5.56 brass ?

rebs,
Everyone under the sun will have a 'Favorite' trimmer for the crimp.
Being a metal cutting/chip thrower for 40 years, I have my own opinion that most disagree with.

Basically what you are doing is 'Deburring' the primer pocket.
You have the crimp hanging out there in space, doing nothing but looking to snag the new primer on the way in,
So the easiest way to get rid of that circular 'Burr' is a 'De-Burring' tool.

This is personal opinion, so it doesn't need several pages of rebuttal,
I find a Weldon style Zero Flute deburring tool the best option.

Most 'Hand' Trimmers will have 'Cutting Flutes', blades sticking out that keep cutting.
That's fine for hand powered tools where you are going to count the times you turn the cutter by hand.

Most of us want to reduce time & labor, so we power the cutting tools with electric motors, and that's where the problem with over cutting starts...

Flute cutters can carve up heads when you don't hit that cutter dead center,
The can oval or drill the primer pocket at an angle, no matter if you intended to hit the cutter head on or not.

Weldon style Zero Flute cutters are self centering, cut ONLY the primer crimp, and self stop the cutting process when they remove the crimp.
Virtually fool proof.

Generally, the 60* cutter works better than the 90* cutter for brass cases, a nice 30* taper on both sides of the primer pocket (60* Included Angle) which guides the primer into the pocket without snagging.
 
JeepHammer
Do you have a link where to buy the cutter you use ? What size cutter are you using ? I did a search but found only 82 and 90 degree cutters.
 
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Just do a seach on 'eBay' for 'Weldon Deburr Tool' and a ton will pop up so you can see what's available.

The Weldon website is a resource, Style '3',

https://heritagecutter.com/BrubakerWeldon/PublicStore/catalog/60-Degree-Deburring-Tools,443.aspx

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I'm not about to tell you 'This' or 'That' cutter is best,
I don't know your application, or what in exact detail you are trying to achieve.

This is PERSONAL OPINION...
In my PERSONAL experience the 1/4" shank, Weldon DC8 cutter works well for me with 60* nose.

30 Degree taper on both sides (60* included),
Cutting range 1/8" to 15/64" deburring of holes is it's intended purpose, so it STOPS cutting when the deburr is accomplished.

This particular deburring tool (DC8) works particularly well in large primer pistol brass since the pointed nose centers on the flash hole
(Without cutting or damaging the primer pocket)
And further self limits the cutting process since the nose of the cutting tool makes contact with the flash hole and stops cutting with the most uniform/even trim you can hope for in large primer pistol brass.

The issue I have with counter sinks/reamers with outside flutes is they cut WAY too deep, cut MUCH deeper than they need to.
And most common countersinks are 90 degrees, making for a 'Wider' funnel than you need, removing more material than is necessary.

Even the cutters with outside cutting flutes that are intended to stop at the primer pocket depth (at the flash hole) can be off center when you hand trim, since you will RARELY hold the case EXACTLY parallel to the cutter,
And primer pocket holes vary wildly, some really deep, some really shallow,
Since the depth of the primer pocket determines the depth of the cut with those piloted trimmers, you get wildly varying taper cuts that are just intended to remove the (Damaged) brass right at the crimp.

Sometimes it cuts way too much, sometimes it cuts way too shallow, sometimes it cuts off center and you get an 'Oval' trim instead of a 'Round' trim that's even.
That's the nature of HAND trimming, even if you use a power motor to turn the trimmer...

Blasting Ammo, doesn't matter one lick of difference, The crimp is gone, and you haven't damaged the case to the point of failure.

If you are accuracy loading, everything is a potential accuracy variable,
This little trimmer just rules out, or minimizes one more potential thing that can effect accuracy.
 
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I want to remove the military crimp from 5.56 rifle cases. Is the DC8 the one to get or is that for LP 45 cases ?
 
For Me, the DB-8 works equally well on both small and large primer crimps.
It WILL cut slightly deeper on small primers, but since I use a auto-progressive loader that doesn't always center the primer exactly, a slightly larger taper mouth helps guide the primer into the pocket.

If you are HAND cutting, it's very easy to control the depth of the cut,
Machine trimming in small primer pockets will take a little practice to get a more or less exact cut, it's mostly about pressure you put on the cutter, not particular the time the brass spends on the cutter.

Either way, since it's a 'De-Burring' tool (That's what the DB stands for) it does a VERY neat, tidy job that isn't way overdone like some fluted counter sink tools will do.

This particular cutter is what I based $3,000 worth of machine work around when I built my case processor, Without a CONTROLLED De-Burr of the military crimp, you are mostly wasting time.

Personally, I would LOVE to have a radius trimmer that DOES NOT pilot off the primer pocket.
There isn't one made, and custom cut radius trimmers cost a small fortune to have made (upwards of $130 each),
This is the next best thing, perfectly acceptable, well adapted to the job at hand, and made in such quantities they are CHEAP!

The HSS (High Speed Steel) versions live a long time trimming brass,
I have one that is 30 years old, cuts nearly as well the day I mounted it in the handle, and still has a second cutting end to use in the event the primary ever wears out.

The carbide version (Special Order) has done nearly 500,000 brass on one end and I haven't had to flip it yet in the case processing machine.
I consider it a 'Consumable' tool, but it seems this thing just won't die...

With an automated machine, the primer crimp trim station is also the primer check station, the pointed nose is blunt enough to do just that, check for the primer.
When the machine finds a primer still in the pocket, the case is ejected so that primer doesn't cause problems further down the processing line...
This tool made that possible, pointed nose checks for primer, when none is found, the military crimp is cut away, and the case proceeds down the line for resizing/primer pocket uniforming/lenght trim, ect.

Not that you all are probably don't cases on that volume, just letting you know the actual 'Weldon' brand DB tools live a good long time without issues.
 
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