trimming primed cases

[Cry Havoc!]

Hi. I just joined the forum and have a question. I currently have an old style Redding case trimmer with the notched blade cutter, and just today purchased a Lee case trimmer. The Redding is a P-I-T-A to use because my arm and fingers get tired and sore way before I am am ready to quit. The Lee lets me add a drill into the process and greatly speeds up the process. However I primed a lot of the brass already (before getting the Lee trimmer) and the Lee won't seat properly, of course, because the primer is in the way.

So, now I have a nice, simple, faster way to trim my brass than with the Redding, but now I'm still stuck with using the Redding because of the primer issue.

My main question is this: can a cutter (4 blades) and shaft from a newer Redding fit and work in an older style 1400 with the notched blade cutter? Or am I destined to grow an overly developed right arm from cranking this thing for hours and hours?

Thanks,
Cry Havoc!

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Welcome to the forum CH...

Are you sure the cases you have primed need to be resized? If not then there is no reason to worry about them until next time you reload them. To check use your Caliper and you will quickly know if you have to worry about the case length or not.

If there are a few or even all that need to be resized why not de-prime the cases and use the Lee trimmer? I have removed live primers before without a problem. Just don't hit them hard with the pin. (and wear safety glasses just in case.)

 

[nicholst55]

Are you sure that the brass needs to be trimmed before you fire it? Unless it's grossly past max length, I'd try a few and see if they cause problems. If they don't, there's your answer - shoot them first and trim after you next size them.

 

[Cry Havoc!]

Well, I'm not sure, but they are .308 for a M1A and my understanding is that the M1A is picky about ammo. Am I being too pertinacious about this?

Thanks,
Cry Havoc!

 

[Shoney]

To indemnify your perverse or pertinacious position with perspicacity, you should load a few of the primed, untrimmed cases and try chambering them in your weapon.

 

[Cry Havoc!]

Thanks, I needed that!

Oh, and I'll give them a try in the rifle.

Cry Havoc!

 

[rcmodel]

my understanding is that the M1A is picky about ammo.

It's a civilian version of the M-14 army rifle.

How picky could it be?

It will shoot anything you can get the bolt closed on.

Shoot the darn things and trim them next time.

rcmodel

 

[Sport45]

Welcome to The High Road!

If they won't chamber they probably need more than trimming. You can also buy a case gauge to drop them in and see if they have been sized properly.

 

[Cry Havoc!]

I resized them already. I tried chambering a few last night and they all seemed to do OK.

Now to get some bullets in various weights to see how they do in my rifle.

Cry Havoc!

 

[Larry E]

If the cases are below max length they don't need to be trimmed. If you've got a caliper to measure case length just lock it to the max case length and check the cases. If any are too long then they can be trimmed in the Redding. I've found that new brass is usually never too long, but sometimes is more than 0.010" shorter than max.

 

[Cry Havoc!]

These are all once-fired brass. Even found a few Berdans, I think. Broke a few decapping pins until I figured out which cases to avoid. Got about 1500 empties to process.

Cry Havoc!

 

[Cry Havoc!]

A Trimmer! My kingdom for a trimmer!

I bought a Lee case trimmer for the .308 cases I'm working with thinking that it would help me trim cases faster. Well, hooked it up to a drill and the !@#$%$ cases keep spinning out of the "lock" piece when I put pressure on them. How do you guys that use the Lee trimmers keep the brass from spinning out? I can do better with my old model 13 Redding trimmer! Until my arm gives out, anyway.

Thanks,
Cry Havoc!

 

[Matt Dillon]

I use the Lee Case Trimmer shell holder in a cordless drill. Make sure you have the drill set for spinning in the forward direction, and the cases shouldn't loosen up.

 

[Cry Havoc!]

Matt,
Thanks for the quick reply. Yes I am turning it the right way. The only way the blade will cut the case is if it is turning like you are screwing a screw in to a wall or something. It doesn't mess up on every one, either. It's like it starts to wobble and everything falls apart. I've tried low speed, high speed, in between. Am I just not holding my tongue in my right cheek and standing on my left leg properly?

Thanks,
Cry Havoc!

 

[Matt Dillon]

I'll be honest with you, I have trimmed 10s of thousands of caes with the Lee trimming system, and only once in a while had one to twist out of the shell holder. I would perhaps check the threads to ensure that you are finger tightening the shell holder to the holder in the drill sufficiently, and that's about the only thing that I can see that could go wrong. For grins, just try tightening the shell holder all of the way down without a cartridge, to ensure that the threads are not buggered up, then back the shell holder out and place a cartridge in there, tighten down and see if it stays in place. Best wishes, and let us know how it goes!

 

[Cry Havoc!]

I'll try that. Thanks.

Cry Havoc!

 

[SSN Vet]

perspicacity

nice word! sent me to the dictionary with that one....

I use Lee's zip trim (which uses the same shell holder, cutter and cutting gauge as the normal system) and though it works well, I to have an occasional case slip.

I suspect in my situation it may be residual sizing die wax on the case.

I do small batches at a time though. If I was to attempt a large batch I'd want to get the Dillion trimmer set up.

and OBTW, cough up the extra buck or to for the lee cutter with the wooden ball on it. It's worth it.

 

[Otto]

I'll be honest with you, I have trimmed 10s of thousands of caes with the Lee trimming system...

Incredible, I could only do 40 or so before my fingers gave out and that's with using a drill.
I recommend a Wilson trimmer.

 

[Matt Dillon]

With the carbide trimmer in the wooden ball, it is not uncomfortable at all. Well worth the extra $2-3.00.

 

[rino451]

giraud trimmer

 

[Cry Havoc!]

I think I figured out what I was doing wrong. I had not cleaned the lube off the cases before I was trying to trim them. I put some cases through the cleaner again and now I am getting a lot more of them that don't spin out on me. There are still a few, but I keep a pair of pliers handy for those.