Case "prep"tools

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PolarFBear

New member
Been loading hand gun rounds for many years. But have ventured into the .223 realm. Case preparation is a chore. I am using the Lee hand chamfer tool. It is just to labor intensive. Finished 130 cases (have several hundred more to do) and I'm done for the day. What mechanized devices are you folks using? I will be moving onto .303 British and .308 real soon.
 
Chamfering and deburring is only done after trimming, if trimming is required. And with brand new brass and sometimes with 'once fired factory. It's not an every time thing.
There are tools that get connect to hand drills to speed thing up. Lee makes a thing called a Zip Trim that does the case turning part for you. Otherwise, case prep tools/centres start at $100.
 
I use the Worlds Finest Trimmer, Hornady primer pocket swager and Lyman Prep Center.

This is pretty fast, but the Giraud might be a better way to trim.

I feel your pain. Just finished prepping 1800 5.56 brass.

Clean, Decap, FL size, Clean lube off, swage, uniform primer pocket, trim, deburr, flash hole deburr....urrrgh

Some will say I did too much, but on the Lyman, grabbing the case is the bulk of the time!
 
I use a small bench mounted drill press to chuck up the hand tools. Run at around 500 rpm. Chamfer, primer pocket uniform, flash hole drilling (if required), and similar tasks go much quicker. Just make sure the chuck on the drill is large enough to accommodate your tool, if not, many accessory tool makers offer an adapter that will allow you to chuck their product in a drill or drill press.
 
I use the RCBS Trim Pro with the 3-way cutter head.

I unscrewed the shaft handle and chuck it in a 1/2" cordless drill.

Make sure all the bolts are tight and mount it to a board and place the whole thing in front of your TV.

Once you have the blades and trim length adjusted, it only takes two seconds per case and all three cuts are done. It's very nice and the cuts are very clean and trim length is very consistent.

There are other options out there for certain, but the RCBS holds it's own.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/817007/rcbs-trim-pro-2-manual-case-trimmer-kit

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/145038/rcbs-trim-pro-case-trimmer-3-way-cutter-22-caliber

Do not buy pilots, the cutter head comes with the correct pilot.

Gotta love the rebates too.
 
Don Fischer said:
Ok, gotta know. Why do you guy's wait till your buried under to prep case's?
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It gives us an excuse to upgrade to fancier equipment. Then, once you have said equipment, you wonder how you ever made do without it, even for short runs when you aren't buried. It's just too convenient. And if you have something like the Giraud and start loading a new chambering, brass accumulates because you are looking for an excuse to buy the Giraud caliber conversion for the new chambering and a separate cutter so you don't have to readjust the cutter when you swap it in.

Actually, I still use a Wilson trimmer and hand tools for the rounds I don't fire often, like 6.6×55 Swedish, and I can take it to the range with me for load development if I need to. But the speed difference is huge. The hand tools were often designed with competitive benchrest shooters in mind, and those guys make their cases last a long time and they select and reuse a few favorite cases a large number of times, so they don't have mountains of case the way we service rifle shooters often do.
 
Several years ago my brother gave me a RCBS Case Prep Center and it is sort of like rear window defrosters, once you have them you never want to do without. That said...
I am using the Lee hand chamfer tool. It is just to labor intensive.
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When I prep .308 Winchester and .223 Remington, before I had a motorized case prep center I would typically do a few hundred at a time. Using a hand chamfer tool it was just a quick twist and next. I size my cases, trim the cases and chamfer and deburr. I never found it to be labor intensive and it never hurt my hands or fingers and at 67 my fingers are not quite as nimble as they once were. All you need is a quick light twist.

Ron
 
My first trimmer was the Giraud Tri Way. Can't really understand why anything less would even be a consideration.

Well that sounded a little snobbish. :D

It just saves wear and tear on the reloader and makes things more enjoyable.
 
I use the Forster hand trimmer which can also convert to an outside neck turner. For chamfering and primer pockets I use the RCBS Cae Prep Center.

I believe Forster now has a 3 way attachment that will trim and chamfer in and out at the same time. Some guys remove the crank handle and replace it with a bolt. Then they have a cordless drill with a socket to spin it.
 
Now when you get the latest and greatest case prep center and you think it won't still be a "chore" you are doing drugs. I do not look forward in case prep but this is what I use.
LOp6crpl.jpg
 
Drain Smith. I looked at one of those. Could never figure out all the gadgets from just the box. But, I could well discern the price tag $$$. $495 at the nearby Cabella's. Looks like I am more in the Lee Zip Trim category. Folks, thanks for all the replies. I had never heard of the WFT or the Girard (sp) gadget before. The tiny ads in old Handloader magazine shows very little detail nor do their web sites. Still looking.
 
Other than trimming, you can go the less expensive route.
Look at any sales site and get the RCBS or another brand of chamfering tool. One will inside chamfer and the other will do the outside. You do not buy the handle part that each will screw into, you just need the head and an adapter that will have the head screw into it and will slide into an electric screwdriver.

Life is MUCH easier than using the Wilson or similar tool that will cause hand cramps after 50 rounds (for me anyway).

For trimming, no suggestions. There are 20 products out there.
 
Giraud tri way. IMHO everything else is a waste of time.
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Pretty much agreed. Unless I was just hunt loading, the Tri Way beats the WFT all to heck.

If you can't get the Tri way I in the caliber (or case family ) you want, different story.

I can chuck up the Tri Way into the 1/2 inch drill, clamp the drill in the vice and I can run 200 or 300 cases off in 15 minutes.

The off the shoulder (which is what Tri way and -CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED- do) is the way to go. You don't have to check if its right, it always is.

Tri just does 3 things at the same time and its a done deal.
 
Trimming cases is necessary. But cutting pockets
is a no no in my book. I've done it then taken a
look with a maginifing glass. What a mess it makes
Both to the pocket and the bench.
I believe in swagging pockets. It's fast and
I can use my press to do it with out the mess or out of spec
pockets.
 
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