Case Trimmer Recommendations?

[MrBrian]

What case trimmers do you all have, and what do you like and dislike about what you have?    The Frankford Arsenal Case Trimmer & Prep center looks promising, but it will only work on rifle rounds with a shoulder.....    I've also thought about the Lyman Trimmer with carbide cutter, and maybe the RCBS prep center.....    I don't know

[mikegideon]

The best...

 

http://www.giraudtool.com/prod02.htm

[Omega]

I have three,

A Lyman universal case trimmer,  a Forster case trimmer and a Lee hand case trimmer for all my calibers.  Each has its uses, the lyman is set for my large caliber rifle rounds such as my .308, 30/06 and .270 etc.  My Forster is setup to outside neck turn my .308 rifle rounds.  My Lee is when I just have to do a few real quick but I upgraded it to use the wooden handle for the cutter and three jaw chuck.  It really depends on just how many you plan on doing, I did 1K 300 Blackouts with the Lee setup before I got the other two, don't recommend it for that many but will get it done.

 

[mikegideon]

I have three,

A Lyman universal case trimmer,  a Forster case trimmer and a Lee hand case trimmer for all my calibers.  Each has its uses, the lyman is set for my large caliber rifle rounds such as my .308, 30/06 and .270 etc.  My Forster is setup to outside neck turn my .308 rifle rounds.  My Lee is when I just have to do a few real quick but I upgraded it to use the wooden handle for the cutter and three jaw chuck.  It really depends on just how many you plan on doing, I did 1K 300 Blackouts with the Lee setup before I got the other two, don't recommend it for that many but will get it done.

 

You're more diligent than me. I did 700 Blackout cases, and used an RCBS power trimmer with a 3-way cutting head. I hate brass prep, especially when the tool has a crank :)

[Omega]

You're more diligent than me. I did 700 Blackout cases, and used an RCBS power trimmer with a 3-way cutting head. I hate brass prep, especially when the tool has a crank :)

Oh I powered it with my drill.  The 3 jaw chuck was in my drill and did quite fast after I got the hang of it.  I even started with out the wooden handle and chuck for the first 5 or 6 hundred, then went to Midsouth and got the upgrades, made the rest a breeze.  The case holder that comes with it works ok but the 3 jaw chuck is much faster to change cases.

[Jamie Jackson]

Omega,

 

I hadn't seen the 3 jaw chuck before. Thank you.

 

Question though? How secure, as related to any wobbling, is the chuck? I ask because of some of the reviews.

[expendable]

What calibers are you in need of trimming?

Kurt

[Omega]

Omega,

 

I hadn't seen the 3 jaw chuck before. Thank you.

 

Question though? How secure, as related to any wobbling, is the chuck? I ask because of some of the reviews.

It takes a little getting used to, the jaws fit in the groove of the case and if not secure it can spin off.  I didn't see much wobble but if you have a used drill that part can introduce a wobble as well.  With the length gauge in the primer hole though, a small wobble wont be much of an issue.

[maroonandwhite]

The best...

 

http://www.giraudtool.com/prod02.htm

Does this chamfer/deburr too? I can't tell from the picture and don't know if that's actually possible with one operation. The picture kind of looks like it does?

 

I will be getting a WFT very soon. Cutting, trimming, deburring and chamfering just 100 blackout brass had me ready to give it all up haha. Granted I don't have the trimmer with the wooden knob.

[gregintenn]

I use the Lee stuff. You can't get the case length wrong, and it's cheap. Chuck the shellholder in your drill and go.

[Hozzie]

I have a few WFT's, but the Giraud does look pretty nice.

[mikegideon]

Does this chamfer/deburr too? 

 

Yes. So does my RCBS with the 3-way cutting heads. Did I mention I HATE brass prep? :)

[TNMTBik3r]

If you can't afford the full Giraud, look at their Tri-Way cutter. Throw it in a drill and trim away.

[TNMTBik3r]

I have the Frankford prep kit and it is pretty decent. I recommend upgrading the cutter though, the one it comes with was worn out and took forever to trim in less than 1k rounds. Threw a spare Hornady cutter in and good to go.

It is still slow compares to something drill powered. Not sure RPMs but a drill will be quicker if that's all your going for.

[maroonandwhite]

You guys just cost me more money.......but saved me some time. :up:

[Jamie Jackson]

Man, like many of you...I hate trimming and prepping brass. I love handloading...just hate the brass prep work.

 

I trimmed about 1500 pieces of 5.56/.223 using the Lee, wooden handle and my drill. I found it most time efficient to chamfer and deburr while I still had the brass in the shell holder.

 

From what I can tell looking at vids on the WFT it only trims the brass (but so pretty darn quickly). So (insert dumb question music) I make the bold assumption the deburring and chamfering is done using old fashioned handwork.

So...considering this, is the WFT still more time efficient than the way I rambled on about above?

 

I have several thousand pieces of brass I need to prep. $70.00 is, well, $70.00...would it ease my hate? :cool:

[MrBrian]

What calibers are you in need of trimming?

Kurt

308 Winchester, 30-06, 45-70, 7.62x54r.....   and eventually 303 British, 6.8 SPC, 6.5x55

[Omega]

308 Winchester, 30-06, 45-70, 7.62x54r.....   and eventually 303 British, 6.8 SPC, 6.5x55

What quantities, and what's your budget?  Trimmers run a wide range of prices as you can see by the above examples.

[mikegideon]

Let me toss in some 2 cent stuff, just for what it's worth. When I buy any tool, I tend to try to go with the one that will require the least amount of time and effort if the tool is going to be used a lot. If I can save a LOT of time, and wear and tear on my hands over the life of the investment, then I will generally always take the "cry once" attitude.

 

I started with a Hornady crank trimmer (works great), and a motorized Hornady Case Prep assistant (also works great). When I got 2000 Lake City cases to be converted to 300 BLK from David. I said hell no. Paying a few hundred dollars extra to make me stop hating brass prep was worth it for me. I get a little back from that investment with every case. 

 

When I was just doing 458 SOCOM, the fiddly prep setup worked just fine. When Obama gets reelected and you start looking at thousands of rounds, the high volume prep solutions start looking real good. Sometimes a little laziness can be a virtue. :)

[gregintenn]

Let me toss in some 2 cent stuff, just for what it's worth. When I buy any tool, I tend to try to go with the one that will require the least amount of time and effort if the tool is going to be used a lot. If I can save a LOT of time, and wear and tear on my hands over the life of the investment, then I will generally always take the "cry once" attitude.

 

I started with a Hornady crank trimmer (works great), and a motorized Hornady Case Prep assistant (also works great). When I got 2000 Lake City cases to be converted to 300 BLK from David. I said hell no. Paying a few hundred dollars extra to make me stop hating brass prep was worth it for me. I get a little back from that investment with every case. 

 

When I was just doing 458 SOCOM, the fiddly prep setup worked just fine. When Obama gets reelected and you start looking at thousands of rounds, the high volume prep solutions start looking real good. Sometimes a little laziness can be a virtue. :)

When I buy a tool. I'll buy the cheapest one I think I can get by with. If it turns out later I see a need to upgrade, I'll spend some money then. Nine times out of ten, the cheap one works fine.

 

I prep cases in small doses. I'm not aware of a fun way to do it.

[Omega]

When I buy a tool. I'll buy the cheapest one I think I can get by with. If it turns out later I see a need to upgrade, I'll spend some money then. Nine times out of ten, the cheap one works fine.

 

I prep cases in small doses. I'm not aware of a fun way to do it.

Me I'm just cheap, I have more time than money and when I start with something I finish with what I started with and upgrade later.  I do like good deals though so when the other trimmers came along at less than half price I got them.  I would rather spend on components than tools so I shy away from most of the expensive stuff when the cheaper ones will do.  

[tmauto769]

Another vote for the wft, I have the original in .223, and the wft2 in 6.8spc, and .308. They say you can get it to debur by turning the case backwards, but I haven't been able to get satisfactory results doing that, so I just debur and chamfer in a prep center afterward. It is still pretty fast doing it that way.