easier way to trim brass?

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ScottsGT

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I'm sitting here at work on my lunch break TRYING to use the Lee shell holder that you can chuck up in a powered screwdriver. Great concept, crappy precision on the mfgr. of the product. Takes me longer to get the shell centered and locked down that it takes to trim it to length and chamfer the hole. What other quick trimming methods are there? I've got several thousand pieces of brass in .223, .308 and .30-06 I have to do. Tried to go cheap with the Lee system of trimming, but now I'm really paying the price. :banghead:
 
Use the Lee trimmer cutter in a drill press without the Lee shell holder abortion.

Hand hold the case and let the drill press table become the depth stop.

You can trim them faster then you can pick them up and throw them in a bucket.

rc
 
I use the Dillon, but it's not cheap, and you need a die for each caliber. Once you've made the investment, it's well worth the money if you're loading in volume.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
Use the Lee trimmer cutter in a drill press without the Lee shell holder abortion.

Hand hold the case and let the drill press table become the depth stop.

You can trim them faster then you can pick them up and throw them in a bucket.
Click to expand...

With my budget at this time, this looks like my method. Thanks RC for the tip! Maybe down the road I can either get the Giraud tool or the Dillon system. Both look good to me.
 
i`m with rcmodel on this one .
the larger the caliber the slower ya cut so ya can hold it in ya fingers .
Click to expand...

Yea, but I just realized it is easier to spin the brass somehow so I can use my reamer to chamfer the neck. Unless I can find a chuck to hold my RCBS case reamer.
 
I use that Lee Universal chuck on a cordless drill, along with the wooden ball end lee cutter. I'm sure the Giraud is better, but I can get 150-200 pcs of rifle brass trimmed, chamfered and deburred in about an hour. That universal chuck did take a little time to break in-keep it clean and lightly oiled. And the wooden ball cutter handle saves lots of hand skin. I really like the looks of that Giraud, but I only shoot 2000-3000 rifle rounds per yr.
 
I had the RCBS trim pro, but I put it up for sale and bought a Wilson trimmer with the Sinclair stand and power adapter. I use a older, larger pivoting Black & Decker electric screwdriver to drive it. Works just as almost fast, though chamfering and deburring are separate steps because the Wilson doesn't have the equivalent of the RCBS 3-way cutter. I went to the Wilson because of the design cuts the cases more square, which may not matter but it was something that always bugged me about the trim pro.
 
I use that Lee Universal chuck on a cordless drill, along with the wooden ball end lee cutter. I'm sure the Giraud is better, but I can get 150-200 pcs of rifle brass trimmed, chamfered and deburred in about an hour. That universal chuck did take a little time to break in-keep it clean and lightly oiled.
Click to expand...

Break in? Mine feels too sloppy already. The inner piece has play in it and that's why the jaws won't chuck up properly. I already removed the snap ring and checked out everything, but looks to me like the dimples that the jaws ride on are too small.
 
I have a Dillon trimmer mounted on my XL650. It does NOT chamfer or de-burr the case like a giraud but I find that it does not matter with my .223, .308, or 30-06 loads. The trimmer motor spins at a high speed (somewhere north of 5,000 rpm) and the carbide cutter cuts so clean there is no burr on the case mouth, inside or out. All my bullets are BT configuration so I don't worry about chamfering. If one is loading a cast bullet this is going to be an issue but for those loading FMJ's it's not.

For trimming my accuracy rounds I use an RCBS hand Trimmer with the 3-Way cutter head. Cuts to length, chamfers, and de-burrs each case at the same time.
 
I do it the way rc said.
But I just started using a piece of aluminum under the case instead of the table.
I had a gauge get short on me really fast.
The tip mushroomed on the cast table. I said whiskey tango foxtrot.
If your having problems with the chamfer, you might look at buying a better tool. I can give the brass one spin a lot faster then I can chuck it up in anything. I use the L.E. Wilson tool for this.

jim
 
Break in? Mine feels too sloppy already. The inner piece has play in it and that's why the jaws won't chuck up properly. I already removed the snap ring and checked out everything, but looks to me like the dimples that the jaws ride on are too small.
Click to expand...

There is a little bit of a trick to it. When you think that it's tightened down, it needs just a little more. When using the Ziptrimmer, you use the big outer ring to rotate the arbor and just hold the knurled nut in place. Might work the same with your setup.
 
There are several trimmers on the market that look like a small, hand turned lathe. RCBS trim pro is one. I just bought a Forester with the colletts and a .30 cal. pilot off Gunbroker for $30. Lyman and Hornady make these as well.

I agree about that hand trimming Lee tool being a royal PIA! Some of my cases need to be trimmed quite a bit and doing that by hand just ain't in the cards.
 
I picked up a Forstner (?) drill press holder about a year ago. I already had a small HF end mill with a pretty good bed with the micro adjustment so it wasn't too bad setting everything up. I did have to drill another hole in the Forstner holder so I could bolt into the key way. Once I got everything set all I had to do was clamp the case and pull the handle. I managed to finish off about 3000 .308's in a couple of hours.
 
Hornady Power Case Prep Center

Anyone use the Hornady Power case prep center??
Not sure if they are shipping yet.
Yes I like powdered equipment....
 
If you are feeding a semi-auto that takes bottleneck brass you need a Giraud. I figure mine saves me 10hr/1000 on brass prep versus the prior alternative. Of course, it also speeds up production for bottleneck brass for my non-semi-autos too :)
 
Possum Hollow trimmers chucked up in a drill press is pretty doggone quick and easy.
 
Possum Hollow trimmers chucked up in a drill press is pretty doggone quick and easy.
Click to expand...

I like the Forstner drill press holder. It's fast.
 
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