August 27, 2006, 07:34 PM | #1 |
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Case Trimming 38 Special
After trimming 200 pieces of brass, i just discovered that my Lee case trimmer/gauge is comming up on the short side of the max trim length of 1.155inches. My cases are comming up short, measuring 1.130 and am wondering if I need be concerned? I have been chucking the tool in my drill press and holding the cases by hand. Is it possable I may have worn the tip of my tool down and that is what is causing my shells to come up short? I have only use this tool on about 500 rounds. Has anyone else had this problem?
Thanks Mike H |
August 27, 2006, 08:18 PM | #2 |
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I've got too many other important things to do with my life than trim pistol brass. I went to look, and Lyman tells us to trim to 1.149".
Your are definitely shorter than recommended, but I am not sure if that would be problematic or not. A light load might not require much of a crimp, so in that case, I probably wouldn't worry about it, depending on how they looked. The first thing I would do is rezero your caliper and measure the cases again. Hopefully that will cure your problem. If they were indeed as short as you said , I would use this as a learning experience, and never trim 500 cases without checking the length. Hope it works out for you, Stinger |
August 28, 2006, 01:28 AM | #3 |
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great advice stinger!!!!! always check your work often!
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August 28, 2006, 02:35 AM | #4 |
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Huffy-
No problem with the cases being short, as long as they are all short. Just adjust your die and crimp them all the same. Next time, forget about trimming pistol brass.
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August 28, 2006, 05:39 AM | #5 |
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Guys, Thanks for the advise. I did check my lengths early on when I started to load 38 special. I check every 10 rounds for correct powder weight and OAL but because the Lee length gage seemed pretty fool proof, I stopped checking. You are right though, check often is the answer. I guess I'll start looking for a better method of trimming or not trim at all.
Thanks all Mike H |
August 28, 2006, 08:27 PM | #6 |
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The way you are using it, the lee trimmer could trim them too short if you were not securely holding the brass against the drill press table. Also, how smooth is the top of your table? Is it posible that there is a .020" roughness to it, or a pit/dimple in it?
Depending on how forceful you were with bottoming the cutter against the table, it is possible that it wore down after 500 rounds, and it could be from a rough table, or abrasives embedded in it from using the drill press as a sander, etc. If you chuck up a piece of brass in the lock-stud/shellholder setup, what length will it trim to? If it still cuts short, send it back to Lee and they will replace it. OTOH, it may be cheaper to buy a new one than to ship it to them. If not, try using a smooth, clean (no rust) piece of steel to bottom out the cutter on. Andy |
August 29, 2006, 03:47 AM | #7 |
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there isn't any reason to trim straight walled cases at all
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August 29, 2006, 11:36 AM | #8 |
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I wouldn't say there is no reason to trim straight-walled cases. Making sure you get a consistent crimp would be a good reason. If you use a progressive press and your brass is all different lengths and you want to make sure the case mouth is crimped into the cannelure, or you don't want to overcrimp or undercrimp the rounds, trimming might be in order. But as a general rule, don't bother.
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August 29, 2006, 01:42 PM | #9 |
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Lee Factory Crimp Die
If you use LFC die in the final station you don't really ever have to worry about final crimp and case length with pistol rounds. I load 9mm, 38 Special and 45 ACP with brass coming from all over the lot; it goes in a tumbler for a little cleaning if it is really grungy; then through the Lee Carbide pistol dies to the LFC die and they shoot!
The guns are Kimber Custom Target Stainless II 9mm and 45 ACP and Ruger New Blackhawk .38 Special/.357 mag with a convertible 9mm cylinder. I worried about trimmng too--LFCD solved that problem. |
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