How to easily adjust the WFT trimmer

[SCC]

I've read several posts in various places regarding the difficulty of getting an exact adjustment on the WFT trimmer. I've had mine adjusted "good enough" for quite a while. Today I got it exactly right at minimum length in less than 5 minutes, all that was required was a shaft collar (or drill stop) and a feeler gauge set.

First decide how much you need to lengthen or shorten the brass and select the appropriate feeler gauge. Clean all mating surfaces and slide the stop collar onto the cutter shaft.

To shorten the brass:
- Place the feeler gauge between the collar and WFT body.
- Hold everything tight and tighten the collar.
- Loosen the WFT set screws and remove the feeler gauge.
- Hold everything tight and retighten the set screws.
- Trim a piece of brass to check length
- Remove the collar or leave it.

To lengthen the brass:
- Hold everything tight and tighten the collar.
- Loosen the WFT set screws.
- Place the feeler gauge between the collar and WFT body.
- Hold everything tight and retighten the set screws.
- Remove the feeler gauge and trim a piece of brass to check length.
- Remove the collar or not.

Using the shaft collar and feeler gauge allows you to make precise controlled adjustments to the trim length with minimal time and effort.

Hope you find this useful

---Scott.

 

[Rule3]

Good idea. I was confused at first but then realized you added a round type drill stop, I was thinking the metal rod type.

These kind right?

http://www.amazon.com/Milescraft-5342-Drill-Stop-6-Piece/dp/B0055HPIWS

I have a few pre trimmed pieces of brass at the proper length, but no matter what I put them in and set it that way it still comes out a bit long or short.Still fine as long as they are the same.

 

[SCC]

Yes, though the one I used has the screw on the side of a split ring and compresses the whole ring around the shaft. Like these

http://www.amazon.com/Steelex-D2803-Split-Depth-7-Piece/dp/B0000DD1TB

The ones you linked should work too as long as you don't let the flat on the cutter shaft interfere. You don't want it to cock sideways.

I avoid using the setscrew type on my good drill bits as the screw will often damage the bit.

 

[Micha2u]

Interesting thread...I am not saying this to be a wise ass but this is why I decided to go for a Trim-It with the micrometer adjustment.

http://eztrimit.com/

 

[SCC]

Agreed, that is a much classier design. The standard Trim-it either wasn't available at the time or I missed it when I got the WFT. It's not worth replacing at this point. Suspect a lot of people are in the same boat.

However, with the original WFT, once you have it set correctly you should only need to adjust it if you replace the cutter. It becomes a dedicated to caliber set-and-forget tool. If I added another rifle caliber I would probably get another WFT for exactly that reason, just as I would get an additional tool head for the new dies - so that I don't have to adjust them when switching calibers.

The beauty of this is that there is no "one way" and we can each choose our own path.

Something else I think I'll mention with regard to the WFT. I drilled two additional holes in the sides of it to allow for better brass ejection. It was plugging up when trimming newly formed .300blk. Also, I use my lathe to spin it rather than a drill. I chuck it up on the narrow part of the body rather than the cutter shaft and it runs perfectly true. I spin it at about 1800RPM.

 

[stubbicatt]

I dunno. I just took a case and measured it, if it was long. Then I loosened the adjustment screws, inserted the case, and let the cutter bit touch the case mouth. Then I took my calipers and measured the length of the cutting tool from the bearing/bushing to the tip of the cutter shaft, and moved it in the appropriate number of thousandths of an inch to arrive at my desired length, and locked the adjustment screws.

Trim a piece of brass and measure again, and move the cutter shaft in or out the number of thousandths as measured with the calipers, verified the as trimmed case length, and then started trimming brass.

As another here said, only have to adjust it and set it once unless you change the cutter.