Case Trimmers - Quality and Price

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myrockfight

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Ok. I am getting close to being done with my purchase list for reloading.

I was wondering if there is a big difference between case trimmers.

These prices are all from Midway.

The RCBS trimmer is $76.99. http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=114864&t=11082005

The Forster is $54.99. http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=269638&t=11082005


The Lyman is $87.99. http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=720825&t=11082005

Do you guys know of any appreciable quality differences between these? The Forster is almost $20 cheaper. Is that because it is any lesser quality than the others or maybe not as easy to use?

Or is this simply a matter of brand preference?
 
Forester is a top choice in anything they make......quality at it's best.
RCBS and Lyman are good as well.
You might check out the Hornady and Wilson too.
 
Wilson is best, Forster is next, RCBS is good too. I have and use all three. Wilson for critical trimming. Forster and RCBS for everything else.
 
I have the Wilson and love it..........wouldn't trade it for anything.
 
I like my Lyman, it requires no shellholders, you can add attachment to make it motorized. I bought mine on E-bay for 1/3 of the new price.FWIW
 
How many are you going to trim? If it's more than 20, then buy something with a motor (or one that you can spin with a drill). The Lee one is just a couple bucks and works both fast (when you spin it with a 1/2" drill or drill press) and accurately. Handcranks are bad. Spend money if necessary to eliminate them. Case trimming is an odious chore.
 
I had the Forster, and because I was too dumb to take the time to figure out how to properly use it, I got frustrated and sent it back. Wish I hadn't now. It is excellently made and fairly priced.
 
Get a Wilson and don't look back... when you start to use it, it just screams quality.

The great thing about a Wilson is that it will guarantee that the case mouth is trimmed exactly square to the case body, every time.

The price point should be right there with the others that you mention.
 
I have the Forster, and have no complaints about it. I find the hand cranking of the trimmer to be a lot less of a pain than using the manual chamfer/deburring tool, primer pocket tools, etc. My biggest complaint is that the brass shavings go everywhere.

If I were doing 1000 rounds at a time though, I would want the power tools for everything.
 
I had the Forster and it is more than adequate. I still use it for small batches. I also purchased a Giraud ($$$) for the larger quantities and it cannot be beat.

If I had to do it again, I'd buy a Sinclair enhanced Wilson for the occasional and a Giraud for the frequent.

Ed

05-470.jpg
 
Geez, you guys spend a lot of money for a trimmer. I use the Lee trimmer that 30 cal mentioned and it is a whole lot cheaper than the rest and darn near fool proof.
 
Geez, you guys spend a lot of money for a trimmer. I use the Lee trimmer that 30 cal mentioned and it is a whole lot cheaper than the rest and darn near fool proof.
Click to expand...

I use an RCBS power pro does a good job on large lots but sure have been eyeing that wilson/sinclair with the micrometer for easy set up. and more uniform square cut. But I wouldn't give up my power pro if I could only have one (maybe for a Giraud) but my wife would shoot me if I spent that kinda money on another (second) power trimmer.
 
I have had great service from my Lyman. it works great, but a power unit would sure be welcome addition when I have to trim a lot of cases. That is the only thing I would change. But then again that RCBS power pro looks like a great set up.

good shooting
 
Hmmm...

I wish I would have waited a little longer to order, but I ended up getting an RCBS.

It was ~5 off and ended up being 76.00 or so. I was itchin' get get going. I could always return it and get something that you guys recommended though, if you think it is worth doing.

The Lee Precision trimmer looked good for a cheap route to a power trimmer. I wasn't going to spend two or three hundred on a trimmer right off the bat, but I did like the idea of a powered trimmer. That looks like it may be a good start and then go from there.
 
One thing about the RCBS. You can purchase the power unit for it later. If you are not into large runs then I would trade it in on the sinclair/wilson. If you plan on a power unit later then I would just keep it and later get the S/W.

The giraud might be a little faster but in the long run I can pretty much keep up with my RCBS. I'll go ahead and explain this before somebody says no way.

I use a 3-way cutter with a standard pilot so it is more like a 2-way cutter I do this cause I use a VLD deburring tool head on a trim mate. I can put a case in the trimmer and let the handle go. It is spring loaded so it applies the force to trim only takes a couple of seconds but while it is doing that I can be deburring the cas I just pulled and grabbing another case to put in as I take the other out of the trimmer.

Now the Giraud Does a VLD deburring but not as much as a dedicated tool. They work great only takes one tool to do what takes me two. But like I said I like the VLD tool.
 
I've graduated to the Giraud, but I still occasionally use the Forster for small batches. Do NOT get the Forster without the screw-on spud that allows you to use a drill to power it (the blisters you prevent will be your own):
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=644779&t=11082005

One more thing that is nice about the Forster is that you can buy exta cutter shafts and stop collars, so you are not resetting the lock collar when you switch calibers:
http://www.forsterproducts.com/Pages/componentprices.html#Anchor-32842

I did not like the quality of the Allen screws that came with my Forster almost 30 years ago, but everything else about it has been first rate.

CDD
 
Actually, you are mixing apples and oranges on your price comparison -

The Forster(which is the one I bought based on a recommendation of a friend) does not come with collets or pilots. The RCBS & Lyman units looks to have those items.

Midway has a Forster unit sold as a kit with a number of standard collets and pilots - that is actually the way I bought mine. The kit is $71.99 (there goes your $20 savings :( ) Here's a link:
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=614276&t=11082005

Hope this helps.
 
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