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I also use the L.E. Wilson lathe type and love it. They support the body of the case the same as the the chamber allowing for perfect alignment with the cutter resulting in square mouths. They also offer additional attachments to allow for inside neck reaming, case mouth deburring and military crimp removal. They're also made here in the northwest.

Eugene
 
Do you then do the length adjustment with the stop on the drill press itself?

Is there a pilot that chucks up in the drill press (centers in the cutter) to hold center and square on the case?

How do you attach that to the drill press table?

You do use the quill stop on the drill press for depth of cut. It is quite accurate. There are pilots for different calibers to keep the cutter square on the top of the case. To mount it on the press I just screwed it to a piece of wood and bolted it to the press. Pull the handle and it locks the case in the collet. It was a good buy as I already had the drill press, and if I was looking for a power trimmer you could buy a inexpensive small table mount drill press and still have a great trimmer for less than some power trimmers, with a drill press to use for other projects. I clean the primer pockets with the rcbs primer pocket chucked up for a hands free primer pocket cleaner. No heavy drill to hold for big batchs and no tired hands.
 
I also use the L.E. Wilson lathe type and love it. They support the body of the case the same as the the chamber allowing for perfect alignment with the cutter resulting in square mouths. They also offer additional attachments to allow for inside neck reaming, case mouth deburring and military crimp removal. They're also made here in the northwest.

Eugene

That does look good. I googled it. The only part I wouldn't take advantage of is the pocket reamer. I like to see pockets swaged without removing material, but that's just me. :) Anyway you do that, you only have to do it once. :s0155:
 
You do use the quill stop on the drill press for depth of cut. It is quite accurate. There are pilots for different calibers to keep the cutter square on the top of the case. To mount it on the press I just screwed it to a piece of wood and bolted it to the press. Pull the handle and it locks the case in the collet. It was a good buy as I already had the drill press, and if I was looking for a power trimmer you could buy a inexpensive small table mount drill press and still have a great trimmer for less than some power trimmers, with a drill press to use for other projects. I clean the primer pockets with the rcbs primer pocket chucked up for a hands free primer pocket cleaner. No heavy drill to hold for big batchs and no tired hands.

Sounds like a nice setup. I just got rid of a full sized Delta floor model drill press (actually donated it to a charity in Yamhill - the 5Rock Ranch, a ranch for helping hurting people.)
 
Originally Posted by roguebowhunter
i use the forester only thing i do not like about it is its hard to set the length on it .. takes to much fiddling w/ the allen screws ect. Don
Don,

I don't know that model so maybe this is a dumb question. Would it work to save a "perfect" length case, install it, and "bump up" to it for adjustment, then tighten the screw(s)?

I have a forster and that's what I do, works fine once you get the test case set up.

cb
 
I started with a lyman hand crank and soon found that if you take a die grinder to the crank handle and then make a coupler with a piece of rubber hose then chuck up a 1/2 inch drill bit and then hose clamp the whole mess together you will have a unit that will do around 300 cases an hour!!
 
I have 3 the foster that you use on a drill press. Okay a little longer to set up and depending on your drillpress easy to knock out of adjustment.
Forester handcrank have used it the most.
Just bought a Gracey and want to give it a try.

Anyone out here use a Gracie?

Ken.
 
Until you've tried Dillon's case trimmer you don't know what you are missing. I've used most every brand and method described in all the posts....there is nothing like the Dillon trimer. Entire trimming process in about 1/2 of a second. Spendy..but well worth it if you have a few thousand of something that needs trimming.
 
I see no benefit to the Dillon, just for me, considering the price. It still does what most trimmers do - leaves a burr on the inside and outside of the case mouth.

When I trim cases, I do it to relax and I don't mind the bit of extra time. The most time consuming part is the chamfering/deburring process anyway, and Dillon didn't solve that. It must be done, and it must be done as a separate step with the Dillon as with most trimmers.

Another beef I have with the Dillon is that it needs to have the case sized before you trim, IIRC. That's a no-go for me because for bolt action rifles I like my fire-formed brass and I only neck size. Now I'd need two trimmers and a chamfering tool.

You can motorize most crank type trimmers with a cordless drill if that's your thing. I don't do that because it takes just a couple of turns of a crank to trim most cases.

For rifles, if I wanted the ultimate, I'd buy this, but I won't. It would be awesome for AR-15, AR-10 and AK's. Giraud trimmer which length sizes, and chamfers in and out in one step

PS I reload to 1.) relax and 2.) save money. If I had the choice between soaking $3k+ into reloading equipment or buying 3k+ worth of ammo, I'd buy the ammo. (I'm not counting brass and consumables, just equipment.) I believe that I have good equipment including a chrony and case trimmer and 7 sets of dies and a tumbler and a Lee Classic Turret Press etc. for about $1k. I believe I have $3k in brass and consumables on hand. I believe that with the $3k in brass and consumables, I can load what would cost me $6k in ammo at Wal Mart and Bi Mart. That means I can reload for about 1/2 the cost of new when I have to buy the brass. I can reload for 1/3 the cost when I own the brass already.

I like that balance better.
 
That does look good. I googled it. The only part I wouldn't take advantage of is the pocket reamer. I like to see pockets swaged without removing material, but that's just me. :) Anyway you do that, you only have to do it once. :s0155:

Gunner, in a later post yuou indicate you only neck size for your bolt actions. In that case, the Wilson trimmer is a no-go for you. The case holders are dimensioned for full length sized cases. A neck sized case will be too fat and not allow the case to go far enough into the holder for the neck to stick out the other end.

I use the Wilson trimmer, but then I FL size every case for every caliber once, and then use an RCBS X-die thereafter. All of my shooting is for semi-auto, or calibers that are used in multiple rifles.

If I get to where I load a cartridge for one rifle and just neck size it, then I'll need to get a trimmer that holds the case by the rim.
 
Gunner, in a later post yuou indicate you only neck size for your bolt actions. In that case, the Wilson trimmer is a no-go for you. The case holders are dimensioned for full length sized cases. A neck sized case will be too fat and not allow the case to go far enough into the holder for the neck to stick out the other end.

I use the Wilson trimmer, but then I FL size every case for every caliber once, and then use an RCBS X-die thereafter. All of my shooting is for semi-auto, or calibers that are used in multiple rifles.

If I get to where I load a cartridge for one rifle and just neck size it, then I'll need to get a trimmer that holds the case by the rim.

Yeah, I full length re-size more than 95% of all cases. I'm just thinking of hunting and sniping rifles. I still need a way to case length size those, and my Lyman will always do that.
 
I use the Lee trimmers and chamfer tools with an 18volt cordless drill. After sizing, I clean the primer pocket then chuck it to the drill. The drill stands by itself and is very steady. I then trim and then do the inside and outside chamfer. After this I spin the drill and run 000 steelwool over the case to clean. The case is now not only ready to load but is the same length as a case trimmed 2 years ago. It is a hard system to beat at twice the price.
 
I use the Wilson trimmer and while I full length size handgun brass I never full length size my rifle brass. I've never had a problem with my brass not fitting the shell holder with neck sized brass.

Eugene
 
I use the Wilson trimmer and while I full length size handgun brass I never full length size my rifle brass. I've never had a problem with my brass not fitting the shell holder with neck sized brass.

Eugene

The idea is that brass stretches and becomes longer when fired. I case length resize to be sure the brass is the correct length, partly so that the crimping tool will do a uniform job, and partly for fit in the case.


I've never had the opportunity to use one of these - I still manually crank the RCBS trimmer and hand chamfer: <broken link removed>

Can anyone give some insight?

elsie

That looks like it's designed to ream the thickness of the metal in the neck, not trim the length. I've never seen it before. What am I missing?
 

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