For those that Use Drill Mounted Case Trimmers

[Mr Underbridge]

I have a question for those folks that use tri-way trimmer or the WFT or little crow trimmers.
I mounted my tri way trimmer in my drill but it appears that the head of the drill is actually a bit wobbly and it is making the whole trimmer go in an ellipse instead of just rotating.
Are all drill heads that unstable or is something wrong with mine?
Honestly it makes the trimmer wobble so much I am reluctant to use it.

 

[dcali]

I don't know, but I use mine in a Grizzly mini lathe - I just chuck it in the headstock. It wobbles a little bit, and I bet I could get that out if I tried (I don't bother - it works fine). So I suspect it's not the tool, but rather the drill or how you have it chucked.

 

[stork]

Concur with damoncali,
I use a WFT in my drill press. No wobble there at all. I have seen various drill press' that were obviously wobbly. It would be pretty hard to drill a straight hole with something better used as a boat anchor.
Al

 

[Mr Underbridge]

Is there a proper way to chuck it? I actually grasped the head/chuck of the drill and was able to move it up and down and sideways about 1/3rd of an inch.

 

[LitLBoy]

Bearings Gone?

 

[Mr Underbridge]

no idea , it is just a makita cordless drill I have been using for the past 5 years and boy it has be used a LOT.

 

[hpshooter]

I actually grasped the head/chuck of the drill and was able to move it up and down and sideways about 1/3rd of an inch.[/QUOTE]

Your chuck will definitely exhibit excessive run out with that much clearance. Time to replace bearings or bushings or look at purchasing a new drill.

You should not be able to feel any lateral movement in the chuck by shaking it and end play (in and out) should only be a few thousandths at most.

 

[Bill3508]

Depending on the drill yes some are like that out of the box.

 

[hogpatrol]

I use an older made in Germany Porter Cable with the WFTs and the chuck runs dead nuts, no wobble. I bought it in the 90s and other than a battery pack rebuild, still runs perfect. I'd bet the wobbly ones are made you know where.

 

[Riesel]

Bearings Gone?

Time for a trip to the home improvement center. Father's Day is coming up, treat yourself to a new Porter Cable Cordless or drop hints everywhere.

 

[Deleted old_dood]

last fathers day my daughter gave me an 20v Porter Cable. I use that with my new WFT. no wobble at all.

 

[snert]

I bought a "yellow and black" drill at Lowes. Works fine with the WFT. I am loading service rifle, so exactness is not a total need, just as long as it is under trim lengtha nd square. I use two little cheapie drlls, with a Sinclair holder for my chamfer tool. We set up a line and I use the WFT, my girls run inside and outside chamfer. We do a hundred in about 10 minutes give or take how much we talk.

 

[Baddog0302]

Check; Lowes , Home Depot, Sears, ect. for "Fathers Day" specials on drills, depending on where you do your case prep, you can get a small cordless and have that one as your dedicated case prep drill, OR a bigger one as a general purpose drill.
just my $.02

 

[jlow]

I use a Wilson and their cutter is made to be used either with a handle or an adapter for a drill. What I have found is the adapter is not very strong and can get knocked a bit out of true with a heavy drill attached to one end and the cutter mounted on the trimmer head which is solidly attached to my reloading bench. When the adapter gets slightly bent, it will give me the feedback that it is out of true but it’s the adapter and not the drill that is out of true.

So in your case, I would make sure your problem resides in the drill and not the cutter/trimmer because BOTH of them can potentially be the problem.

 

[joshb]

Yup. Time for a new drill. I tried to use one of my "used"drills (10 years on site construction drill) and I bought a new one.

 

[NWnewguy]

I would install the trimmer in a drill press. It works a lot better and is less effort than a cordless drill.

The other option that works real nice is to take an older sewing machine picked up at a yard sale or Goodwill or whatever for a few bucks and disassemble it to the point where you can fasten the trimmer to the horizontal drive of the sewing machine. It's way slick and is then foot operated. The exact method for connecting will more than likely depend on the type or brand of sewing machine though. This also works real well for spinning fishing poles to wrap the eyes yourself.

 

[Nude nut]

M

I would install the trimmer in a drill press. It works a lot better and is less effort than a cordless drill.

The other option that works real nice is to take an older sewing machine picked up at a yard sale or Goodwill or whatever for a few bucks and disassemble it to the point where you can fasten the trimmer to the horizontal drive of the sewing machine. It's way slick and is then foot operated. The exact method for connecting will more than likely depend on the type or brand of sewing machine though. This also works real well for spinning fishing poles to wrap the eyes yourself.

My mate did the sewing machine thing but rid the pedal for on of switch and wired in a light dimmer switch for speed control workes a treat.
Cheers Trev.

 

[DennisH]

Are all drill heads that unstable or is something wrong with mine?

Something is wrong, I have "no" wobble and wouldn't use it if it did.

Dennis

 

[Mozella]

Something is wrong, I have "no" wobble and wouldn't use it if it did.

Dennis

I use the cheapest possible cordless drill from Harbor Freight both for my WFT trimmer and my 21st Century Neck Turning Lathe. No wobble for me either.

The shaft is parallel to the battery base, so it makes set up easy, especially for the neck lathe. If the drill starts to wobble, I'll throw it away. However, I expect to die of old age before that happens.

 

[joshb]

I had to stick with the drill. Wifey nixed the drill press cause it didn't go with the decor.