When trimming straight walled cases for my 44 is there any difference between using a trim die or a lathe style trimmer? Which one is quicker?

Thanks,
Erick

The old trim dies work fine for this. Trim die can be faster in one way: no set up time (getting the lathe type set up and running at just the right length can take a little fiddling).

Erick -

I used to hat trimming with my 20-year old RCBS trimmer, the kind with a "T" handle on the part that grips the case.

When Dad gave me his .22-250 and 1500 once-fired cases, something had to give - no way was I going to trim them all by hand-cranking (although I got a good start!).

What I did was go to the hadware store and buy the following items:

Stainless steel threaded rod (same thread as existing screw on crank handle) 3/8" stainless steel nut 3/8" cap nut 3/8" hex socket, 1/4" drive 1/4" square drive thingy to insert into hand drillI then replaced the screw holding the crank handle with a carefully measured and cut piece of threaded rod, put the crank back in place and held it with the 3/8" nut. I then put the cap nut over the regular nut and tightened it so that the faces of the two nuts lined up. Then by inserting the 1/4" drive thingy into the drill and attaching the 3/8" socket, I was able to crank the trimmer with the hand drill. Better yet, I discovered that if the crank was being turned by the drill, I could move the trim bit back and forth by moving the drill. This allowed me to change cases with one hand using the "T" handle. Backing off the trim bit and loosening the handle allows trimmed cases to drop out of the holder. Inserting another case and moving the trim bit so the pilot is inside the case mouth allows me to tighten the case holder with one hand.

The result was a very fast trimmer. If I work steadily, I can trim over 400 cases an hour (although they still need chamfer and deburr). Total cost of the "upgrade" was under $10 at Home Depot.

You might also look into Lee's case trimming system. It's very very cheap and works quite well. You buy a case length gauge for each case type you want to trim, so there's no real set up time involved. You can chuck the trimmer stud in a cordless drill for very quick trimming, too. With the Lee system you'd need a Lee lock stud, case length gauge, and cutter head. It all comes to about $10 or $15.