[elChupacabra!]

Alright, I doubt I'm alone in saying that trimming brass is my LEAST favorite part of reloading rifle ammunition (.223 Rem in my case). Aside from taking forever and being tiring, I find the Lee Trimmer system to be both ingenious and irritating at the same time. I chuck the lock stud in a cordless drill then go after the cases with the cutter and ball grip. I love the consistency and relative speed I get out of it, but it drives me CRAZY when the brass gets hung up on the cutter and pulls out of the center of the lock stud. I finger tighten the lock down as tight as I can, but don't wanna use tools to get it any tighter, because I think that would slow me down even more...

Does anyone else have this problem? How can I keep the brass firmly in the lock stud, turning with the drill and not getting hung up on the cutter or pulled out of the center of the stud?

Thanks guys!

[RustyFN]

I have had that happen a couple of times. I found if I don't push so hard with the cutter everything works a lot better.
Rusty

[elChupacabra!]

Yeah, that probably does have a good bit to do with it... I get so impatient trimming though, I just want it DONE :( I've got 120 pieces to finish loading tonight (already resized), and if I can just get through the trimming, then priming, charging and seating are the easy part... but man I hate trimming... still I'll try to take my time, not press so hard and hopefully it'll go a bit smoother... :(

[GLOCK45GUY]

I load for .223 as well and the cases seem to "roll out" of the shell holder/lock stud. I guess I'm pushing too hard as well.

[MMCSRET]

It varies with the brand of brass. Some I have had to take channel locks and tighten to get it to stay.

[elChupacabra!]

yeah... I've got channel locks in the reloading bench, maybe I should tighten it up just a touch more than finger tight... I mean it makes me crazy when this happens - and it seems to happen every few pieces (or more, depending on how unhappy I am becoming :mad:). Trimming, without a doubt, is the worst part of reloading to me. I LOVE reloading pistol ammo. I HATE reloading rifle ammo.

I sure do love to shoot it though :)

[Evenflo76]

i'll second the point of just turning the drill slowly and applying less pressure. not much is needed to trim brass.

I had the same frustration when I first got mine.

[jim147]

It's a bit of cost but a small bench drill press makes short work of a batch of .223.
And a drill press is always handy to have around for someone who is into guns.

[rcmodel]

+1

If you run the cutter in a drill press you don't even need the lock-stud.

The ground iron drill-press table becomes the depth stop.
Just hold the case in your hand on the table and Gofer It!

rcmodel

[elChupacabra!]

Hmmmmmmmm.............. I just might have to wander down to Harbor Freight and see what they have in the way of a small drill press...

Just as a side note, I've loaded and fired about 700 of 1700 (or so) pieces of once-fired brass, which will, eventually, all be twice-fired brass, at which point I will begin to turn it all into thrice fired brass... is trimming something that needs to be done after EVERY resizing? Right now I'm cutting to 1.750," and I only bump my shoulder back around 0.003" or so when resizing... can I expect growth past 1.760" after my second firing and resizing? This is something I've been curious about for a while, just don't know what to expect.

Of course I do understand the importance of keeping brass under the max length. Just didn't know if it would get out there past it on its second resizing.

[rcmodel]

Probably not.

Once it has been fired, sized and trimmed, it won't grow on you all that much.

I usually lose mine in the weeds before I need to trim it a second time.

rcmodel

[elChupacabra!]

That is EXCELLENT news, and part of the reason I've decided to go through all my once-fired brass first before I shoot it a second time... figure I'll do all the work of sorting & batching by headstamp / depriming crimped primers / reaming primer crimps / trimming / chamfering & deburring / etc. up front and (hopefully) spend less time messing with all that afterwards.

And thanks for chiming in rcmodel - always a pleasure to hear from you - always good advice, always friendly, always appreciated :)

[Griz44]

Might also check the direction of rotation of your drill. Sounds like you might be spinning it backwards, in which case it would loosen the holder.

[lgbloader]

+1 on RC.

I think Harbor freight has a special on a small drill press for like $50.00

[elChupacabra!]

Griz44 -

Yeah, I'm definitely spinning it forward, I think I was just pushing too hard with the trimmer. I made it through my 120 pieces last night with MUCH fewer "stoppages" this time from just being a little more gentle. I also found a more comfortable place to do my trimming than on top of the bench - on the coffee table in front of my couch, where I could rest my elbows on my knees while watching Batman Begins, so i think that helped with my impatience a bit :)

Here are a couple questions about a drill press - I do see Harbor Freight has one for about $60, designed to be mounted on a bench... my bench doesn't have too much free space, so do you think I could use C clamps to temporarily mount it down while using it, or would that not be a stabe enough anchor for consistent brass trimming? Right now that is the only use I would have for it...

Also, is there some way I could chuck my RCBS chamfer / deburring tool in there (1/2" max chuck opening) - some sort of adapter that you would recommend? Right now I mount the brass in the electric drill, cut it, then chamfer and debur before I put it back in the loading block... I'd like to avoid manually chamfering and deburring, if I'm going to spend the money on a drill press... what do yall think?

Thanks again for the advice everybody, this is very helpful.

[rcmodel]

They weigh enough it wouldn't be necessary to clamp them down I think.
I have a floor drill press now, but I used one of the small bench drills for years.
It just set there and behaved itself.

Adaptor for holding the deburring tool in drill.
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=295771&t=11082005

rcmodel

[SSN Vet]

I definately feel your pain!!!

I use the zip trim and here's what I've found.

There's the torque applied by the turning motor (cordless drill, or in my case zip pull cord) and this is opposed by the torque generated as the cutter bites into the brass.

I have to tweek my timing, so the motor (my pull stroke) is up to full speed when I push the cutter in.

When the case has stretched more than usual (for whatever reason) the cutter will bite deeper and then despite my timing, still shift the case in the holder.

Lee makes a three jaw chuck. Any body out there have experience with it?

If you run the cutter in a drill press you don't even need the lock-stud.
The ground iron drill-press table becomes the depth stop.
Just hold the case in your hand on the table and Gofer It!

Now here's stupid for you...

I have a drill press, but went ahead and bought the zip trim, thinking there was some special feature of the case holder that made the case length gauge work correctly. Duh!!!

I use the cutter with the wood knob, so I'll have to add the regular cutter to my Midway wish list.

But then how should I chamfer?

[rcmodel]

See link in post right above yours!

rcmodel

[elChupacabra!]

Awesome - this is AWESOME. Probably the most excited I've been about reloading since I started :D Thanks so much for all the input everybody. I'm picking up a bench drill press, and that Chamfer / Deburring tool Adapter, ASAP! :)