Case prep centers - whoo likes what.

[scooter123]

I have some arthritis in my right wrist and chamfering cases by hand is not only now getting painful I fear I may now be doing some permanent damage. So, next up for the Gun Budget will be a case prep center even if I have to hold back on purchasing bullets. What I'm interested in is Speed, Ease of Use, and Durability.

 

[federali]

Agree with You

If I were starting over or just beginning, I too would try to mechanize case preparation. Chamfering case mouths or removing the primer crimp from military brass is indeed a chore. I have arthritis in both thumbs and when the pain flairs up, I have to stop whatever I'm doing.

Regarding case prep, as I reload mostly 9mm and .45 ACP, I'm a big advocate of a primer pocket uniformer (Sinclair) which may be used in a portable drill and eliminates stress on arthritic joints.
Best of all, when you experience how smoothly primers seat, regardless of what system you're using, and every primer seats to proper depth, you'll agree it's the best $30.00 or so you can spend on reloading equipment.

 

[MichiganScott]

I'm another beat up old guy. I have the Sinclair pocket uniformer, an adapter for deburring tool that can be used with an electric drill, and an adapter for my Forster case trimmer with a drill.

I'd love a case prep center, but handloaders tend to be cheap and I'm no exception. The adapter route works fine and is much cheaper than any of the centers. The adapters are all available from Sinclair.

 

[webfarmer]

I use the Lyman case prep machine. Arthritis here too (mostly basal thumb). I admit to being a Lyman fan since I started reloading back in 1977 though. The center does everything I need to on both mil and commercial brass. If you're wanting to do a lot on it, and your arthritis is kicking up that day, certain operations can still take their toll like primer pocket reaming. Still far easier than by hand. Good luck!

 

[Vortec MAX]

I have the RCBS prep center. I have really only used it to take the military primer crimp out of some 9mm brass. It could be faster. You have to hold the brass on there for about 30 seconds to fully get the crimp out. Seems like it would work better if the spindles were spinning faster.

I guess I also used it on a batch of 45 ACP that had significant burrs in the flash holes. These were bad enough that the effective holes were quite small. I used an Redding tool that screwed right in to one of the spindles. It made much quicker work of it.

I don't typically deburr flash holes unless something is weird with them. These were quite noticeable.

Mike

 

[novalty]

I've had arthritis since age 7, so I can certainly feel your pain. My in-laws got me the RCBS Case Prep Center for a birthday gift last year, and it does help--hands still get stiff/sore handling small case but certainly can get more done quickly with it. I think it is more money, but I like the looks of the Frankfort Arsenal unit, as it can be set up so debris goes in trash instead of sit on the unit.

My favorite reloading tool in regards to saving my hands from fatigue is my RCBS Automatic Bench Primer.

 

[jag22]

I bought the Lyman unit a couple of years ago. Like it but must admit I don't use it all that often. I guess I'm different than some, any excuse to buy a new toy/tool is good enough. If you are near a Cabelas they sometimes put it on sale so its just a little over $100. I imagine it will do what you want it to.

 

[fredj338]

I wanted to do all my prep in one place, so spent the coin on the LNL case prep. It does what I want, trim, chamfer, primer pocket prep, no complaints other than cost.

 

[kraynky]

The only one I know anything about is the one I own, and it's green. (RCBS?) I don't do a lot of brass trimming since I stopped shooting so much .357 magnums cranked all the way up. My brass doesn't stretch nearly as much these days.

But all of that to say, it's never let me down and does what it's supposed to do, a lot easier than by hand. I only use one hand and it doesn't take a lot of pressure to de-bur and chamfer (did I spell that right?) brass. But you do have little brass shavings everywhere to vacuum up.

Hope that helps,......oh, yeah, it's the Trim Mate I think.

 

[redcar]

I got the hornady case prep center and the lyman. I use the hornady for triming and the lyman for primer pockets. I used to use the hornady for it all but at over $300 I want save motor wear so got the lyman also.

 

[Twoboxer]

My choice was the RCBS Universal Case prep Center.

You don't hold the case during trimming. The lever requires some force to operate, but since its a palm-push it doesn't hurt my arthritic left hand. It requires no shell holders, and the micrometer adjustment allows you to easily get whatever CL you want. Repeatability/consistency is excellent.

One of the issues hindering consistency for me using other methods (eg WFT) has been buildup of shavings on the cutter. Since the RCBS' cutter is fully exposed, you see it and a swipe with a toothbrush cleans it.

I've tried the RCBS cutter that trims, chamfers, and deburrs in one pass . . . but the adjustment is very difficult and I was never happy with the angles created. YMMV.

While the second case is still trimming, you do hold the case during whatever case prep follows. But chamfering, deburring, and neck cleaning generate little torque and absolutely no pain or cramping for my arthritic right hand. Primer pocket cleaning generates a bit more (tight fit of wire brush in the pocket), and reaming the flash hole can generate surprising torque if the tool gets stuck on a burr.

But those instances are rare, and the bottom line is I can prep as many cases as I have the patience for with excellent results and no pain. (FYI, I've also switched to a bench-mounted primer to avoid that pain as well.)

GL lol . . . I feel for ya

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I have a RCBS, but I don't think it matters much from brand to brand. I found it hard to hold the cases when doing a large batch. The solution I found for this was the finger condom type things a bookkeeper uses to turn pages. They are sold at office supply stores and come in several sizes (I discovered them is the supply cabinet at work) and you'll have to probably set 2 sizes, one for thumb and one for forefinger. This made any case prep easier for me (with my minor arthritis).

While I have a RCBS prep center, I prefer the Sinclair Primer Pocket Uniformer and am split between the RCBS and Sinclair primer flash Hole Uniformer.

When it comes to Case Length Trimmers. The L. E. Wilson is still the best. I had a RCBS power trimmer, but the way the cases were held in place caused inconsistent lengths. I also like the Forester in regular and the Classic (for large Nitro and Black powder cases.) Forester CL Trimmer also will neck ream and Neck turn, with the correct accessories. Hornady has a trimmer that uses standard shell holders, the only problem I found was was you must use the exact same shell holder every time you trim a case (Best have a dedicated set) My personal test results are:

RCBS +/- .004
Forester +/- .001
L.E.Wilson +/- .0005 or less
Hornady +/- .001, much worse if shell holder changed!

Tip #1. For using case trimmers with pilots, use a Q-tip and apply a small amount of "sizing wax" on the pilot every 15 to 20 cases (I use Imperial, now made by RCBS, but Simonize paste wax works too)
Tip #2. For a hand held power unit, a rechargeable screwdriver is better than any 1/4" drill (way too fast and powerful!)

It is easy to spend other people's money, so good luck with the best you can afford. Ivan

 

[scooter123]

I have an RCBS Pro Trimmer 2 and will be making an adapter so I can use a hand drill to power it. As for the RCBS power unit, I'm not surprised about that report of inconsistent case lengths. I've designed industrial machinery since 1989 and know quite well you can't get an auto return that is truly consistent without using digital encoders and computer controls, both lacking in the RCBS power unit. With a hand drill I can still use the current hard stop and it's cheap, really cheap.

Last night I did a test with the Lyman bits on my hand chamfering tool mounted in my Dewalt hand drill. Actually worked very well but found that I do have to be careful about not going too far with the internal chamfer. Also found it best to keep the RPM's down. Did 100 223 cases in about 15 minutes and it didn't hurt my wrist a bit, however the thumb controling the trigger on the drill did get tired. Due to this test and Cabela's having the Lyman case prep center on sale I thnk I'll call the store in Dundee, MI and see if they have one in stock.

 

[Twoboxer]

. . . My personal test results are:

RCBS +/- .004
Forester +/- .001
L.E.Wilson +/- .0005 or less
Hornady +/- .001, much worse if shell holder changed!

. . .

Which RCBS trimmer did you test? Don't confuse the TrimPro with the Universal.

I've never seen anything like .004" from the Universal center, even when loaded with brass shavings on the cutter lol.

The heavy spring, hard stops, and lack of hand-holding make that pretty much impossible.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I don't remember which model it was, I bought it used around 12 years, then sometime later I started using it, for the precision loading it was very inconsistent. I studied what the problem was, looked for a correction, and decided to sell it off for a loss. It had a paddle mounted on the end for quick change, but would not maintain a consistent pressure on the rim end of the cases allowing a large variance in the location of the rim end of the case. The motor mounted cutter moved up to a positive stop. So the problem was in the quick release. Went with my old stand-by, the Forester and later discovered the L.E.Wilson.

All of this is mostly cosmetic, as the critical demention is where the ogeve is in relation to the lands and that is controlled by the seating stem in the die. When I started loading in 1979, OAL was measured in 1/100ths in the late 80's, everybody went to 1/1000ths, then after 2000 we went to 1/10,000ths. You would think we never hit anything we shot at in the old days! There are now, affordable electronic scales that measure 1/1000 of a grain of weight for powder. With time and money we will eventually find out how bad ammo really is and never hit anything again! Ivan

 

[MN2944]

You would think we never hit anything we shot at in the old days!

Very true. Guys obsess over details that would only make a difference in a custom bench rest rifle, shot by someone with skills to compete (and win) at a national level on a perfect windless day.

 

[Vortec MAX]

Very true. Guys obsess over details that would only make a difference in a custom bench rest rifle, shot by someone with skills to compete (and win) at a national level on a perfect windless day.

Sometimes I doubt they even matter in that case. I see all these silly gadgets for checking runout and neck thickness and trimming meplats and such and I just think to myself "that stuff can't REALLY make any measurable difference, especially since there is still a human being aiming and pulling the trigger."

These gadgets seem to have a niche market however. I'm not buyin'.

Mike

 

[Twoboxer]

I don't remember which model it was, I bought it used around 12 years, . . .

Thanks. The time frame means you weren't testing the Universal Case Prep Center . . . it's only 2 years old.

Since I measure each case after prep, I can tell you the tolerance (with a clean cutting head) is well within +/- 0.1" . . . almost always on the plus side . . . as close as you can measure CL with a caliper

My memory is not as trustworthy as it used to be lol . . . but I think we may have discussed this very topic before.

 

[fredj338]

Sometimes I doubt they even matter in that case. I see all these silly gadgets for checking runout and neck thickness and trimming meplats and such and I just think to myself "that stuff can't REALLY make any measurable difference, especially since there is still a human being aiming and pulling the trigger."

These gadgets seem to have a niche market however. I'm not buyin'.

Mike

The accuracy is measurable, but for most of us, not really necessary. I've run carefully prepped ammo thru an F class rifle & you can see an accuracy diff, but it is slight. So it just depends on what you are trying to achieve.

 

[scooter123]

I don't know about that accuracy change being observable. On a good day from a rest I can get just a hair under 1/2 MOA from my precision AR and have done the sorting cases by weight bit. Didn't see any change in my group size. Also tried sorting my bullets by weight and found that is a real waste of time with Nosler and Hornady bullets. The 60 grain Noslers all scaled at 59.9 to 60.0 grains. As for the Hornady bullets, the 68 grain match bullets scaled at 68.0 grains, one after another after another after another......

What I have found that makes a difference is the powder charge. My rifle seems to be rather fond of 23.7 grains of Varget with the 68 grain Hornady bullet, go to 24.0 grains and the group size gets about 50% larger. I'm still experimenting with CFE223 but so far I've found that the Nosler bullet does quite well with a 26.7 grain charge AND shoots to a nearly identical POA as the Hornady/Varget load.