but I am making plinking ammo if I am bulk processing like this anyway. I have found that the lyman shellholder setup holds the brass much better than the Lee setup does. My only complaint is that the shellholder end needs to be more ergo-friendly, doing a lot of brass wears out my hand. I might have my neighbor throw the main piece of the shellholder end in next time he does his oven-baked tool grip rubber coating, that should help a lot. __________________ Former US Army Paratrooper (1/509th PIR and 2nd BCT 82nd ABN DIV) 2 time OIF Veteran NRA Certified RSO/CRSO NRA Certified Pistol Instructor

August 30, 2014, 02:14 PM	#29
RC20 Senior Member Join Date: April 10, 2008 Location: Alaska Posts: 7,014	Better yet get a trimmer that indexes off the shoulder and all this goes way, saves a lot of futzing and measuring re-measuring cycle. There are two mfgs that make a drill use type that I know of (top stuff, not cheap) Little Crow makes a good one in the $60 range. Giraud (sp?) makes an even nicer one that chamfers and deburrs in the 80 or 90 range. Per Bart B there is a bit of variation, I just do them all each cycle and trim them back. I don't waste time measuring and then re-measuring to be sure they came out right. I do a quality check form time to time and the variation is low and they don't ever get too long. Little Crow now makes on that can be multi caliber if it’s the same shell family (30-06, 270 etc). Or Girauds machine unit can get different heads (that’s expensive in the $450 area. Aproach depends on how many calibers shot and how often. A few hunting loads and I would use my RCBS trimmer and do the multiple checks. More than 20 or so and then the shoulder trimmers pay off big time with a lot less fuss and plenty of accuracy.

September 25, 2014, 02:15 PM	#31
243winxb Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2011 Location: USA Posts: 1,730	Looks like a defective cutter. I use a Lyman universal trimmer. It doesnt cut the case mouth square. Been in use for many years, i think there are better trimmers available??