New Wilson Carbide Case Trimmer Cutter too big to fit?

[spclark]

So your cutter's stainless? I don't think mine is; I'm certain it pre-dates their offering a trimmer in stainless by several years. If indeed it is SS, it may not be up to the task when run by a motor. I use mine exclusively be hand, but then if my cutter's high-speed steel it's not gonna behave like yours.

I'd have to believe carbide'll last far longer anyway, too.

I'll break out my macro lens later, see if I can get a similar pic of my cutter next to the new carbide, just for grins.

 

[jlow]

Actually not sure but if you go to the Wilson website, they talk about the two. The “regular” one they only say “Harden to 60 Rockwell”. Yes, I am sure the carbide one will last much longer – it is also much more expensive $60 vs. $30 although I got it from Midway for closer to $43.99.

 

[spclark]

With carbide, be wary of sudden impact shock. With it's inherent hardness comes a degree of brittleness, particularly where cutting edges are involved.

I know my carbide router bits will chip more easily than the HSS variety; for the money they'll last 3x times longer, maybe more, with attention to careful handling.

 

[jlow]

Yip - thanks! I too have been a long term woodworker for 30 odd years and familar with carbide bits.

 

[spclark]

No problem then!

Some folks think carbide's tough enough to take unusual wear & tear if it's so hard it'll hold an edge longer or can cut stuff that'd quickly kill a steel tool.

Problem is, it really isn't, is it?

 

[spclark]

Pics of my cutters: HSS on the left, virtually unused carbide on the right.

The HSS has been used for > 10,000 cases I estimate, since being placed into service about 2005.

 

[jlow]

Good for you bud!

 

[BoydAllen]

A little note on squaring up case heads with a Wilson trimmer. They are not made for that, nor (IMO)are they accurate enough for the task. The reason that I say that I that close to 20 years back, when the topic had come up in Precision Shooting Magazine, I cut a few .222 case heads as an experiment. I was working on my third case when I noticed that the cutter started to cut on the same place on the case head, relative to the trimmer, on every case. It was on the side nearest me. After a few seconds thought, the light came on. The ID of the bore that the cutter ran in had to be slightly out of alignment with its OD. After that I called Wilson, and the fellow that I spoke with agreed that the degree of precision to which the tool was made, while perfectly satisfactory for trimming cases, was not sufficient to accurately square case heads. There is also the issue of whether the OD and ID of the case holders are perfectly aligned. In my case, since the cut started in the same position no matter where the holder was clocked, I concluded that the cutter support/bushing was the dominant source of misalignment.

 

[spclark]

A little note on squaring up case heads with a Wilson trimmer....

I agree 100% with your conclusions & thanks for your perspective on this.

My short-lived attempts convinced me not only is the tooling inadequate for the task but also that the operation has insignificant effect on accuracy of loaded rounds.

There's also a safety consideration when one attempts to remove metal from case heads. I don't recommend the practice be undertaken by anyone.