Case Prep Center Recommendation

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VrockTDSaz

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So, I'm in the market for a case prep center. After researching on this forum, it seems that people like the Lyman and the Frankford Arsenal. I'm looking for recommendations. I like that the FA has a built in trimmer. I already have the Lyman Universal case trimmer with the power drill adapter and am hoping that the FA would be an upgrade. Would the FA trimmer built into the case prep center be an upgrade? It seems like it would be quicker than the Universal Case Trimmer, I wouldn't have to lock each piece of brass in separately.

Thanks for reading.
 
The FA looks like a pretty handy tool and the price is right. If I had to do it over again I would buy it. I just bought the WFT which works well but doesn't have the deburr and chamfer. I also have a RCBS with 3 way cutter hooked to a drill It is the fastes as it does all 3 operations. It gets tiresome pushing the drill back and forth however and the 3 way cutter is expensive.

For the price (on sale) I may just get the FA trimmer as I really dislike trimming brass!!

It gets good reviews

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/62...ase-prep-and-trim-center?cm_vc=ProductFinding
 
On trimmers:

Trimmers that index off the shoulder are fast and easy to use.. no doubt...
I use the cts trimmer...but everyone likes something diffrent..
I used to use a drill powered trim pro, but chucking the brass up, taking cases in and out, was tedious..
I wanted something easier.. I do multiple calibers, so if I go the wft type, in the cals I needed it wasn't that much a price diffrence (5 calibers)
This was before the FA trimmer was released though..

here is a review of the trimmer
I like how the trim length sets up, so once I get it set, I tighten the lock ring...


http://www.dayattherange.com/?cat=56&paged=2

They also make drill powered trimmers as well.. very good products, and communication..

On case prep tools:

As far as case prep, I de prime using a universal decapper, then size, then trim, then I use the rcbs case prep center to chamfer, debur, brush case neck, primer pocket, and remove crimp on military brass.. the 5 station prep tools give me enough to do this..look at the accessories that come with the prep tools, some come with more than others..

Far less manipulation of brass for me..about 15-20 seconds or so to do 8 steps including lube, on a turret..

And yes, there were less expensive ways of getting to the same place.. I'll admit that..

I was going for user friendly and consistient with minimal brass handling and without checking in a case guage each time.. this achieved that goal.
 
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I got the FA case prep trim center for Christmas and it is a great tool. I did a lot of research on it and it is exactly as I expected. I process a fair bit of .223 and it really speeds things up. I also have the Lyman Universal trimmer with the power adapter. That is how I was doing it till I got the FA. It will be collecting dust from now on.
 
Forgive my slight hijack here.

I've been pondering whether a case prep center is a worthy investment.

I use the Lee trimming system and I cut, chamfer, debur, and polish the case with steel wool all while each case is chucked into my drill. Would a case prep station really speed up this process?

All of my brass is cleaned in my US cleaner so primer pockets and necks are clean to start.
 
I've had the FA case trimmer for about 6 months and love it. I prep a lot of military brass 5.56 to 223 and 7.62 to 308. Saves a bunch of time. Even bought a crimp remover to use with it.
 
FiveInADime said:
Forgive my slight hijack here.

I've been pondering whether a case prep center is a worthy investment.

I use the Lee trimming system and I cut, chamfer, debur, and polish the case with steel wool all while each case is chucked into my drill. Would a case prep station really speed up this process?

All of my brass is cleaned in my US cleaner so primer pockets and necks are clean to start.
Click to expand...

Which LEE system they have 3.? The kind were you put the brass in a collet and stick the cutter with the pin in the brass and then twist the collet nut(shell holder) to remove. Then clamp in another brass??

Yes the FA would be 1005 faster. There is no twisting of the shell holder.
 
Rule3 said:
Which LEE system they have 3.? The kind were you put the brass in a collet and stick the cutter with the pin in the brass and then twist the collet nut(shell holder) to remove. Then clamp in another brass??

Yes the FA would be 1005 faster. There is no twisting of the shell holder.
Click to expand...
Yes, the shell holder that has a hex head on the back, the handheld ball-handle cutter with pilot, and a hand held chamfer/debur tool.

I can't imagine accomplishing all of this faster with a case prep station, but I haven't used one. I'm assuming they include a lathe-style trimmer?

If you're doing all of those operations to each case at one time.
 
balderclev said:
I've had the FA case trimmer for about 6 months and love it. I prep a lot of military brass 5.56 to 223 and 7.62 to 308. Saves a bunch of time. Even bought a crimp remover to use with it.
Click to expand...
I've needed to get some kind of trimmer for a while and been considering the FA trimmer. Looks like a great product. Thanks for the reviews. What crimp remover did you get?
 
I've had the Frankford Arsenal Case Prep Center for a few weeks and really like it. It trims brass very accurately, it can take a few minutes to get the right length but after you get it adjusted it works great. I bought the RCBS small pocket swager to install on it to take out the crimps on military brass which has worked great as well.

Another upgrade I did to mine was change out the cutterhead on the trimmer to my RCBS cutterhead that has a pilot. The one that came with the FA didn't have a pilot.

It appears to be a well built machine, it has some weight to it which gives at least the perception of being well built. I have read that it has plastic gears which are pretty common nowadays. And it is relatively quiet.
 
FiveInADime said:
Yes, the shell holder that has a hex head on the back, the handheld ball-handle cutter with pilot, and a hand held chamfer/debur tool.

I can't imagine accomplishing all of this faster with a case prep station, but I haven't used one. I'm assuming they include a lathe-style trimmer?

If you're doing all of those operations to each case at one time.
Click to expand...

I do not agree, You could probably trim 5 cases in the amount of time it takes you to lock one case in the LEE case holder (assuming the LEE case holder does not get lose (which they do a lot!) Then on the prrp center it takes maybe a second or two to debur and chamfer which you will have to do using the LEE trimmer.

The case prep centers are way faster than the little original LEE trimer. I have a few and they are very slow and cumbersome. If you only have a few cases to do, they are fine. Prep 100 or 500 223 REm with one and see how much fun that is!:D

Have you watched the video? Time it> Click the play arrow

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/628405/frankford-arsenal-platinum-series-case-prep-and-trim-center
 
Next to my Chargemaster, the FA trim and prep system is the best reloading investment I've made. It's hard to imagine prepping cases any faster with any other method. I bought an RCBS case reamer and put it on in place of the primer pocket cleaner that came with it and then after all of my cases have been reamed the first time, I'll put the cleaner back on. The trimmer is a bit time consuming to get adjusted just right, but once you do, it holds the trim length well. I'm also not sure how easy it'll be to trim 300 BLK cases since they won't stick out of the trimmer very far and it might be tough to get a grip on them but I have a contingency plan just in case.

Well worth the money.
 
I did not realize that the FA case prep center had that style of trimmer. This might be my next purchase.

Using a drill and the ball handle trimmer I can easily trim, chamfer/debur, and polish 100 rifle cases in about 45 minutes.

I don't know how/why it would take so long to chuck up a case?
 
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I have the RCBS case prep center and to many trimmers to list. My favorite and most accurate trimmer is the case trim/forming die. Speed? I do not get into mortal combat with reloading, if I do not have time I do not do it.

Measuring case length, I make my own case measuring tool, more times than not I can not use the published case length, because? I have to add the additional ength from the datum/shoulder to the bolt face.

F. Guffey
 
fguffey said:
I have the RCBS case prep center and to many trimmers to list. My favorite and most accurate trimmer is the case trim/forming die. Speed? I do not get into mortal combat with reloading, if I do not have time I do not do it.

Measuring case length, I make my own case measuring tool, more times than not I can not use the published case length, because? I have to add the additional ength from the datum/shoulder to the bolt face.

F. Guffey
Click to expand...

Just to clarify.

The new one that sits on top of the press with the hand crank? You buy the trimmer and then separate dies for each caliber?

Back to the Op topic, the FA will not trim pistol cases if you are one that wishes to do those.
 
I bought one of the FA to try out for my business before selling them. I have a Giraud that I use for 308, so I decided to set up the FA in 223. Within 3 cases, I had the length dialed in and was getting cases every bit as good as the Giraud. Granted it takes a little longer as it is three steps instead of one, but I was very, very impressed. So much so that when I talked about it at the next gun show, a guy bought it, knowing it had been used to trim 10 cases or so. I really regret selling it.

Why do I mention the Giraud trimmer? I put it in the same class. If you're reloading for a full auto belt fed the extra speed of the Giraud will make a difference. But for someone doing a reasonable quantity of brass, the FA is a far better value.

I won't give up the Giraud for 308, but I will be buying another FA trimmer for my other bottleneck calibers.
 
fguffey said:
Just to be clear or to clearify.

I also have the Dillon and Gacey. All of them are 110V.

F. Guffey
Click to expand...

Never mind, thought you were taking about the new LEE die trimmer, Don't know how I got to that??

It's clarify, clearify does not compute. Hope we are clear.:D;)
 
I had the same question the OP had a few weeks back and based on the discussion in my forum searches I went with the Lyman as it sounded like the best overall performer.

I picked up my Lyman a couple weeks ago and its some of the best reloading equipment money I ever spent.

If you're doing any sort of bulk processing of brass, the Lyman is definitely the way to go!
 
A link has already been posted to my old trimming setup with CTS Engineering Trimmer. I say old because I no longer use the Hornady Trio, it is a great product, but I just found something I believe is a better product from CTS for chamfering and deburring.

I completely used the CTS Engineering products now, I was able to received the chamfering and deburring tool as a gift for getting older :) (birthday a blessing)

The trimmer is very quiet and very fast, additional calibers are a little cheaper than giraud. One thing I know for sure this is industrial grade.

http://www.ctstrimmer.com/8-case-prep-centers

I am not affiliated with this company in any way just a satisfied customer.
See it in action, these are older reviews I have not made a video of the new setup with the chamferring and deburring.
http://www.dayattherange.com/?p=3219
http://www.dayattherange.com/?p=3264
http://www.dayattherange.com/?p=3271
 
MT RG, I do recall reading your reviews. Very well done and looks like a awsome trimmer. On the noise level factor. Can you test it while actually trimming a case?? Just for curiosity as that is when most trimmers make more noise. Not a big issue however

"For a few dollars more" the CTS is a better deal than the Hornady!
 
The motor is so robust on these things with so much torque they themselves do not make any noise when under load. The only noise you get is from the cutter.
 
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