The Dreaded Case Prep and a New Toy

[cryogenic419]

The lack of having to buy specialized caseholders to use the casetrimmer function seems like a huge plus. I could see that being a huge selling point to those who don't have any sort of case trim/prep machine and are looking to acquire one.

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

I have primer pocket uniforming tools, I have military crimp removers I run in the RCBS case prep center, I have primer pocket cleaners, they are brushes. I have brushes left over from the Herter days, If I want to screw up a brush all I have to do is use one.



I do not want my primer pocket uniforming tool or the military crimp remover enlarging the primer pocket.



F. Guffey

These are basically nothing more than a stem with a knurled end.

 

[Sevens]

Last night while watching a movie, I ran my FA unit for about 90 minutes straight and a whole lot of brass. I have been using the unit on it's little elevated stand so that it sits up at an angle.

This is the most warm I've felt the unit, on the underside seems to be the warmest part. I couldn't possibly describe it as "hot" to the touch. I don't have the fancy laser thermo-checker-doodle, but let's just say that if I were served a ceramic mug of coffee and I felt similar heat through the mug, I'd be annoyed that someone served me lukewarm coffee.

I'm trying to think of something that compares in "feel", heat-wise.

Freshly cleaned dishes out of the dishwasher (and I never use the heat/dry function, only the normal hot wash) are much warmer to the touch.

 

[Jim243]

Thanks Brian, that was a very informative review and it looks like a good alternative for the price.

Like everyone else I am not fond of case prep for large quantities of rifle cases. Generally I only do 20-50 cases for center fired high power rifles. For those I use a Lyman Universal Case Trimmer and find it very accurate on setting case length. I have probably tried every type of trimmer there is starting with a Lee Zip Trim to the power drilled method and found all of them less than perfect.

Since I am a cheap _____ (you fill in the blank) I try to get away with out spending a lot of money for a task I hate. So when Lee came out with their new trimmer I was all over it. But only for cases I use a lot of 223/5.56, hundreds at a time. It is not as fast as an electric machine but gives very good results and is adjustable for setting proper length. If I had to load thousands of 223 cases (progressive press), I would definitely get the FA one.

Who knows I may just do that if I ever buy a progress press.

Till then I guess I will be low tech.

Jim

This one cost me $28.95 complete.

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

I almost bought the Lee Quick Trim setup a few months ago. I just couldn't pull the trigger. For all the cartridges I reload, it was going to cost me about $75. Several of the self-contained hand crank units are available for that price, so I was looking into them when I found the FA unit. Granted, it's 2.5x $75 but it seemed worth it for the features and positive reviews (and it's not hand crank). If I were only doing 1 or 2 cartridges, I would have certainly bought the Quick Trim, no doubt about it.

 

[Longshot4]

Brian it sounds like you are having fun. That's a good thing. The productivity has picked up and you can stay warm this winter. Good Luck
Oh Is it time to order some new cheep cases yet? Ha ha

 

[schmellba99]

1. I don't know. Is there somewhere you suggest I look to find this answer, like, it it commonly printed on the directions or on a label fitted to a unit? I'll be happy to look.

It's usually on the nameplate data, which is probably not really included with this. The only reason I ask is because I would want that motor to be a 100% duty factor motor to keep it from burning up prematurely. I'd hope that FA would spec this out, but you never really know - a cheaper motor could be a contributing factor to the much more attractive price of this machine.

2. Not bad -- most pile up directly under, but I've seen the occasional shiny bit make it six inches toward me when running the unit on my left, inserting brass with my right hand

Good information - I was asking because many folks simply do not have much area to work with and it would be nice to know how the machine operates. OR in a case like me, I don't want brass shavings in the carpet of the room I have my setup in. Sounds like it's not much of a problem though, and any strays could be mitigated by putting a vacuum next to the unit anyway.

3. There are two large holes that allow shavings to fall free of the cutter, but there is a clear plastic "guard" over one of the holes, so the shavings all fall from the one hole. I've only done about 150 pieces of .223 thus far, so time will tell, but my knee-jerk reaction is that I won't be stopping at all to clear shavings from anywhere. I could be wrong...

Ok, thanks for responding.

4. I'd say if ya wanna know how bad it'll hurt, do it and then you'll know. Seems to me that if you're the reckless type, you probably deserve to get whacked now and again. I don't see how hurrying through this type of work is going to pay off, frankly, and if you aren't hurrying, I'm not sure why you're going to get hurt unless you're that guy. And if you're that guy, well, I'd be just as happy if you & your ilk just kept getting hurt at your own pace, but I'll cry when the day comes that all tools and devices get "dumbed down" to protect the innocent children that hurt themselves with tools.

Sorry if I hit a soft spot, and God forbid I notice that you have a sharp instrument unprotected rotating with, as you and others put it, high torque. I really didn't mean much by the comment other than to point it out. But in all honesty, I have been "that guy" before. I apologize for not living life on the exalted altar of perfection - there simply isn't room for everybody and I'm one of the schlubs down at the bottom that is rather pedestrian in my human capabilities, which means that sometimes accidents just happen.

I'll go converse with my ilk over there.

 

[Sevens]

Well, that seemed to go really well until the end. And if I had an industrial tool that would untwist shorts, I'd send it right over!

Personally, I believe high SPEED spinning things would be more dangerous to soft human flesh than high TORQUE would, but instead of arguing that point, I'll just say that I don't believe this is an inherently dangerous tool. A hand drill, a dremel, jigsaw, hedge clippers, circular saw, table saw, BAND SAW! , and a myriad of other powered tools seem to be far, far, FAR more inherently dangerous to work with/near than does this tool.

I might even make the argument that a loading press, with small clearances and a ram that closes that gap all the while your fingers being required to enter that same space, is just as, if not MORE likely to cause personal injury... than is the rotating chamfer tool on this unit.

Sincere apologies for offending you.

 

[AllenJ]

I finally used the trimmer portion on my unit over the weekend and really liked it. Setup was quick and easy, and adjusting the length was a breeze. Of the 30 plus 300 Savage cases I did I had two that were 2\1000 and one that was 3\1000 off, all long. More than acceptable for the old Model 99 and considering the brass I was using I actually expected worse results.

I might even make the argument that a loading press, with small clearances and a ram that closes that gap all the while your fingers being required to enter that same space, is just as, if not MORE likely to cause personal injury

Sevens, you're bringing back a bad memory for me! When I was a teenager, in a hurry to size some 30-06, I let my finger get between the case mouth and decapping pin. Lesson learned, I've never done it again

 

[Farmland]

Chalk me up to just about taking the tip of my finger off guiding a bullet into the bullet seating die. Thats hurts.

I keep looking and reading about this tool and it looks like a very nice option with good value.

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

Tonight I processed 169 pieces of .22-250 brass in 78 minutes. That is complete processing... individually lube (Hornady Unique), collet neck size, body size, primer pocket clean, trim, chamfer, deburr.

I measured the first case and an occasional one after. The first measured 1.9025. Every one I measured after read 1.9025 or 903.

 

[F. Guffey]

http://www.saami.org/PubResources/CC_Drawings/Rifle/22-250 Remington.pdf

I measured the first case and an occasional one after. The first measured 1.9025.

Brian Pfleuger, did you measure the length of the case from the shoulder to the head of the case?

F. Guffey

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

I didn't measure every single one. They were all sized before trimming, using Lee collet neck dies and Redding body dies. Shoulder measurements are typically within 0.0005, 0.001 at worst. IIRC, the shoulder length (setting) was 1.562.

 

[mississaugagunnut]

Frankford Arsenal Trimmer

I have just started reloading rifle cartridges and as a result needed a trimmer. I decided to buy the Frankford Platinum unit. Here are my observations.

I think the unit is well made, as stated already on this thread it is heavy and operates at a relatively low rpm.

I do not think it is the most consistent trimmer but for my needs it will suffice.

I run mine seated in a large Tupperware container and all the brass shavings are contained.

The one issue I have is the chamfer and deburring heads. I think I have dulled mine, maybe by pushing too hard on the cases? Where can I find replacements?
I am only trimming 223 at this time.

 

[AllenJ]

If you contact Frankford Arsenal they could probably get what you need.

I'm still very much liking my unit, it makes trimming a breeze.

 

[Bart B.]

Case length uniformity is the least important dimension for best accuracy and muzzle velocity spread. A .015" spread is meaningless.

 

[mississaugagunnut]

I just phoned Frankford and they are sending me two new trimming attachments.
They said that there had been a batch that were not properly heat treated.

 

[AllenJ]

Case length uniformity is the least important dimension for best accuracy and muzzle velocity spread. A .015" spread is meaningless.

That is good information Bart, thank you. Up until recently I've always kept case length to less than .010 of the recommended max but never exactly the same length for a batch of brass. Lately though I'm going through and trimming each batch to to be exact as I'm going through another OCD stage! Now that I've read your opinion I'll split the difference and make everything within a few thousandths

 

[Gadawg88]

Glad they are sending you two new attachments. I also have the trimmer and love it. For future reference, you may be interested to know that the Lyman case prep tool heads like these: http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/case-prep/vld-chamfer-reamer.php can be used. The metal part unscrews from the handle and is threaded the same as the holes on the Frankford trimmer. I use the Lyman VLD inside chamfer head and the Lyman outside chamfer head on mine.

 

[mississaugagunnut]

Great, thanks for the information.