Hornady Camlock Case Trimmer Power Adapter - DIY

[afate45]

I've read numerous reports that the $30 drill adapter for the Hornady trimmer breaks off at the bit adapter. I've seen several videos where it appears to work fine, but there are too many reports on forums of it being flimsy. I'm sure if you let it support the weight of the drill, it is much more likely to break.

I don't want to take my chances on a $30 dollar part. I'm sure Midway or Hornady would take care of me if this happened, but I stumbled across an interesting DIY for this and I wanted to get the opinion of the 'Hide before I try this to see if anyone has experience with this, or if anyone has a better idea.

What you need:
- 3/8''x24tpi nut (brass, grade 8, whatever you can find...just make sure it is the 24tpi fine thread) ($3-4)
- 3/8'' drive with hex bit 3/8''drive ($4)
- another way to do this would be to just use a regular 3/8 socket with a 1/4'' shank to 3/8'' drive...I think either way will work just as good.

JB weld the nut inside the drive, and you're good to go. You now have a home-made case trimmer power adapter for the Camlock trimmer.

Let me know if this makes sense...I'll probably head to Home Depot later today to give this a shot. In theory, this seems like an economical and sturdy alternative to the Hornady adapter.

 

[CEL317]

I tried to do this too. However, I was never able to get the drive perfectly centered in the socket. This caused a lot of wobble. I finally gave up and bought the real adapter as I decided it wasn't with my time.


Good luck though and I hope it works out better for you than it did for me.


I am logical, rational, analytical, and direct. Just call me Sheldon.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[afate45]

I tried to do this too. However, I was never able to get the drive perfectly centered in the socket. This caused a lot of wobble.

Interesting, this is exactly the type of feedback i was looking for. Thank you!

I'm not sure if this is even possible, but what about a ball-joint style connector for the socket?

 

[powder monkey]

I made one the exact same way. Had to use a brass nut to get the odd ball thread so that along was like $6. Take the handle with you and find a bolt that fits it, then find a nut that fits that bolt. That's your nut. Find a socket that fits it.

Yea mine has a touch of wobble also. I use a $19 B&D cordless screwdriver to power it, it runs 180rpm just like the case prep centers. I let knuckles touch the bench palm faces up, and the drill just floats perfectly along through the very minor wobble. It works perfectly for me.

I used a hex shank to 3/8" drive. I drilled and tapped the drive collet on the cordless screwdriver to 6-32 and ran a little screw in to act as a set screw to retain that hex shank to 3/8" drive bit, that way I can pull the trimmer pilot out of the case using the drill and nothing separates. Highly recommended. I built mine in 2011 / 2012 rocks on. Just did 500+ LC 5.56 and 200 .260 REM last month. I also use the flat aluminum Lyman case gauge to separate trim from no trim on the bulk 5.56 loads for 3-gun. Saves a ton of time.