Dillon Rapid Trim 1200B User Questions...

[codefour]

I have finally decided to take the plunge and get an electric trimmer. I currently have an old Lyman manuel trimmer and have probably trimmed 5,000 rifle cases with it. Yes, it is time for an upgrade.

I load a lot of .223 and I size them on my RCBS Pro 2000 using a lube die prior to FL sizing. I like the idea of handling the brass one less time eliminating a step. Hence, my questions regarding the Dill Rapid Trimmer. I like the idea of the Giraud, but it is expensive and requires another step.

Now my ???'s..

1: How well does it trim? I have read other posts that it cuts so clean that seperate a seperate chamfer and deburr is not necessary. How accurate does it cut the length?

2: Does the vacuum attachment actually work well? Will I have brass shavings all over my press and specifically my shell plate? I have various size SHOP Vacs.

3: I plan on sizing first then trimming. Therefore, could I use the .308 die to just trim not resize in the Dillon trim die. Could I cheat and use the .308 trim die to just trim .30-06 after the 06 was full length resized without resizing again?

4: What is the over all quality and build concept of the Dillon trimmer itself? Would you buy it again or get something else. And if you would buy something else, what??

Thank you in advance for all your replies. I know this has been covered but I had some specific questions.

 

[EddieNFL]

Had a Dillon. Worked well. Upgraded to a Giraud. IMO worth the price difference if you trim lots of brass.

 

[medalguy]

I have a 1200 and I've probably sized and trimmed 20,000 rounds of 5.56, 7.62, and .30-06 brass in the last 8 months, since Danny Henry stopped processing my brass. BTW he's back in operation again. It DOES work very well, the vac attachment works great except for the noise of the vac, and it makes a nice square cut every time, same length every time as long as you run the brass into the die the same every time. Short stroke the press and the brass will be longer.

I got around the problem of the noise by cutting a 1-1/2 inch hole in the shop wall into the garage area and put the vac in the garage with a switch inside my shop and the hose running out to the vac. Works great and noise is minimal.

I considered a Giraud but I would still have to size in a separate step. With the Dillon, I just size and trim in one operation.

 

[Jdillon]

I have a Dillon 1200 and it works well. Clean cuts and very accurate. Take the time to set up the sizing die properly if you are going to load the trimmed cases in a progressive. In my 550B I backed of the sizing/decapping die so it wouldn't touch the shoulder of the trimmed cases.

 

[gshipps]

Clean cut. But if loading thin skin varmint type bullets I still have to chamfer. FMJ's boat tail it's good with out chamfer. If you FL size totally before trimming brass will be very consistent. Seems to be the way most do it.

 

[jmorris]

If it's speed you want the Dillon is the way to go, I can size/deprime and trim 5000 cases in under 3 hours.

The vacuum attachment works well depending on your vaccum.

It makes a lot of noise, bet you never realized your shop vac was quite.

It's a quality part designed to trim bucket fulls of brass.

Dillon lists different part numbers for 308 and 30-06.

I would buy it again for the rounds I load a lot of but it's not the only trimmer I own. It would be a poor choice IMO for trimming a few cases each of many calibers. I set up a size/deprime die in station 1, mount the trimmer in station #3 and another size die with expander on #5 to iron out the mouth again. It takes too long to set all three exactly the same for me to be changing and swapping.

 

[medalguy]

I should mention, after reading jmorris's post, that I size/trim rifle brass in a Rockchucker press, then use the Super Swager to swage the primer pockets, then it's over to the Dillon to finish loading the brass. I prefer the power and leverage of the Rockchucker to resize large rifle brass such as 30-06 and 308.

 

[Jdillon]

+1 Medalguy I have the trimmer set up on my Rockchucker as well.

 

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

I have an RCBS Pro 2000 with auto advance. I tumble my milsurp .223 brass, then use the Dillon 1200 trimmer on the press this way and I'm happy with the results when checked in a Dillon case gauge:

1. Use RCBS lube die in station 1 to lube and deprime.

2. Use Dillon 1200 Trimmer and specific trim die in the fixed station to trim the brass.

3. In station 5, the final station, I use a Dillon .223 resizing die to insure consistency in the brass.

I can take a full green RCBS/Akro bin of tumbled brass and in 15 minutes, I'm done depriming, sizing and trimming that brass.

I'm very happy with the Dillon 1200 trimmer for trimming my large value, short range cartridges. For low volume, long range cartridges, I size on a single stage, trim with an RCBS trimmer (I'm planning to replace with a Wilson), prime with a Lee Auto Prime, charge with weighted charges and seat with a Forster seating die.

 

[dbarnhart]

I recorded a video showing the Dillon trimmer on my Hornady LnL-AP. Perhaps it will help you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snp6C7dbV3E

 

[DBR]

I had and sold a Giraud trimmer. I didn't like the relatively sharp edge it left on the case mouth and the extra step in processing my brass.

I have an RCBS 2000 manual advance press. The first station has a Redding decap die. Second station is empty. Third station (in press body) has Dillon 1200 case trimmer/sizer. Fourth station is empty. Fifth station has a Sinclair carbide case mouth expander mandrel .

Brass is dry tumbled then sprayed with 1:9 lanolin oil/99% isopropyl alcohol before processing.

After sizing/trimming brass it is put into boiling water for about 10 minutes then dried either on a towel or in the oven at about 200*. This removes all but a trace of the lanolin. The trace helps prevent tarnishing of stored ammo.

If I was loading bullets that required a case mouth treatment I would use the Lyman "M" expander in the normal sizing station. I use a mild taper crimp and that takes care of what would otherwise be the outside chamfer.

This system works very well for me.

Just a note about the Dillon 1200 trimmer: It is not a good idea to size the brass before using the trimmer. It needs the grip it gets while it sizes the brass to hold onto it while it trims. It cuts very clean leaving no burrs.

 

[codefour]

Thanks...

Thanks for all the responses. I am going to take the plunge and get the Dillon trimmer. Worst case scenario, I still have an old Lyman universal trimmer.

I am mostly looking to size and trim LARGE batches of .223 and .308. Learning to size with a RCBS lube die on my Pro 2000 was awesome. It is soo much faster than the old single stage method.

Once again thanks, I think this will greatly speed things up.

Shoot straight and keep the rubber side down (wait, wrong forum for that one).