Case Trimmer recommendations?

Suther said:
How long did your trimmer last? Is the warranty 1 year or longer?
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My trimmer was an old style universal trimmer bought new somewhere in 2017. I also bought an extra shaft for power trimming and an extra attachment for neck turning. The unit had seen some use on trimming and minimal use on neck turning. A couple of months after the warranty the bushing where the turning shaft rides became loose and was not allowing for an accurate repetitive trim.
When I contacted Lyman, they asked about original receipt and were quick to point into the 1 year warranty period.
To me you would be better off with some other trimmer. The ones on the same price class might have similar quality but a better customer service. On the more expensive ones, you will not need the customer service.
 
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I use an old Forster trimmer for small batches, 20-40. The FA platinum unit is awesome for doing large batches, ran 2000 thru it last winter. Does a great job even does primer crimps, i found that wearing a tight fitting mechanics glove a necessity, gets hard on the fingers.
 
For what it is worth, a shooting buddy of mine bought a lyman and after he saw how smooth and true my Forster was he sold his Lyman and got a Forster.
 
dead meat said:
I use an old Forster trimmer for small batches, 20-40. The FA platinum unit is awesome for doing large batches, ran 2000 thru it last winter. Does a great job even does primer crimps, i found that wearing a tight fitting mechanics glove a necessity, gets hard on the fingers.
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I tend to only do small batches. 20-60 cartridges generally. I don't shoot anything but 22lr in high volumes, can't afford to! lol
 
If your goal is to save time and stay relatively cheap (below $150), then lee quick trim makes most sense. Buy the delux version that chamfer and deburr. A lathe type trimmer running at $150 can buy you a LOT of quick trim dies.

I mount my quick trim die on my lee progressive press along with the sizing die. This way case gets sized and trimmed in one pass. I imagine turret press would also save you brass handling time. Mine is driven with a chordless screw driver.

Lee quick trim system is fairly accurate. Only down side is you have to lift the cutter out to vaccuum every 20 or so cases. Dillon rt1500 would be the next step up as it size and trim at the same time, also providing a vacuum adapter.
 
Bad Bob said:
Get the attachment that allows you to use a cordless drill or screwdriver and you are good to go.
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That works well, if it's all you've got. You still need to be able to hold the case true.

Holding by hand can be difficult for some

Depending on the case I'm trimming, I use a shell head holder clamp. Not sure what they're called, They grip the rims by turning the base of the clamp up in a modified shell head holder.

I clamp the stem of the holder into the center "V" cut out on my drill press vice to keep things true and chuck up the trimmer head/pilot into the drill press chuck.

I then set the stop mechanism on the drill press stem so that it cuts each case within a couple of thou of where I want them to be. A few thou is close enough for most shooting needs.

This is a pretty good way to do a lot of cases very quickly/precisely.
 
bearhunter said:
That works well, if it's all you've got. You still need to be able to hold the case true.

Holding by hand can be difficult for some

Depending on the case I'm trimming, I use a shell head holder clamp. Not sure what they're called, They grip the rims by turning the base of the clamp up in a modified shell head holder.

I clamp the stem of the holder into the center "V" cut out on my drill press vice to keep things true and chuck up the trimmer head/pilot into the drill press chuck.

I then set the stop mechanism on the drill press stem so that it cuts each case within a couple of thou of where I want them to be. A few thou is close enough for most shooting needs.

This is a pretty good way to do a lot of cases very quickly/precisely.
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The Forster trimmer is a mini lathe that holds the case with a collet and is bench mounted, That is why it is so precise and true, no wiggle-wooble what so ever.
 
I just can't warm up to the Quick Trim. It makes a mess of filings on my press, needs frequent cleaning and once some crap gets into the chamferring cutters they get sticky and push the trimmer off the case mouth. The result is you chamfer the hell out of the case while trimming very slowly. I had to deprime a batch of .308 to trim with the case length guage because my quick trim was... not very quick at all.
 
Bad Bob said:
The Forster trimmer is a mini lathe that holds the case with a collet and is bench mounted, That is why it is so precise and true, no wiggle-wooble what so ever.
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You're right, and I have one sitting in a box. I like the drill press because it's quick and handy.

There's not a thing wrong with the Forster trimmer, other than it's slow.
 
Somerset Bar said:
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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I have one of these also, along with my Wilson.

Wilson for accuracy and the drill trimmer for 308 in volume.

Google Worlds best case trimmer by old crow gun works.
 
I've been using the lee zip trim with the three jaw chuck for years. They are cheap and only last several thousand casings before they break. Bought a lyman but am too used to the lee zip to get around to using it.
 
supernova said:
I just can't warm up to the Quick Trim. It makes a mess of filings on my press, needs frequent cleaning and once some crap gets into the chamferring cutters they get sticky and push the trimmer off the case mouth. The result is you chamfer the hell out of the case while trimming very slowly. I had to deprime a batch of .308 to trim with the case length guage because my quick trim was... not very quick at all.
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Thanks for that. Looking for more opinions on the quick trim setup. Who else has used that system and what do you think of it?
 
Stainless Ultimate Trimmer - Sinclair/L.E Wilson
Dillon RT1500 Electric Case Trimmer

Next purchase will be Giraud.
 
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