WFT2 Trimmer tricks and tips

[Kaldor]

I bought a WFT2 about 3 years ago, and since then its had about 50k piece of brass trimmed on it, all of it being 308, 223 and 300 BO (creation and trimming). For the money, I feel the WFT2 is probably the best trimmer out there, especially when it comes to adding extra calibers.

During that time, Ive run across a few things that make it easier and faster to use. Im sure some folks have figured out some of this stuff.

First, use a decent corded drill that can spin about 2500 rpm. Why so fast? Brass actually cuts better at higher RPM so you will get a smoother cut with less burr, with less heat, your cutter will last longer and it makes the process go faster. Also, you get what you pay for. A $15 drill from Horrible Fraught might look like a good deal, but the chuck will have a ton of run out and it will be louder than it needs to be. Below is what I use. I set the trigger at about 3/4, so figure about 2200-2500 RPM. A cordless drill is fine if you are running a 100, but when you run a 1000 you want to make it as painless as possible.



Speaking of pain, is your thumb getting chewed up, even with a glove on? I wear a brown jersey glove with the rubber nubs on my right hand, but over that I take a short piece of bicycle inner tube (folded back on it itself to double the thickness) and place that over my thumb as that the spot that always gets sore the fastest. I feed cases to my right hand from my left. I can generally trim faster than my son can size with my LnL with a case feeder on it. I know some guys use a spark plug pliers, and I tried that, but it was too clumsy and slow compared to just using my hands.



My method is pretty simple and Im sure most guys do the same thing. Insert case, 1/4 to 1/2 twist to ensure case is trimmed squarely, drop in bucket, next! I take a Sharpie and put a few small marks on the trim chamber. What this does is shows me when I am turning the case clockwise while cutting, I can easily see when the case is done trimming as the marks will become visible. Just a little thing to make things easier so you know when its done. Granted you can do it by feel, but easy and repeatable is good on a job that is crappy to begin with.



The only real weakness of the WFT and the WFT2 is ease of adjustment to get trim length right on without 3-4 tries. I took a 1/2" ID, 1" OD collar with a set screw and clamped it to the cutter leaving a gap between. I can measure this gap to set the cutter head. Example: I do the initial setup and the 223 case trims at 1.755" but my target is 1.750". I can decrease the distance between the collar and the cutter head by .005" and will be right on. So if my gap is .200", I would set the calipers for .195", lock it, and loosen the cutter, sliding the caliper in the gap and gently bump the cutter head until the caliper touches the cutter and the collar, and then lock the cutter head down. Then I take a test cut and 9 times out of 10, Im right where I need to be. The really good thing about this is that as long as you never move the collar, all you have to do is write down that .195" measurement and just set the cutter to that number everytime and you will be set for that case.



Last thing I do is keep my air compressor nozzle on hand and give the cutter a little blast to clear out the chips that will build up inside the cutter body every 100 pieces or so. When creating 300 BO I do it about about 25 or so because you are cutting alot more brass with that first trim.

I hammered thru about 1200 pieces of brass yesterday in about 2 1/2 hours. The only thing faster for me would be a Dillon RT1500 on my LnL and doing it all in a single pass. I havent talked myself into that, yet.

 

[Kaldor]

An edit, as I moved the pics to Imgur awhile back, and this subject seems to be coming up a little more.

For some reason I cant edit the original post.

Pics, in order:

 

[glc24]

Really like the collar idea. I had a heck of time getting to 1.750.

 

[SCC]

I have the original WFT. Two mods that I've made that will make it work much better.

Mod 1: Remove the cutter and using a drill press drill another set of holes in the body to improve brass chip clearing. Chamfer the outside and deburr the inside of these holes. Did that to my .223 trimmer. You can also enlarge all four holes into squares with a file. I did that to my 300BLK trimmer due to the amount of brass being cut on newly formed cases. Neither clog up with chips now.

Mod 2: Using a small needle file, cut a slot in the bushing where it contacts the shoulder of the case. Cut the slot all the way down to the full case diameter, but no further. Polish with 400 and 800 grit sand paper. Using the WFT horizontally, some chips will be in the case neck and often fall out into the bushing causing subsequent cases to be trimmed long. This mod gives those chips somewhere to go..

I chuck my WFTs in a lathe. They run pretty true, but not perfect, when held on the cutter. Chucking on the body makes them run perfectly true.

 

[Walkalong]

Chucking on the body makes them run perfectly true

I'll have to try that.

 

[SCC]

Here's another tool you may want to make if you're fingers are taking a beating.

Take a small length of steel round stock and drill an appropriately sized hole in the end, but not through. Cut off the business end of a cheep pair of pliers and weld or braze to the undrilled end of the round stock. Then cut the round stock in half with an angle grinder to create the jaws. Treat with Super Blue.

 

[Kaldor]

Here's another tool you may want to make if you're fingers are taking a beating.
View attachment 776165
Take a small length of steel round stock and drill an appropriately sized hole in the end, but not through. Cut off the business end of a cheep pair of pliers and weld or braze to the undrilled end of the round stock. Then cut the round stock in half with an angle grinder to create the jaws. Treat with Super Blue.

I like that idea, especially for cutting down 223 into 300 BO cases where its more than just a quick trim.

 

[Kaldor]

I have the original WFT. Two mods that I've made that will make it work much better.

Mod 1: Remove the cutter and using a drill press drill another set of holes in the body to improve brass chip clearing. Chamfer the outside and deburr the inside of these holes. Did that to my .223 trimmer. You can also enlarge all four holes into squares with a file. I did that to my 300BLK trimmer due to the amount of brass being cut on newly formed cases. Neither clog up with chips now.

Mod 2: Using a small needle file, cut a slot in the bushing where it contacts the shoulder of the case. Cut the slot all the way down to the full case diameter, but no further. Polish with 400 and 800 grit sand paper. Using the WFT horizontally, some chips will be in the case neck and often fall out into the bushing causing subsequent cases to be trimmed long. This mod gives those chips somewhere to go..

I chuck my WFTs in a lathe. They run pretty true, but not perfect, when held on the cutter. Chucking on the body makes them run perfectly true.

Mod 1: I have been thinking about this since I got mine. Just drilling an extra 3/4" hole in the body would help a bunch.

Mod 2: Do you have pics? Id like to see exactly what you did. Anything to make this process faster and more repeatable.

Thanks

 

[SCC]

Pics as requested.

Left is the .223 with extra holes. Right is 300BLK with square holes.



This is Mod 2 on the .223. The slot is at 6 o'clock. Not evident in the picture, but it angles slightly down (or toward the outside depending on point of reference). The shininess in the slot is a reflection from back in the trimmer body.