I have a 25 year old Lyman rotary case trimmer that I have used from time to time and always been happy with--even though it is somewhat variable and I have have to use the calipers on every case to be sure I am getting the right length. The cutters have always done a good job and lasted a long time before getting too dull to cut well.

But I've never really used it too intensively before recently. Now I'm having to re-form and cut down several hundred cases by a few hundredths of an inch each (.378 Wby. cylindrical to .500 A2) and my only cutter head, which was new when I started, began to get very dull after only about 60-70 cases or so (I'm using MAST/BeLL brass, which seems pretty hard as brass goes).

Also, I don't mind saying that cranking that handle is getting OLD!

Questions: What do you guys think of the carbide cutters? Also, what do you think of those power tool adapters that allow use of small power drills for case trimming? Do they work well and are they worth the cost?

I use the Lyman Universal trimmer with an electric drill adapter and have trimmed thousands of cases with it. The universal chuck is the best thing since peanut butter. I keep mine set up on a board and when I need it I just grab the board, do the trimming then when finished, place the board with trimmer on a shelf until next time. Good luck and good shooting.

I make quite a few 30X47s from .308 cases and use a trimmer that is made up by a friend of mine in Maine that is great. All he would need to make one up is a pilot diameter. If you see fit call Jim Goody at 207-825-3987. Where are you in Mass. I was born and brought up in Lynn. If you call, tell him Bob Beyer gave you his number, you will be treated right.

Have you looked at Sinclairs case trimmers? I have one of there Wilson/Sinclair and they work great.You can use them on most any rifle case you want.

www.sinclairintl.com

I hope this helps?

When I want precision I use my Sinclair/Wilson micrometer trimmer.
Carbbide is good. Carbide trimmers are good for 100,000 cases.
Electric screwdriver/drill adapters are also a very good idea.
When I want to do mass quantities as a one time operation I use my Doyle Gracey electic motor driven trimmers with an aftermarket carbide blade.
The Giraud electric trimmer is the Rolls Royce for high speed work.
Speed, precision and comfort are going to cost you more here, just like the rest of life.
lawndart

One thing that I use on my HSS drill bits is some stuff call Energy Release. You spray it on you cutter and go back to work.On drill bits that where very dull worked almost as good as new. I would clean you brass after using this stuff to trim cases. You can get it at most NAPA store.

I wish I would have thought of this earlier, do you have a die grinder of some sort? If so make yourself a jig out of wood and use you die grinder to go most of the cutting and finish with your case trimmer. This way you only have the cost of a new cutter and save yourself a lot of time.

ok, regarding the sinclair trimmer, isn´t it a bit slow to put the cases in that case holder and then having to tap them out???

That´s the only thing that stops me from buying one.

quote:

Originally posted by rune:
ok, regarding the sinclair trimmer, isn´t it a bit slow to put the cases in that case holder and then having to tap them out???

That´s the only thing that stops me from buying one.

Tbe Wilson (with an optional Sinclair stand and micrometer) is about as good as trimmers come - at least in terms of quality of the job done. But,,, it is not particularly fast.

If fast is your primary objective, the Wilson may not be the way to go. The Gracey and Gireauds are FAST, but they are not available for every caliber (conversion/trim) on the planet, and they are pretty pricey too. The Forster may be a sensible compromise, if you are willing to trade a bit of quality for some additional speed (compared to the Wilson).
- mike

If your going to shoot a big bore, then I would get some file trim dies, they are much more accurate and that will place your crimp correctly in every case and you must crimp those big bores or they will jam up your gun.

Sinclair make a power adaptor for there case trimmers. Taping the case out of the case holder is no big deal. Most of the time I can push the case out of the case holder with my finger. My wife hates it when my new catalog showes in the mail and all the new cool stuff they come out with.

Sinclairs abound on ebay and the prices are always pretty reasonable...

I use a Wilson trimmer that my stepdad bought in the early 70's. It still works very well and I never get in a big hurry.

Thanks, all.

That Sinclair-Wilson trimmer is nice, but I think I'll stick with my old Lyman. I really like the Universal chuck for the convenience it offers. Based on the feedback, I think I am going to buy a carbide cutter and a power tool adapter for it though.

I didn't mean to suggest that the Lyman's accuracy is no good--it's never off by more than two or three thousandths--even though I do have to check every case. That hasn't bothered my crimps at all.

I think the frequent checking is needed because the cutter dulls so quickly and varies the trim length. With a carbide cutter, I hope to keep the variation down to a minimum.

For all my 20-40 round shootings I have found the simple Lee hand held trimmer to work real well. I used an old RCBS crank trimmer and finally hooked an electric motor to it. I use it if I am going to trim a big bunch to set back like if I was going to go with a thousand rounds as I have done. But for a few the lee workd well.

As indicated elsewhere above: "For speed and ease after the initial case formation, and for some dozen other cartridges, I use a two level mini-bench I made. The upper level holds my RCBS trimmer, the adjacent one, which is just a bit lower, my cordless drill laying on it's side on a level that enables it to be attached to the trimmer. Insert case, put trim pilot into case mouth and start drill to cut, pushing it forward until it hits the pre set stop. In essence a mini lathe, at no extra cost. (I already had the trimmer and drill). I use RCBS trim pro cutter heads that trim and campfer inside and out in one operation. And, best of all, it takes not 5 seconds per case when I get rolling. Repeatability, accuracy and speed... the best of all words; short of buying a dedicated trimmer. The same rig can be used for neck turning by changing the head. You could do the same using most any rotary trimmer by removing the handle and fashoning a stud for the drill using the same diameter bolt cut to an appropriate length"