Your thoughts on brass trimming.

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srawl

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I don't know about you all but brass prep is my least favorite part of reloading. Trimming being the worst of it.

Right now I use that cheap Lee set up where you attach every piece into the drill and it is a pain to say the least, especially when making 300 blk out of 223 cases.

I want to upgrade my setup and am debating between two options:

1: get the trim it 2. All in one, easy, expensive

2: get a cheap Lee single stage press and the the Lee power quick trim.

I keep my reloading and brass prep in separate locations so it would be handy to have a press in the garage but cost comes out to about the same as the probably better product, the trim it 2.

What do you all think? Feel free to throw in other ideas but keep in mind I'm not precision loading for 1000 yards. I'm looking for a bulk brass processing set up.

Thanks
 
I have the Lee dies and trimmer. The setup is ok, cheap and fairly quick. but I don't feel that it's as accurate as I'd like for getting precise cut lengths.

For now I'm ok with the results but like you I'd like a reasonably priced solution that's quick and more precise. Everything I've found so far is more than I'd like to spend or doesn't get great reviews so I'm looking forward to seeing what solutions others suggest.
 
RC turned me onto chucking the lee trimmer pilot and cutter into a drill press chuck. Hold case with hand and bring chuck down until pilot stem hits drill press table. Quick and easy!
Small with inside/outside reaming.
Good luck.
 
I am a low volume rifle reloader, and I use the Lee Quick Trim, with effort I can maintain +/- .001 case length. I would not recommend it for someone who loads in any volume over a box or 2. I am not familiar with other trimmers but there has got to be a better way.
 
I would get a forrester trimmer with the attachment to use a cordless drill and a 3 way cutter in the caliber you shoot the most. Its a lot more versatile tool. I wouldn't buy the trim it tool because of having to buy the bushing for each case type. The forrester comes with will fit every cartrige with the included collets and pilots so you never have to buy extra parts down the line when you need to do a different cartridge
 
I have the Trim-it 2 and use if for high volume 223 mounted on a drill press. If I were to buy again I would go the Grande trimmer. Thinks it a better trimmer and run truer at high speeds. What gets sore is your hand feeding the brass. I normally break it up in batches of 200-300.
 
srawl said:
1: get the trim it 2. All in one, easy, expensive
Click to expand...
I vote for easy. Trimming high quantities is a pain with hand trimmers. I use a WFT for .223 now and love it. There are other similar options. I deburr and chamfer after trimming, but the similar Garrad Tri Way trimmer does it when it trims. It wasn't out yet when I got my WFT. The Trim It is another option.
 
Your thoughts on brass trimming.
Click to expand...

Well I know I cab bring up the SAAMI cartridge case and chamber dimensions for most cases I load like .308 Winchester or .223 Remington . The load manuals will give a suggested Trim To length, the drawings will show the limits. My only concern is they are all made the same and they are all within tolerance. I want the best uniformity I can get when trimming.

Ron
 
Orcon said:
Little Crow Gunworks makes the "Worlds Finest Trimmer" (WFT). I own 2 and highly recommend them. If you're doing multiple cartridges get the WFT2 which will allow you to swap shoulder bushings.

https://littlecrowgunworks.com/product/worlds-finest-trimmer-wft/?v=7516fd43adaa
Click to expand...

+2 on this trimmer. It is extremely quick and accurate within +/- .001. T cant get that consistnacy from my Hornady case trimmer that takes 3x as long. Seems expensive but if you are trimming a lot of riffle cartridges, it is defiantly the way to go.
 
I don't know about you all but brass prep is my least favorite part of reloading. Trimming being the worst of it.

Right now I use that cheap Lee set up where you attach every piece into the drill and it is a pain to say the least, especially when making 300 blk out of 223 cases.
Click to expand...

If I am doing thousands, it gets old very fast too. For 300 blk I built this that rough cuts them to length.



Then I have a GSI die and toolhead with a Dillon trimmer motor that forms them and trims them to final length.

IMG_20141231_101016_603-1_zps04d5d37a.jpg


1000 an hour is easy and your fingers never have to touch a single case.
 
If you have a few calibers to trim then the trim-it! Becomes less expensive than the WFT trimmers. It's also a better trimmer with micrometer adjustment and larger window openings to let the chips out. I have mine mounted in a cheap sears corded drill that's held down to the bench.

Yes the feeder hands are what gets sore and I use gloves to mitigate the blisters. There couldn't be anything faster that's not a Jmorris creation.
 
I trim my rifle brass if it does not pass a home made length gauge. I do it like CAT Pop in a drill press with the Lee stud and cutter. I use a set of thin gloves with the plastic gripper dots and have never had a problem or a blister. I do have a large quantity of brass for most rifles and I will size/trim a batch or two every evening in the winter months so it goes rather smoothly and do not need to do many thousands at a time that way either though.
 
I really like my WFT for .223, huge time saver and trimming (while still not fun per say) is no longer a chore.

However jmorris looks like he has that solution beat hands down.:)
 
For "low density" calibers I use a Forster trimmer and deburr/chamfer in separate steps. For high volume 7.62 and .223/5.56 I use a Trimm-it 2 chucked up in a drill press. I've done 3-400 this way in an hour or so at a leisurely pace. Big plus is the drill press is a lot quieter than a drill. I just wear a glove on my right hand.

Chuck
 
Catpop said:
RC turned me onto chucking the lee trimmer pilot and cutter into a drill press chuck. Hold case with hand and bring chuck down until pilot stem hits drill press table. Quick and easy!
Click to expand...

I did this for a long time, it works great, but you need good grippy gloves to hold on to the cases.

At least I did. Also, the faster you run your drill press the better it works.
 
I've had a Trim-It for a few years. Quick and easy for lots of .303, .308, and .30-06.
 
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