Giraud Tri Way Trimmer

I don't have the Giraud, but do have the Trim It 2, which is basically the same thing, the Giraud is probably the better of the two.They can easily knock out a piece of brass every 3 seconds. Of course the best part being that they register off shoulder for length. I never measure brass to see if it needs trim, it's faster just to stick it in the trimmer.

I own a Giraud and love it. I've only used it for .30-06 so far, but I have plans to employ it with a bunch of other calibers. It makes short work of any trimming you need done.

I don't have a giraud either, I went with another high volume trimmer, the Dillon rt-1500, but after using it for a while I would rather have something like the giraud, the rt-1500 needs to be on a progressive setup with a case feeder to really shine and it's really meant for a small to medium size commercial reloader or someone converting a lot of .300 blackout.

The fact that you can just grab a case and place it manually in the giraud instead of feeding cases into a shellholder and running a press handle like the rt-1500 means the giraud is a lot faster.

The rt-1500 sizes but doesn't deprime so that feature is a moot point for me. I still have to run cases through a sizer/deprimer die first.
It does make a nice clean cut with no need to deburr though

I also have a hornady powered case prep center, the big expensive upright thing, cost about $350, trimmer head doesn't rotate fast enough so it doesn't cut as much as gouge and scrape the brass. Trims inconsistently and is a pita to lock brass in and take out. Also hard on the hands, processed 1k LC 7.62 brass once, took about 8 hours, then shortly thereafter it stripped the plastic gears and had to go back to the factory for repair. Cost me $25 in shipping to have hornady fix it.

All in all I have over $700 in brass processing gear and could have saved a lot of that and been happier with the giraud, a primer pocket swager, and a hand deburrer

I too was in search of an efficient and faster way to prep bulk .223 without spending a fortune. It used to be bulk prep per single stage - a single brass has to pass through my hands at least 4-5 times and with trimming as the most time consuming stage. Now that I prep with the use of Frankford Arsenal Platinum series case prep center, I do the whole stage process in one motion per brass. It’s time saving and faster.

Less than $200 bucks.

https://www.brownells.com/reloading...y&utm_campaign=itwine&utm_content=100-032-369

I looked into a Giraud prior to buying a Hornady LNL Case prep center but I couldn't justify the cost difference. The Hornady unit suits my needs very well and is much faster than my Lyman manual lathe type trimmer but it's not going to win any races either. I estimate 100-150 cases an hour with frequent quality checks with a caliper.

I haven't had any problems with accuracy. I see less than +/- .001 variance in practice. Hornady has made some revisions to the currently produced models to correct the problems reported in earlier units. There is a YouTube video that explains in detail how to set up the machine to achieve the best results. The unit is much easier to use if it is securely mounted to the bench. I'm using Inline Fabrication quick change plates for this. As mentioned in an earlier post the cutting speed could be faster but it gets the job done leaving a smooth cut. The motor is designed for low speed and high torque. I have not been able to bog it down with too much pressure. The case chuck setup works best if the shell holder opening is installed with a 90 degree offset to the opening on the spindle. The solves any issues with inadvertent removal during use.

The lower spindles are very convenient and I only have to pick up a case once. I like that you can put the various case prep tools in any order. There are several basic tools included with the unit but a primer pocket reamer is not among them. Hornady brand shell holders are required due to the size of the center hole and it comes with several but not all calibers are included. The thread size for the tools is common and I'm using a mix of brands. For example a Lyman primer pocket reamer works just fine.

I'm sure that in the distant future we will be able to use StarTrek transporter technology to de-atomize each piece of brass and put them back for a perfect brand new case but by then we won't need to because we will all have phasers. The point is, whatever you choose we are lightyears ahead of what was available in the '80s.

.40

I have one. Trims, chamfers, deburs in one step. works great.

if you do multiple rifle calibers I suggest looking into the giraud power trimmer. it is a big up front investment. but in my opinion well worth it.

I have one and it works great. Makes trimming simple and quick, 100 pieces in 15 mins or less.

I have the Trim-it II and the hardest part was getting the thing adj like I wanted it, too much play in the threads. Once done you can do 300-500/hr if you hand and fingers don't fatigue. Since then I have built my own with longer sleeves to keep the brass straighter. This reduced the case variation I was having, now all run with in 0.001". All these type trimmers space off the shoulder, so it this is not the same due to different harness, the trim length will reflect it. I anneal every cycle so that's not a problem for me.

I have 2 and absolutely love them both in a Drill Press. They work great

Good Luck
dg

I have the Tri-Way trimmer for .223, and I love it. Very easy to use, and very fast and accurate. They are really simple to use, it is pretty difficult to mess something up with them.

I bought a cheap Harbor Freight buffer motor (think "grinder"), then cut off one of the two shafts and coupled the Tri-Way to the other shaft. I had a buddy help me build a frame so I could use it in either a vertical or horizontal position. Next I added a footswitch, and it all came together. (Vertical is better, BTW.)

I use the Giraud bench model. I'm another that got tired of trimming large numbers of cases by hand. Loading 223's for a Prairie Dog hunt several years ago pushed me buy the Giraud. I can trim 223's pretty much at aa sustained rate of 15-16 a minute and hold the tolerance to .001. Every one in a while I will get a longer than usual case, a tougher case or just fumble one but once I establish a rhythm I can really roll.

RikSors said:

I too was in search of an efficient and faster way to prep bulk .223 without spending a fortune. It used to be bulk prep per single stage - a single brass has to pass through my hands at least 4-5 times and with trimming as the most time consuming stage. Now that I prep with the use of Frankford Arsenal Platinum series case prep center, I do the whole stage process in one motion per brass. It’s time saving and faster.

Less than $200 bucks.

https://www.brownells.com/reloading...y&utm_campaign=itwine&utm_content=100-032-369

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I've thought seriously about getting one of those.

In searching, I just found where they will be selling just the trimmer attachment alone, for use in standard drills.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/816840/frankford-arsenal-universal-precision-drill-case-trimmer

lightman said:

I use the Giraud bench model. I'm another that got tired of trimming large numbers of cases by hand. Loading 223's for a Prairie Dog hunt several years ago pushed me buy the Giraud. I can trim 223's pretty much at aa sustained rate of 15-16 a minute and hold the tolerance to .001.

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This. Buy once, cry once - and then enjoy for the next 25 years.

The Giraud is the bestest and my most favoritest tool in my reloading workshop - hands down. I can trim well in excess of 600 cases per hour, with great repeatability, and with no additional work (inner/outer chamfering) needed - the trimmer's cutting head design lets you go from decapped/sized cases to fully prepped cases in one step. I originally bought the trimmer set up for 223 / 5.56NATO. This last year, I finally broke down and bought 30-cal and 25-cal cutter heads, and shell holders for 300AAC, 308, 30-06, 257 Roberts, and 25-06. I don't necessarily *need* the volume capability for these other chamberings that the Giraud offers, but the repeatability from case to case (not just length but consistent inner chamfer) was too compelling to ignore.

The only caveat that I will offer is that the trimmer cuts the case to OAL based on the case shoulder; brass sized in different dies/setups will yield different OALs. Size all your brass in the same die with the same setup if you intend to use any cutter that uses the case shoulder for setting trim length.

I've seriously considered the Tri-Way... I have about 8K 5.56mm brass that needs trimmed, and a growing amount of .308/7.62mm brass... and I know I'm not going to do it on my Pacific lathe. I find it hard to justify the cost of the big Giraud, but the Tri-Way seems like a reasonable compromise.

Toprudder said:

I've thought seriously about getting one of those.

In searching, I just found where they will be selling just the trimmer attachment alone, for use in standard drills.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/816840/frankford-arsenal-universal-precision-drill-case-trimmer

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Hmmm... I'll be curious to see how that turns out. I'm a little leery of the whole 'universal' thing... I've found many tools that were intended for universal applications to not be all they were cracked up to be.

I'm no expert, but I think trimming from the case shoulder is the best way. Since the cartridge headspaces on the shoulder, everything should reference from that.

Toprudder said:

I'm no expert, but I think trimming from the case shoulder is the best way. Since the cartridge headspaces on the shoulder, everything should reference from that.

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I completely agree.

I also have the Frankford Platinum case prep center, and while it's OK I will also admit that the plastic shellholders and collets and bits make it far less precise and easy-to-use as the Giraud. The Frankford also requires three steps to complete a case; trim, inner chamfer, and outer chamfer - it's far slower and less repeatable than the Giraud approach.

I should probably suffix my comments that I have the 'traditional' Giraud. The TriWay looks to be the Power Trimmer cutting head assembly without the motor or chassis supplied by Giraud. All of my comments should still apply, but still - I have / use / love / recommend the Power Trimmer and have no hands-on with the TriWay.

I didn't even know that they offered the TriWay as an option until I read this thread. Silly me.

Mine is the standard version also. It doesn't make a difference really. The device is extremely useful regardless of what it is mounted on/in.

I have the Tri Way Trimmer in .223 caliber and have to say it is fantastic. It's very fast, very easy just insert slow so it doesn't grab if it needs to trim a lot of material off. I use it in a cordless drill so not the most ergonomic but it doesn't take long to crank out a few hundred either. It will wear on your hand but you can also switch hands and keep rolling. Mine came from the factory properly adjusted so I ended up just putting it in the drill and started trimming cases. Highly, highly recommended the only thing better would be the bench model but the cost.

rbernie said:

I completely agree.

I also have the Frankford Platinum case prep center, and while it's OK I will also admit that the plastic shellholders and collets and bits make it far less precise and easy-to-use as the Giraud. The Frankford also requires three steps to complete a case; trim, inner chamfer, and outer chamfer - it's far slower and less repeatable than the Giraud approach.

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Good to know. But, the Frankford is one-fits-all while the Giraud is one size only?

Toprudder said:

But, the Frankford is one-fits-all while the Giraud is one size only?

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Both use replaceable shell holders that trim-to-length using the shoulder as the datum point; the Giraud shell holders are precision chambering-specific brass pieces and the Frankford are 'one-size-fits-many' plastic bits. The Frankford uses a flat cutting head to suit most bore diameters but it can therefore only trim and not chamfer; the Giraud uses a caliber-specific cutting head that contains inner/outer chamfers as well as the cutter, so it does it all in one step.

Toprudder said:

Good to know. But, the Frankford is one-fits-all while the Giraud is one size only?

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I think you have to buy the different holders at almost $40 a pop.

Trimming cases is the worst part of the entire process, I can't do more then a few before my hand and arm start to cramp up. I have looked at them but never made the jump to them.

I use one Giraud Tri-Way for 223 and one for 308. Quick, easy and one step to process the brass.
Worth the money to me.

Pfffffft. $100 for one of these tri-way trimmers and never have to deal with the pain in the ass brass prep again? Take my money please.

I'll need one for 223, 30-06 and 300blk. $300 well spent. This is a no brainer. Of course, that is once I get back into rifle shooting. Been doing mostly pistol for the last couple of years.