Opinions on the Best Case Trimmer

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I trim large lots of rifle brass as I shoot a lot at prairie dogs all summer. I think I bought the first Lyman power trimmer.....works great until last week. I called Lyman to order a part and they said send it to them and they will fix it. It will ship out Monday. I really can't complain as I have had it for 20-30 years, it has performed great until just now....
 
Time is money. Einstein proved that, I think.

I used a hand-cranked Forster trimmer for years on .223, .308, .375 H&H mostly. Added an arbor for an electric drill and it worked better.

Finally sprang for a Giraud tool trimmer. I use it to trim several thousand cases a year (.223, .308, .300 win mag) and can't image ever going back to any of the manual methods.

It's the best.
 
Dang it! You guys are going to make me spend $400!:cuss:

I really don't mind in a way. Reloading stuff is a lot like guns, you get what you pay for. Also like guns this equipment seems to hold its resale too. I plan on passing it down to my son as well. So I would like for it to last that long and the places that make it still be in business when he has it.
 
Bruno2 said:
Dang it! You guys are going to make me spend $400!:cuss:

I really don't mind in a way. Reloading stuff is a lot like guns, you get what you pay for. Also like guns this equipment seems to hold its resale too. I plan on passing it down to my son as well. So I would like for it to last that long and the places that make it still be in business when he has it.
Click to expand...
If you reload more than one caliber, or process more than 100 cases at a time, you will never regret buying the Giraud. Just limiting the wear and tear on your wrist and hands makes it worth the investment, I think.
 
I cant believe there has only been one other person mention the Dillon 1200B. With it set up on my 550, I can size and trim at the same time. A Giraud cant do that. :) And it costs nearly half as much.
 
Probably because a lot of people don't load rifle on a 550 or a progressive press. Dillon makes some nice stuff. I love my Square Deal B that I use exclusively for 45acp.

Anyhow with the Giraud I can trim, chamfer, and deburr faster than I can measure a case to see if it even needs to be to be trimmed. So I trim every case every time. Great when loading with a Rock Chucker.
 
Maybe I missed it but did the OP ever say how many different calibers and how much brass he needs to trim?

I think that is a real factor in what trimmer to buy.

I have the RCBS Trim Pro which works well but is tiresome, even chucking a drill to it. It will cover many calibers. I thought I could get by with hand cranking but that gets old real quick!, The 3 way cutter head is great but expensive.

The Worlds Finest works very fast and well but is caliber specific. There is a recent thread on this.
 
If you have the money and you are young (or at least have strong healthy wrists and hands) the Giraud is probably the best investment.

If your hands and wrists are worn out like mine after working building construction for a lifetime, then the Giraud isn't even a temptation....you have to hold on to the damned brass while cutter tries to spin it. I have all I can handle of that, uniforming primer pockets in a Trim Mate.

If you are the slightest bit handy, you can do what I did for about $200 + 3-way cutters, and have a tool that doesn't require any more effort than placing brass on a collet. I spent a $100 on a corded variable speed drywall screw gun (pawn shop versions are usually $20); spent some minor change on a few pieces of PVC; added some hardwood scrap I had around to the mix; then, using my trusty 40 year-old Forster and their new 3-way cutters (have .224, .243, and .308 cutters), I built the following in a weekend and perfected it with a few weeks of trial & error tweaking.

Click the Picture to see the video.

th_ForsterImproved-1.gif "] th_ForsterImproved-1.gif [/URL]
 
GW Staar, That is really nifty. That would be a good project for someone like me who has nothing but plenty of spare time on my hands.
 
I'm using the new trimmer by Lee and works well for me. The cutter comes in two version this one https://fsreloading.com/lee-precisio...rim-90437.html and a $4 cheaper version that doesn't chamfer. You simply use the die for your caliber and their is about 10 clicks from SAAMI spec down by .001" per click. I'm using it on 45 Colt, 454 Casull and hopefully soon (when they get the die in stock) 45-70 Gov.
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Click to expand...

I tried the new Lee press-mounted Quick Trim. Can't get it to trim to SAAMI spec. It also seems really slow and requires about 20 turns to do any trimming at all. Maybe I got a bad one. I recently bought the Dillon 1200B, but there's a 2-3 months' wait on the die. Have the die ordered from three sources. Will cancel two when one arrives.
 
Bruno2 said:
I cant view it for some reason GW.
Click to expand...


Sorry to hear that Bruno2. It's uploaded to Photo Bucket. The Url is: http://s935.photobucket.com/user/gstrad/media/ForsterImproved-1.mp4.html

I've been asked for more details from several folks so I ended up making a PDF picture walk-through. Will send it to anyone who sends an email request to me by private message. It's also on Photo Bucket, but since they changed their software it's really hard to make sense of. They have a habit of scrambling your pictures and that makes how-to's nare impossible now.....their new "story" feature is a joke. They may look pretty, but they size the pictures so small that it is worthless.

grandpawj and Rule3 thanks for the kind words. If it gives somebody an idea or two they can use, I'm happy.
 
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For years I have been using a Lee Zip Trim. Then I used a friends Forster trimmer while helping him trim some brass, I was hooked. While I would like to buy that $400 trimmer plus the extras I just can't so the Forster $100 trimmer will do just fine for me.
 
Looking to buy a trimmer and I am looking at the WFT web page. Looks great however I need a trimmer that will do the following three... .223 .30-06 and .45-70.
Looks like WFT wont do the .45-70, my favorite...

Since I would probably only trim and shoot 200 .30-06 and .45-70 combined and probably only a couple hundred .223 all per year, I am leaning to a RCBS trimmer which comes will all pilots except the .45-70 which is $12 on Amazon anyway.

Please confirm this thought on low volume rifle reloading RCBS manual trimmer is good to go. Still think the WFT looks cool, if it did .45-70/ Is that the problem? It only does necked cases?
 
I agree with Rule3

I used the lee Chucked in my drill before I got the WFT in .223

worked well, not real fast, loading and unloading Brass in Holder slows ya down, but I was shooting 100 .223 a week:what:

For yer quantities this system will work great, I still use it to trim any .357 cases that need it..;)

be sure and get the Ball handle for each Caliber http://www.midwayusa.com/product/136199/lee-case-trimmer-cutter-with-ball-grip?cm_vc=sugv1107333
Makes it even easier
I also got the Universal 3 jaw Chuck, easier to get cases in and out, only need 1 for all calibers
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/35...sal-3-jaw-chuck-case-holder?cm_vc=sugv1515804
 
For years I trimmed rifle brass on a RCBS or Forster hand trimmer. I still do for things I do not shoot in quantity.
 
If i recall the Lee tool/gauge trims to the max length of the case not the trim to length. If you want it shorter you need to grind the pin down but I am not exactly sure?????
 
All of the Lee case gauges for their trimmers that I have purchased, probably six or seven in total, trimmed near the minimum.

But, they were usually two to three thousandths longer than minimum.
 
Hello, New to reloading. Been lurking in here reading everything I could about the hobby.I'm still gathering equipment .While we are on the subject of case trimmers has anybody have or tried the new Stainless Steel Wilson trimmer with the micrometer ? I had my eye on that one. Any feedback on this trimmer would be greatly appreciated.
 
Don't know if this qualifies as a Wilson, but I have the Sinclair/Wilson stainless trimmer. It has the Sinclair micrometer, sharks fin holder and the stand. I made my own platform for it. The trimmer is awesome. It cuts square and it is very easy to adjust. Just set the micrometer to the desired case length and have at it. It is pricey, and the case holders can add up to a good chunk of money if you have a lot of calibers to trim. I am very pleased with it and have no regrets about purchasing it.
 
I'm using the dillon trimmer, and love it!

On the progressive press with a case feeder I can knock out brass prep in no time with excellent results.
 
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