Cordless drill speed when trimming brass

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I have been using a cordless drill on my rcbs trimmer and was wondering if there was a correct speed to run the drill on. Normally I run it on low but for the last few nights I have trimmed over 1500 pieces of 223 brass and ran the drill on hi to make it a little faster. Everything seemed to work fine but I was wondering if I was missing something.

Brian
 
I use a Lee trimmer with a Makita cordless drill and run it full blast.. I stop when the spirals of cuttings stop.
 
I would run it as fast as it will cut reliably without binding/chattering. You can always experiment and see what works the best for you. I do not think that fast or slow speed will do any damage to the cutter when trimming brass. If trimming nickle casings I would go slower to save the cutter as that will dull it a bit faster.
 
One thing I'd do is to keep the bearing/s well oiled to prevent wear/premature run out. The Lee I use doesn't have any bearings..
 
I use the Lee trimmer, and at high speed also. But, when I get to the ream and chamfering, I operate it at a low speed so I don't accidentally over do it.
GS
 
Milwaukee cordless and a set of Lee's basic length trimming tools for every cal. I reload.I trim and chamfer at mediam to low speed.hdbiker
 
If you're doing a LOT of trimming (like case conversion kind of trimming), it's possible to get a steel cutter so hot it wears out, prematurely. Dunno what your system is, but I doubt you could get it that hot just doing normal trimming.
 
I ran it full blast.
It left a smoother surface.

Then I got lazy & bought a Lyman electric trimmer.
Haven't looked back since.
 
The faster the speed the more likely you will burn your steel cutter and dull it.

Even carbide cutters can burn if they are turned too fast. So it depends how often you want to replace cutters and the size of your pocket book.

The other factor is pressure on the blade. Beginners with cutting tools nearly always use too much pressure. Best to let the tool do the cutting to keep it sharp.
 
I've got a RCBS power trimmer that's slow as H$%. does anybody know of a way to increase the speed on it or am I going to have to invent something. It's the slowest point in my reloading.
 
I do it on low to avoid problems with dislodging the cartridge when firing it up on the first spin- but if you aren't having that problem- knock yourself out !
 
I changed over to a variable speed corded drill with my Possum Hollow. Better torque and better control overall, giving you a better "feel" for when the trimming is done.
 
Using .224" as a baseline.

5,650 RPM with a HSS Cutter
13,000 RPM with a Carbide Cutter

Feed rate that you remove material varies with number of cutters, by hand it shouldn't be a concern.


Richard
 
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