Champhering and trimming help

[SamTuckerMTNMAN]

Hey there,

lots of great info up lately, thanks for all those who put time into helping those of us full of questions.

My most recent question is on trimming cases and champhering.

1.) How long does one need to champher. One turn on inside and outside? Two? Until it looks or feels a certain way. I have been just doing a turn each and it seems smooth so I leave it.

2.) How often does one need to trim? I suppose it makes sense to do so when the case reaches max case length as listed in my manual, right? Then I take it back to the 'trim length'...but what's so bad about going over a little bit? Under? Hand cranking through 100 .308 cases is a pain in the hand, arm, shoulder, what have you. I'd love to get one of the drill adapters or something....

any info on these is much appreciated, thanks.

Sam

 

[Kimber1911_06238]

a turn on the inside and outside to smooth things out and remove burrs is all you need.

trimming depends on caliber, some brass grows more than others. straight walled brass doesn't need to be trimmed very often

 

[cougar1717]

Hi Sam,

Try this: Trim a case, but feel the outside before you chamfer. There is a sharp edge on the mouth of the case. Chamfer just enough to take the sharp edge off the mouth inside and out.

As for how often to trim: it's just like you said - whenever the case is longer than the max. Having a caliper on the bench is quite a handy item. Every manual I've read will tell you not to reload overlength cases because the mouth of the case can get jammed into the bullet when the cartridge is chambered. This can dramatically increase the pressure and is a very dangerous situation - so I wouldn't "put the Lord to the test" on that one.

 

[dakotasin]

chamfer questions been answered...

trim question... as cougar points out, letting the cases get too long can be disastrous - don't do it. as for too short, i don't know, for sure. i occasionally screw up when trimming and get them too short. cases shoot fine. while i doubt it is good for accuracy, a little too short probably isn't that big of a deal. a lot too short, and i'd scrap 'em. you'll have to define for yourself what 'little' and 'lot' mean.

 

[RustyFN]

I use the lee trimmer and do it all with a cordless drill. After I trim to debur I put the tool on the case and pull the trigger and let go, then I do the same to chamfer. It takes about five seconds to do all three steps.
Rusty

 

[FieroCDSP]

A word of caution with the Lee chamfer tool and drills:Use a very slow speed, only one turn, and only enough pressure to take the burr off. I've used too high a speed, many turns, and while my bullets were seating better, my case life was virtually gone. Not to mention the cases ended up sharp and carved up my thumbs.

 

[snuffy]

Try this: Trim a case, but feel the outside before you chamfer. There is a sharp edge on the mouth of the case. Chamfer just enough to take the sharp edge off the mouth inside and out.

I disagree. On the outside all that's needed is to remove the burr. But on the inside, the chamfer should be more than just removing the burr. Especially when seating bullets that have a very square bottom. A substantial chamfer eases a bullet into the neck of a rifle cartridge with no damage to the heel. In fact, I use a VLD chamfer tool that has a longer taper,(22 degrees), to make a more gradual chamfer. Most others have a 45 degree angle.
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=342199&t=11082005

You should be able to see the inside chamfer without magnification.

Handgun brass or some straight walled rifle brass is belled so a light chamfer to only remove the burrs is good.

Not to mention the cases ended up sharp and carved up my thumbs.

Yeah, no need the "sharpen" them, we're not making cookie cutters!

 

[redneck2]

Hand cranking through 100 .308 cases is a pain in the hand, arm, shoulder, what have you. I'd love to get one of the drill adapters or something....

I've got the answer for this. I have an RCBS hand crank trimmer. Original handle was held on by a screw (this is metric). Remove the screw and handle and replace it with a hex head cap screw. Now you can use an adapter to power a regular socket wrench in your drill.

I shortened 100 .30-30 cases for my .357 Herrett 2/10th's doing this. Fast and super easy. Costs about 20 cents.