Gracey or Giraud ?

BigSlick · January 9, 2006, 10:14 PM

Well, it had to happen sooner or later, the old Lyman Power Trimmer just took a dump.

I've used the thing a ton, had it since 1986 and it finally crawled to a stop, then gave one last good pop.

It looks and smells like the motor windings melted.

Smoked the loading room up all to crap and set off the smoke alarms.

So, I need a new trimmer.

I would buy another Lyman, but after reading thru the search results there is a better mousetrap available today.

Both look good, both ain't cheap and I've never seen either up close and personal. I believe in buy once, cry once where loading gear is concerned and the Gracey and Giraud seem to be top quality units

Can some of you guys give me your opinion, from a little first-hand experience.

Caliber conversion, simplicity (complexity) of use/setup and results are most critical, speed being secondary. Warranty, replacement parts availability etc.. play a part too, but I'm hoping with top quality stuff, these won't be necessary for a whale of a long time.

Thanks

BigSlick

jclaude · January 10, 2006, 06:08 PM

I'm not familiar with either of the trimmers you mentioned. I've been using a hand cranked Lyman for 30 years or so and it still works fine. Decided a few years ago that all that hand cranking was wasting a lot of time so I bought a drill press version of the Lyman, even though I didn't have a drill press at the time. Santa Clause finally brought me the drill press this past Christmas and I still haven't commissioned the trimmer yet. When I looked around at the motorized trimmers that are available now, and their prices, I decided that for a similar amount of money I could buy a decent small drill press and do a lot of things with it other that trimming cases.

**Unclenick** · January 11, 2006, 12:23 AM

I've been looking at these recently myself, but don't own either one at this time. I've been using a Wilson and setup I got from Sinclair. The Gracey is the original. The maker is, I believe, a former Marine competitor who put it together for competitors. They are always sold on commercial row at Camp Perry during the nationals. I know you need different parts for .308 and .223. The cutters can now be had with 14° chamfer angles as the bench rest community prefers, I believe, and can also be set up for outside neck turning. Zediker said it did the smoothest job of that of any outside neck turning tool he's seen.

The Giraud is trying to be an upgrade to the Gracey, using ball bearings and a bigger motor, if I recall correctly? Also costing more. I don't know how good a job it does beyond that. I don't know anyone who owns one.

Both of these machines are really intended to be set up and then to have a large volume of identical cases run through. If you reload 3,000 .223 at the end of a season, you clean, decap and size them all, then run them all through to get ready for priming. If you are shooting several calibers and doing so in smaller quantities, I'm not sure either is greared toward quick setup and adjustment? That's why I'm still using a Wilson and hand crank. However, I now have 2,000 empty 30-06's, about 3,000 empty .308's and probably that many .223's all in buckets and boxes, cleaned and uncleaned, waiting for me to take the next step with them. So I am probably going to bite the bullet myself before undertaking to start catching all that brass up. I probably won't reload it all at once, but will simply have it ready as new load developments come along.

I intend to talk or write to both makers and find out about setup times and tools. You'll probably want to do the same thing.

Nick

rn22723 · January 11, 2006, 09:25 AM

If you want the best, Doug Giraud is the man to talk to!
His is the best!

January 9, 2006, 10:14 PM	#1
BigSlick Senior Member Join Date: January 25, 2005 Location: Texas of course Posts: 277	Gracey or Giraud ? Well, it had to happen sooner or later, the old Lyman Power Trimmer just took a dump. I've used the thing a ton, had it since 1986 and it finally crawled to a stop, then gave one last good pop. It looks and smells like the motor windings melted. Smoked the loading room up all to crap and set off the smoke alarms. So, I need a new trimmer. I would buy another Lyman, but after reading thru the search results there is a better mousetrap available today. Both look good, both ain't cheap and I've never seen either up close and personal. I believe in buy once, cry once where loading gear is concerned and the Gracey and Giraud seem to be top quality units Can some of you guys give me your opinion, from a little first-hand experience. Caliber conversion, simplicity (complexity) of use/setup and results are most critical, speed being secondary. Warranty, replacement parts availability etc.. play a part too, but I'm hoping with top quality stuff, these won't be necessary for a whale of a long time. Thanks BigSlick __________________ Nobody likes war, but if you find yourself in one - fight for those you serve with and to make the trip home. Show mercy to those that deserve it and a relentless, ruthless, cunning evil to those who don't.

January 10, 2006, 06:08 PM	#2
jclaude Senior Member Join Date: January 3, 2006 Location: Coastal North Carolina Posts: 157	Case Trimmers I'm not familiar with either of the trimmers you mentioned. I've been using a hand cranked Lyman for 30 years or so and it still works fine. Decided a few years ago that all that hand cranking was wasting a lot of time so I bought a drill press version of the Lyman, even though I didn't have a drill press at the time. Santa Clause finally brought me the drill press this past Christmas and I still haven't commissioned the trimmer yet. When I looked around at the motorized trimmers that are available now, and their prices, I decided that for a similar amount of money I could buy a decent small drill press and do a lot of things with it other that trimming cases.

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January 11, 2006, 12:23 AM	#3
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,057	I've been looking at these recently myself, but don't own either one at this time. I've been using a Wilson and setup I got from Sinclair. The Gracey is the original. The maker is, I believe, a former Marine competitor who put it together for competitors. They are always sold on commercial row at Camp Perry during the nationals. I know you need different parts for .308 and .223. The cutters can now be had with 14° chamfer angles as the bench rest community prefers, I believe, and can also be set up for outside neck turning. Zediker said it did the smoothest job of that of any outside neck turning tool he's seen. The Giraud is trying to be an upgrade to the Gracey, using ball bearings and a bigger motor, if I recall correctly? Also costing more. I don't know how good a job it does beyond that. I don't know anyone who owns one. Both of these machines are really intended to be set up and then to have a large volume of identical cases run through. If you reload 3,000 .223 at the end of a season, you clean, decap and size them all, then run them all through to get ready for priming. If you are shooting several calibers and doing so in smaller quantities, I'm not sure either is greared toward quick setup and adjustment? That's why I'm still using a Wilson and hand crank. However, I now have 2,000 empty 30-06's, about 3,000 empty .308's and probably that many .223's all in buckets and boxes, cleaned and uncleaned, waiting for me to take the next step with them. So I am probably going to bite the bullet myself before undertaking to start catching all that brass up. I probably won't reload it all at once, but will simply have it ready as new load developments come along. I intend to talk or write to both makers and find out about setup times and tools. You'll probably want to do the same thing. Nick

January 11, 2006, 09:25 AM	#4
rn22723 Junior member Join Date: December 10, 2001 Location: Burbs of Minneapolis Posts: 676	If you want the best, Doug Giraud is the man to talk to! His is the best!