Case trimmers

Seems like I am doing well enough, no complaints, with my Hornady Case Trimmer. I did find out that it is a bit of a money pit, in that existing stock of Lee shell holders don't fit the cam lock, and some of the pilot plugs must be bought separately for other than their included caliber pilots. I am currently trimming based on the Wilson gauge go-nogo indications. Anything that passes is used to setup the trim length. No cases so far except once-fired, not in my rifle, with very few that left any shavings and a burr I could feel. I had one case that wouldn't fit the Hornady shellholder but gauged okay. I got it trimmed using a 9mm shell holder.

If the press you picked up just so happens to be blue............
The trimmer (and dies) make it pretty slick, as your doing two or three other things on the same stroke.

I'm still using the RCBS I purchased in the early '70s. It still works just like it did when new and has never had a problem. If I trimmed over a hundred cases at a time I would motorize it but since I don't it's just fine with the crank. All I do is clean it with alcohol once in a while and put a drop of oil on the shaft and it just keeps on working.

NeuseRvrRat said:

Is it true that the WFT produces a cut that doesn't require chamfer/deburr?

Click to expand...

IMO, it still needs a quick couple seconds with a chamfer/deburr tool.

I have a Hornady hand-crank trimmer that I still use for low-volume trimming of rifle cases such as for my .405 Winchester. About six months ago I bought an M1A NM and prepped several hundred cases by hand, which I found to be very time-consuming and rather painful. A friend of mine at the local GC mentioned the Giraud Power Trimmer, so I researched and purchased one for my 7.62x51 cases.

The Giraud- though not inexpensive- is flat-out incredible in my opinion; well worth the investment.

I recommend the Giraud Tri-Way Trimmer. It is about $100, but needs to be put in a motor of some kind to be spun (hand drill or fixed). It cuts, chamfers and deburs all in one step.

I have mine mounted on a small Harbor Freight buffer motor (like a grinder, sort of) that cost me $35. Making a cool metal frame for it now, I will post pics when I get it done!

Doublehelix said:

I recommend the Giraud Tri-Way Trimmer. It is about $100, but needs to be put in a motor of some kind to be spun (hand drill or fixed). It cuts, chamfers and deburs all in one step.

I have mine mounted on a small Harbor Freight buffer motor (like a grinder, sort of) that cost me $35. Making a cool metal frame for it now, I will post pics when I get it done!

Click to expand...

The video I watched made it appear that the length was from the shoulder, not the case length. The measurements of the case length after trimming were all over a range of 3-4 thousandths. The case length measurements after trimming on my Hornady, set based on sized case length, are dead on.

The question is, on a bottleneck cartridge that headspaces off the shoulder, what's the dimension you're actually trying to control by trimming? The distance from the case head to the end of the neck or the distance from the shoulder to the end of the neck? We measure total case length because it's easy to measure, but is that really the measurement that matters?

RealGun said:

The video I watched made it appeared that the length was from the shoulder, not the case length.

Click to expand...

That's the critical point to measure where the case mouth is in the chamber. That place is hard against the chamber shoulder when cases headspacing on their shoulder stops when fired. The case head may well have a few to several thousandths spread to the bolt face; this dimension is called head clearance. I like to call the space between the case mouth and chamber mouth "mouth clearance." It has to be enough to prevent its going into the chamber mouth whose angle will "crimp" the case mouth into the bullet raising pressures and degrading accuracy. All of SAAMI specs show about .010" minimum mouth clearance for all rifle cartridges headspacing on their shoulders.

Too bad so many don't realize this. Equally important is the case doesn't have to be trimmed to exactly the same length for best accuracy or precision. Anywhere in a .010" spread back from maximum is OK. And even a bit more won't hurt anything at all.

Bart B. said:

Too bad so many don't realize this. Equally important is the case doesn't have to be trimmed to exactly the same length for best accuracy or precision. Anywhere in a .010" spread back from maximum is OK. And even a bit more won't hurt anything at all.

Click to expand...

Another thing many don't realize is just how long a case can really be before it runs out of chamber on most factory rifles. The run of the mill factory rifles I've measured have had so much extra room out front that any brass would most likely be worn out before it ever grew enough to reach the end of the chamber.

http://www.sinclairintl.com/reloadi...s/sinclair-chamber-length-gage-prod32925.aspx

Another vote for Wilson. I've used the Lee, but it's not adjustable. I trim to .01 less than my measured bast to case mouth in my chamber. The basic model is quite reasonably priced.

NeuseRvrRat said:

Is it true that the WFT produces a cut that doesn't require chamfer/deburr?

Click to expand...

The WFT does not chamfer or deburr the case.

I have three of them for my high volume rounds.
They have been great.

NeuseRvrRat said:

Is it true that the WFT produces a cut that doesn't require chamfer/deburr?

Click to expand...

Nope.

The Giruad Tri-Way does though. It's about the same price.

After going thru more trimmers than I care to remember I settled on the TRIM IT ll. A little on the upper end for a trimmer but it does register off the shoulder thru a bearing. Just watch the inside race of the bearing, when it stops turning the case is good to load because cutter chamfers and deburs. Time and labor saver.
Another plus, If case is not resized it won't fit in bearing. Down side Each caliber needs different bearing at $20.00 each.
Doesn't do straight wall cases, bottle neck only.

I really like my WFT for trimming .223 brass. Money well spent, trimming .a large batch of .223 brass doesn't take all afternoon like it did with my Hornady lathe type trimmer.
I don't even measure it before trimming now, just trim it all, faster that way.
I think you need to chamfer and debur after the WFT, you might get away with not doing it but I think it should be done.

Skeet 25 said:

... my desire is to have the most perfect ammo I can possibly make. ....

Click to expand...

If you are referring to cases that meet a standard like SAAMI, I'm not sure if any one particular trimmer can accomplish this. Most of the trimmers I've seen fall into two categories: those that trim based on overall case length and those that trim based on the case shoulder. They both work differently and yield different results.

If you size a case based on the overall case length, you are forced to rely on the accuracy of your sizing process and hope that the case and shoulder have been properly sized such that the case fits in the chamber as it should. If the shoulder is not properly formed, the case will either fit too deep into the chamber or not enough. The former condition mimics a round with excessive head space while the latter, a round that is too long for the chamber.

Conversely, if you use a trimmer that works off the shoulder, its possible to see variations in overall case lengths by a few thousands of an inch because the case length is not what is being sized. While I have no way of verifying this, I surmise that the variation is caused by an imperfect resizing process that's exacerbated when resizing mixed brass. When you consider the difference between a go gauge and no go gauge (e.g. .004" for a Forester .308 gage), one would think that sizing off the case shoulder could raise an issue with safety. I'm just not sure it does in the real world, however.

I started off using the lee case length trimmer gauge when I first started to reload my ammo. This trimmer works off of overall case length and makes quick work when the case is chucked in a universal lock stud and drill. The problem I encountered with this tool is that the gauge stud can and does screw/unscrew on its own, changing the overall case length over time with use. Another problem is that the trimmer aligns itself with the rod and case mouth. If your chuck wobbles, it will cause the case to wobble and deform the brass. Additionally, the spinning of the rod can wear the case mouth.

I moved on to using the Lee Deluxe Quick Trim Tool. This tools is super fast and easy to use when a drill is attached. It trims off of the shoulder and deburs and chamfers the case mouth at the same time eliminating the need to do so after sizing. Its a good way to do a lot of brass like .223. However, because sizing is done off of the case shoulder, the overall case lengths tends to vary by a few thousands of an inch. This is more evident when resizing a mixed batch of brass.

If I had to guess which trimmer will yield the most "perfect ammo" in terms of case length, I would go with a trimmer that sizes on overall case length. If you are searching for the trimmer that will yield "perfect ammo" in terms of accuracy, I would opt for a trimmer that works off of the shoulder.

I used a Forster for 40 years....worked perfect for me.

Then I got old, cranky, and sore and bought a progressive. Suddenly the Forster was a bottleneck.
After looking at the expense of a Giraud, I decided to "fix" the Forster to make it easy on my body.

Added a 3-way cutter, a screwgun, some PVC, a little piano wire....Now is works for me....better.

Nuts! Video coming .... Photobucket doesn't work worth squat any more...will move the vid to Thr if I can. Success. Moved it to YouTube then here. Posted below.

I'm using the power adapter and a screw gun to speed up my Forster trimmer.

Here is the store power adapter, I'm using a home made one that is almost identical.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/644779/forster-case-trimmer-power-adapter

Okay.....the video. Uses the 3-way and the power adapter. Best part is it doesn't stress my carpal tunnel problems! Hardly use my hands at all.


Had some friends who asked for an instructional, so I made a lil .PDF. Downloadable if you're interested in peeking.
Forster Maximized.pdf

...dang...I thought I had moved up in the world when I finally got a Zip Trim. It was so much fun trimming brass one at a time hunched over a trash can using the Lee case holder in a socket drive and the big wooden ball hand trimmer....still have it somewhere.

Trimming brass is my most dreaded chore. I started out years ago with the LEE trimmers and a drill. The chuck/collet to hold the brass is hard on the hands. Then I tried the RCBS Trim Pro, it works but is low volume even converted with a drill. I picked up a Redding 1400 and it does well but with the same issues as the Trim Pro.

My largest volume of anything I reload is .223/.556 so I bought a Frankford Arsenal unit just for .223/.556.

Then I found the LEE trimmer adapter. Its a neat little tool that adapts the LEE trimmer to any case prep center with a 8-32 stud. I bought two RCBS Trim Mates and put all of my lee trimmers on them for the calibers I trim. It works awesome! Then the icing on the cake is the Lyman EZ Trim chuck, it makes holding the brass a walk in the park.

My hands are happy again, my case prep time is cut by at least half and I don't mind case prep at all anymore