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Lee Quick Trim Deluxe - ARRGGHHH!!
- Thread starter KentM
- Start date
Marco Califo
New member
#1. Measure cases to make sure you need to size them.
#2. The Wilson case trimmer set-up works very well. It can also be motorized with a drill (I have the part, but have not done that)
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012782275?pid=214923
#3. Giraud Tri-Way Trimmer is only $110. You use it on a drill press.
https://www.giraudtool.com/giraud-tri-way-trimmer.html
#2. The Wilson case trimmer set-up works very well. It can also be motorized with a drill (I have the part, but have not done that)
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012782275?pid=214923
#3. Giraud Tri-Way Trimmer is only $110. You use it on a drill press.
https://www.giraudtool.com/giraud-tri-way-trimmer.html
I have gone to the Giraud system.
You can get a one time size in the common calibers that fits on a drill (clamp the drill in a vice and you have a motorized and easy to use setup).
If you have more than 3 calibers or odd ball like my 7.5 Swiss, then the motorized Giraud is the way to go and that is what I have shifted to.
Giruad is a Tri Trimmer so it does lenght, chamfers and deburrs all in one go and is wonderful.
You can get a one time size in the common calibers that fits on a drill (clamp the drill in a vice and you have a motorized and easy to use setup).
If you have more than 3 calibers or odd ball like my 7.5 Swiss, then the motorized Giraud is the way to go and that is what I have shifted to.
Giruad is a Tri Trimmer so it does lenght, chamfers and deburrs all in one go and is wonderful.
So what do you use for case trimming .223/5.56 cases after sizing? I trim to 1.740 for the RCBS X-die.
I use my Lyman case trimmer, (hand cranked) and trim to 1.750" the length recommended in my Lyman manual. Since my only remaining .223 is an older Ruger Mini 14, I don't worry about accuracy minutiae loading for it.
Kent,
Lee makes some good products and they make some really bad products,
This is one of the bad products , it has to be the worst trimmer ever made, I spent hrs and hrs trying to get it too work consistently.
I just bought a hornady hand crank trimmer, with drill attachment .
My purpose was to setup in my dillion 550 and trim after I resize ( what a fiasco) I see now why Dillion uses vacumm on there electric trimmer to suck up the shavings.
Lee makes some good products and they make some really bad products,
This is one of the bad products , it has to be the worst trimmer ever made, I spent hrs and hrs trying to get it too work consistently.
I just bought a hornady hand crank trimmer, with drill attachment .
My purpose was to setup in my dillion 550 and trim after I resize ( what a fiasco) I see now why Dillion uses vacumm on there electric trimmer to suck up the shavings.
One thing that can mess with most trimmers is that if you are firing your 223 from a semi-auto, hard extraction can bend the rim, raising the height of the case when you set the bend against the back surface of a typical trimmer chuck. The Wilson trimmer holds the sides of the cases, then sets the length with a base support, so it doesn't get you out of that problem, either (though you could devise a support enough narrower than the head to miss the most bent portion of a rim), but it will let you flip the case around and touch the head with the trim cutter, which quickly reveals whether you have the bent rim or not.
The shoulder registration trimmers like the Giraud don't have this issue, at least.
The shoulder registration trimmers like the Giraud don't have this issue, at least.
Different results for different people.
I have been using one to trim 223 target reloads for over two years. Keep the cutter clean and clear, smear a dab of white lithium grease on the sides. Have no trouble holding 1.750" with it and I check measure almost every one. I have also found that when I come across a piece of brass that wasn't quite annealed fully it is harder to cut to length. So I will stay with mine until I start having trouble.
I have been using one to trim 223 target reloads for over two years. Keep the cutter clean and clear, smear a dab of white lithium grease on the sides. Have no trouble holding 1.750" with it and I check measure almost every one. I have also found that when I come across a piece of brass that wasn't quite annealed fully it is harder to cut to length. So I will stay with mine until I start having trouble.
I actually had the opposite effect, the softer necks would smear from the cutter, More brittle necks cut easier.Different results for different people.
I have been using one to trim 223 target reloads for over two years. Keep the cutter clean and clear, smear a dab of white lithium grease on the sides. Have no trouble holding 1.750" with it and I check measure almost every one. I have also found that when I come across a piece of brass that wasn't quite annealed fully it is harder to cut to length. So I will stay with mine until I start having trouble.
Little gun also makes a good trimmer but it length only. You can chamfer and de-=burr
on a station (it also trims off the shoulder)
There is one other one that does the tri trim, its a mess to setup but works, version II anyway. I am selling the others now I have the full geraud power trimmer setup.
on a station (it also trims off the shoulder)
There is one other one that does the tri trim, its a mess to setup but works, version II anyway. I am selling the others now I have the full geraud power trimmer setup.
armoredman
New member
I use the Frankford Arsenal Platinum case prep center, does a great and fast job with 5.56mm brass.
Like I suspect a number of folks, I have “risen through the ranks” with case trimmers.
I started with an RCBS hand turned mini-lathe type. Did an OK job, but was slow, tedious and a bit finicky about changing setup for different calibers. Cases are held by a collet that grabs the case rim, and this tends to introduce a bit of variability in as-trimmed overall length (maybe ± two or three thousands of an inch).
So I “graduated” to a homemade power drill attachment for the RCBS. Made the job a tad less tedious, but effected no improvement on setup or variability. I’d still groan at the prospect of having to trim a hundred or more rounds of brass.
So one day a year or two ago and on a lark, I bought a Lyman Trim-Xpress. This is a motorized unit that registers cases by an inserted bushing bearing at a datum point on the case shoulder. Downside is that it only works on bottleneck brass, but almost all of the rifle rounds I shoot that need trimming are bottleneck. At first, I suspected that controlling trim via the neck datum would be less consistent than the rim collet, but I’ve done some tests and found that the Lyman gives me far greater consistency: ± one thou our so at most. And lickety split faster than the drill-plus-lathe type trimmer.
Lyman came with an assortment of bushings for common calibers; then only extra one I had to buy was for 7.62 x 39, which cost a whopping $7.
So much so that I no longer groan at the prospect of trimming a couple of hundred rounds of brass.
I started with an RCBS hand turned mini-lathe type. Did an OK job, but was slow, tedious and a bit finicky about changing setup for different calibers. Cases are held by a collet that grabs the case rim, and this tends to introduce a bit of variability in as-trimmed overall length (maybe ± two or three thousands of an inch).
So I “graduated” to a homemade power drill attachment for the RCBS. Made the job a tad less tedious, but effected no improvement on setup or variability. I’d still groan at the prospect of having to trim a hundred or more rounds of brass.
So one day a year or two ago and on a lark, I bought a Lyman Trim-Xpress. This is a motorized unit that registers cases by an inserted bushing bearing at a datum point on the case shoulder. Downside is that it only works on bottleneck brass, but almost all of the rifle rounds I shoot that need trimming are bottleneck. At first, I suspected that controlling trim via the neck datum would be less consistent than the rim collet, but I’ve done some tests and found that the Lyman gives me far greater consistency: ± one thou our so at most. And lickety split faster than the drill-plus-lathe type trimmer.
Lyman came with an assortment of bushings for common calibers; then only extra one I had to buy was for 7.62 x 39, which cost a whopping $7.
So much so that I no longer groan at the prospect of trimming a couple of hundred rounds of brass.
armoredman
New member
Agreed - I just whipped out 100 on my Frankford Arsenal trim station with practically no effort.
If you have the Giraud motorized trimmer, even though it normally registers bottleneck cases on their shoulders, he has introduced special case holders for some straight wall cases that use a conventional press shell holder design to act as a stop flange for determining trim length.
Little Crow and Trim It II are the others as noted.
Trim it II is the worst due to the many adjustments, Giraud is a simple pleasure.
The Giraud each dedicated Caliber setup is a delight if you just clamp a drill in a vice (pointing up) and then its as good as the Motorized Giraud.
Having the motorized Giraud set up full time on its own section of the bench works better for me and I shifted over to that.
The .223 dedicated case length trimmer I had has been put to good use as a primer pocket cleaning tool!
Trim it II is the worst due to the many adjustments, Giraud is a simple pleasure.
The Giraud each dedicated Caliber setup is a delight if you just clamp a drill in a vice (pointing up) and then its as good as the Motorized Giraud.
Having the motorized Giraud set up full time on its own section of the bench works better for me and I shifted over to that.
The .223 dedicated case length trimmer I had has been put to good use as a primer pocket cleaning tool!