Curseyou Lyman accutrimmer!

curseyou

curseyou

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So I've officially given up on my Lyman accutrimmer before I ruin any more of my precious fire-formed brass. This thing just won't hold zero no matter how hard I tighten those {EDIT} set screws. Juuuunk. I'm very cranky about it as I've now put 100 cases into my junker semi-auto bin.

I tried to console myself with a new Sinclair-Wilson trimmer. Ordered and all is well. But they are OUT OF STOCK on the bloody .223 brass holders! Grrrr..... I hate backorders.

By once cry once. Buy twice cry three times minimum.
 
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First and second trimmer and the Lyman is over 40 years old and I just replaced the cutting head with a carbide cutter.

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Third trimmer made for speed and a new Hornady case prep center also for speed.

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They just don't make stuff the way they used to.

I went back and forth on what to get for a trimmer then found a utube video where a guy had drilled and tapped one of the Lee cutters and put it on his RCBS Trim Mate. Seems handy - just move the brass from station to station to trim, debur, chamfer, clean primer pocket etc.
 
If you're having problems with your Lyman trimmer, you're probably just doing it wrong ;)

When you say 'tighten the locknuts'.............you are referring to tightening the set screws, correct? Because I assume you know that the two rings are not jam nuts but a dead stop and a fine adjustment........
 
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Mine seems to have worked fine for over 20 years. MALICE has it right, and since you refer to the Coarse and Fine adjustment nuts as "Lock Nuts", then this is probably your problem. What you are supposed to do is adjust the Coarse adjustment a bit long, THEN TIGHTEN DOWN THE LOCKING SCREW ON THE RING SO IT BITES INTO THE SHAFT. Then you can adjust the Fine adjustment ring and tighten it down with a similar locking screw. If you do not tighten down the locking screws onto the shaft, the rings, (or jam nuts as you refer to them) will certainly move and not give an accurate trim.

If everything else fails, read the directions that comes with your trimmer.
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Make sure you wipe any oil or grease off the shaft first (tee hee), then tighten the set screws then relube after. If you start rounding out the sockets on the set screws make sure you replace them before you cant get them out again.
 
The wilson lathe style trimmer with case holders is a real dream to use.

A word of caution: nickle plated cases WILL dull the cutter.

Get the trimmer with the micrometer adjustment. Very nice to work with!
 
make sure the shell holder shaft is tight. I had the same problem of different sized case lengths after trimming when i first got mine. I simply just had a loose nut. It has worked like a dream ever since.
 
Sorry for the poor description. My problem is with the adjustable stop collar and the set screws. I keep getting movement on the stop collar no matter how hard I set the set screws. I did follow the instructions setting the course, then fine. I cleaned it to get any oil off the shaft and re-set the stop collar and the set screws. The first few cases come out fine, but I get .001 movement over every few cases. By the time I get to my 20th case, My 1.750 case length is now a 1.749 or 1.748. I do not use what I would call excessive force on the stop collar but I want to be sure I've gone as far as I can with it.
 
curseyou - while I admire your desire to have your cases be as uniform as humanly possible, you may be expecting too much of this particular case trimmer. I would not consider .002" smaller than your desired trim length to be 'ruined' brass, and for all intents and purposes, this will have virtually no effect on your reloaded rounds. Variations in hand pressure, clamping forces, and even in the brass itself may cause variations in your sizing length.

To get your set screws to bite a little harder, unscrew them and look to see if there is a little plastic 'ball' at the bottom of the hole. If I recall correctly my unit had these. While they serve to prevent you from marring the shaft and thread surfaces when tightening the set screws, they will also allow a certain amount of 'slip' and not allow the set screw to really bite in.

Or you can replace the plastic balls with a piece of small lead shot.
 
40 years ago I hated my Lyman trimmer, one day I went to the hardware store and bought new longer set screws that had cup shaped tips that gripped the shaft better. A .40 cent repair changed everything and it hasn't slipped in 39 years. I was afraid to really tighten the set screws for fear of stripping the head.

If the cutting adjustment is moving then the set screws are not holding.

Old torque joke:

Tighten the screw until the threads start to smoke and then give the screw two more full turns.

Are you familiar with the term "Gorilla Tight".

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Wilson trimmer, fast precise. Liked mine so much I got a second one for precise inside neck chamfer. CH4D's case neck trimmer is the same design as Wilson and should trim as precise as the Wilson.
 
curseyou said:
I tried to console myself with a new Sinclair-Wilson trimmer. Ordered and all is well. But they are OUT OF STOCK on the bloody .223 brass holders! Grrrr..... I hate backorders.

By once cry once. Buy twice cry three times minimum.
Click to expand...

One of my biggest pet peaves is buying shell holders/pilots. This is a primary reason i opted for the redding trimmer. Universal collet and it comes with 6 of the most popular caliber pilots. With RCBS, and most others, not only do you need the pilot, (which is understandable i guess) but also the shell holders! By the end of things you need multiple shell holders for the same caliber. Its just a hard place for me to spend my reloading dollars :)
 
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