3 Jaw Chuck?

[giggitygiggity]

What does the Lee 3 Jaw Chuck case holder do? I want to get a Zip Trim and saw that this was an accessory. Also, do I need to get the Lee Case Spinner Spindle with drill shank? What is that? Thanks.

 

[ranger335v]

"What does the Lee 3 Jaw Chuck case holder do? "

It holds the case. ??

 

[ants]

Yes, what ranger said.

I read on the Internet that the old 2 jaw chuck didn't hold the case.
So now they make 3 jaw chucks.
Pretty soon they will make 4 jaw chucks.
Now, that should hold your case rim in the zip trim so the cutter can trim the neck!

 

[SSN Vet]

the regular case holder tends to let the case slip....

can be frustrating...

the case only has to move a little and it's no longer on center and gives you quite a wobble when it spins...

the normal holder is case specific... and you get a holder ring and length gage together...

the three jaw thingy is unniversal and adjusts to fit any case...

so now you need to get one and tell us all how it works and whether it holds any better than the conventional Lee holder.

 

[kelbro]

The 3-jaw works pretty well but there is a little trick to making it hold tight. I think that I read it here at THR. You need to hold the zip trim large ring when you tighten the chuck. Makes a heck of an improvement on the case retention.

 

[woods]

It locks in on the case head groove on any caliber


No you do not need the drill spindle if you get the Lee Zip Trim. What you will need is the wooden ball to hold the case length gauge, the Lee chamfer tool and the 3 jaw chuck


Mount your Zip trim on a piece of 2x4 and lock in a bench vise and go to work.

Edit to add: The 3 jaw chuck holds very well and can be worked with one hand while the other holds the case but there is a learning curve. Just don't push inward when locking the case in, kinda let it find it's own center in the case head groove when tightening.

 

[X - Man]

I've been looking for a way to use a table top drill press to trim cases. Could the Lee 3 jaw chuck be adapted? Maybe mount the chuck on a base and lock up the cutter into the drill press chuck? Or vice-versa.

I'd like to use a Lyman Universal Drill Press Case Trimmer, #7852010, but it's no longer sold. Any other ideas?

 

[SSN Vet]

I've been looking for a way to use a table top drill press to trim cases.

I've tried this and it does work... but haven't really put it into production

1. Take the Lee cutter (not the one with the wooden ball handle) and screw the appropriate case length gage into it.

2. mount the cutter into your drill press chuck.

3. line up the drill press table so the flat metal surface (not the hole) is directly under the mounted cutter/gage.

4. raise up the drill press table so that when you put the case head flat on the table it clears the gage pin by ~1/4".

5. put one of those knit gloves with the rubber palm and fingers on your left hand.

6. put a pail of "to be trimmed" brass to the left of the Drill Press and pick cases with gloved left hand.

7. hold the case with your gloved left hand so that the head is flat on the table and direclty under the gage pin.

8. with the drill press running at it's slowest speed, turn the quill handle with your right hand to lower the cutter/gage into the case mouth. The case should align itself to the gage axis and start to trim when the cutter hits the case mouth. You have to hold the case firmly with the grippy rubber fingers of the glove to prevent it from spinning. The downward travel of the quill will stop when the gage pin bottoms out on the flat table.

9. Work flows from left to right.

When your all done, you can chuck a chamfer tool (provided you have at least a 5/8" chuck), move the table out of the way and chamfer your cases by simply LIGHTLY touching the case mouth to the rotating chamfer tool.

 

[rcmodel]

Same here.

Chuck the Lee cutter in the drill.

The flat drill press table becomes the depth stop.
Your hand becomes the "chuck" holding the case from spinning.

I did about 2,000 .223 cases this way in no time flat and didn't even need a glove!

rc

 

[flashhole]

I do it just the opposite. I chuck the lock stud with the brass in the drill and use a ball handle case length gage and cutter in my hand. No stress on my hand whatsoever. My drill is a DeWalt cordless and the trimming operation is horizontal instead of vertical.

 

[rcmodel]

Yea, but it's all that tightening and loosening the locking shell holder on the case that takes so long and wears out your hands.

For me at least.

Mine drove me crazy with off-center & wobbling brass when I tried that in my lathe or drill press.

rc

 

[Seedtick]

Soap Box Time

~

I use a drill press like SSN Vet and rcmodel with one exception that I'd like you all to consider. A cloth glove is not the safest thing to use in this situation. Some would say to not use a glove of any kind but I think a tight fitting leather glove would be okay if you are really careful.

Because...

I heard a lot of racket at work one day, stuff falling and people hollering. It sounded like a bull in a china closet and children squealing all at the same time. When I got to where I could see the commotion it was a guy hung up in a drill press. It started with a leather palm/cloth back glove and some how ended up with his hair wrapped up in the spindle. By the time I got over there his hair and hand had the spindle bound up and was smoking the drive belt. When we finally got him cut out he had 2 broken fingers and some were dislocated. There was also about a 2 1/2"x 3" oblong piece of his scalp snatched off and wrapped around the drill press spindle. He wore a cast for a couple of months and I bet he is still wearing a cap.

I've seen a few others that have gotten hung up in machines, although this was the most graphic but none are pretty. And each time it was somebody doing something just like they had done it for years.

When I trim rifle brass on a drill press I do it bare handed but I haven't needed to do several hundred at a time before either. Tape can be wrapped around a couple of fingers to help grip and they even make a sticky cloth tape that works great. Here are some other ideas, Link1, Link2, Link3. The first one is my favorite.

Please be careful and if you use gloves please use tight fitting ones.

ST

We now return you to your regular scheduled forum...

 

[kelbro]

Chuck up a Possum Hollow trimmer in the drill press and just stab the sized brass up into it. If you start to need gloves, your trimmer blade is getting dull.

 

[SSN Vet]

Please be careful and if you use gloves please use tight fitting ones.

Point well taken wrt. wearing loose clothing or gloves around any rotating machinery.

The gloves I use are the tight fitting elastic knit gloves with a rubbery surface (as if you dipped your gloved hand into a pot of molten rubber).

Definately need to keep safety in mind.

 

[Avenger29]

Yeah, when dealing with anything spinning (drill press, lathe, mill, PTO driveshaft) I don't wear gloves of any kind, and I use extreme caution.

Google degloving accident if you want to. I'll give you a hint- it doesn't refer to gloves you put on your hand.

 

[rondog]

As a former machinist, there ain't NFW I'd use something with the power of even a cheapo, tiny drill press for trimming cases. It's just too dangerous, not to mention what a pain to get setup properly. And my God, how much do you need to trim off the cases anyway?

I use one of these, works wonderfully. Lyman Universal Case Trimmer, I bought the optional shaft that you can put a cordless drill on, because I had several hundred 9mm Luger cases to trim down to 9x18 Makarov.

 

[chavist93]

I just go the Lee Zip Trim and used it for the first time tonight. For my situation it is a great tool. I load rifle only and in small quanities. I can trim, poilsh the brass, chamfer, deburr, and clean inside the neck all very efficiently on the Zip Trim.

 

[Oldcoyote]

Same here.

Chuck the Lee cutter in the drill.

The flat drill press table becomes the depth stop.
Your hand becomes the "chuck" holding the case from spinning.

I did about 2,000 .223 cases this way in no time flat and didn't even need a glove!

rc

You guys who chuck the cutter and hold the case must have fingers like a gorilla. I tried this on my drill press and went back to chucking the shell holder. I now use the cutter with the ball grip.

The Possum Hollow sounds great if they have one that fits your cartridge.

 

[David2011]

Hi guys,

After years of reading THR I finally signed up. This thread hit a nerve and got me thinking. I have a few thousand .223/ 5.56 to prep and was looking for an easier way to use the Lee trimmer. I took some of the ideas here and added another tool. I mounted a spare keyless drill chuck in the center hole of a small drill press using a washer on each side of the hole and a fine thread 3/8 bolt. The washer on top was big enough to let the center of the back of the chuck to fit down in it, probably a 3/4" washer so it sits over the hole well supported and square to the cutter chucked in the drill press chuck. I put the shell holder in the chuck. It's way easier and faster than using a hand held drill- probably 4 times the production rate of the portable drill and much easier to open the shell holder. Setup time including gather parts was maybe 5 minutes. With parts located the repeat setup time should be 1-2 minutes.

David

 

[flashhole]

How about a photo, it sounds like a good idea and I just added a drill press to my reloading room.