lee trimmers?

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gotta use the lee parts, the shell holders are specific to that drill fixture....i believe you can get a ball handle for the cutter, or just drill out and make your own, which is what i did. I really like those little tools ive got pilots for every round i load...that they make them for.

or i could read a little better.....

youll need to use the lee pilots other than that if your prep center uses 8-32 thread it should be plug and play
 
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gotta use the lee parts, the shell holders are specific to that drill fixture....i believe you can get a ball handle for the cutter, or just drill out and make your own, which is what i did. I really like those little tools ive got pilots for every round i load...that they make them for.

or i could read a little better.....

youll need to use the lee pilots other than that if your prep center uses 8-32 thread it should be plug and play
the prep center does use the 8-32 threads. the issue I was concerned about is the lee pilot screws into the cutter which I would have to buy their pilot but I want to use my lyman shell holder and the holder for the case from lyman cause its got more meat on it to hold it where the shell holds onto.

I was concerned that using the lyman handle holding the shell and the lee pilot which is the same setup as lyman ez trim would cause issues with the case not being trimmed correctly if lee was a different size.
the lyman pilot bottoms out on the black portion that holds the case.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...64d1e9beaf3398a8c5d4d3978639990ao0&ajaxhist=0
 
hrrmmm....looks pretty close actually.

If the tip of the pilot dosent go past the rim of the case you can probably use your holder.....looking at other pictures it LOOKs to me like it will work fine.
 
The Lee trimmer pilot only needs to fit flush to the holder at the case head/primer pocket. The tip just bottoms out and that's the trim length.

I think you will be okay
 
thanks guys I'm ordering it now. using the drill sucks cause its bulky I figure this would speed things up a bit.
 
You would install that Lee cutter into a powered case prep center, then hold the lock ring and stud in your hand. You would need the Lee dead length case length gauge inserted into the center of that cutting head, then you dead length through the flash hole onto the lock stud. I personally would epoxy a big handle or wooden knob onto the lock stud if I were going to use that set up, to give me extra purchase, at which point I could ALMOST see the utility in that Lee tool for a moderate to high volume reloader.

Personally, I absolutely hate the Lee case prep tools, from the dead length case gauges and to the chamfer and deburr tools, the case trimmers to the primer pocket cleaners... Way too small to hold for more than a handful of rounds, and often don't work well enough for any repeatability from case to case.

If you're using a drill, that link is the wrong set up for you. You don't need the 8-32 threaded cutter, you just need the standard lock stud and the ball handle cutter. Then you put the lock stud in your drill, as designed, and hold the cutting head. Again, you'll need the case holder and the dead length gauge specific for your cartridges.
 
You would install that Lee cutter into a powered case prep center, then hold the lock ring and stud in your hand. You would need the Lee dead length case length gauge inserted into the center of that cutting head, then you dead length through the flash hole onto the lock stud. I personally would epoxy a big handle or wooden knob onto the lock stud if I were going to use that set up, to give me extra purchase, at which point I could ALMOST see the utility in that Lee tool for a moderate to high volume reloader.

Personally, I absolutely hate the Lee case prep tools, from the dead length case gauges and to the chamfer and deburr tools, the case trimmers to the primer pocket cleaners... Way too small to hold for more than a handful of rounds, and often don't work well enough for any repeatability from case to case.

If you're using a drill, that link is the wrong set up for you. You don't need the 8-32 threaded cutter, you just need the standard lock stud and the ball handle cutter. Then you put the lock stud in your drill, as designed, and hold the cutting head. Again, you'll need the case holder and the dead length gauge specific for your cartridges.
I've got a lyman prep center and this cutter threads into it. I figured use the Lyman holder for the case as its larger to hold comfortably but attaching a handle to the lee wouldn't be hard.
 
I've got a lyman prep center and this cutter threads into it. I figured use the Lyman holder for the case as its larger to hold comfortably but attaching a handle to the lee wouldn't be hard.

Should work just fine. Just be sure you set your depth on the threaded Lee dead length trimmer gauges properly. If you thread them all the way in, in my experience, you'll trim too short. They're split shafted, so they're kinda spring retained, but if you're not careful, your adjustment can walk a bit, and setting the exact same length from one batch to the next isn't always easy. I tend to buy new cutting heads for each of my gauges - that is, when I was using the Lee tools. I don't any more, having converted to a powered RCBS and manual Forster lathe type trimmer.
 
Should work just fine. Just be sure you set your depth on the threaded Lee dead length trimmer gauges properly. If you thread them all the way in, in my experience, you'll trim too short. They're split shafted, so they're kinda spring retained, but if you're not careful, your adjustment can walk a bit, and setting the exact same length from one batch to the next isn't always easy. I tend to buy new cutting heads for each of my gauges - that is, when I was using the Lee tools. I don't any more, having converted to a powered RCBS and manual Forster lathe type trimmer.
ill see if I can epoxy it to stay the same length. thanks for the info. I was going to purchase an actual bench mounted trimmer but figured this route should work just as good.
 
I used a drill and a ball handle cutter for years, and thousands of cases. It works, and it's WAY better than manual hand trimming, but it doesn't really work as "good" as a bench trimmer.

Once you get a bench mounted lathe type, especially a powered one, and especially the RCBS spring loaded shell holder, life is grand. I've been considering upgrading to a giraud to speed things up even faster.
 
I should have saved my money. I was doing some running around and figured call the local shop and see if they had the cutter and pilot and he did for $15. just got home and the pilot wasn't threading into the cutter strait and when I finally got it to thread strait it stopped half way from flush and now is stuck. the cutter also looks like it wont hold up past a few hundred trims.
 
I should have saved my money. I was doing some running around and figured call the local shop and see if they had the cutter and pilot and he did for $15. just got home and the pilot wasn't threading into the cutter strait and when I finally got it to thread strait it stopped half way from flush and now is stuck. the cutter also looks like it wont hold up past a few hundred trims.
So the Lee pilot won't fit the Lee cutter adapter? Or the Lee shell holder won't fit the shell holder that you had? Post up a picture
 
I do not believe there are many Lee case trimmers I do not have, I do not use the but I have them JIC. If I was to screw one of the trimmers into my RCBS case prep center I would loose the 'trim to length feature' of the Lee case trimmer with all of the attachments. I have no interest in finding out but if you were able to invert the case with all of the attachments there seems to be a remote possibility you could trim your cases to length.

And then that brings up the subject of wobble. I believe it would be difficult to hit the flash hole while the case was wobbling.

F. Guffey
 
Reread the first paragraph on the link you posted. Last sentence; "The threaded shaft allows the setup to be used with in any case prep station which will accept 8-32 threads".
 
So the Lee pilot won't fit the Lee cutter adapter? Or the Lee shell holder won't fit the shell holder that you had? Post up a picture
the lee pilot would not thread into the lee cutter head. its like the threads were cross threaded. I tried about 10 times and couldn't get it to thread on without catching. I finally got it lined up and it would not budge past maybe 2 hand turns which would not even cut the cases so a little elbow grease and vise grips its in and strait with no wobble. it works perfect. I trimmed about 10 cases on it and all hit 1.750. And I used the lyman shell holder and the part I wanted to and it worked great. I asked before hand because I didn't want to order it online and have it not work and then be out money because shipping back would be more than the part. LoL.
 
Reread the first paragraph on the link you posted. Last sentence; "The threaded shaft allows the setup to be used with in any case prep station which will accept 8-32 threads".
I got that part its in a case prep station. the lee pilot that helps with the trim length was the part that wouldn't thread into the cutter.
 
I got the LEE trim adapter in today and tried it out on some .44mag and 30-06 just for giggles.

I trimmed 100 .44mag in 30 min and 50 30-06 in about 30 min on the Frankford Arsenal case prep center. This tool works awesome! I will probably still trim my rifle brass on the RCBS trim pro but I now have a second and faster option that does a good job.
 
I got the LEE trim adapter in today and tried it out on some .44mag and 30-06 just for giggles.

I trimmed 100 .44mag in 30 min and 50 30-06 in about 30 min on the Frankford Arsenal case prep center. This tool works awesome! I will probably still trim my rifle brass on the RCBS trim pro but I now have a second and faster option that does a good job.
I got it so I didn't have to buy a trim pro LOL.
 
Ive threaded some of them on with pliers they can be pretty dang tight.

This.

The Lee dead length gauges are an oversized, split threaded shaft, they're meant to keep consistent length by being tighter than heck in the cutter. That's one of the reasons it's difficult to reset the lengths exactly the same - better to simply purchase a new cutter head for each cartridge and leave the case length gauge installed.
 
The threads in the cutter are very tight. Notice the threaded portion of the stem is slotted and hardened. This acts like a spring holding the threads tight against the threads of the cutter. They need to be tight to "lock" the gauge in place so all cases come out the same length. Just make sure the stem is started straight and screwed all the way into the cutter.
 
thanks guys. that would explain why it was so hard to move. it did want to go crooked 2-3 times so I figured it was just bad threads. its a neat little trimmer and seems to do them square and very precise.
 
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