All I want to do is to trim my rifle brass....

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I love my Forster Original case trimmer....in use for 40 years. Its one of the finest machined reloading tools available.

Now they have 3-way carbide cutters available that really make it nice. Trim, chamfer, and deburr at the same time.

After many many years turning it by hand, and after buying an RCBS Pro 2000 progressive press, it became a bit of a bottle neck, so I mounted it vertically, motorized it and added a 3-way.

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Video Demo link trimming .308 below. (Click on the picture) Notice how smooth the action is...not a hint of wobble....for a 40 year old tool. Thankfully they never changed the design or quality.
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I have the Sinclair version of the LE Wilson and use a powered screwdriver. Wish I had gotten the carbide bit though. Works great but is not exactly lightning fast. Actually, it's the separate deburring that slows my progress.

If my needs were higher volume, or I just had more money to burn, I wouldn't hesitate to get a Giraud. I suspect that machine would almost make bearable, the most tedious boring task in all of reloading. The Dillon Rapid Trim looks enticing as well.
 
I don't know if this sounds dumb or not, but I really don't want my case trimmer to be adjustable, at least not the one I use for high volume work. I like the Lee because you just screw in the appropriate trim guide and don't have to worry about it, and you can poweer drive it.

I bought a Lyman for 257 Weatherby because Lee didn't make a pilot and I hated it. If you press on the shaft hard enough to make sure the case is completely trimmed you run the risk of causing the stop collar to slide on the shaft...then you ruin your brass because you trim it too short. The stop collar is only held by a flimsy allen screw.

My next investment is the Possum Hollow trimmer.
 
trimming

I had a Forester trimmer many years ago & it did a good job I got my Lyman trimmer as a gift from my mom for Christmas & i really love to use it but thiers not a thing wrong with a Forester at all
 
I have thought about taking the wife's sewing machine foot pedal and wiring it to an electric drill that I mount on the bench with c-clamps or in my vise.
 
:) I actually do use a foot pedal but not for power. A momentary push button powers the trimmer. The foot pedal lifts and lowers the trimmer shaft so my hands are free to insert the brass and power it on and off. A piano wire does auto-ejector duties. (Picture is for clarification, I actually sit with a leg on either side of the post...both feet make it effortless and comfortably balanced.)
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I trimmed 300 223 cases yesterday with the Lee trimmer in a drill. It works pretty good but from tightening the nut and undoing it on every case my fingers are killing me. I shoot quite a bit of 223 and am seriously thinking about saving up for a Garaud trimmer.
 
I have Forrester Trimmer and it works well, but is a hand trimmer so it is slow and hard on fingers when you do all the deburring by hand too. I reload a lot so I bought a Lyman Power Trimmer and it is GREAT. Combined with my RCBS Case Prep Center makes trimming (the worst reloading chore) easy. If you plan to reload for yearsto come, it's worth investing in good equipment.
 
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don't know if this sounds dumb or not, but I really don't want my case trimmer to be adjustable, at least not the one I use for high volume work. I like the Lee because you just screw in the appropriate trim guide and don't have to worry about it, and you can poweer drive it.

I make a dummy case cut to the size I want. When I switch pilots I'm changing to another caliber. Using a dummy cartridge and making sure the allens are snug makes trimming with my Forester a snap. Like I said in an earlier post, I'm going to get a 3 way cutter for 223 then one in 308. With the 3 way cutter the need for the chamer tool is no more. :D
 
It works pretty good but from tightening the nut and undoing it on every case my fingers are killing me.


Chamfering and deburring do that to me when I'm trimming a lot of cases. I gotta get one of those fancy RCBS case prep thingies.

Using a dummy cartridge and making sure the allens are snug makes trimming with my Forester a snap.


Yep, that works great with my Lyman Universal trimmer as well. If I need to adjust at all, it's very little.
 
You must be a rocket scientist.

Riiiiiight! Us rocket scientists use a lot of alder wood, pvc, cast iron pipe, cable, and lead shot for weight....and drywall screwguns for power. Oh and vacuum cleaner from Target, and momentary switch from Radio Shack. :D

Actually I'm a building contractor who flunked out of Rocket Science 101. I do like to tinker tho...

Resident Rocket Scientist is Jmorris....search some of his threads and you'll see what I mean.....and he can weld!:)
 
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^
Tip a the hat to you, sir. I saw that Sandia sticker and thought you might be a rocket man. As you were/are.

I had to go back and see what Sandia sticker you saw. It was a very old box, maybe 20 years old, of empty .223 cases. Sandia Cartridge sold .223 reloads back in the day....I think he thought the name made his little company sound important here in New Mexico.;) I wouldn't have bought them...I did pick up a perfectly good box of perfectly good empty cases, tho. :) Sorry for disappointment...wasn't from Sandia Labs. My cousin works for Los Alamos labs tho. He was the head scientist who developed the powerful lasers now used in the starwars satellite defense system. My son developed software for it for Lockheed, and I..... I am not nearly as smart as them or most of you.:(
 
When I have a lot of rifle brass to "process" I split up the work over a few days. I've worked my hands to the point where my grip was much weaker shooting my 357. A friend of mine has a Gracey trimmer that he says takes all the work out of it. Someday, I will take a few brass over there and check it out. If I hit the lottery, I will definately buy one for each caliber I load.:D
 
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I bought a used Forster case trimmer then bought the power adaptor and the 3-way cutting bit and rigged me up an elevated platform to lay my drill on so it lays flat. Now trimming brass is a snap and very quick. I can trim brass about as fast as I can change them in and out of the collet and the necks are chamfered inside and out.:)
 
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