Quick way to trim and deburr

With a drill clamped into a vice I can't think of anything goes quicker than that.

Ran 150 7.5 last night, about 3 seconds each.
 
It looks like they set the trim from the top, maybe work better than clamping the whole case.

I would encourage anyone to u tube the -CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED-, Gerard or Tri Trimmer.

Then using your imagination, take a cordless or corded drill , clamp in a vice and see how fast you can feed one of those.
 
The Gerard does (both the motorized and Tri Trimmer)

The Tim it II does. That has too many adjustments but once set its worked good.
It also has too many hex wrenches (4). Easily cut down to two.

WFT no. It would be ok for processing small batches for hunting as a quick chamfer and deburr on the prep station would not be that much more.

Now if we could get a trimmer that cleaned primer pockets at the same time!
 
Note to speed. I think nothing to date is faster than mine if installed in a progressive. The whole loading operation would be taking place anyhow and the trim operation is fully automated into the sizing pass. It's as if the need to trim predominantly evaporated.

The machine does not chamfer and debur, but it makes a very clean cut with a positive rake carbide insert and a negative chip contour. Rather than setting trim off the shoulder or primer, it sets trim off OAL. Since the brass is fully supported by the sizing die, the brass to cutter is *extremely* rigid for a nice clean cut.

Obviously I'm a little biased though. If I didn't think it was a better arrangement, I wouldn't have built these things in the first place. ;)
 
Well my re-loads are hand crafted for the utmost accuracy (grin). Like fine wine or cheese, you just can't hurry the process.

All that speedy stuff, hmmmm

I do like to make the hand crafting process for the dull parts for the much superior ammunition as fast as possible though.
 
Well my re-loads are hand crafted for the utmost accuracy (grin). Like fine wine or cheese, you just can't hurry the process.

All that speedy stuff, hmmmm
Click to expand...

I think that there is an on going myth out there that slow = quality.

I agree that shortcuts often lead to low quality, regardless if you are making ammo or furniture. But just because you have some equipment to speed up the process, doesn't mean quality has suffered. In some cases, the quality and Especially the consistency is better if you get some time saving equipment.

For example, my uncle makes handmade furniture for a hobby and sells it. Before getting a plainer, he had to use hand sanders to smooth out boards for table tops. But the plainer actually does a better job getting everything the same thickness than he did with hand tools and all that is left to do is finishing sanding.

Now, my trim pro with 3-way cutting head gives superior consistency to me using a hand chamfer and deburring tool. Adding a drill adapter just made it so I didn't have to crank it by hand.

But here's the catch, time saving equipment that produces high quality results is expensive. And you have to pay as much attention to your equipment as you do your handloads.

However, if you don't shoot a lot, and want to spend weeks making 100 rounds, and enjoy doing it, who am I to say anything?

My IBR shooting friend spends the better part of a month making his rounds for the monthly 1000 yard IBR heavy class competition in Laurel. But he only makes like 30 rounds because in his class of IBR, only 10 shots are for score. The rest are sighters and foulers (and extras).

But if you are shooting the mid-range and long range F-CLASS like I do, that's 160 rounds at least...then I shoot some XTC, that's another 100+, then I practice. Oh, and Im 34 so not retired, and have 2 kids.
So I can't sit there and measure every case after each rotation on the trimmer.
And it would take too long to count each granule of powder as I trickled it into the case.

So, I find ways to save time but still put out the same quality of another I would on a single stage press doing the same steps, just faster.
 
Just tried the Lee Quicktrim . 50 cases trimmed , chamfered and deburred in less than 30 minutes. Setup took 5 min and I think I averaged maybe 3 cases a minute after that and the cordless screwdriver did all the work. Afterward I randomly measured 15 cases and all were the same exact length. I am sold on this one and will be getting a .223 and a .308 die for it.

Less than 75 bucks and I am setup for 4 calibers, no cranking and I pick up each case just one time, got to love that
 
I've seen the little black plastic for the ram, but it really didn't look like it would do much in the pics and vids I've seen. 1st hand experience is best for sure. LOL thanks.
 
jpx2rk

when you are cutting the ram is up and the case holder is directly below the die, chips only fall from a distance of 1/2 inch or so

I am sure some of the brass chips are ending up inside the case, probably not enough to matter but I will be tossing back into the tumbler anyway or hitting up with compressed air or both. Even when using the Wilson trimmer I would either tumble or blow out with air before priming

For 25 bucks for the main unit and another ten for each caliber die I can tolerate that. Compared to the price of the other units that do all three ops at once this thing is a bargain
 
Loosley on this topic:

Had anyone actually done a test to see how much a consistent trim actually matters?
Obviously you have to trim if the case gets over the chamber max. But I mean if there is 0.005-0.008" difference in case length, how much does it actually impact accuracy?

I have trimmed to a consistent length almost since I first started...and never paid it any thought beyond wanting to remove variables. But I have never actually tested it's efficacy in a rifle where I could tell if I lost 1/4 moa or more of accuracy.

Maybe if I find time and have nothing pressing to do, I'll take one of my pet loads and test it.

I am the type of person who likes to test rules of thumb, old adages, or the "everyone knows....." claims. And I have found that sometimes wives tales are in fact mostly fiction loosley based upon facts.
 
From what I've read, the more "precise" brass prep is really beneficial for the BR & competition guys but it can't hurt if you want to put out the effort. I've shot some pretty good groups ( a couple .2's, a high .1 and some .3's, lots of .5's) with inconsistent lengths on the brass in 204 & 223. I do have my good days and those above indicate it but my reloading skills are at the beginner level (~1 yr). If the brass does not exceed max book length, then I usually don't trim it unless I have a bunch that are getting close and I have the time & desire (retired) to trim it.

When I process range pick up or some LC/FC "once fired", I check the length and go from there. One case might be 1.7xx and the next might be 1.7zz, and in the same 5 shot group testing. I plan on just punching paper and busting PD's, so the good groups are great to shoot, but if I can keep it .5-.75" at 100, I'm good.
 
@mississippi

seems logical that uneven neck lengths would cause uneven neck pressure on the seated bullets if all bullets are seated to the same OAL or the same ogive to base length.

for a hypothetical situation lets take 2 bullets both seated to the cases with the same neck tension except case A has a bullet seated .3 into the case, case B was seated with the same settings so OAL would be the same but the bullet is .310 into the neck because of the difference in neck length. Bullet B will have appx 3% more force holding the bullet in the neck. How much would that affect the velocity I don't have a clue. I can attest that annealing after eah firing along with more attention to case neck prep and shooting techniques has dropped my SD's from the mid 20's down to low double digits and single digits along with fewer flyers and less vertical dispersion of my shots

The other reasons for consistent trim lengths would be the carbon ring that forms in front of the neck or in the instance of a case that exceeds SAAMI specs perhaps a pinching of the neck that extends past the throat and into the lands.
 
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