Buying a power case trimmer.
- Thread starter Gomer
- Start date
I also have a Gracey Trimmer. What I don't like about the newer model is they eliminated the on/off switch on the motor and shortened the electrical cord to about 24 inches. They have also gone to a cast block instead of a machined block. The drive coupling is now a cheesy piece of hose rather than a lovejoy coupling.
Last edited:
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Tburdek's observation is not without merit. Clearly the Giraud is not designed as a universal tool as it is cartridge specific with respect to the shell holder and cutter blade. Adjusting the cutter from one caliber to another would be time consuming, and could result in culling cases each time you had to adjust the cutter width for a change of caliber. It is far easier to have a preset cutter for each caliber. Some shell holders can be used for more than one cartridge, for example I can use my .375 Ultra shell holder for .375 Ruger, and I can use my .308 shell holder for .30/06.
I got so used to the speed of my Giraud that I was in for a big shock when I loaded some 7mm Magnum for a friend and had to manually trim and chamfer the 50 cases as I had no appropriate shell holder or 7mm cutter. What would of taken me a couple of minutes with Giraud took a couple of hours with the RCBS lath style trimmer. Fortunately I have a 7mm in the works so I can justify another cutter and shell holder.
It is unfortunate that Gracie decided to cheapen their product. The few dollars they trimmed from the price will have no effect on the number of units they sell, but if/when the word gets out that the quality of a high priced tool has slipped, surely the sales will be impacted.
I got so used to the speed of my Giraud that I was in for a big shock when I loaded some 7mm Magnum for a friend and had to manually trim and chamfer the 50 cases as I had no appropriate shell holder or 7mm cutter. What would of taken me a couple of minutes with Giraud took a couple of hours with the RCBS lath style trimmer. Fortunately I have a 7mm in the works so I can justify another cutter and shell holder.
It is unfortunate that Gracie decided to cheapen their product. The few dollars they trimmed from the price will have no effect on the number of units they sell, but if/when the word gets out that the quality of a high priced tool has slipped, surely the sales will be impacted.
- Location
- Calgary, AB
I have the dillon power trimmer for 223, I size, deprime and trim on one toolhead, then tumble the lube off, then switch toolheads for loading.
It works well, it takes no extra time for trimming and tumbling usually deburrs pretty well. I still have to chamfer manually, but I skip that step for plinking ammo.
It works well, it takes no extra time for trimming and tumbling usually deburrs pretty well. I still have to chamfer manually, but I skip that step for plinking ammo.
KISS
You owe it to yourself as a gunnutter to see a Giraud in action.
If you've ever gotten a sore back/neck/hands and wasted an evening trimming and chamfering a couple hundred cases the hard way, you will weep when you see this thing work.
Maybe I need to post a video?
You can say that again. You can get about four done every time that video does one, and keep in mind it is also chamfered and deburred, all in one motion.That's it, although that was extremely slow. You can easily two fist it
