trim and chamfer cases... really fast. :)

[Dan Newberry]

I think this is going to end up being the way I process the milsurp brass I get in the future. I've got some tweaks to make it better (such as I'm gonna turn down the case length gauge a thousandth or two so it'll go in and out more easily)...

Of course when you trim cases, you've got to chamfer the necks. The WFT tool (world's finest trimmer) is really neat... and I've considered trying it after watching the videos of it in action on youtube... but of course you're going to have to go back thru all of that brass and chamfer in/out. So that leads me to suspect that if you count the time involved in total, the method I show in this video may be faster than the WFT system.

I use the Lee case length gauge, the cutter, and the lock stud also by Lee. Some vice grips, and a drill. These show up about half way into the video.

Speeding up brass trimming with the Lee case trimmer system - YouTube

 

[Big Z]

I didn't figure powering a Lee trimmer in a drill was news...Lee still sucks. They might work better if you could turn down the cutter and chuck that in a drill rather than the brass.

 

[Ishallbie O'Cullkillin]

I disagree. I could smoke that guy trimming mil-surp brass with my plain old Forster trimmer, without having to check for concentricity. I've used the Lee trimmer with a power Rigid cordless drill, without the vicegrips. Anytime you try to accomplish 2 stages of operation at once, you piss away time simply by just picking up and putting down different tools. I've trimmed well over 30k pieces of mil-surp brass, and I'm not proud of that.

 

[Dan Newberry]

It's working for me just fine.

 

[Gnzrme]

Wow... Something about that spinning vice grip in my lap makes me nervous... But it's working for you. Thank you for sharing

 

[goose_boy]

I have no problems with the shell holder being finger tight, no need for spinning vice grips of death. Until I upgrade to a power trimmer, I will keep doing the trim on the Dewalt and then into a bucket for a later visit to the trim pro for chamfer/deburr/flash hole cleaning/FH uniforming. Before the trim pro, I still used the Dewalt but instead of doing all processes in one step do all the trimming, then all the chamfering, then all the deburring. Assembly line method, unless you're just trying to hide from the wife, in which case do assembly line method and hide a cold six pack in your reloading room for when you're done.

Also try running your drill on the high speed setting just less throttle. Your battery will probably last longer.

 

[Dan Newberry]

I was keeping the drill speed down to keep the spinning vice grips of death under control...

It works pretty well... haven't had any issues to this point. I would like a way to mod the lock stud with a permanently attached lever to help make it easy to loosen, without having to attach the mini vice grips.

That said... the weight of the small pair of vice grips keeps the shell casing tight as it spins, and if you stop the drill in the right place, the grip actually swings around 1/2 a turn and loosens the shell automatically... it's taking some practice... but it's getting faster, and easier.

Maybe not for the faint of heart, I see.

Dan

 

[Rangemaster]

Here is a mod I did with my lee trimmer.
Makes for a fast trim, without the drill and the spinning vise grips of death.

Just make sure you drill and tap in the center with a 8/32 tap.






Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Twoboxer]

Gotta love the Lee Sucks comments, they are almost automatic lol. And everyone has their own tips, tricks, and preferences. Here's what I've found, FWIW:

- The WFT trims clean and neat but it is needlessly difficult to adjust precisely because of the set screws. If instead the cutter were threaded, you could make small adjustments easily.

- The WFT is reasonably consistent (well, as consistent as the length to and the profile of your ogive) until you get brass shards on the cutter head. The enclosed design makes it difficult to see, and difficult to clean.

- Chucking the Lee mandrel in a drill works extremely well, especially in a drill that will stand on its battery by itself. Its amazing how fast you can put a case in, twist/lock-it-in in almost the same motion. Its easy to see and clean the cutter blades with a quick swipe. There are two problems: while you only handle the case once, you must handle tools two or three times (more if you want to deal with the primer pocket in any way) depending on how you define "handling". And . . .

- What made me give up on the Lee tools + hand drill was the fact that the "case length gauge" quickly wears down from its contact aginst the the spinning mandrel. This leads to shorter and shorter trim lengths. So have some spares ready to step in when your tolerance is exceeded.

Again FWIW, I went with the RCBS Universal Case Prep Center.

- The Universal "shell holder" works like a charm, so I don't need duplicate shell holders nor do I have to go looking for one, nor put it back

- The case trimmer is micrometer adjustable and mine trims to a case length "dead on" the target measurement. Until . . .

- Brass shards can stick to the cutter head, but since the head is totally exposed you can see it at all times and a quick swipe with a tooth brush fixes the problem.

- With six other case prep tools available and spinning, everything else is done in "one step".

- The tools do not throw brass shavings all over the place - they tend to drop quite close to the unit so you don't have to box it in.

- Drawbacks are its nearly $400 more than the (basically free) Lee tools, its noisy, the primer pocket tool is a reamer not a swager, you must attach it to a weighted base (your bench, if you have room, or a piece of 3/4" plywood is sufficient) and its bulky.

 

[Xtremegunnr]

Buy once...cry once. Get a giraud

 

[Dan Newberry]

Here's a follow up video I did after turning a couple thousandths off of the case length gauge...

Not to dissuade anyone from using whatever they may already have, if it's working--just presenting a very quick, low cost option to getting the job done.

Once you get the rhythm going you can trim and chamfer inside and outside in 10 to 12 seconds per case.

Update, using Lee trimmer made faster, easier... - YouTube

 

[300 jarret]

+1 on the Giraud easy 500-600 cases per hour!

 

[Dan Newberry]

+1 on the Giraud easy 500-600 cases per hour!

Does it chamfer the cases in the same step? I'm asking out of ignorance, not trying to be rhetorical... just wondering.

 

[ArmyJerry]

Nothing wrong with Lee at all, used them for years, I have moved to worlds finest trimmer though, WFT, its much easier/faster and cleaner on the cutting.

Still use all their dies.

 

[gunsnjeeps]

Had to look myself. From Girauds web site:
The Giraud Carbide blade is standard with the trimmer. It allows a 15 degree inside case mouth chamfer and 45 degree outside chamfer for smooth burr free seating of VLD style bullets.

PS 12 week wait right now. I was thinking of ordering on for this years ammo. Getting ready to do 1500 cases.

 

[elfster1234]

the Giraud trims & chamfers inside / outside in one step... if you can afford it, it's the way to go.. I plan on getting one once I can swing it.


I personally like using my WTF's & a lyman case prep center... 2 seconds on the WTF, 4 seconds on the lymann case prep center for chamfer. done.. sorry, but I don't get all of the videos posted above.

Does it chamfer the cases in the same step? I'm asking out of ignorance, not trying to be rhetorical... just wondering.

 

[ArmyJerry]

I will have a Giraud when I get older and a bit more lazy (soon), for now I use a model paint brush to clean out the WFT bushing, I also have the carbide blade installed on the 223 and 308 cutters.

 

[Dan Newberry]

yeah... that Giraud is gonna run about 500 dollars if I understand their website right. I shoot bolt guns, and really don't end up with a lot of brass stretch, at least not before I might be replacing the brass anyway.

I think the investment would be easier to justify in my own case if I were processing a heck of a lot of brass, but I simply don't trim often enough to justify the cost. Heck, I could get 1000 high quality brass cases for what the machine would cost... that would be 4 hours worth of trimming versus 2 hours with the Giraud... so I admit defeat on that wise...

But looking at it another way, for my 2 extra hours of effort, I do have 1000 brass cases I wouldn't have otherwise had.

 

[lightman]

I used a Lyman trimmer when I first started loading. About the time that we started a family, battery tools started getting popular, and I started using a Lee tool. This let me do case prep while spending time with the family. They worked ok and I never noticed any wear changing the case length. Maybe the newer ones have softer steel. I never felt the need to use a tool on the sheelholder. After the kids grew up, I was able to afford a Giraud. Its an Awesome tool, and works as well as everyone says. After I developed a technique I can do 14-15 cases a minute. And yes, it chamfers inside and out.

Prolly more than you wanted to know about my reloading history! But the Lee tool does work, and its easy on a tight budget. Lightman

 

[wakajawaka]

I'll stick with the Dillon...

 

[Starvingboy]

This might be of some use: I had my kid brother weld four big beads on my lee lock ring. It took just a few seconds with the MIG, and made it super easy to tighten the lock ring.

I did my stuff on a drill press, case holder in the vice and cutter in the drill chuck. I just let the drill press run while swapping brass.

Then I got a Dillon for trimming .308, and my lee trimmer is gathering dust. I

 

[mdmp5]

yeah... that Giraud is gonna run about 500 dollars if I understand their website right. I shoot bolt guns, and really don't end up with a lot of brass stretch, at least not before I might be replacing the brass anyway.

I think the investment would be easier to justify in my own case if I were processing a heck of a lot of brass, but I simply don't trim often enough to justify the cost. Heck, I could get 1000 high quality brass cases for what the machine would cost... that would be 4 hours worth of trimming versus 2 hours with the Giraud... so I admit defeat on that wise...

But looking at it another way, for my 2 extra hours of effort, I do have 1000 brass cases I wouldn't have otherwise had.

Dan, I went years looking at the Giraud, and shied away from it over and over again. I didn't think I needed a $400+ trimmer. However, as time went on, and I trimmed more and more cases in my Redding 2400, having to chamfer and deburr each one individually, it was a very long 3 step process. I never minded trimming, but I started to realize that it was eating up a lot of time to get the right chamfer and deburring, so I got the right neck tension. I broke down a few years back and got the Giraud because I kept seeing how easy it was to get everything squared away in 1 step that lasts around 5 seconds.

 

[Dan Newberry]

Well... you guys might sell me on it one of these days, as it does appear to have a nice following. I didn't know it chamfered too, so that's a big plus in the Giraud's favor.

I think if a man had to make do with all of the LC milsurp stuff that's out there now, the Giraud would make life a lot easier. I hope we might soon see the day when I can go back to buying a bag of Winchester brass for under 20 bucks, shooting it until it's too long to use, selling it cheap to someone who doesn't mind trimming it, then getting some more...

Dreaming, I know...

 

[AtOne]

The Giraud is money well spent especially if your into this hobby for life, It becomes the easiest process in prepping brass and is the best thing I have on my bench.
Here's a video I did awhile back for anyone interested, need to redo it in horizontal format but should give you a good idea of how it works.
Giraud Case Trimmer Review - YouTube

 

[mdmp5]

I would skip the trimming altogether if I could. I am not trimming for length; I barely trim any length off. I am trimming because the mouths get peened during tumbling, and I need clean chamfer and deburring. That's why the Giraud was a good choice for me