Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Powered case trimmers

Have you looked into a mini chop saw and jig instead? I've not used one so can't comment.

RCBS with adapter and drill

That's what I've done for years with a Forster lathe type trimmer. Works just fine.

Just get the right height, turn the drill upside down, activate the trigger with your thumb & just slide it back & forth to trim & remove the case. Works fine, other than having to handle the same case multiple times for trimming, deburring & cleaning primer pockets.

And that's why I like the FA better.

MM

Cutter heads can be adjusted for each caliber. I do .30-30, .308, .30-06, .300 Ham'r with one cutter head, changing the case holders for each cartridge. I also have cutter heads adjusted for other diameters, changing the specific case holders within that diameter as needed.

I also put lock rings on the case holders, reducing set-up time.

The mini chop-saw is popular with the .300 blk crowd, quite handy in making .300 Ham'r, too.

The other factor in all of this is how much you have to handle each case to get everything accomplished--which takes time. And a LOT of handloaders don't analyze case-handling time in their technique, whether in trimmed, sizing, seating bullets, or whatever.

Which is one reason I eventually bought a used Gracey--though would have been happy with a Giraud as well. When set up for a certain case (which doesn't take much time) I have a bowl full of sized cases close to the "insertion" end of the tool, and an identical bowl on the far side of the first, just about touching. It takes VERY little time to pick up a sized case, push it into the spinning cutter, and drop it into the second bowl, because my fingers only move a few inches.

This can also be accomplished with a single-case drill-trimmer--and I have several different brands. But each costs a LOT more than the array of much simpler shell-holders I got with the used Gracey, which happened to include the cartridges I primarily use for my high-volume varmint shooting.

Time-and-motion studies are a common (even essential) part of modern manufacturing. Yet many handloaders never really analyze how much time they spend on each step--partly because many handloaders actually prefer to spend MORE time the loading room, to get away from what some call "ordinary life." But I have been handloading for a considerable part of my living for over 30 years, and long ago started actually timing stuff. I also own several types of power trimmers, and some mentioned here in various posts are pretty slow compared to what can be accomplished with others.

Thanks ldholton and Vic.

Exactly & right on target about minimizing number of times to handle a case...............& I've been in manufacturing all my life.

And that's why I'm using the FA center...............couple aspects of it are not exactly ideal, IMO, like the RPM of of the unit, & the fact that the cutter is not carbide, but that's likely a cost issue.

MM

And the price is pretty good--also a factor!

FWIW,
I bought the Giraud .50 BMG in the summer of 2008. I've never regretted the purchase. I certainly did not NEED the big unit, however, I paid less then than what the current regular unit runs now PLUS a few case holders. Oddly I also came across an estate sale and bought six or seven Wilson Ultimate Trimmers(SS Micrometer). All but one were completely stainless and all were mounted to a Sinclair Wilson Delrin Base(now unavailable). I need to put them up for sale as they are in the way. That said I am keeping the three the Ti coated cutter. To say nothing of the extra steel cutters. I did not know the man, however, he really liked his Wilsons... I like both and use both as volume dictates the setup...



In your position, I would look hard at a Giraud's base unit. That being said the Tri-Way Trimmer could be ideal. I just try not to paint myself into a corner...

Regards, Matt.

I have one for .223. The problem with .223 is they are too short for the cutters to make solid contact with the brass. I use a Crow WFT for the .223 but I have to chamfer the inside of the case mouth and clean up the outside edges after it's been trimmed. Although, the Lee does leave a really nice inside and outside chamfer on the brass. I want a Lee trimmer die for the .308. I keep forgetting to put it on my wish list at Midway. Mine is also the hand crank. I give the crank 8 or 10 turns and the brass is finished at the mouth. It's a 2 step solution but it does work.

kwg

I've never used the Giraud to make other cases.

I use a RCBS Trim Pro with the 3-way cutter and a power drill to cut down cases like you are doing. The best part of the Trim Pro is it's shell holder. It's fairly quick because all you do is lever a handle and slip the case rims in/out of the shell holder.

I only do a max of about 100 cases at a time, so it's not hatefully slow. I'm taking off ~.2".

Thanx, I'll look into that.


Only for the 300 Whisper. I don't know if .140" is enough to get a clean cut with a chop saw.

Correct, what I should have said was unless you're only trimming just a couple of chamberings.

Wthanks for all her suggestions and comments.

I just purchased the Lyman power trimmer even though it appears to be very similar to the Frankford trimmer I had to replace. Part of the reason is it should work for the obsolete cartridges I load but the over riding reason was cost. I found it on the "odds and ends" table of a gun shop for the princely sum of $35.

Being the weather is turning nasty for the next couple days, this unit will get me back in business to finish off prairie dog rounds. It also takes the pressure off of having to make a decision in somewhat of a haste. I'm still looking at the Giraud, it might be a future option for 223 though I'll have to make room on the bench for a drill press. If there are cutters available for 22/250, 250 Savage, 300 Savage, and 35 Remington I might look much harder into one.

I now have 300 plus cases through the Lyman Case Trim Express and can definitely say I don't care for it.

Like the Frankford Arsenal machine, one needs to press the case against the cutter manually. What makes the Lyman unit worse is one also has to push against a spring making it even harder on my thumb. It also seems to be harder to keep trimming cases to same length harder as I tended to press less as my thumb grew weak. PI'm going to see if I can mount it vertically so I can use my hand but that may cause issues with the brass shavings.

The motor is variable speed but I find it needs to be set at the max for decent trimming. An on/ off button would have worked as well. The motor is quiet though that probably is a result of its seeming to be underpowered. The cutting area seems rather fragile as it is mostly plastic and light metal. I'm not sure how well it will last under use.

Besides the quietness, I do like the ease of adjusting the cutting depth. It is much easier than the FA unit. I also like the Lyman's case bushings more than the FA inserts but the trade off is there is a little more case wobble with the Lyman unit.

All in all, I can say I'm glad I didn't pay full price for the Lyman. It will get me by for the moment but it will probably end up with my stepson. He loads 22/250 only and not much of that to begin with. The search for a replacement will resume.

Woodmaster, have you tried using the palm of your hand to keep pressure on the case as it's being trimmed? I do this a lot with my frankford arsenal. It saves on the thumb.

With the Lyman the case tends to spin in the hand unless it is gripped tightly, so using the palm isn't likely to work. I like the Lyman, but I don't trim huge volumes of cases in a single session. I do 40 or 50 and move on to another task.

To use my hand rather than thumb and fingers is why I'm looking to mount the Lyman vertically. In the horizontal position one needs fingers and thumb to hold and apply pressure on the case. The cutting portion is far less solid feeling than the FA unit which is one reason I don't care for the Lyman.

When I could I would use my hand with Frankfort but most of the time I needed to use my thumb and fingers. I might just try to find replacement gears for the Frankfort, the chamfer and debur heads have frozen up twice now. If I can, I wonder if a different tooth count would give me more torque and/or speed on the cutter? That might help with cutting speed as well as longevity. Or, I could learn to be less ham fisted when cramming the case into the cutter.

Sorry, I was asking about the Franford Arsenal. Even though it may have appeared I was asking about his new one. I know with the FA, that is how I do it, if my thumb and finger gets tired. The Frankford Arsenal supports the case well though..