Case Trimmer - Choice / Views?

[Morse]

I have just finished prepping up 200 rounds need to trim cases to length after the next firing and the current kit dosn't come up to scratch and I will be re-loading 6.5 soon so need a new pilot regardless.

 

My current trimmer is 17-18 years old (lyman) and the cutter is quite blunt and due to house moves etc I have lost some of the pilots for calibers I would like to now move onto. I could buy replacement parts but I am thinking I would like something new that is easier to adjust as well as to swap between calibers.

 

I like the look of the LE Wilson kit albeit rather expensive but I am prepared to payout for the micrometer function. I will need pilots or holders depending on what brand it is for .303, .308, 6.5x47 and .223.

 

Looking at some of the older posts the Wilson kit gets a good write up but how does it stack up to its competitors?

 

Thank you in advance for any views / opinions.

[garyw]

i use wilson for- .17fb-.17 rem-.22br-.6mmppc-6x47-6mmbr- 284win all from SPUD- give him a bell .you really dont need the micrometre adjuster imo as once the cutter is set for your case length its all steam ahead even hand kranking the cutter isnt a chore but you can buy an adaptor to turn from a cordless im a tight git -a true Yorky so i use my five didgit spanner.

Gary

[jcampbellsmith]

Wilson is good for low volume trimming but there a number of other powered options to consider if you are a high volume trimmer. Here is one option

 

https://littlecrowgunworks.com/product/worlds-finest-trimmer-wft/

 

But there are others to check out too.

 

Regards

 

JCS

[Morse]

Thanks for the input on both systems. Big plus's on both...Does anyone know if there are differences in the concentricity between the powered and manual options? Does the vibration of the drill cause any issues?

[VarmLR]

I've recently acquired a Sinclair/Wilson LE bench mounted case trimmer. Bought via Brownells, including dies for both 308 and 223 (bought in the UK), the total cost came to under £190 delivered. Highly recommended and makes case trimming a pleasure, not a chore. Micrometer adjustment of case length. Only crude bit of engineering is that the trim handle relies on a bearing between a hardened nut close to the handle, and the spindle housing end. No additional bushing or washer was provided so putting too much pressure on the cutter can result in variations of 5 thou or more to case length. I've found that it's bob-on as long as only gentle pressure is used when trimming and I'm sure that I can machine a part up to overcome the design oversight. Other than this, it is an excellent trimmer and cheaper by a huge margin than buying the individual parts here in Blighty.

[MJR]

I made a trimmer similar to the little crow one for the 308 family of cases. They work very well and are very quick but you need to understand that they reference off the case shoulder. In other words if you bump the cases shoulder more on some cases than others you will end up with cases of different overall length. Establish resizing cases with the same amount of shoulder bump on all your resized cases and the trimmer works very well. The cutter inside them is nothing more than a slot drill and i've thought about making a hss cutter to trim, inside chamfer and outside chamfer all in one go but haven't got around to it yet.

I think Spud sells the little crow ones.

[phaedra1106uk]

I use a CTS trimmer in an electric hand drill for large batches of cases, easily adjustable between cases with the same parent case (I do 308W, 6.5C and 260Rem) verysimilar to the WFT but cheaper, fast and very accurate.

 

 

http://www.ctstrimmer.com/case-trimmers/8-cts-trimmer.html

 

For most other trimming the Lee system using an electric drill is fast, cheap and accurate, it's a fixed length cutter so very consistent, a quick chamfer & de-burr and job done.