Dillon RT 1500 case trimmer setup questions

[DIYguy]

Have the Hornady hand crank case trimmer and power case prep which results in sore hand and fingers. Now that I'm converting over to the Dillon XL 650 system I'm thinking about the RT 1500 case trimmer. I've been looking at the few YouTube videos I can find and not impressed. Lots of good videos available for just about anything you can think of but for that case trimmer the offerings are lacking.

One video had the trimmer setup in station #4 and the sizing, capping, neck sizing die in #5. This seemed odd but I've never done it so I can't judge.

I'm using Hornady Match grade dies for 223 with the neck bushing so It's supposed to size the inside and outside diameter of the neck which is typically in station #1

Doesn't the trimming die used with the trimmer also suppose to do a full resize on the case? Resizing full case and the neck can effect the case length so I would anticipate needing to do the full resize before the trim correct? Any additional case work needed after the trim? I normally lightly hit the neck with an inside and outside chamfer after trimming.

Planning on one tool head just for case prep and another for loading. I normally run my brass through the wet/pin tumbler a 2nd time after prep to remove the lube and clean the primmer pocket.

Any insight to offer?
 

[AHI]

have best results with a sizing die set at 80% in first or second station.

then you have two choices  a sinclair expander die or lyman m die after the sizer.

or you could put the expander die in the first station of your load head.

the neck tenson is two tight after the dillon trim die.       

fyi the second sizing die after wont change the length more than .001 

keep the process you are using .some say you dont need to deburr/chamfer

some cases yes some not so much.

[RiggerJJ]

I don't chamfer after the Dillon trimmer, tried some accuracy tests after chamfer and no chamfer and no chamfer was better. Open the neck up after trimming with an M die or similar, also will remove the inner burr. Closing the neck with a slight crimp will remove the outer burr. tumbling after sizing to remove lube is good, but don't fuss about clean primer pockets, it's makes no difference. A dry tumble after processing for 30 minutes is enough.

Edited February 1, 2019 by RiggerJJ

[formerlyphat]

Long time reader, first time poster.  I have an older model RT1200 trimmer that I use on my XL650.  Clearance on each side of the trimmer is an issue, so if you run it in station 4, you won't be able to use stations 3 or 5.  Here is the current setup for my case prep toolhead:

 

Station 1 - Dillon Universal Decap Die

Station 3 - RT1200 w/ trim die*

Station 5 - Lyman M die

 

I decap on station 1, full length resize and trim at station 3 and bell the case mouth in station 5.  I have to bell the case mouth because the trim die makes the case neck too tight (.002 or so) to take flat base bullets.  I keep the same setup when loading BTHP bullets and have never had an issue.

 

The asterisk denoted above is because I had to replace the front toolhead pin with a short flathead nail with essentially the same diameter due to clearance issues with the trimmer at station 3.

 

Also, previously I ran a Dillon sizing/decap die in station 1 and only used the trim die in station 3 for trimming.  I set the trim die to just touch the case to avoid resizing again.  Maybe it was my inexperience at the time, but I was never satisfied with this initial setup.  I feel like I get more consistent resizing and trimming when I let the trim die do both of the jobs it was designed for.

 

ETA:  For .223/5.56, I don't chamfer at all.  I let the M die and subsequent 10-15 tumble in corn cob media smooth any burrs out.  

Edited February 2, 2019 by formerlyphat

[DIYguy]

Thanks for the input, I'm checking on Lyman "M" dies.

Another question, anyone using a small vac dedicated to the trimmer? I saw a video that showed a vac about the size of a toaster set up but haven't gone searching for that video to see what it was. The shop vacs I have are pretty large and like the idea of a small one dedicated to the reloading.

[formerlyphat]

I use a small 1 gallon orange and black Armor-All shopvac.  The hose is long enough that I can set the vacuum on a shelf next to my reloading bench rather than taking up bench space.  The end of its hose is exactly the same size as the port on the Dillon trimmer exhaust manifold, so I used the larger end of a Shopvac extension wand and cut it down to create a manifold connector.  I had to file down the inside of the cut side to make it large enough to fit the hose end, but the original end fits the Dillon manifold nicely.  I believe the exhaust port on the Dillon manifold is 1 1/4”.  I will check when I get home and verify the measurement.

 

Two comments about the vacuum I am using, it does not have enough suction to get all brass trimmings out of the toolhead and it is too loud for the level of suction it provides.  When I find the right length hose for my larger shopvac, I may switch to that.  The hose ends are the same size for both the large and small shopvacs.

[DIYguy]

Had a slow period at the office so did some YouTube searches and found the video that had the vac I was thinking of. Turns out it only showed part of the vac and is it an Oreck Pro 5 canister vac. Pretty small and only about $80 (other link showed $130) but not quite what I thought. The Armor-All looks pretty inexpensive but definitely want enough suction to do the job.

Anyone else?

[cvincent]

Full size vac, plumbed with ABS pipe. I found the brass shavings clogged up the corrugated vacuum hose. This is also used to covert 300blk brass, so may be overkill for just trimming 5.56. Clears shavings from the toolhead nicely though


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[DIYguy]

Strange but your press setup looks a l-i-t-t-l-e bit different than mine

[mveto]

I’ve been using a small 1.75 horse power vacuum I found at Home Depot, had to purchase extra length vacuum hose so I could move the vacuum to the other side of my bench. In order to get better suction I use zip ties to seal up the hose and the trimmer connection. Seems to work well, last time I sized brass was about 3k rounds and it cleared all the brass shavings without issue.