Case Trimmer

[pe4king]

Well now that the man cave is well underway i have time to make my life easier (reloading wise) I have used a cordless drill for trimming and polishing cases for a while I just needed something a little more bench mounted and one handed so I Heath Robinsoned this up, admittedly it is a bit rustic at the moment but with a bit of tweaking it will be fine.
But more than anything it works I can trim, debur, and polish a case it 20 to 30 seconds.

[ovenpaa]

Nice, and closer to 20 seconds one handed as well. The trim to length tool you use, what is it?

[pe4king]

Its a Lee as is all my gear, no complaints so far, the studs are about a fiver and so is the cutter and case holder/ drill adaptor

[Tower75]

Agreed. That's what I use. But I never remember to charge by drill's battery. Doing it by hand is NOT fun.

[ovenpaa]

It is always fun to build things, I am currently on MkIII of my neck cleaner to automate the wire wool process, the idea being you just push the case neck first into something and it cleans it inside and out.

[Dougan]

Heath Robinson is good...more fun

I've just got to the point in my loading, where I'm going to have to start a bit case trimming etc...so for the ideas

Btw: What's the material you're using to polish the cases?

[pe4king]

Just very fine wire wool 00 I think the grade is

[Dougan]

Thanks - I'll try it ...I tried scotch-brite but it scratched the hell out of the cases (probably not a fine enough grade..)

[ovenpaa]

I use a worn out kitchen scourer, the sort that is backed by a piece of sponge the size of a cig packet, they used to be ten for a quid at the cheap outlets. They are great for all sorts of things including cleaning the neck of the brass, they work slightly better if wetted.

[rox]

I sometimes use the lee trimmer but I mount it the other way around, i.e. with the cutter chucked in an old drill press (at very low RPM) and holding the locking stud. I find it slightly quicker and easier to swap cases in and out of the stud this way round, but it can be hard on the fingers and I guess it must be a little more dangerous than spinning the case (I wonder if the ball grip can be fitted to the lock stud?). I prefer to chamfer & deburr by hand, since it needs such a light touch and it's too easy to overdo it with powered tools.

Also into the drill press goes an RCBS primer pocket brush (the little wire brush that usually screws into a plastic handle).

For cleaning I've used fine grade wire wool in the past, but it generates lots of fine steel bits, which is not something I want to risk getting anywhere near my actions or barrels. I've tried pan cleaners but found them a bit coarse and they took off small bits of brass (I'm sure a more suitable grade of scotchbrite is available). Lately I've used a phosphor-bronze brush chucked in the drill press to clean the residue off the outside of the neck and shoulder plus the inside of the neck. I sometimes soak in citric acid or use either citric acid or carb cleaner in a commercial ultrasonic. Some people warn against using chemicals/acids, while others claim that citric acid passivates which actually develops a protective surface. I never had any success with vinegar (acetic) in either small or large ultrasonics. I'll probably switch to tumbling for bulk exterior cleaning.

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