Trimming 223 brass with Giraud Trimmer

[gifbohane]

OK...just got me a new stand alone Giraud trimmer. The demo shell that came with it was trimmed to 1.745.

I have been trimming 223 and 556 to 1.750 since I began reloading them. Googled trimming 223 and found nothing real definitive. Some guys like to trim the first time to 1.745 so as it extends on subsequent firings it will remain under 1.750 so you do not have to trim again. Most claim you are OK to 1.760. Since trimming should now be far easier I want to set it and forget it. Have been using the L E Wilson lathe type trimmer with a portable drill and I get tremendous accuracy in trimming to 1.750.

What say you guys who I consider knowledgeable? What to you like to do as far as trimming?

 

[IMtheNRA]

The actual trimmed llength for your brass will be determined by the extent of which you resize it prior to trimming. Trim a few pieces of your resized brass and see how they come out. There is zero significance to the actual length, provided it is within the specified range.

 

[flatsticks]

Congrats on the new trimmer been looking at picking one of those up for my 223 brass .

Like the other poster mention I have been trimming after resizing , to 1.750 for me .

On a side note did you order it directly from them and how is their lead time thanks .

 

[mrawesome22-250]

I have an RCBS X-Die. I trim to 1.740" initially and never have to trim again for the life of the case. It really does work and was money well spent.

SAAMI acceptable case length is 1.760" - .030". So 1.730" to 1.760" are acceptable.


Notice the min chamber dimension of 1.772" so even if your cases were at a max of 1.760", you'd still have .012" of wiggle room. Built in safety by design.

 

[Blue68f100]

OK...just got me a new stand alone Giraud trimmer. The demo shell that came with it was trimmed to 1.745.

I have been trimming 223 and 556 to 1.750 since I began reloading them. Googled trimming 223 and found nothing real definitive. Some guys like to trim the first time to 1.745 so as it extends on subsequent firings it will remain under 1.750 so you do not have to trim again. Most claim you are OK to 1.760. Since trimming should not be far easier I want to set it and forget it. Have been using the L E Wilson lathe type trimmer with a portable drill and I get tremendous accuracy in trimming.

What say you guys who I consider knowledgeable? What to you like to do as far as trimming?

You can adj it to the 1.750" if you want too. But 0.005" is not going to make any difference. As long as your shoulders are in the same place it will cut the same length.
Enjoy you have a fine trimmer that will save you hours of work.

 

[gifbohane]

On a side note did you order it directly from them and how is their lead time thanks .

Flat- I ordered it directly from GIRAUD maybe a month ago. He underpromised and over delivered. I got the sense that he is making them to order and is busy.

I appreciate the feedback because as you guys know the tool ain't cheap.

The actual trimmed llength for your brass will be determined by the extent of which you resize it prior to trimming. Trim a few pieces of your resized brass and see how they come out. There is zero significance to the actual length, provided it is within the specified range.

IMthrNRA- Please explain what you mean by this- ""Determined by the extent you resize it." I use a full length RCBS and a redding sizing die. It is always range brass that starts all over the lot and come out of the die all over the lot. It is usually, except for Federal, about 1.169 or so. Federal is usually 1.742 or so.

The drawing is awesome.
.

 

[IMtheNRA]

The more you push the case shoulder down when resizing, the more the case will protrude into the trimmer. So, it will come out shorter. If you barely resize the brass, it will come out a little longer.

Mixed range brass will resize very inconsistently, so it will have quite a bit of trimmed length variation. Plus/minus .005 in my experience.

When I work with just a single headstamp of brass, the final trim length variation is plus or minus .001

 

[lightman]

In my opinion .005 won't make much difference. But you can readjust it if you want.

You have a nice trimmer. After a little practice and a little thought on set-up I can trim small cases like 223 at a sustained rate of 15 to 16 per minute and maintain .001 tolerance.

 

[IALoder]

1.745 is what I trim my .223 at. I usually don't have to trim again for quite a few firings. You're good to go there!

 

[Charlie98]

I ordered my TriWay trimmer directly from Girauad; it took 2 months to ship.

Remember, the trimmer works off the shoulder, not the OAL length of the case, per se. It trims the same length off the shoulder.... there are variances of shoulder setback depending on how you size your brass.

 

[Walkalong]

That's at least part of the answer, if not all of it.

 

[KeithK]

OK...just got me a new stand alone Giraud trimmer. The demo shell that came with it was trimmed to 1.745.

I have been trimming 223 and 556 to 1.750 since I began reloading them. Googled trimming 223 and found nothing real definitive. Some guys like to trim the first time to 1.745 so as it extends on subsequent firings it will remain under 1.750 so you do not have to trim again. Most claim you are OK to 1.760. Since trimming should now be far easier I want to set it and forget it. Have been using the L E Wilson lathe type trimmer with a portable drill and I get tremendous accuracy in trimming to 1.750.

What say you guys who I consider knowledgeable? What to you like to do as far as trimming?

Good trimmer, I have used the Giraud for my 50BMG brass for years and love it, I ordered the shell holder and new cutting head from Giraud and it took 7 weeks I think, when it arrived it was another great piece of gear, I trimmed 1000 pieces of 223 in one day and I trimmed for 1.750, most of the brass was within 1.748 to 1.751, I considered that as acceptable. And the more I used it I noticed the closer to 1.750 I got. I think it was just a matter of technique that was really responsible for the variance.

Keith

 

[gifbohane]

Good trimmer, I have used the Giraud for my 50BMG brass for years and love it, I ordered the shell holder and new cutting head from Giraud and it took 7 weeks I think, when it arrived it was another great piece of gear, I trimmed 1000 pieces of 223 in one day and I trimmed for 1.750, most of the brass was within 1.748 to 1.751, I considered that as acceptable. And the more I used it I noticed the closer to 1.750 I got. I think it was just a matter of technique that was really responsible for the variance.

Keith

That is exactly what info I was looking for. Did about 25 to get into the swing of it and they were right there at 1.748 to 1.752 after adjustments by me.

 

[MifflinKid]

I have an RCBS X-Die. I trim to 1.740" initially and never have to trim again for the life of the case. It really does work and was money well spent.

100% correct.

 

[gifbohane]

Any one have a good idea how many shells can be trimmed with one cutter before replacement? 2000, 5000 or no idea?

 

[weeniewawa]

Any one have a good idea how many shells can be trimmed with one cutter before replacement? 2000, 5000 or no idea?

they are carbide cutter bits that are meant for steel, it should last a lifetime. I have done close to 20k on mine and it is still perfect

 

[Kaldor]

Any one have a good idea how many shells can be trimmed with one cutter before replacement? 2000, 5000 or no idea?

North of 50k as its a carbide cutter as long as you dont damage them. And thats 50k per cutting edge, and 3 edges per cutter.

I bought 2 extra when I bought mine and Dougs wife told me I was probably set for life. I told her Mr Murphy calls my name on a regulars basis
Sadly she passed away last year. She was really nice and helpful.

 

[gudaki]

Any one have a good idea how many shells can be trimmed with one cutter before replacement? 2000, 5000 or no idea?

It's a lot more than 5,000.

 

[Blue68f100]

It will last a very long time on brass. Now something to be aware of. You need to check the cutter for brass (smears) sticking to it. This will make the cutter act like its dull. It does not hurt to put some lube of the cutting face to prevent this. I have well over 50k threw my carbide cutter and still going strong.

 

[gifbohane]

All good information....

Blue68-Thanks for the tip

 

[lightman]

North of 50k as its a carbide cutter as long as you dont damage them. And thats 50k per cutting edge, and 3 edges per cutter.

I bought 2 extra when I bought mine and Dougs wife told me I was probably set for life. I told her Mr Murphy calls my name on a regulars basis
Sadly she passed away last year. She was really nice and helpful.

Wow, I did not know that! RIP Mrs Giraud.

Back to the original question, the carbide blade should last almost forever. I try to feed the case into mine slowly and gently to avoid snags. I also sprung for the additional cost of shellholders and cutter assemblies for each caliber that I trim to save the time for adjusting different ones. A little expense but worth it to me for the time that it saves.

 

[GoldieMI]

I ordered the Recoil trigger yesterday. Do I still have to inform the Labradar as to bullet type and weight with this new addition?

yes you do

 

[gifbohane]

lightman -

Where did you buy the shellholder and cutter assemblies?

 

[Kaldor]

Wow, I did not know that! RIP Mrs Giraud.

Back to the original question, the carbide blade should last almost forever. I try to feed the case into mine slowly and gently to avoid snags. I also sprung for the additional cost of shellholders and cutter assemblies for each caliber that I trim to save the time for adjusting different ones. A little expense but worth it to me for the time that it saves.

Same here. When Im using the Giraud its not for mass produced stuff anyway, a few hundred here and there for precision handloads. My Dillon RT1500 is for mass produced 223 and 308, and my SSTL tumbler takes care of the deburring and chamfering on that stuff.

Margaret was super nice, answering all my stupid questions when I bought mine, and most importantly knowing who I was when I called. She will be missed, her customer service was off the charts.

lightman -

Where did you buy the shellholder and cutter assemblies?

Buy them direct from Giraud. I need to do the same, but I need like 5 different full setups, and that gets pricey.