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Drill press suitable case trimmer recommendations?


reloader901

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I used to shoot IPSC decades ago, and reloaded tons of .45 acp. Have never done rifle ammo. I have a Dillon 650 and recently bought .223 dies, tool head, etc.

I rarely compete anymore and reloading is more of a convenience thing now with all the ammo shortages recently.

Almost all my brass is mine (Lake City used once).

Dillon's trimmer is cute, but way more than I need or want.

Lyman and similar hand crank units look too slow. I want to do small quantities (100-200 at a time), I am basically plinking etc (NOT precision long range type shooting). Case timming is something I want to be relatively quick and painless without spending a ton of money. I have a good, large drill press.

Several I have seen on youtube that fit a drill press look interesting. Costs vary but most are $100 or less.

Giraud Tri Way (so far this one looks like it might be the best of this list)

Trim-It (and Trim-It II)

Dead On Trimmer

CTS Case Trimmer

World's Finest Trimmer

Comments? Any others you recommend?

Thanks

Edited by reloader901
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Ive used the WFT and own a WFT2. Bought the WFT2 because I load multiple rifle calibers, and did not want to drop a fortune on different trimmers.

I chucked mine in my drill press at first, but pushing up on the cases sucked. Now I just run it in a 1/2 hand drill set horizontally in my bench vise at about 1500 RPM. Works like a champ and is stupid simple. I SSTL wet tumble, so I dont bother with deburring and chamfering case mouths, the tumbler does that for me.

That being said, the Giraud is probably the best trimmer out there, does everything in a single step.

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I borrowed a friends Giraud trimmer to do .308 when I had a batch that was big and I didn't want to use my RCBS hand crank trimmer then the chamfer/deburr tool. The Giraud trimmer worked great and I would not hesitate to buy one if I reloaded more rifle.

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Ive used the WFT and own a WFT2. Bought the WFT2 because I load multiple rifle calibers, and did not want to drop a fortune on different trimmers.

I chucked mine in my drill press at first, but pushing up on the cases sucked. Now I just run it in a 1/2 hand drill set horizontally in my bench vise at about 1500 RPM. Works like a champ and is stupid simple. I SSTL wet tumble, so I dont bother with deburring and chamfering case mouths, the tumbler does that for me.

That being said, the Giraud is probably the best trimmer out there, does everything in a single step.

This is exactly what I do, no complaints.

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The Trim-It II or The Tri-Way...none of the others will chamfer/deburr...so, to me, they're not worth it.

If you're doing 1 case family (.308, .243, 7mm-08, etc.) the Tri-Way is the way to go.

If you're going between .223, .308, 30-06 - The Trim-It II gives you more bang for your buck.

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I will second what Biggun Barry said. The Tri Way is a great trimmer, so is the Dead On, and Trim It. I have a Tri Way for 300wm, and a Trim it for .223, and 7mm. To be honest I like to debur, and chamfer separate from trimming. I'm not that all crazy about the chamfer angle of the Giraud compared to the VLD angle. I debur/chamfer on my Lyman case prep center.

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I will second what Biggun Barry said. The Tri Way is a great trimmer, so is the Dead On, and Trim It. I have a Tri Way for 300wm, and a Trim it for .223, and 7mm. To be honest I like to debur, and chamfer separate from trimming. I'm not that all crazy about the chamfer angle of the Giraud compared to the VLD angle. I debur/chamfer on my Lyman case prep center.

I'm leaning toward the Giraud Tri Way, because it has a cover to retain the chips and does trim/chamfer/debur in one step. What do you not like about the Giraud chamfer angle? Is the angle suitable for a casual shooter/reloader? (NOT planning on any long range accuracy type shooting).

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I will second what Biggun Barry said. The Tri Way is a great trimmer, so is the Dead On, and Trim It. I have a Tri Way for 300wm, and a Trim it for .223, and 7mm. To be honest I like to debur, and chamfer separate from trimming. I'm not that all crazy about the chamfer angle of the Giraud compared to the VLD angle. I debur/chamfer on my Lyman case prep center.

I'm leaning toward the Giraud Tri Way, because it has a cover to retain the chips and does trim/chamfer/debur in one step. What do you not like about the Giraud chamfer angle? Is the angle suitable for a casual shooter/reloader? (NOT planning on any long range accuracy type shooting).

It can be adjusted, but it's more of s defined angle than you get with a chamfer tool, or the VLD chamfer bit for the prep stations. Some like it, and others don't. I really don't need much Chamfer with boat tails.

The Trim It has worked great for me so far. I also really like the Dead On because it has 2 set screws holding adjustments instead of one like the Trim It. That said I have never had issue so far with my Trim It. Any of the three are great, and you can't go wrong!

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  • 4 weeks later...

I love my L.E. Wilson Case Trimmer with Micrometer, very accurate, consistent, and square cuts. They do make a drop bit attachment for the cutter too.

Edited by novalty
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Almost all my brass is mine (Lake City used once).

Those LC cases will most likely need their primer pockets reamed.

Since you have nice drill press and want to go cheap I'd steer you to:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/997722/little-crow-gunworks-worlds-finest-trimmer-223-remington?cm_vc=ProductFinding

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1165253550/hornady-primer-pocket-reamer-cutter-head?cm_vc=ProductFinding

I have both (WFT in 6.5 Grendel, 6.5 Creedmoor, 7.62x39 and 308 --- don't actually have it in 223) and have no complaints for SMALL batches. My hand/wrist hurt after about doing 100-200 or so cases.

Edited by Religious Shooter
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I bought the Giraud Tri Way http://www.giraudtool.com/Tri%20Way%20Trimmer.htm I'm busy with another project (making .45acp shotshells) and other things, so it might be a few weeks before I get to use it. However, I really like the idea of trimming/deburring/chamfering in one step! I hope it works.

I already have the Hornady reamer http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1165253550/hornady-primer-pocket-reamer-cutter-head?cm_vc=ProductFinding I am planning on chucking it in my drill press. Turn it on and manually feed (quick touch) of each case. I'm guessing 1 - 2 seconds per case. I will measure the first 10 primer pockets. If all goes well I will measure once every 50 or 100. If it fails I will buy the Dillon hand swager, but it looks like a pain in the ass (too many steps).... unless someone wants to give me a 1050 :)

At some point in the future I will report back..........

Edited by reloader901
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I already have the Hornady reamer http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1165253550/hornady-primer-pocket-reamer-cutter-head?cm_vc=ProductFinding I am planning on chucking it in my drill press. Turn it on and manually feed (quick touch) of each case. I'm guessing 1 - 2 seconds per case. I will measure the first 10 primer pockets. If all goes well I will measure once every 50 or 100. If it fails I will buy the Dillon hand swager, but it looks like a pain in the ass (too many steps).... unless someone wants to give me a 1050 :)

I use the RCBS version. Works about the same. I chuck my cutter in the drill press, put a board below with a hole cut the same size as the neck of the case, set case in hole while holding it, run drill press down for a second and done.

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  • 4 months later...

I bought the Giraud Tri Way http://www.giraudtool.com/Tri%20Way%20Trimmer.htm I'm busy with another project (making .45acp shotshells) and other things, so it might be a few weeks before I get to use it. However, I really like the idea of trimming/deburring/chamfering in one step! I hope it works.

I already have the Hornady reamer http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1165253550/hornady-primer-pocket-reamer-cutter-head?cm_vc=ProductFinding I am planning on chucking it in my drill press. Turn it on and manually feed (quick touch) of each case. I'm guessing 1 - 2 seconds per case. I will measure the first 10 primer pockets. If all goes well I will measure once every 50 or 100. If it fails I will buy the Dillon hand swager, but it looks like a pain in the ass (too many steps).... unless someone wants to give me a 1050 :)

At some point in the future I will report back..........

I finally got around to using the Giraud Tri Way trimmer. Lovin' it!

The Hornady reamer chucked into a hand drill or a drill press was slow with mediocre results.

I bought a Dillon Super Swage 600 and am now a happy camper.

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