Lee Hand-held Case trimmer vs. drill

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pathdoc

New member
So I chucked up the case holder in the drill as I have seen so many do on YouTube, and for the life of me I cannot get cases to lock up hard enough in the holder that they don't wobble all over everywhere during the trimming process. Ruined one case and pretty sure I've ruined the .223 Rem pilot in the process (bent the threads out of true; it won't screw firmly into the cutter any more).

What did I do wrong? Methinks I chose too powerful a drill...
 
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Fla_dogman

New member
Yeah, I think a slower drill works better. I don't use the high speed impact drill for cases, 2800 ROMs is too much to hold on to.

Sent from my moto g power using Tapatalk
 
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FrankenMauser

New member
Tighten the holder more.
Or hold the case with your hands and only use the holder as the depth stop for the pilot.

One of my brothers uses a Lee trimmer chucked in a drill ... or router.
He has two pair of channel-lock pliers on the bench for tightening and loosening the holder.
 
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Shadow9mm

New member
Yeah, I had trouble even with holding it by hand. Drill was a royal pain. It an issue with the design of of the case holder.
 
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Crankylove

New member
One of my brothers uses a Lee trimmer chucked in a drill ... or router.
He has two pair of channel-lock pliers on the bench for tightening and loosening the holder.
Click to expand...

One of these days I’ll get a real trimmer.

I put the pilot in the drill, put the case holder in a small set of vise grips, held in my hand. Slow speed on the drill works best.

The router works…………..but I wouldn’t recommend it. I’ve used it for trimming cases, and removing the primer crimp on military brass with a countersink bit. I tried it to see if it would be any quicker/easier than the hand held drill, and while it worked, it seemed like a better way to remove fingers than brass.
 
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pathdoc

New member
FrankenMauser said:
Tighten the holder more.
Or hold the case with your hands and only use the holder as the depth stop for the pilot.

One of my brothers uses a Lee trimmer chucked in a drill ... or router.
He has two pair of channel-lock pliers on the bench for tightening and loosening the holder.
Click to expand...

Alas, I don't have a chuck that's wide enough to take the cutter. But I might give those pliers a go.
 
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berettaprofessor

New member
Get a Lee case trimmer and lock stud (https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1016833729?pid=509050). I put the lock stud in a 1/4 inch hex adapter screwdriver (bought at Harbor Freight for $3) and then the case holder in the lock stud; locks right down on the case with a quick turn. Then insert the lee case gauge in the case trimmer and attach to a Hornady case trimmer or slow drill; perfect length every time and faster than I can imagine.
 
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rodfac

New member
Get a Lee case trimmer and lock stud (https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1016833729?pid=509050). I put the lock stud in a 1/4 inch hex adapter screwdriver (bought at Harbor Freight for $3) and then the case holder in the lock stud; locks right down on the case with a quick turn
Click to expand...
This...I do my trimming with a bench top drill press at it's slowest speed...nothing I've tried is quicker or easier. It's a good tool combination. I've done over 100,000 cases, a conservative estimate, my son says...and it's worked beautifully.

For superb precision, I like the Wilson trimmer with case holders...expensive but none are better and you can do case neck turning and primer pocket uniforming with it as well. HTH's Rod
 
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Don Fischer

New member
I've never actually seen anything other than photo's of that Lee case trimmer. Looks and sounds to me like it was designed to be used hand held. Maybe you should try that!
 
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pathdoc

New member
Don Fischer said:
I've never actually seen anything other than photo's of that Lee case trimmer. Looks and sounds to me like it was designed to be used hand held. Maybe you should try that!
Click to expand...

I did, but Richard Lee wouldn't have given the case holder a way to attach to a drill if he hadn't meant for it to be used that way!

In any case, the problem will soon be resolved. I had mislaid, but have since ordered replacements for, my .22 calibre Lyman cutter pilot, and the Lee case trimming gear will soon be redundant.
 
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Don Fischer

New member
pathdoc said:
I did, but Richard Lee wouldn't have given the case holder a way to attach to a drill if he hadn't meant for it to be used that way!

In any case, the problem will soon be resolved. I had mislaid, but have since ordered replacements for, my .22 calibre Lyman cutter pilot, and the Lee case trimming gear will soon be redundant.
Click to expand...

Does he say he did or do you assume that?
 
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mgulino

New member
I use the Lee Quick Trim Case Trimmer chucked in a drill and a Lee Quick Trim die installed on a single stage press. The die is caliber specific. The trimmer can be adjusted to trim to the correct length, and it will also chamfer/deburr the case. Makes short work of a bucket of brass.
 
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Geezerbiker

New member
Another problem with the Lee case trimmer is that it's not made of very hard steel or isn't heat treated. I find they dull quickly. I have a couple of them and they're not as sharp as they once were.

If you have access to a drill press, you can chuck up the cutter end and skip using the shell holder. Set it so that it hits a clean spot on the drilling table and the pin in the pilot will stop it just like when using a shell holder. It's a little faster this way but not a lot.

One of these days I'm going to buy a Lyman carbide lath type case trimmer but I always seem to have more things to spend my money on...

Tony
 
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hooligan1

New member
My older brother gave us some 600, .556 cases, I told my son theres no dang way Im hand prepping all those dudes.
So I ordered that Frankford Arsenal Platinum case prep center.
At my leisure, I ran through those cases like butter, and it was super easy.
Im not scared of no brass, or what it used to do to my hands....
 
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