I am looking to buy an electric case prep station. Which is the best bang for the buck? Thanks for your help.
Best bang for your buck in case prep stations
- Thread starter Alabama556
- Start date
While the Giraud trimmer is a fine tool, I still use a Lyman prep center for brushing out necks, cleaning crusty primer pockets, touching up necks between trimmings and prepping new brass that’s shorter than trim length for my chambers.
Either of the machines by RCBS or Lyman will do this basic stuff; Hornady also makes a prep machine but it costs more and goes beyond my needs.
Either of the machines by RCBS or Lyman will do this basic stuff; Hornady also makes a prep machine but it costs more and goes beyond my needs.
I picked up the Franklin Armory unit from Amazon for $99 bucks and its been working great for me. Takes a few to swap out the bushings for case trimming and get it set up but if you prepare a good reference Brass for each caliber it sets up super fast. 7k rounds processed and it is still just as cool and smooth as round 1.
So get the ouch and damn over with and order the Giraud!
What about the Lyman? It looks like just what I need. I don’t shoot enough to warrant a girard. For someone with OCD that is tough to say.
I liked the Lyman prep station. All you need plus comes with head preps for 22 and 30 cal. All RCBS heads will fit on the Lyman too. Though, the RCBS BOSS prep unit looks interesting as well. Has a variable speed on it. Might wanna look into that too.
I have the Lyman and like it a lot. Does everything I need it to do reliably and there's plenty room to work. I also like that it's a flat top. Makes clean up really easy.
Another happy Frankford Arsenal user here. I've got a couple of manual trimmers, but being able to swap calibers quickly and still have motor drive is a huge bonus.
If you want to up your game a bit, just replace the basic tool heads with better units. I put in the RCBS carbide cutter into the FA cutting station, and also use RCBS VLD for chamfering and demurring. Also got a set of RCBS primer pocket cutters to remove the crimp from mil brass, both small and large primer so I can pretty LC and other crimped brass. The threading is industry standard on the cutter and the other tool heads.
inexpensive setup, but works very well with a few small upgrades.
bang for the buck it's hard to beat.
If you want to up your game a bit, just replace the basic tool heads with better units. I put in the RCBS carbide cutter into the FA cutting station, and also use RCBS VLD for chamfering and demurring. Also got a set of RCBS primer pocket cutters to remove the crimp from mil brass, both small and large primer so I can pretty LC and other crimped brass. The threading is industry standard on the cutter and the other tool heads.
inexpensive setup, but works very well with a few small upgrades.
bang for the buck it's hard to beat.
Glad you’re happy with your purchase. I think that with the number of trimmers out there, the prep stations are a forgotten tool. The Giraud is a fine machine but is limited to trimming brass that’s gotten long, which it does this very well. But...the Giraud, once set, can only trim to a pre-determined/set length. Unless you have it set to factory brass specs, how do you trim or touch up necks that are shorter than your trim length. Answer is...you either re-adjust your Giraud or you use a prep station to prep new brass and then use the Giraud when it grows enough to trim.
I have a Giraud and use it as often as need. As I mentioned in my previous post, my prep machine gets used more often because I clean up my dinged necks (brass that hits the ground/concrete at the range ALWAYS seems to land neck first and get dinged up), clean primer pockets that get cruddled up and brush out the inside of my necks after annealing. I wouldn’t be without one.
