I need to cut the shoulders off of 1000 pieces of .223 brass to make a large supply of 300 whisper brass. Using a dremal tool or drill with a cutting wheel is time consuming and wears out the wheels fast. I was thinking of a small miter saw with a cutting disk installed. Any other ideas? Thanks.

Ranb

Fine metal cutting blade in a bandsaw comes to mind.
There's also a metal cutting saw blade that can be used in a Dremal, but a air powered die grinder will hold up better.
With either of the above, set up a "V" block with a stop to help hold the brass. and leave the case long enough to allow for final trimming.

How about an arrow shaft cut-off saw?

A small tubing/pipe cutter will work, but you'll have a slight "crimp" left.

As fredj338 said use a pipe cutter with a copper wheel in it, leave the case a hair long and finish with a case trimmer. When tightening the tubeing cutter make sure you do it slowly about every 2 revelutions as to not cruch the case.
Jamie

I agree with waldog, an electric arrow shaft cutter. You'll have to rig some kind of chuck to hold your brass consistently but it should work slick.
Mike

Harbor Freight sells a little electric saw for cutting off tubing for about $30. Can't tell you how well it works cause mine hasn't gotten here yet.

I've done the job in a lathe and with a homemade gizzie in a drill press. The gizzie was nothing but a pilot with a shoulder and a pivoting cutoff arm made from a worn out industrial hacksaw blade. Worked good, but were I to build another, I'd skip the pilot and just drill a hole in the base of the gizzie to support the surplus part of the case. Let it drop on through the hole when cut off rather than having to get it off the pilot.

Tubing cutter never worked worth a damn for me and I shudder at the thought of doing a thousand cases that way

I've used a bench model disk sander (but a belt sander would work too).

I used about 80grit.

I also used the miter jig with a block clamped to it as a length gauge.

Takes only a couple of seconds per case!

jpb

If one has a drill press, Lyman has a drill press brass trimmer that can be had with a carbide cutter. The case holder can be bolted to the drill press table and is a lever actuated "grabber" so the cases are quick to change. I have found this to be quick to trim .223 brass back behind the shoulder.
From the Lyman Web Site:
"Lyman Universal� Drill Press Case Trimmer
Converts any conventional drill press into a high volume case trimmer. Lyman�s specially patented chuckhead eliminates the need for expensive collets. Includes an extra cutter head to handle the heavy volume of case trimming. Requires only an inexpensive standard Lyman pilot to change calibers. Item #7852010"
http://www.lymanproducts.com/

Make yourself a wooden jig to hold the brass and use a table saw. Let's you do a whole bunch at a time. Guy Morrison who also posts here occasionally is using this method to make blanks for movies. Works fine as long as your blade is sharp, won't rip the brass. - Dan

I just got the Mini Cutoff saw from Harbor Freight and spent an hour playing with it. It does a fast clean job. Not sure about blade life yet, but spares are cheap enough. Not bad for $30.

I do need to rig a little jig to serve as case stop and mouth support, but they even put the mounting holes in the right place to hold that.

As I recall, the various dealers in bullet swaging supplies sell tubing cutters to make bullet jackets. Probably not as cheap as Harbor Freight, though. Redding might be able to make a trim die for this caliber and then you can just cut them off with a hacksaw.

Just to add to Dan's post. The blade I use is an 8 inch 200 tooth table saw blade sold for cutting aluminum, which is quite expensive. However the first trial blade was a fine tooth plywood blade that worked almost as well. If the blade is sharp and you push the brass through slowly the cut is so clean that I just throw it in my tumbler with walnut media for 20 minutes and load it.
Just be careful with your fingers around the blade!
Guy

I wonder if you could stick a mini grinder zip-cut blade onto a miter saw and chop'em down that way.

The rcbs electric case trimmer would probably do a good job on them,not as fast as the table saw trick,but you would'nt have to be as concerned about your fingers Just out of curiosity,what make of brass are you using?

The proper blade for cutting brass , alum., or copper with a table saw would be a 60tooth "Triple Grind" carbide in a 10in. blade (less teeth in smaller diameter). Also known as a non ferious metal cutting blade. Would cut very clean if you pushed it through slow and steady.
I would take a 1x4 and drill a series of 3/8 holes the same depth in the edge of the 1X4 geep enough to support the cases. Then set your fence on the saw to the correct distance from the blade and cut a number of cases at a time. Also good idea to use push sticks just in case something explodes

PS--A saw blade as discribed will cost about $50 but I am quite sure this would do the fastest and cleanest job. Anyone living close to Lewiston, Idaho is welcome to come by my cabinet shop and I will cut the brass free of charge. Pete

I use the RCBS trimmer with a drill and it takes less than a minute to trim one. Know matter which method you use you still have to trim them except if you use a file trim die. I think RCBS makes one for the 300Whisper also.
Albert

you can make a die... just drill a piece of 01 toolsteel, drill it .0025 too deep, cut it into a collet, have it hardened, put it you lathe, and use a parting tool to knock them off.

would only take about 30mins to make, and if you do your own heattreating, you can knock this out in 2 hours

jeffe

Leftoverdj
Who is harbour freight and how do I contact them?
This cutoff saw might be a good addition to my workbench for short runs.
Thanks in advance
Guy

Don
Thanks
Guy