A little guidance: Case trimmers

[Boxcar]

1st time reloader I've been slowly acquiring all the necessary equipment for reloading.
It's been sped up a bit with my current build.

Details: I'm having 6.5x47 built at the moment. And regarding case trimmers I've been looking at the "Worlds finest trimmer" or a variant of the typical do all lathes. In the future I plan to reload 30-06 and a few pistol cartridges.
Am I losing anything by purchasing a wft? And buying a standard lathe style trimmer later on, for the other calibers?

Any thoughts or personal experiance is appreciated. As I am kind of at a loss as what to do right now. I've got both in my cart right now and figured I would get some info first.

Thanks

 

[woojos]

I went through the same dilemma recently. The reason I stayed away from the lathe style trimmers, is that most of them are hand cranked and this is a sisyphean task if you are doing a ton of brass. I had a box of at least 2000 dingy AR cases from a military range I wanted to prep, so I said no way. The Giraurd is the Cadillac but there is a long wait and a high price point. I know there are other options for powering the lathe style trimmers, but I'm not familiar enough and the price point is higher.

I ended up with a set of the CTS Trimmers in .223 and .308. They are similar style to the WFT and use a plastic bushing instead of a bearing to 'headspace' off. I picked these over the WFT because of the price point. I even ended up with a set of free shoulder bump gauges so I didn't have to a buy these. I'd make getting your hands on these a priority, as you will probably be able to get some firings out of your brass before trimming is necessary.

I can't comment on precision differences between the styles, but the rounds I prepped are shooting consistently .5 moa out of a stock 700. I'm pretty happy with this considering it is mixed LC and some of it had already been deswaged indicating more than one firing, so it was precise enough for really any of my applications.

 

[ChrisGarrett]

I've used a Lyman Universal Chuck lathe type trimmer with their power drill adapter bar for 19 years and it's fine.

There are people who have had problems with the Lyman trimmer, but it keeps on a trimming and I'm still using the original two cutting heads.

For me (and I load 14 different cartridges and 7-8 different rifle carts) it works. My requirements are for fairly quick trimming (power drill, 10-12/minute) flexible in not needing a lot of different collets (universal chuck) and for it to cut reasonably straight and be within +/- .0015", which it is.

I'd love a Giraud, or a motorized trimmer, but I was on a budget back then and $80 at the time, with extra power bar, was reasonable in 1995, to me at least.

Some people only load one, or two, rifle carts and the WFT, or Possum Hollow trimmers will work well for them, but it's just cost prohibitive for me, loading as many carts as I do, to get one for each.


Chris

 

[Boxcar]

Thanks for the info. I wasn't aware of the CTS.

 

[918v]

Nice writeup on these:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=587361

 

[BIPMaster]

I use the WFT for all my calibers.

 

[mdmp5]

I use a giraud, as well as a redding 2400. Sometimes the giraud fails me a bit because of the shoulder indexing. I personally think that the baddest trimmer out there is the Dillon, because it is press mounted, has a super fast burr free cutting head, and can be set to cut based on the actual length of the case, not the shoulder. The thing I don't like about the Dillon, is that it has to be mounted in the press, is bulky with the vacuum hose, and the caliber conversions are kind of a pain in the ass. For these reasons, I probably won't ever get one. For now, the giraud will suffice, with the redding as a backup.

 

[918v]

The thing about shoulder indexed trimmers is that shoulders are seldom the same. On a positive note, the length variance caused by inconsistent shoulders does not affect accuracy.

 

[Boxcar]

Thanks for all the valuable info. It's helping make my decisions easier. I looked at the girard it's too pricey currently between smith fees buying decent glass and that Lapua brass.

It definitely a future option though.

 

[arnie19]

I use the RCBS Trim Pro . I added the three way head for each caliber I shoot and can power trim and deburr inside and out all at the same time .Stay away from the older design trimmers that use a collet to hold the case head .

 

[colt933]

A machinist buddy of mine made a Giraud-like trimmer that I have borrowed and used several times. The 3-way cutter head really makes a lot of difference as there is only one operation - you don't have to deburr afterward. It's amazing how productive you can be on this type trimmer - thousands and thousands of cases in just a few hours.

I really want a Giraud but of course haven't ponied up for it yet.

I've done thousands of 5.56, 7.62, and 300BLK on the WFT and they're great tools. I use them in a drill press. I like the idea of the plastic bushing of the CTS trimmer described above and if I had seen these before I bought the WFT, I would have bought the CTS. But with either of these, you still have to outside and inside deburr after cutting.

 

[MitchAlsup]

I happen to have a lathe--a real one, but small.
So I chuck up a LEE trimmer, spin up the lathe (1/2 HP) on its slowest setting, then mount, trim, dismount cases onto a holder that looks like a screw driver.
It takes more time mouning and dismounting the brass than trimming the brass.

 

[ZiaHunter]

Over the years I have acquired a number of trimmers including a Forster, Dillon, Wilson and Giraud. I find myself using the Giraud most of the time due to the fact that it indexes off the shoulder and trims, deburs and chamfers in one pass. I neck turn the brass for my precision rifles and indexing off the shoulder provides for consistent neck length which is critical for turning. I don't understand 918V 's comment above regarding indexing off the shoulder and maybe he could explain.

For pure accuracy the Wilson is very consistent and if properly set up will provide case lengths within .001. It can be slow and requires shell holders for different calibers. A power attachment can speed up the process but you will still need to debur and chamfer.

The Dillon is very fast and accurate and sizes the whole case including the neck. This requires expanding the neck with either a mandrel or the expander plug in the die. I have concentricity issue due to the expander being forced through the neck on the upstroke in addition to working the brass more. An option is to have the trim dies neck honed to open it up.

The Forster is the first trimmer I bought over 40 years ago and still have it but rarely use it. I have no experience with the WFT.

 

[Steve1]

I've been using the little Lee trimmer that fits in an elelctric drill. This is very inexpensive, fast, accurate, and simple to use. I have had zero problems with this. Please tell me if you can see a flaw with this kind of trimming.....So far I love this system.

 

[dddoo7]

A standard wilson trimmer is the most cost effective trimmer that will maintain the accuracy necessary. I originally bought the stainless micrometer and still have it, but since then I have bought 3-4 standard ones and just leave them set to each caliber. I got all of the standard ones used for less than $20 each. Really not worth the money for the stainless micrometer. I did have a forster, but the wilson is much more accurate. If you have a vise on the bench, you don't even need a base for the trimmer.

As far as .223 for my sbr, I use a dillon trimmer. I would not use the dillon for precision shooting, but for the sbr I don't notice a difference and it is really fast and no deburring is necessary either, although it is quite expensive.

 

[rduckwor]

Ordered the CTS trimmers because of this thread. Excellent service, fast shipping and these things are very nice!