Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Lee case trimmer

First couple a runs here with new Lee trimmers,and case lengths are longer than should be.

30'06 comes out .004 longer than minimum book trim length,

.300 wsm comes out .005 longer than minimum book length,

Is this normal? Are the Lee trimmers not known for cutting down to minimun length?

I guess consistency is the key here, long or short.

I have 3 different cartridges in them but have not used them yet, You can email Lee directly, they get back in the same day if not over the weekend.
http://leeprecision.com/home.php?

I use them exclusively and am fixing to order one to fit my 7mm Mashburn.I never like to go below minimum and .004-.005 is a very small amount.What I really like about the system is it cuts the mouth perfectly square.Leave it as is.Just check them w/your caliper after firing and trim if needed.You're still .oo6 and .oo5 too short and that is a good place to be. powdr

If your cases are too long, you can file or sand down the end of the pin that sets the length to whatever you'd like. You can tune it to exactly what you want.

Tom

There is no magic in the trim-to lenght, it's just an arbitrary 10 thou less than SAAMI max case length but most chambers are cut 15 thou and more deeper than minimum - so even longer - than SAAMI so case length is not normally a problem. How tight we screw in the Lee length pilot can easily make 2-6 thou difference but your extra 4-5 thou is meaningless.

Don't worry about it. I actually prefer them between saami max and .010" trim length. Yours sounds perfect and they will all be identical which is all that matters. When I used to use a lyman trimmer I'd set it to cut a bit longer than "trim-to" length.

I have found that shortening the pin does not help with the Lee trimmer because the pin protrudes out the flashhole. You would have to shorten the main arbor instead. pita.

However, I've had great luck by using the Lyman flash hole de-burring tool to flatten the punched hole from the inside of the case. This has the same result as shortening the arbor on the trimmer. Once deburred, the Lee trimmer usually trims to the exact length desired.

Dennis53

I've got a Redding bolted to the bench but never use it. The Lee is soooo easy to use and gives consistent results.

Ken

The pin controls case trim length, without the pin a guy could make some serious brass shavings on the table.

They are the slickest tool out there. I had a 100 dollar RCBS case trimmer and it was a piece of junk.

?????

Shorten the pin, and you shorten the finished brass by exactly the same amount.

The pin rests against the same steel flat that the base of the case rests on, and the distance from that steel flat to the cutter is exactly the finished length of the brass.

Do you have the shaft screwed all the way into the cutter? Sometimes it takes a bit of effort to seat it all the way.

+1

But I wouldn't want to trim to minimum anyway.

I hold my cutter up to a bright light and tighten the case length gauge until the light disappears. The cutter will dig into a case length if you tighten it too much.

I think that as long as case length is within reason, the main requirement is that the cases all be very close to the same length if you're using a roll crimp.

In my own situation, I like to trim an entire lot of brass to minimum length and then keep that brass together through several reloads. That way each case grows at about the same rate, and the cases keep nearly equal lengths.

Why would you not want to trim to minimum length or a little past? I hate trimming - I truly enjoy almost every other aspect of reloading, but I hate trimming. Just curious?

If you don't like trimming you should get a set of these:
http://www.sinclairintl.com/.aspx/pid=32925/Product/Sinclair-Chamber-Length-Gage

I have them in just about every caliber I own. You'll be surprised how much room most guns have. Many of my guns have another .020-.025" trim room than saami specs. Many times I never have to trim a piece of brass for the life ofthe brass....especially magnums.

I have found that this is a very handy tool to have, for headspace and length...

http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/case-prep/rifle-headspace-gauges.php

This is even more handy.....
http://www.hornady.com/store/Headspace-Gauge-Kits/


Casey

It may be very handy...but the thread was about case length. The tool I "linked" takes a couple seconds to dump the case in, and as fast as you can look, you can see if the case is in the acceptable length range...and if the headspace is right...at the same time. If you were sorting out 1000 cases at a sitting...your calipers would be getting "old". The tool that I referenced costs half as much as yours...and does 2 things. Not trying to upstage you...