trimmer problems

S

Shadow9mm

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So I got a new trimmer. But it has been having some issues. the pilot is fairly snug. However the more I have used it it is getting tighter and tighter to the point where the lock on the adjustment wont stay in place. It is also scoring the inside of the necks which I consider to be less than desirable. I decided to polish it up today. Used some wet dry, 1500-2500 grit. Was hoping to remove just a little material to help it slide on and off easier and not bind up while trimming.

Well, it started out good, but the pilot is still picking up the brass and binding... It was a mirror polish before I started....

its a Redding 2400 Match Precision Case Trimmer, bought it new a couple months back.

Any ideas?

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Yep , don't use the collets on the first trim . What's happening is when you need to trim more then just a few thousandths . All the burs and shavings get caught up in between the collet and inside case mouth . Not only does it mark up the case neck , it's often hard to extract the collet from the case . Once you've trimmed for the first time from once fired and are only bumping the shoulders minimally . You will not be trimming as much each time and the problem pretty much goes away if you're only trimming a little each time .

I have the Lyman universal case trimmer and the way the case locks in at the head . The collets are not really needed , the case mouths come out plenty square enough . Now I don't know how the Redding works , you may need the collet to help stabilize the case while trimming ??? If that's the case you are going to have that issue every time you need to trim more then a few thousandths off the mouth .

If my case mouths were badly out of square the heads would lean all out of whack but they line up pretty straight

GC3WxT.jpg


I can't find my other photo that looks exactly like yours , I had the same problem years ago and believe I started a thread about it . Can't find the thread or the photo haha .
 
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I tried with with no pilot. Had a really hard time getting it squared up. I decided to try extending the pilot. I left it hanging about 1/8in out from the cutter. The extra space let the shavings flow out a little better. I will still need to re-polish the pilot, but it is working a lot better now.
 
I just looked at the design of the Redding , you may need the collets . The main difference between the Lyman and the Redding is that the Lyman locks the case into a fixed position and you bring the blade/cutter to the case mouth . While the Redding appears to lock the case in well but you then are actually turning the whole case at the fixed blade location . The two literally work the opposite of each other and the Redding may benefit by using the collets . Give it a try and see if the case body stays stationary/square to the cutter while it turns with out the collet ?

oops we were writing at the same time haha
 
I am sorry for your troubles. I gave up on that type trimmer years back.

The best trimmer systems work off the shoulder, no collets, just and adapter. Two out of the three also chamfer and deburr in one operation.

The Giraud is the top of those, either the Tri Trimmer or if you have more than 3-5 calibers, the motorized unit. Very easy to setup. High quality.

The other two are a coin flip. WFT just trims but does a good job, no chamber. I like the chamfer as it allows feeding of bullet in my single press operation easier (and more so with flat base)

The Trim It II works pretty well. It has a lot more settings and adjustments (comes with 4 or 5 hex tools for it!) and is not fun to setup, but once it is, works well. Its very much like the Trim Trimmer though more complex adjustments.
 
The part that enters the case mouth is the PILOT not the collet.

a collet squeezes together to grip something (in many case trimmers, its a collet that grips the case head). A pilot guides something, centers something, is usually a smaller diameter than the main shaft or hole.

I've used Forster and Lyman case trimmers, never had the issue you've got with yours.
 
Put the pilot in a lathe or drill and file and sand about .001" off the diameter. Try again. Might need to reduce the diameter a little more? Keep the dia. the same front to back.
 
Use a cotton swab with a little KG-12 or Bore Tech Cu++ to get the brass off the pilot surface. Then use a cotton swab to put a trace of case lube on the pilot before trimming. There are also permanent lubes like Sprinco Plate+ Silver that will go a long way toward preventing brass from sticking to the pilot.
 
Working through this with redding. So far they are suggesting there might be a burr on the inside of the casings causing and issue and recommended chamfering prior to trimming.

I tried it. a lot smoother so far, slides over the pilot a lot easier. Bit of extra work though. Personally I don't think this should be an issue, but it appears may be.

I am still at a loss as to how a brass casing is scoring a steel pilot, the pilot should be way harder than the brass....
 
Wilson + power adapter + cordless electric screwdriver @ 30 RPM. All case trimming problems solved. Recently been converting 6.5 Grendel to 6 ARC the last step of which involves trimming .030 to .040 off every neck. Wilson and a good old black and decker screwstick made short work of it and all cases were the same COL + or - .001 when finished
 
Looking at the cutters cutting edge, chips, and the trimmed case it appears to me that the cutter is not sharp?
 
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It’s been my experience and I don’t know if the OP is doing this but based on past threads my guess is that he is. When sizing military brass with a small bass die the case necks grow quite a bit and you end up needing to trim much more than normal . That is the problem here , there’s too much material being removed and it’s getting trapped between the neck and the pilot .
 
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I am still at a loss as to how a brass casing is scoring a steel pilot, the pilot should be way harder than the brass....
Click to expand...

It's possible that because the brass is softer, it would hold on to carbon / grit and when spinning it over the pilot it wears concentric rings into it.
 
As noted, all those question, issues etc go away with a shoulder trimmer.

When I was working I called it the 100% solution. What fixed the problem for sure?

Equally, the shoulder trimmers are fast. I can do 150 in 30 minutes.
 
When I started reloading ... ages ago ... the book said , resize brass then trim cases and just like you I had lots of trouble doing that ... in fact trouble like your having ...
No interweb to ask questions so next time ... I trimmed my fired cases and then sized them ... TAH - DAH ! No trimming problems ... I know it sounds wrong but but the darn cases get trimmed without all the problems .
I had no metal working tools to make new pilots and I wasn't going to buy another tool , always looking for a simple , quick and cheap solution ... I came up with trim first then resize ... and you know what ... it works like an old Voo Doo Womans Magic Charm !
Gary
 
when checking trimemr I noticed it seemed to turn smoothly from the 7 to 11 oclock position but seemed to bind the rest of the way.

Getting ready to check the collet that holds the case. That is the next thing Redding has me looking at. Stated should be spaced evenly and free of debri. Im guessing they are suspecting a concentricity/allignment problem.
 
The pilot probably is probably still as soft as it was when they turned it. As the shards of brass between the pilot and the inside of the neck are pulled off by friction, they work-harden considerably and can get up to as high as about Brinnel 200 (about Rc 17; Extra Spring brass hardness), while some free-machining steels, like hot-rolled 1212 is only about Brinnel 120, and cold drawn is about BHN 165. While I would not expect much of the brass to reach its hardness extreme, all it takes is a little bit here and there to do the scoring. So it is possible for some brass to be harder than some steel.

What I would do in your shoes is get a new pilot and case-harden it in Kasenit, but that's just me. You could also call Redding and ask about the hardness issue. Maybe they can get one nitrided for you.
 
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