Case Trimmer recommendations?

Suther

Suther

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I'm looking to invest in a case trimmer at some point soon, and am looking for suggestions. Currently I use the cheap Lee Lock stud and case length gauge deal.

Right now I see Cabelas has the Lyman Universal Case Trimmer on sale. What are peoples' opinions on this product?

cabelas.ca/product/71344/lyman-universal-case-trimmer

Alternatively, there is the RCBS one. Its more expensive, but is it any better?

cabelas.ca/product/67762/rcbs-rim-pro-2-manual-case-trimmer-kit

Last thing on my Radar is the Lee Quick Trim dies and either the manual or power trimmer. This one has the ability to chamfer and deburr the case mouth. I suspect this is a secondary step on the other systems?

Are there any options I am not aware of? The RCBS one is a bit pricey and I don't see any advantage over the Lyman one (although if there is, please let me know!), and the Lee is the cheapest option to get started but it increases in price every time I want to trim a new caliber and need to buy a new quick trim die. Right now I would need to buy at least 3 quick trim dies (243, 7mm08, and 270win) but I'm sure that will grow with time. One nice part with the lee system is its all press-based, so I don't have to find space to mount anything on my bench (or figure out a removable mount system, which is more likely because I'm currently working from home and my reloading bench has become my computer desk).

So, what say you? What did you go with and why? Did you try one of these and decide it sucked and switched to something else? Thanks!
 
I have been using RCBS Universal Case Prep Center for about a year and a half. Very happy with it...

I still have the Lyman trimmer you shared the link of. I used it with the drill attachable shaft. I guess the bushing eventually lost the tightness and tolerance, I could see a wobble on the cutting head, hence decided to invest in a powered unit...
 
I am pretty happy with the Frankford Arsenal trimmer station. It can do everything including crimp removal. A minor downside is you can only trim bottlenecked cases. I use the Lee quick trim for the very few straight wall cases I bother trimming. With a small cordless drill it makes trimming pretty easy. For my high-volume stuff like .223 and .308 I have a press mounted system on my progressive, that is hardly a cost effective solution though.
 
aakoksal said:
I have been using RCBS Universal Case Prep Center for about a year and a half. Very happy with it...

I still have the Lyman trimmer you shared the link of. I used it with the drill attachable shaft. I guess the bushing eventually lost the tightness and tolerance, I could see a wobble on the cutting head, hence decided to invest in a powered unit...
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How long did you use the Lyman trimmer before getting wobble in the head? Any idea how many cases you might have trimmed before it started to give out?
 
Depending on where you see yourself going with various disciplines, for a lathe trimmer, Forster. get the Classic long bed version, it's long enough for bigger cartridges, you can get their 3 way cutters, inside neck reamers, outside neck turners for it,and it can be adapted to run on power. It's the most expandable one of the lot, other than 21st Century, which is an expensive unit. Used one for about 40yrs now.

RCBS has the 3 way cutter going for them. They have all kinds of accessories for theirs, and many other makes will adapt. Can use RCBS 3 way on a number of other trimmers as well I believe.

Lyman has a decent trimmer, also some powered units and prep centers. Some versions of powered ones come with most necessary tools. I see their lathe type power trimmer there, they have a stand alone high speed one, and a separate prep ctr. It would tempt me to look at the FA unit instead.

Then you get into all in ones, ie; trim/prep ctrs, Frankford Arsenal or Hornady, Hornady is expensive. Frankford is somewhat limited in cartridges, Hornady does the most.

Be nice if Hornady would make their trimmer an all in one unit with the concentricity gauge and neck turning tool,and you need their shellholders with their lathe tools. Their concentricity gauge isn't all that great a unit though, not really consistent. Trimmer works well, but, it is just a trimmer, no expandability.

Then you jump up to Wilson. Read their site, do some thinking about what they offer and how it is to be used, decide what you may need down the road. Same deal with 21st Century, the most expandable one of the bunch, also expensive.

Then up to the high speed stuff like Henderson and etc. There is a fella on the prairies pirating a Giraud type unit, Gracy's are out there.
 
209jones said:
Depending on where you see yourself going with various disciplines, for a lathe trimmer, Forster. get the Classic long bed version, it's long enough for bigger cartridges, you can get their 3 way cutters, inside neck reamers, outside neck turners for it,and it can be adapted to run on power. It's the most expandable one of the lot, other than 21st Century, which is an expensive unit. Used one for about 40yrs now.

RCBS has the 3 way cutter going for them. They have all kinds of accessories for theirs, and many other makes will adapt. Can use RCBS 3 way on a number of other trimmers as well I believe.

Lyman has a decent trimmer, also some powered units and prep centers. Some versions of powered ones come with most necessary tools. I see their lathe type power trimmer there, they have a stand alone high speed one, and a separate prep ctr. It would tempt me to look at the FA unit instead.

Then you get into all in ones, ie; trim/prep ctrs, Frankford Arsenal or Hornady, Hornady is expensive. Frankford is somewhat limited in cartridges, Hornady does the most.

Be nice if Hornady would make their trimmer an all in one unit with the concentricity gauge and neck turning tool,and you need their shellholders with their lathe tools. Their concentricity gauge isn't all that great a unit though, not really consistent. Trimmer works well, but, it is just a trimmer, no expandability.

Then you jump up to Wilson. Read their site, do some thinking about what they offer and how it is to be used, decide what you may need down the road. Same deal with 21st Century, the most expandable one of the bunch, also expensive.

Then up to the high speed stuff like Henderson and etc. There is a fella on the prairies pirating a Giraud type unit, Gracy's are out there.
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Im primarily a hunter. I don't have any plans of getting heavily involved in any competition, and if I do it'll likely be rimfire PRS to start which is of course irrelevant to this discussion. I'm also the only income in the house (3 kids and a wife on disability), and its not exactly cheap to live in Greater Vancouver, so my funds are somewhat limited. Does that help narrow things down?
 
I bit the bullet and bought the Dillon RT1500. Probably way overkill for what you need but I'm turning 223 into 300blk in as few steps as possible. Also the $300 carbide dies hurt. But it is an impressive bit of gear.
 
Suther said:
Im primarily a hunter. I don't have any plans of getting heavily involved in any competition, and if I do it'll likely be rimfire PRS to start which is of course irrelevant to this discussion. I'm also the only income in the house (3 kids and a wife on disability), and its not exactly cheap to live in Greater Vancouver, so my funds are somewhat limited. Does that help narrow things down?
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Like I say, that is something you need to decide for yourself, but, ask yourself, what guns turn your crank, that you may want to get down the road, are you possibly inclined, to get into any sort of higher volume or more precision oriented stuff, or oddball cartridges? Just think about it and allow yourself the possibility of something coming along down the road, that won't make you have to spend more on tooling add ons than necessary. What will do the most for you after the initial purchase, without having to buy all new primary stuff, again. It can be surprising where meeting someone at the range or a gun show, can take you.
 
I had a Lyman universal trimmer and it started developing woble and it was not holding dimensions. It was just out of warranty period. The Lyman guys asked me to send it for repair with my money or buy a new one with no price advantage compared to Cabela's.
No Lyman products for me anymore.
 
For precision - get the Wilson. It does the most precise - repeatable cut you can get.
For bulk, when we could shoot our AR - I got a Giraud trimmer for .223 and .308. Very fast and does inside - outside case chamfer.
Would not change either for anything out there.
 
Ariu said:
I had a Lyman universal trimmer and it started developing woble and it was not holding dimensions. It was just out of warranty period. The Lyman guys asked me to send it for repair with my money or buy a new one with no price advantage compared to Cabela's.
No Lyman products for me anymore.
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So thats two who had issues with the Lyman. Not looking good for that one.

Leaning towards the Lee quick trim setup. Any reason to avoid the Lee quick trim stuff other than the fact that cost climbs with every new caliber, and I might not be able to find quick trim dies particularly for really old or wildcat cartridges?
 
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B said:
I am pretty happy with the Frankford Arsenal trimmer station. It can do everything including crimp removal. A minor downside is you can only trim bottlenecked cases. I use the Lee quick trim for the very few straight wall cases I bother trimming. With a small cordless drill it makes trimming pretty easy. For my high-volume stuff like .223 and .308 I have a press mounted system on my progressive, that is hardly a cost effective solution though.
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Frankford Arselan has zero customer service in Canada... My Primer Pocket Swager broke a spring, took them 6 months to figure out that they can't ship it to Canada...
 
aakoksal said:
I think I retired it after 14-15 years of use...
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Thats not so bad then. I could deal with having to replace it in a decade+.

Ariu said:
I had a Lyman universal trimmer and it started developing woble and it was not holding dimensions. It was just out of warranty period. The Lyman guys asked me to send it for repair with my money or buy a new one with no price advantage compared to Cabela's.
No Lyman products for me anymore.
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How long did your trimmer last? Is the warranty 1 year or longer?
 
Only one answer on a trimmer
Giraud. After having one you would never go back to anything else.
It’s a bit more expensive but does it all and does it quick.
 
Suther said:
Leaning towards the Lee quick trim setup. Any reason to avoid the Lee quick trim stuff other than the fact that cost climbs with every new caliber, and I might not be able to find quick trim dies particularly for really old or wildcat cartridges?
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I have pretty much gone full circle on trimmers and have gone back to the Lee Powered Quick Trim. I have also tried RCBS, Giraud and LCG and went back to the Lee.

With the Giraud and LCG I found that they could become problematic when neck sizing only. Sometimes the case shoulders would be stiff in the insert without a full length size. Mind you I rarely neck size only but when I do those trimmers wouldn't work right.

The RCBS and similar types give good consistency when set up right but they're by far the slowest option.

With the Lee, I actually run 2 presses at the same time when sizing. I full length size on a Forster, using Redding comp shell holders to get a .002" bump, and then I immediately trim on the next press. I finish with a quick pass on a RCBS case prep station to clean the primer pockets.

I trim all my cases without checking if they need it or not. I find trimming with the Lee is faster than measuring in the first place. And for cases that didn't need a trim, the Lee will chamfer and deburr anyway. My Lee trimmer is setup with steel washers and I ditched the plastic adjustable part as it was pretty flimsy. Once set at max -.005/.010" for any case, it will usually repeat from one cutter to another in different casings.
 
Tried a number of the less expensive collet type trimmers but had too many inconsistent results.
Ended up buying a Sinclair/Wilson unit and have been very happy since!
 
I actually use a fairly cheap trimmer I found on ebay that fits just one caliber each, and goes in your drill. Damn if it doesn't crank through rounds.
I also have a lyman one mounted to my bench, for rounds I need trimmed accurately, I don't think I'd do long range cases on the cheap-o trimmer, but for cranking through hundreds of .223, nothing better. I don't think I can link ebay sales here, but justs search "world's cheapest trimmer" on ebay. So far the cutter heads and the housing has stood up to a lot of cases. I just every so often use a case checking tool to make sure the lock nut hasn't moved. I don't think it has since the first time I set it though...
 
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