• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

Trimmer.?

Do you have to adjust your cutter for each different caliber ie 6br to 284?

I've run Lapua 6BRA and Dasher as well as Hornady 6 Creed brass in the same cutter without adjusting the blade. As long as the sized neck is relatively similar it should work fine.

As far as adjusting depth of cut, I find that pretty easy with a lock ring on the case holder. You can loosen ring, adjust against an index mark and tighten and get fairly predicable results. Usually just takes a minute or two with a couple adjustments.
 
Do you have to adjust your cutter for each different caliber ie 6br to 284?
Yes. You adjust the cutting depth for different calibers based on case length. For 6mm to 6.5mm you would need to adjust the blade too. The Trim It has a fore/aft slider and a set screw, the Giraud did not. If you choose the "flat" cutter and not the 3-way the cutter, the adjustment is super quick. With the 3-way cutter, you may want to be slow and careful as well as have an old case for testing.
 
For speed, ease of use, an inexpensive tool I'd recommend the Worlds Cheapest Trimmer.https://www.ebay.com/itm/223-5-56-Case-trimmer-HMR-WCT-Worlds-Cheapest-Trimmer-/122992786444

You can also buy direct from the manufacturer. http://www.newhighpower.com/brass-trimmers.html

Here's a video of it in action:


Made of black Delren, it cuts quick and accurately. I chuck it up in my table mount drill press and can whip out 100 pieces in about 10 minutes.

When I needed a trimmer for 338LM they special made one for me using my spent brass.
 
I have a forster hand trimmer, a couple of geraud tri-way and a PMA micro adjust.

For mass production with a single cartridge the geraud is the way to go

But for multiple cartridges the PMA is awesome. My favorite these days. Several different ways to use it. Easy set up for mass production. Easy to set up for wildcats. Very accurate. Does not chamfer and debur but the way i set it up to use it just takes a few seconds to chamfef and debur with the typical hand tool.

http://www.pmatool.com/pma-micro-adjust-trimmer/
 
Or you build one like mine 45 308 cases in 5 minutes.

Nice - can you elaborate on the specifics? Currently I use an old Harbor Freight cordless drill screwed to a 1x6 that I wired in a laptop AC supply to. Works good but aren't we always looking for something "better?"
 
Nice - can you elaborate on the specifics? Currently I use an old Harbor Freight cordless drill screwed to a 1x6 that I wired in a laptop AC supply to. Works good but aren't we always looking for something "better?"
I bought 2 of the Worlds Cheapest Trimmers 223.and 308 on ebay. The motor is a off of forced air gas furnace 110V 3000 rpm you will need a shaft coupler 3/8 x 5/16 to connect the motor to the trimmer. A few 8-32 screws and nuts is about it. Ebay for the coupler also. You could find a motor at a Heating and cooling place off a junked out furnace.
 

Attachments

  • 20190211_194836.jpg
    20190211_194836.jpg
    200.9 KB · Views: 27
  • 20190126_143829001.jpg
    20190126_143829001.jpg
    217.5 KB · Views: 23
  • MEO-164245_280_280.jpg
    MEO-164245_280_280.jpg
    24.5 KB · Views: 20
Last edited:
1+ for the WFT (World's Finest Trimmer). Using dedicated-cartridge units for high-volume use in my .22 Nosler and another for .223 (which also works on my .20 Practical) is waaay faster. Never need to change any settings or fiddle with anything between caliber changes. The cutter is a simple end-mill bit available anywhere online.
 
I recently bought the new powered Lyman express Trimmer. Really just used it about 30 minutes for the first time on some .223 cases. Man is the cutter rough. Chatters like crazy and it shows on the case. Have to call Lyman Monday morning as see if this is normal. If it is it's going back.
 
I don't know about "best' but I have the WFT and I have the Forester. The WFT is fantastic when you have a pile of 400 cases and you want to just get them so you can load them. In all fairness, it is accurate, but it is only as accurate as the cases are sized to shoulder length. If they are all the sale then they will all trim the same. All this has been said already, but what hasn't is that you really need to measure and set your size die for shoulder/headspace length to properly use the WFT.
While the WFT and others like it will trim a whole bunch of cases real quick, that is all it does. It is also caliber or cartridge specific to the case family. Between my two trimmers I can pretty much do it all and the Forester is a very accurate little device, especially for outside neck turning. It is accurate, it's just not fast. There is a driver adapter for the Forester and I have it and I use it on occasion. It's better than hand cranking if you have a bunch of cases to do and don't have the WFT, but I don't really find myself using it too much.
 
Thanks for all the replies , yes it would only be for one caliber .223.... I sat down and did 100+ LC the other night , sized , trim , remove crimp etc and even using a Lyman case prep station it was no fun.... I have the Forester trimmer I use for my rifle brass but trimming .223 and doing all the brass prep takes forever....

I size all the brass on my single stage , then all the prep , then in the tumbler to get the lube off etc.... Actually loading it using the Dillon to drop powder , seat and crimp takes no time... It's being used on an iron sighted AR so small variables don't really meen alot , my resizing is all very close so a powered trimmer seems like it would be the way to go...

So the faster trimmer and maybe a Dillon swagger are in my future I think... I don't shoot it all the time but when I do need to make new brass for it I cringe... I have tons of once fired LC brass so I will be using it for awhile....
 
Thanks for all the replies , yes it would only be for one caliber .223.... I sat down and did 100+ LC the other night , sized , trim , remove crimp etc and even using a Lyman case prep station it was no fun.... I have the Forester trimmer I use for my rifle brass but trimming .223 and doing all the brass prep takes forever....

I size all the brass on my single stage , then all the prep , then in the tumbler to get the lube off etc.... Actually loading it using the Dillon to drop powder , seat and crimp takes no time... It's being used on an iron sighted AR so small variables don't really meen alot , my resizing is all very close so a powered trimmer seems like it would be the way to go...

So the faster trimmer and maybe a Dillon swagger are in my future I think... I don't shoot it all the time but when I do need to make new brass for it I cringe... I have tons of once fired LC brass so I will be using it for awhile....

Lake City brass is definitely worth going thru the prep to use. Also, I would recommend you get a swager for the primer crimps. I just have the RCBS, but it sure beats cutting them out.
 
Lake City brass is definitely worth going thru the prep to use. Also, I would recommend you get a swager for the primer crimps. I just have the RCBS, but it sure beats cutting them out.
Uhgggg no doubt... Even with the prep station it's a pain and you still find a few that the primer doesn't go in exactly easy.... Because of that I just used my hand primer to prime them with to keep from dealing with it on the Dillon... I shot a few today to test the load and at least they shot well... As well as a blind old man can shoot iron sights on an M4 anymore at 200 yards...
 
I recently bought the new powered Lyman express Trimmer. Really just used it about 30 minutes for the first time on some .223 cases. Man is the cutter rough. Chatters like crazy and it shows on the case. Have to call Lyman Monday morning as see if this is normal. If it is it's going back.

Have you tired running it at is highest speed? I recall reading a review somewhere online where the reviewer said he experienced chattering until he ran it at full speed.
 

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Forum statistics

Threads
165,800
Messages
2,203,709
Members
79,130
Latest member
Jsawyer09
Back
Top