Brass Trimming... laborous

[giggitygiggity]

Does anyone have suggestions as how I can more efficiently prepare my brass? The biggest problem is .223 brass which I shoot often and have a lot of. Right now, I am using a Lee Zip Trim with the 3-Jaw Chuck and the Lee case gauge and trimmer. What can I do or what equipment could I get to speed the process? Thanks.

 

[kutter]

Click Here

 

[EddieNFL]

See post number two.

 

[giggitygiggity]

Is there anything less expensive (<$100).

 

[Floppy_D]

Possum Hollow trimmer with the drill adapter.

 

[Otto]

Possum Hollow Kwick Case Trimmer
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=127743

Or a LE Wilson which is what I use.

 

[kutter]

Not really, definitely nothing that I know of that does the job like the Giraud. Most of the good powered trimmers are in the $250 range and only trim. The Giraud is pricey, but you only cry once.

I actually use a L.E. Wilson, and I believe it to be an outstanding product, but mine is not powered, although you can get an adapter to use a drill for power, but for me trimming is not the bad part. If all I had to do was trim, no sweat, chamfering and deburring are the monumentally tedious task that eat up time and ruin your fingers. I am going to ask the little woman for a Giraud for Christmas and never look back.

 

[Win1892]

I bought the Giraud about a year ago. It ranks in Cool right up there with my Dillon 650.

One thing I really like about handloading/reloading is you can buy the Ferrari of tools in every category and when you're done you've still spent less than 4 grand...total. And that's with a shelf full of dies.

And... it all lasts forever.

How many hobbies can say that?

 

[rfwobbly]

I use an old Lyman hand trimmer that's been converted to drill motor. The handle was taken off and a piece of 1/4" hex rod inserted. Then I put a 1/4" hex socket in the chuck of my cordless drill. The joint between the socket and hex shaft acts like a universal joint so the cutter is not being guided by the weight of the drill motor. With Lyman's optional carbide cutter I'm holding within .001" on a 20 yo case trimmer.





You can buy used Lyman and RCBS trimmers of this style on Ebay and other places for $30-$40.

 

[GaryL]

rfwobbly - that looks like a great idea. I picked up a new Lyman trimmer this summer (looks the same, except orange with black anodize on the chuck/shell holder), it works very well. I wasn't sure if there would be much advantage to adding a drill motor to power it.

 

[jhansman]

Another vote for the Possum Hollow product. I used mine to trim1500 pieces of once-fired brass with my cordless drill. Great product.

 

[zxcvbob]

How about using a RCBS "X-Sizer" die? Or do those only work for bolt-actions?

 

[giggitygiggity]

What is the RCBS X sizer die? Will it work for .223 fired from an AR?

 

[arizona98tj]

Yes it will, however, you still have to do an initial trim on the case....and it is done to a bit less than spec, IIRC.

 

[Palehorseman]

I use the Lee trimmers chucked up in the drill press, works like a champ, fast and accurate.

 

[rbernie]

After much experimentation over the years with other solutions, I would up using the Lee cutters with the case holder chucked up into a cordless drill. It's fast and easy and a lot cheaper than the Giraud.

 

[rhubarb]

The Possum Hollow trimmer with a drill will make you throw rocks at your Lee zip trim or manual Lyman trimmer converted to power. It works similarly to the Giraud tool in that you do not have to chuck up a case. You just stick the case mouth-first in the trimmer and it bottoms out on the shoulder when it is trimmed to the correct length.

An added benefit is that you can put your standard 5/8" diameter deburring tool in the Possum Hollow power tool adapter and power deburr.

The trimmer is $20 and the power adapter is $10 at midwayusa.com. You need them both. Best reloading value I've ever found.

 

[rfwobbly]

GaryL:

rfwobbly - that looks like a great idea. I picked up a new Lyman trimmer this summer (looks the same, except orange with black anodize on the chuck/shell holder), it works very well. I wasn't sure if there would be much advantage to adding a drill motor to power it.

Gary -
It's the same trimmer, just with the new color scheme. I find the drill motor adds several advantages. Obviously it is far less tiring if you sit down to do 300+ cases. The input power is purely rotary, whereas hand motion tends to add some up & down. Then the natural tendency to couple the bit to the hex shaft provides all the cutting pressure you need. However, the largest plus is that I can tell the wife I can't get to honey-do list items becasue my drill motor is setup for other projects.

Whether you motorize of not, adding the board to the base adds both weight and accessible clamping area. That will keep your trimmer from dancing all over the table top. That one move right there will cut the frustration level to nearly zero and make case cutting so much more efficient as to be almost relaxing. Whatever brand of trimmer you use, mounting it to a scrap piece of 1x6 is a life saver.

 

[rfwobbly]

What is the RCBS X sizer die? Will it work for .223 fired from an AR?

RCBS "X-Dies" seems to be a good way to go if you shoot a lot of one cartridge. After a special first-time trim, the need for follow-on trimming (after the second, third, fourth, etc sizings) is alleviated or severely reduce. Of course, RCBS believes in making you pay for this privilege!

However, this "no second trim" is all predicated on you keeping your "X-Die prepared brass" completely segregated from any new brass you may buy or pick up at the range. Whereas with standard dies, new brass can join the fray at any time seeing as how it ALL gets sized and trimmed.

And please note.... you still need a trimmer, it just doesn't get used as much.

Hope this helps!

 

[rjrivero]

I burn through a lot of .223 myself. I load with a Dillon 650, so their Rapid Trim accessory on a separate toolhead is just the ticket.

I used a manual trimmer for all of 1 day before I placed the order. Even if I chuck it up in a drill, it's a PITA to trim a 5 gallon pail of .223.

 

[rcromwell29]

a little expensive but worth the cost

the giraud trimmer for .223 is awesome a friend of mine has this trimmer and has done about 1000 rounds in 1 hour before. However since I'm in the military and travel so much I dont get to borrow it from him. He said as long as the cases were sized perfectly prior to trimming they will all come out the same length. Here is a link to their web site for it you could also check out the Gracey trimmer which is close but I hear of people having problems with but dont know anyone personally who has bought one.

http://www.giraudtool.com/prod02.htm (Giraud)

http://www.matchprep.com/trimmer.htm (Gracey)

 

[Oyeboten]

Have not done it yet, but I was figuring to just use a conventional Machinist's Spot Surfacer with a correct Pilot and or a Pilot made to be a right diameter with a little added Tape, and do it on the Drill Press.