DeWalt (or similar) cordless drill for me with the various attachments in the chuck, drill in 1st, 2nd is too fast. To deburr after trimming I rattle the case around the chamfering tool while it's spinning. Doc and I have several $$'s worth of DeWalt drills and drivers so why not.

I don't run my trimmer with it though. 😱

RJ

 

Any one have any experience with this tool or suggestions of something better, easier to use ?
Thanks..

Haven't used the brass boss, and given the price don't think I ever will.
Honestly I chuck my Lee case tool in a cordless drill, trim, chamfer, debit, and move on.
Simple, cheap and easy.

YMMV

 

I have used my Lee Quick Trim with my cordless screwdriver attached but the chamfer blades wear out too fast and it chews up cases.. I can take the chamfer blades off and still trim to length but then I have to chuck the inside chamfer tool then outside deburr then crimp remover.. Only having one drill means I handle each piece of brass multiple times.. That's all fine and good when processing 100's of cases but when the number of cases is in the 1,000's it becomes tedious and not relaxing or enjoyable at all...

 

I have used my Lee Quick Trim with my cordless screwdriver attached but the chamfer blades wear out too fast and it chews up cases.. I can take the chamfer blades off and still trim to length but then I have to chuck the inside chamfer tool then outside deburr then crimp remover..

I was very confused, until I looked up what the quick trim was.
That's not what I was talking about, or use.
Look at this:

Cutter & Lock Stud

Use the Lee Cutter and Lock Stud with the Case Length Gauge & Shell Holder to trim cases. Can be used by hand or with an electric drill. Works on all brass less than .475 base diameter. If you are looking for trimming cases with a base diameter larger than .

leeprecision.com

The lock stud goes in the drill, and his the cases. Then you insert the cutter with the correct length stem. Remove it, and press the chamfer, flip and deburr. I haven't worn my cutter out in lord knows how many tens of thousands of rounds.
The deburing tool, also makes quick work of crimped primer pockets.

$0.02

 

Brass preparation is my least favorite thing ever. I'd rather take a shot to the nards, eat Brussel sprouts, parsnips or kale than do brass prep, but it's a necessary evil that must be done.

Silky, I think if I were you, I would invest in a better trimmer first. Nothing fancy, like a Forster, would do the trick. Like you I end up doing sometimes THOUSANDS of pieces of brass. As I'm Scottish (therefore "Scotch") I am tighter with a penny than any Jew (Shalom and no offence intended) my time is worth little when it's mine to spend. I have a routine and when I get in that routine I can trim, chamfer, deburr and prime 150-200 pieces of .223 brass an hour with no help from outside power sources. I have, in the past, done 1000 pieces (separated between four different rifles) in a day. Now that my hands are "slower" I follow through the loading process to the end and load for one rifle per day. I might only have 3-400, but that's what I'll turn out before it becomes too tedious.

Anyways, I'm not you and I was just "regaling" a story.

RJ

 

Agreed...well, except the part about the nards!. 😬

Brass preparation is my least favorite thing ever. I'd rather take a shot to the nards, eat Brussel sprouts, parsnips or kale than do brass prep, but it's a necessary evil that must be done.

 

If you don't own a drill press, GET ONE. Assuming you have a place to use it. If you think that a hand-held drill with a cutter is fast, put the cutter in a drill press so you don't have to use one hand holding the drill. Then, if you're coordinated enough, you can use both hands instead of just one to hold the brass, etc., pick up a piece with one hand while using the other to hold one up for deburring, etc. ***

The Lee trimmer system shines with this, and if you get an adapter doohicky-thingy to hold the case deburring tool, works great also. With trimming you still gotta put each case in the holder thingy, but you have to do that with a cordless drill, also.

I don't know how I would get much reloading done without a drill press.... or a lathe for that matter, but that's another story.

*** AHEM not responsible for brass-prep related injuries by the less coordinated.

 

MikeG, it's hard to listen to or feel the music when a drill press or other powered device is running, thats part of the routine. Shut the gun room door, crank up the classic rock or really old country with Spotify or the like and just float away.

Oooh, ooh, here's Rodger Miller Radio!!!!

See you later!

RJ

 

You guys don't know how to cook Brussel spouts!

 

There is no "cooking Brussel sprouts" ! The two don't mix. I've thrown them out to the rabbits and even the rabbits don't eat them. Hank, the local rockchuck, thinks they are delicious, but then he eats kochia and sagebrush.

Anyways

Better get back to the topic at hand before one of them mean old moderators shows up.

We all have our way of brass prep, mine is to have it be as painless as possible in its mind numbing drudgery. I will not fault anyone for buying a wizbang brass prep center. If you're happy that's what counts.

RJ

 

Back when I would prep tons of Brass for projects I used the drill press with Forster chuck like Mike suggested. There is nothing better for large volumes. I would set up a couple of drills horizontally with inside and outside chamfer tools. Now I just do it methodically like RJ mentioned using a Lee trimmer and chamfer using a Lyman tool.

Good luck.

Joel

 

Might consider the FA prep center. They offer 2 different versions, one with a trimmer function and 3 other stations, and then one with 4 stations but no trim feature. The trim feature on my FA unit quit after about 1K of 223 brass and I moved on to other trimmers but still use the FA unit for chamfer/deburr/cutting crimps, etc. I would get the 4 function one (no trim) and that could reduce the number of times handling the brass. Various brands of tool heads fit the stations, so it's easy to swap out tool heads for what needs to be done with brass prep.

 

Silky320,

It seems to me it is as important to cut down on the number of steps as it is put power behind each of them. I use a Giraud motorized trimmer for large quantities, but if you can't justify that cost, there are several trimmers or cutters for hand trimmers out there now that trim, deburr and chamfer all at the same time, turning three steps into one. One of them is Giraud's drill-powered Try-Way Trimmer. It could be used with a hand drill or a drill press, as suggested. That would leave you with primer pocket uniforming and also with prep functions I don't see offered by any of the case prep centers: primer pocket deburring and outside neck turning. Deburring and uniforming can be done on a drill press, as can flash hole deburring. But if you invest in a Gracey trimmer, it will both do simultaneous trimming and deburring and chamfering as well as having a setup available for outside neck turning.

 

Interesting talk about drills/presses.

Couple yrs ago I called a equip maker and asked what type of drive end their case trimmer had on it, round/ hex etc.

The lady fielding calls that day was not a reloader or good person on the phone. She asked "what would you want that for?"

I was thinking about getting their adaptor so my drill could be hooked up to the case trimmer. I got an answer from someone else and it works faster than the little hand crank supplied on the Lyman case trimmer.

I