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I have an older Forrester case trimmer, which works great, until I look at the few thousand cases I need to trim.

I bought the power adapter only to find out that my trimmer didn't have a threaded arm.

So now I'm shopping for something to help.

Considering just buying the newer Forrester and using the adapter I already bought. It doesn't look like the RCBS case prep stations (Basic or "Boss") handle trim work?

Sage advice appreciated :s0005:
 
If you are looking to trim a lot of brass go with the Dillon RT1500 case trimmer. If you are already using a Dillon press it makes even more sense. I two pass process my volume rifle loads. First pass size and trim. Wet tumble clean to remove lube. Second pass to finish loading.
 
If you are looking to trim a lot of brass go with the Dillon RT1500 case trimmer. If you are already using a Dillon press it makes even more sense. I two pass process my volume rifle loads. First pass size and trim. Wet tumble clean to remove lube. Second pass to finish loading.

Someday, but for now I'm using an RCBS Rock Chucker II
 
Get a basic Lee case trimmer, chuck the CUTTER in your drill driver, and feed the case onto the cutter as opposed to the cutter into the spinning case (as is outlined by Lee)

Doing it this way dramatically speeds things up as it is much easier to swap cases out of the caseholder than if the holder is chucked into the drill.

IMG_2501[1].JPG
 
How are you setting depth on that setup @RVTECH

I'm looking for the right parts online but can't seem to find a sku that matches up.

Would I need these:


 
How are you setting depth on that setup
The depth is established by the caseholder.

The pin on the end of the stud makes contact with the caseholder base when the case is trimmed to length.

Same scenario just the cutter is in my lathe as opposed to the drill/driver.
IMG_1748.JPG
Some sort of 'handle' for the caseholder really helps as well. This was just a 'quickie' I made a while back. IMG_1752[1].JPG
 
Last Edited:
Frankfort has a similar one now too.
I've got the World's Finest and absolutely love it. I set it up on a hand drill with a auto speed regulator and just burn through brass.
 
i took the manual crank handle off my rcbs trimmer and attached my 1/2" cordless drill. also the rcbs has a 3 way cutter, debur and chamfer cutting head in some calibers. makes it quick
 
"World's Cheapest Trimmer":


I bought one each in .223 and .308, they work well. I chuck it in a bench top drill press to do the work. It only cuts on one facet; I need to chamfer and deburr as separate functions. Also in the drill press. So three passes but it goes pretty quickly and you don't have much investment in equipment. So long as you already have a drill press. You could use a cordless or corded drill clamped in a vise to achieve the same thing. The idea is to free up both hands for the work instead of using one to hold onto a tool.

I've also used the Lee shell holder and mandrel system discussed above. It also has the benefit of low cost but is one facet trimming.

I'm waiting for something cheap that cuts all three facets at once.
 
If you are loading for volume (lots of rounds not intended for precision or hunting) then I would recommend getting a go/no-go case length-gauge. I have a Lyman one like this:


Any case that fits in the appropriate cut-out I do not bother trimming. This significantly cuts down the amount of trimming necessary and ensures that I am only cutting down brass that has truly stretched out of spec. So far I have had no issues related to this methodology when loading a large volume of ammunition.
 
RCBS hand crank trimmer, attached to a 3/8 electric drill. 12 cases per minute. I just finished up 1400 cases of .223/5.56.
 

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