Trust your opinion on case trimmers

Talk about your 450b reloading experience, ask questions, etc...

Moderator: MudBug

Forum rules
Please try and keep it safe!

This information is the responsibility of the community, not the forum. 450bushmaster.net is not responsible if you blow yourselves up.

Trust your opinion on case trimmers

Postby jgilesg » Tue Nov 21, 2017 10:57 pm

I know we don’t trim 450 cases but your group knowledge is what I’m looking for.
I am loading 308 and 7.62x39 and need to trim my brass. I have a Lee quick trim and it’s a PITA. What do you guys use to prep brass? Is an all in one the way to go, or do I do them with the Lee trimmer and the additional prep work by hand?
You opinion is requested and valued.
JG
jgilesg
 
Posts: 43
Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2017 10:13 am

Re: Trust your opinion on case trimmers

Postby plant_one » Tue Nov 21, 2017 11:43 pm

i use the lee quick trim with the power trim adapter chucked up in a small hand drill. you'll want one that runs 1200-1300 rpm or so. much faster and the adjustment collar will move by itself on you.

works like a dream. i trim 400-600 cases/hr with it, caliber depending - ie: 308 has thicker neck, needs about 6 seconds of spin time to trim to length right, whereas 223 only needs about 4 seconds.


great tool, but cant imagine trying to run it with the hand crank.
User avatar
plant_one
 
Posts: 1109
Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2016 8:58 pm
Location: Oakland County, MI

Re: Trust your opinion on case trimmers

Postby Al in Mi » Wed Nov 22, 2017 5:38 am

I have a couple of old Forster that have done well over the years.
User avatar
Al in Mi
 
Posts: 1982
Joined: Sat Jun 20, 2009 8:24 am

Re: Trust your opinion on case trimmers

Postby Hoot » Wed Nov 22, 2017 5:57 am

I use an RCBS Trim Pro for the calibers (not 450b) that I trim. Previous remark was based upon Hornady 450b brass. Starline 450b brass has less brass in them. They may change my perspective, once I get around to loading some up and shooting them. I had the RCBS trim pro since before I began working with the 450b, so its paid for. If I were going to get a new manual trimmer, I'd look at all the products out there from Forster, Lyman, Redding, Wilson, Hornady, etc. They're all good devices and a once in a lifetime investment, so spend the dough wisely. Midway has several brands on sale as I type this.

Hoot
In Theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In Practice, there is.
User avatar
Hoot
 
Posts: 5083
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2010 9:34 am
Location: Minnesota

Re: Trust your opinion on case trimmers

Postby jgilesg » Wed Nov 22, 2017 10:39 am

As always, thanks for the good advice.
I think since i have the the Lee quick trim already I’ll give the power adapter and give it a try, its a minimal investment to try for now. I’m not real excited about the possibility that it may move a bit on its own but ill give it a shot.
Do you use power for the chamfer and de burr as well?
I thought you guys might recommend one of the all in one machines. I have stayed away from them with the thought that if something does “everything” they usually do everything half a$$ed
JG
jgilesg
 
Posts: 43
Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2017 10:13 am

Re: Trust your opinion on case trimmers

Postby Colohunter » Wed Nov 22, 2017 10:45 am

I have switched to the Frankford Arsenal Case Prep Center. It takes a couple minutes to set up for the proper length, but once you adjust it you just put the piece of brass in like a pencil sharpener. I also install the inside and outside chamfer tools and a primer pocket cleaner. It is much quicker than the Lee system I was using before.

Here is a video of using it: https://youtu.be/nIWT-0wDbTw

For a little more money the Giraud trimmer will trim and chamfer at the same time. It uses specific collets that you have to buy for each cartridge, but would be much quicker to switch back and forth.
User avatar
Colohunter
 
Posts: 407
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2009 7:58 pm
Location: Colorado

Re: Trust your opinion on case trimmers

Postby plant_one » Wed Nov 22, 2017 12:02 pm

jgilesg wrote:As always, thanks for the good advice.
I think since i have the the Lee quick trim already I’ll give the power adapter and give it a try, its a minimal investment to try for now. I’m not real excited about the possibility that it may move a bit on its own but ill give it a shot.
Do you use power for the chamfer and de burr as well?
I thought you guys might recommend one of the all in one machines. I have stayed away from them with the thought that if something does “everything” they usually do everything half a$$ed
JG



yes i use it as an all-in-one tool with a power drill. as i said, as long as your RPM doesnt really exceed around 1500 or so, the collar will stay at its setting. I was trying to use a 2000+ RPM tool (thinking faster = less trim time) and the Trim OAL would bottom out and cause my cases to be a few thousandths short. not a crisis, but it offended my OCD so i used a different driver to spin it.

you may have to play with the ball bearing assembly inside the cutter to get a good chamfer too


for thicker brass i use the factory ball bearing (like 308) and for thinner stuff like 223/300blk, etc i use a smaller ball bearing to only engage the inner springs


here's a video from another guy who figured it out. its related to 300 blk, however it apply to other cases too, as the cutter is the same for all calibers, and only the die changes per caliber.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7pD3bt4nRQ

skip to about 1:40 or so to get to the part about switching the ball bearing out to adjust the spring pressure as needed on the various cutter/chamfer parts of the tool

HTH
User avatar
plant_one
 
Posts: 1109
Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2016 8:58 pm
Location: Oakland County, MI

Re: Trust your opinion on case trimmers

Postby jgilesg » Wed Nov 22, 2017 1:55 pm

Well after watching the video, i cancelled my Amazon order for the lee electric adapter and ordered the Frankfort Arsenal prep station.
Amazon had it for 161.00 and I’m getting it delivered free “TODAY!!” Talk about instant gratification, now I can trim all my brass this long weekend and hopefully shoot it as well.
It may not be the best one out there but I sure think it’ll do the trick for all my needs.

Thanks fo the insight and advice all
JG
jgilesg
 
Posts: 43
Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2017 10:13 am

Re: Trust your opinion on case trimmers

Postby plant_one » Wed Nov 22, 2017 7:55 pm

we expect an after action report once you get to test it out.

as an added perk to me - the BIG bonus about the lee system ..... it doesnt involve any manual holding of your brass during trimming.

after my accident a couple years back i could barely hold a screwdriver by the end of the day due to the nature of my upper back injuries - no less try to hold onto more than a few peices of brass in a row during stuff like trimming and such. i could do maybe 8 or 10 and i was all but done.

being in the press takes all that away - no hand cramps, locked up hands, etc. the whole processs is done by one tool or another.

i have several case trimming systems and by far the lee quick trim gets the most use for me because of how easy it is for those of us who suffer from things related to repetative motion tasks.



i've recovered quite a bit since then, but i still deal with hand fatigue after repeated use of stuff that requires gripping relatively thin objects and holding them stable.
User avatar
plant_one
 
Posts: 1109
Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2016 8:58 pm
Location: Oakland County, MI

Re: Trust your opinion on case trimmers

Postby jgilesg » Thu Nov 23, 2017 3:16 pm

Ok. My Frankford Arsenal Case Prep Center arrived at 8 pm last night. I had it set up and working by 8:30, thanks for the tip about the threads being a bit odd for what i would expect. By 10:00 pm I had over 200 308 brass trimmed and chamfered to exactly 2.005 in length.
I quit chamfering brass because the hand held one hurt my wrist so bad. This thing is amazing, i love it.
If anyone is thinking about one, I would highly recommend it. It pretty cheap in the scheme of things and works exactly as described.
Thanks all
JG
jgilesg
 
Posts: 43
Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2017 10:13 am

Next

Return to Reloading for the 450b

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 19 guests