Case trimming. What do I need?

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So I'm piling up 308 and .233. I have the dies/powder/deburring tool. Can someone point me in the right direction for trimming (hand/drill, need to stay cheap). Also, are calipers ok to check case length?

Thx!

Oh, two other Q's. De-prime before cleaning or after? Can i get by with my lyman 1200 tumbler?
 
Seconded for the Lee Case Trimmer Kit. It's inexpensive and it works well. Chucks into a standard electric drill. Needs shell holders and trim pilots for each caliber, but they're only $6 for each set.

Cleaning the cases should be the last stage of case prep. In order, Deprime and resize (usually done simultaneously), Trim down to size, then clean.

Calipers are more than OK for checking case length, and you can certainly use your Lyman tumbler to clean them.
 
Have a look at the Lee deluxe quick trim. I used the simple Lee trimmers with a hand drill for years before switching to the quick trim and I'm glad I did. Much faster because it trims and inside/outside chamfers in one step and can be done after priming. It used to be size, chuck up in drill, trim, inside chamfer, outside chamfer, prime. Now its size/prime in one step on the press, change dies and trim/chamfer in one step through the press. The old setup is hard on the hands and time consuming.
 
+1 for the World's Finest Trimmer. I have one for 223/5.56 and it works really well. Can do 400 pieces/hr no problem. Very consistent too.
 
supernova said:
Have a look at the Lee deluxe quick trim. I used the simple Lee trimmers with a hand drill for years before switching to the quick trim and I'm glad I did. Much faster because it trims and inside/outside chamfers in one step and can be done after priming. It used to be size, chuck up in drill, trim, inside chamfer, outside chamfer, prime. Now its size/prime in one step on the press, change dies and trim/chamfer in one step through the press. The old setup is hard on the hands and time consuming.
Click to expand...

^^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^^

When I first bought the Lee Deluxe Quick Trim and Quick Trim Dies for several calibers, I hated it and shelved everything to gather dust. It would countersink & bevel perfectly but not trim to length...

Recently, I revisited this setup trying to figure out why it wouldn't work. I took a close look at the cutting angles of the steel cutter and realized that they had not been cut correctly.

I phoned Lee about this issue. They sent me a free Deluxe Quick Trim assembly and my problems vanished immediately.

At only $11.00 per Rifle Die and $15.00 per Pistol Die, it's precise, reliable and "QUICK" and is money well spent.

The Lee Deluxe Quick Trim is especially useful if you are reloading Berdan cases like Swiss GP11...
 
I have something similar to the Lee quick trimmer in 223 and 308, but I hardly ever use it for the 308 anymore. I don't process large volumes of it and prefer the Hornady Cam-Lock case trimmer.

If I'm doing more than 50 cases of 223 I'll use the Little Crow WFT.
 
Locking your calipers and use 'em as a gauge works extremely well. Makes 'em into a Go/No-Go gauge. Mind you, you need to check the case lengths first. Or lock 'em at the max case length.
 
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