BenchSource vs Giraud Annealers

[DennisH]

FIRST, I know the two have been debate many times here. I did my searchs, but I still am not satisfied with which one I want.

Pro's and Con's . . . .

If you have a BenchSource, why did you pick it over the Giruad?

If you have a Giruad, why did you pick it out over the BenchRest?

Both are great machines, but before spending this kind of money, I want to make sure I am getting the most efficient one.

Dennis

 

[fl3gun]

I have the Giraud. I shoot highpower and usually run my brass in lots of 1500 or more so i can prep all my brass in the winter and shoot all year. I can load 300 cases in the hopper and let it run while I size brass at the press. I can't even begin to think of what it would be like to have to stand over that machine dropping one case at a time

A little side note for the G owners out there.... Get a hose adapter and run your machine from a BBQ cylinder, you wont regret it !

 

[GSPV]

I have a Ken Light with PPC and BR turrets. I'm very happy with it. I picked it because at the time it was the only game in town short of doing it by hand.

 

[coford]

I have a BenchSource and could not be happier. It is easy to set up, easy to change brass size on, and is simple to run. I personally like to feed the machine and watch it work. I can thoroughly inspect each case while putting it in the machine. Also by watching the cases I have found several pinholes in the shoulder area that I wouldn't have found if I had loaded a hopper and walked away. Most of my match brass only takes 4.5 seconds to anneal so it goes really fast. In fact within 2 days of receiving my annealer I was calling friends asking if they wanted something annealed because I was done with all of mine! I have a friend that has the Giraud and he is happy with it also - except the says he doesn't like loading the hopper and he is afraid of walking away from the machine so he stands and watches is run. I don't think you can go wrong with either one - just pick the one that best suits you.

 

[skidmarks]

Re: BenchSource vs Giraud Annealersa

Giraud and in my opinion it all boils down to what you want. If you want to process high volumes of brass and do it more efficiently the answer is easy. If that is not a driver then you will find many very happy Benchsource owners. What do you personally want? I wanted high volumes of brass processed consistently so I went Giraud.

 

[geordiesniper]

Benchsource as I only anneal a batch of cases (50) at any one time so very low volume. If I was doing high volume then it would have been a Giraud.

 

[DennisH]

What about annealing the smaller brass, like 6BR, 6Dasher, etc.,

Someone mentioned the Giraud didn't like to feed the smaller cases and sometimes jammed.

Anybody experience this?

 

[searcher]

I jammed my Giraud maching about six times using the small ppc cases. Four out of the six times it stripped a gear in the motor transmission. I obtained fast service from Giraud in getting two replacement motor assemblies (the transmission is not supposed to be serviceable). On the subsequent two jambs, I replaced a gear from the old transmissions as they have a number of gears and only one ususally strips out. Takes about 15 to 20 minumes to do the repair. To prevent jambs (obviously took me a while to figure it out) it is imperative to have the cradles that carry the brass are aligned so that the rear of the casehead if riding flat against the front of the machine and all screws are reasonably tight. In all, now that I have figured this out =- this is a great machine capable of relatively high output. By the way - never had any problems with longer cases- such as .308.

 

[bpd459]

Greetings,
I have had my Giraud for over a year and love the machine. Have done just over 30,000 cases, from .223, 6BR, all the .308 based cases and up to 338 Edge. I too am a high volume, Highpower shooter. The ability to fill the hopper and let it work is outstanding. I am still in arms reach though. I had one jam, breaking the gear. Doug was extremely fast getting me fixed up and I bought a couple spare motors, just in case.
When doing my 6BR bases cases, I single feed the machine, as they will fall vertically onto the trolley sometimes.
Replacing the torch head with the Bernzomatic took care of any inconsistant flame issues.
Good luck,
John

 

[DennisH]

When doing my 6BR bases cases, I single feed the machine, as they will fall vertically onto the trolley sometimes.

The 6br cases is what I was mainly going to use the Giraud for.

I don't know about single feeding the annealer :-\

 

[Frankr]

I have a benchsource. I have only used it once, easy to set up and run. I did all my 6BR and 6ppc cases. i dont have enough dasher cases fired yet to do them but i am sure it will do what i want. I only process like 200 cases at the most..I had a lot of 48 ppc cases that were great and getting a little too hard so i did them, i only shot a few of them due to winter time but it does seem like they have been rejuvenated.

 

[XTR]

I anneal 223, 308 and 45-70. I got the Bench source because there is nothing to change to change brass (other than torch distance). As for the "standing over it" thing, the feed rate is about 1 case /3 to 4 seconds, so 300 cases takes about 15 to 20 min. I really considered the Giraud, the decision for me based on not having to make changes to the machine to run any of the brass I shoot

 

[6Dasher]

There's someone working on an induction annealer, so no flame. Would be a good option for the Giraud.

I went for the Benchsource as Giraud claims they need an export permit for their machine for some reason.

 

[fl3gun]

When doing my 6BR bases cases, I single feed the machine, as they will fall vertically onto the trolley sometimes.

The 6br cases is what I was mainly going to use the Giraud for.

I don't know about single feeding the annealer :-\

Dennis, I have run several thousand BR cases through my Giraud flawlessly, I have one of the first ones built. Doug sent me a new set of plates made for the stubby BR, It took a bit of tweaking but it runs smooth as silk for me. I set up the feed wheels with no washer under the inside wheel getting it as close the face of the machine as possible. the cases drop flat onto the plate.

 

[Luke_NL]

There's someone working on an induction annealer, so no flame. Would be a good option for the Giraud.

Oooh, that would be cool. (No pun intended) Any more info on that?

I went for the Benchsource as Giraud claims they need an export permit for their machine for some reason.

Shipping all the way to NL? Pretty pennies indeed I s'pose..

 

[rjnallie]

What did you not like about the one you just sold?
I made mine like that one and I like it.
http://forum.accurateshooter.com/index.php?topic=3803535.msg36162880#msg36162880

 

[lightman]

Dennis, I have a Giraud and I went thru the same thought process as you are doing. They are both great machines, and either one will do a good job. I chose the Giraud because of the hopper, and the fact that I have a Giraud trimmer that I'm happy with. I have also met Doug and talked with him. He is a super nice guy. The Benchsorce people probably are, too!
My Giraud was easy to set up and adjust. I do not leave it running unattended, but I like that I can do other things, like using my trimmer.I never get very far from it, though. I converted the torch to a hose and bulk tank, just because I always have one, which is not so with the 1# bottles. I would do that with the Benchsorce if I had one. I bought mine in person, but it comes very well packaged. It has very good, detailed instructions. I would buy it again, if faced with buying another. Lightman

 

[DennisH]

Both are great machines, many good points on both as well.

I guess the biggest thing I see is on the BenchSource, you don't have to change anything if you annealing 308's and then go to 223's. This is the biggest advantage I see.

But Giraud has good points the BenchSource doesn't.

Still a hard decesion.

Dennis

 

[Nodak7mm]

Both are great machines, many good points on both as well.

I guess the biggest thing I see is on the BenchSource, you don't have to change anything if you annealing 308's and then go to 223's.

Dennis

You hit it... Boils down to what you want.. Size of unit was another consideration for me...

Ford vs Chev, Vanilla vs Chocolate, etc......

 

[DennisH]

So Nodak7mm, you prefer the BenchSource?