World's Cheapest Trimmer

F

flashhole

New member
I picked up a Ruger Mini 14, now I have to feed it.

I bought one of these for $23.49 delivered to my door. Brass Trimmers - http://www.newhighpower.com/brass-trimmers.html


Just finished trimming ~1200 223 cases over 3 sessions. The WCT worked amazingly well. I'd been cleaning, sizing and flash hole uniforming brass and storing it away dreading the trimming. Have about 1500 more to do but thought I'd share. I have it in a drill press on highest speed as recommended. The tight tolerances on the WCT make it so the brass has to be FL sized to fit in the trimmer.
 
*IF* you want to complete the 'Trim', both inside & outside of the case neck will have to be champfered...

I find the 'Trim It II' http://eztrimit.com/ trims to length, cuts inside & outside tapers, does any case neck length or with bearing insert, caliber.
Literally one second trims, three cuts done, ready to load.
 
I use the RCBS case prep center, I have all of the Lee trimmers, I have trim/form dies, I have the RCBS collet type trimmer and I have the Wilson case trimmer with the brass handle.

F. Guffey
 
I'd been...sizing and flash hole uniforming brass
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Waste of time, for the mini 14.

The tight tolerances on the WCT make it so the brass has to be FL sized to fit in the trimmer.
Click to expand...

You can't trim to final length if your going to change case dimensions after trimming. Always trim after sizing.
 
I use the LEE trimmer, $13, and a Dewalt drill, which every house should have.

I always trim after sizing. I use the Wilson case gauge to check my work
 
Price is right. You must first resize the brass however, as it indexes off the shoulder. Less than ideal for progressive reloaders. Great to see new products tho!
 
I have a Mini 14 on layaway, can't wait to get it out and play! I have never been much on the AR's, I like the more classic look of the Mini
 
'Cheap' depends on the amount of work it does.
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For me, doing large volume, after buying a bunch of single function tools,
The 'Trim It II' solved 3 cutting functions at once, is blindingly quick, mounts easily, and indexes off the correct (Datum) point on the case shoulder.
When you sit down and do 5,000 at a time, its worth the extra money just to avoid the two extra cuts...
 
The shoulder of the case has nothing to do with case length. Did you check the lengths first or just start trimming? Trimming(chamfering and deburring) isn't required every time. It's an 'as required thing' only.
"...the brass has to be FL sized to fit in the trimmer..." The case requires FL resizing anyway. Required for any semi-auto.
Like jmorris says, no need to fiddle with the primer pocket for a Mini-14. The rifle isn't accurate enough to bother.
"...since 1985..." Long before that. snicker.
 
The shoulder of the case has nothing to do with case length.
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Trimming is to keep the case neck from touching the end of the chamber neck.
If the firing pin pushes the cartridge forward until the case shoulder is stopped by the chamber shoulder, then the shoulder to neck end distance will determine if there is interference.

I measured the chamber headspace [breech to shoulder] and I measured the chamber case neck space [breech to end of neck] on a number of 223 rifles in my compare sizing dies experiment.
With this I was able to determine the REAL trim length requirement, not some sloppy estimate in a load book.
The smallest shoulder to neck end rifle is probably going to determine the trim so the same brass can fit in all the rifles.
 
The smallest shoulder to neck end rifle is probably going to determine the trim so the same brass can fit in all the rifles.
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I do not believe now is a good time to bring up the subject but 65 +/- years ago L.E. Wilson started manufacturing case gages. They included a datum in the gage. The gage from the beginning was to enable a reloader to determine the length of the case from the mouth of the case to the case head and from the datum to the case head and from the datum to the case mouth. And now after all these years I have trouble finding anyone that has ever read the instructions.

The first time I read the instructions I reached for my feeler gage and I was ready to go. The instructions said nothing about a feeler gage but did suggest the reloader use a straight edge; they also said the pocket rule was a straight edge.

F. Guffey
 
I have a pile of case gauges and headpsace go gauges and a depth micrometer, and some measurement drawings I made here waiting for me to write up what is wrong with Wilson case gauge youtube video and the Wilson instructions in the box with a case gauge.

I have two antelope tags that start Oct 8.
I have 4 rifles to build for myself before I go.
I want to go two weeks early for long range target practice and sage brush handloading load development.
That gives me 6 weeks, but I am on crutches for another week with a sprained ankle.

The wife just went to an Edward Tufte seminar and has raised the standards of displaying quantitative information
https://www.amazon.com/Visual-Display-Quantitative-Information/dp/0961392142

I can see how to display the headspace and tolerance of SAAMI chambers and cartridges... that would be 4 data points.
?How do I display those as the reference for the case gauge:
headspace
top notch depth
bottom notch depth
out of square gauge [tilt to one side]

The adult inside of me is saying, "You can do this with your foot elevated."
The kid in me is saying, "Ah, just take a nap."
 
When I purchased the WCT I knew I would have to manually deburr. Still, it shortens the time by a lot and it's CHEAP! And it works GREAT!

I process a lot of military brass so I have to swage the primer pockets. Once swaged, I uniform. It's already in my hand so no big deal and it only has to be done once. I would not be able to use the brass if I did not do this so I don't relate to some of the comments.
 
I have a pile of case gauges and headpsace go gauges and a depth micrometer, and some measurement drawings I made here waiting for me to write up what is wrong with Wilson case gauge youtube video and the Wilson instructions in the box with a case gauge.
Click to expand...

Clark, I hope nothing I said caused all of that. Who says there is something wrong with your video?

F. Guffey
 
?How do I display those as the reference for the case gauge:
Click to expand...

Forgive, I found a question mark in front of How.

L.E. Wilson did all the work; they built the gage with a datum as in measured from. I understand everyone wants to take it from SAAMI to the gage to the chamber and they want a neat and tidy little bundle when finished. The Wilson case gage has two steps, one step represents minimum length/full length sized and the higher step is go-gage length. If a reloader measures the case length before firing in the Wilson case gage the case should be at the bottom/lower step of the gage. After firing a case in a go gage length chamber the case head should be flush with the top step.

And then comes; what to do about the case head protruding from the gage and above the top step? For me it is a simple matter of measuring the protruding case head with a straight edge on the case head and a feeler gage to measure the gap between the top step of the cage and straight edge.

And that is the part I love about 'zero'. If I measure from the bottom of the straight edge to the bottom step I am measuring the amount of case stretch from minimum length to a fired case, if I measure from the top step to the bottom of the straight edge I am measuring the difference between a go-gage length chamber and my fired case.

And then it comes down to what the reloader is going to do with this information? The shell holder, die and press returns the case to minimum length, if the case is not returned to minimum length the reloader should determine why. When I am sizing cases for a chamber the Wilson case gage indicates is longer than a go-gage chamber I adjust the die off the shell holder with a feeler gag. Adjusting the die off the shell holder prevents the case from being returned to minimum length.

And then there is the ever present confusion about cam over. If I adjust the die down to the shell holder with the press camed over I can forget sizing anything but to minimum length. Meaning if the press cams over I have to make the adjustment at the top of the ram travel, not after the press cams over. For me? That is not a problem because I have the only RCBS Rock Chuckers in the world that do not cam over.

The Wilson case gage can be used on a flat surface like a layout/set up table. Just stand the case on the flat surface then place the gage over the case, if the shoulder of the case is supporting the gage there will be a gap between the gage and flat surface.
 
The 'Low End' use of an L.E. Wilson case gauge ($20),
And this lets your rounds chamber in about any rifle, not just fitting for ONE particular rifle,
Is use the gauge to push the shoulder back where it belongs so the Datum point on the shoulder is in the correct place to produce acceptable headspace.
This allow you to set up your dies so the case will chamber & headspace correctly.
.
The second function is to check from Datum point to case mouth distance, telling you instantly if your cases need trimmed,
OR,
If your trimmer is set up correctly.
.
Since with a 'Trim It II' trimmer your trim is CORRECTLY indexed off the shoulder,
And with a Datum point indexed trimmer is simply the fastest way to trim cases I've found, less than one second a case, there is no reason not to trim/uniform the cases every reload, your cases will be uniform.
.
The third function of the case gauge, and if you use a crimp on your rounds, this is a big one...
Is to gauge the LOADED rounds before you box them for use.
You simply drop the round in the gauge, if it DOESN'T seat, the round probably won't chamber easily.
This final check finds bulged cases, over crimp bends in the shoulder, ect.
A simple 'L' shaped stop fixed to the side of the case gauge will tell you if your bullet seated to your specification.
('L' shaped piece of metal, hose clamp)
A completed cartridge with a bullet seated too long will not seat in the gauge, stopping a bullet from jamming in the rifling.
.
You don't need an inspection block, high dollar specality micrometers, ect to use a case gauge, a caliper will usually tell you what you need to know, the gauge will tell you the rest...
You CAN use the high dollar inspection stuff is nice, but you don't need it to crank out range or 'Match' ammo.
 
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