RCBS Powered Trim Pro

[Eye-Bite!]

Anyone have any experience with one of these? Would like to hear the your real world experience.

http://www.brownells.com/reloading/case ... 22_d_20591

[Griff]

I only know that I can over-trim easily enough with the manual version!

[FWiedner]

I've got one, and it works pretty well.

My problem is that I'm impatient.

I don't think the springs that apply the pressure for moving the cutting head are strong enough, so I tend to apply pressure to the switch handle/lever to get it to cut faster. I don't know if that's a good or bad idea, but it's what I do. The Trim Pro has a stop that won't let you trim past where you set if for trim length.

Save an immense amount of time, IMO.

[Chuck 100 yd]

I have the manual one of that model. I have thought I would like the powered version when I prepped a thousand cases for CAS a couple years ago but I just did a hundred a day until I was done.
That is a lot of money for a tool I don`t use all that much. I would rather put that money into other supplies.

[AJMD429]

I've trimmed tens if not hundreds of thousands of cases with the Lee trimmer, and although I have had one of the 'pilots' turned down to 1/4" so I could chuck it in a drill (this is WAY less cumbersome than chucking each case in a drill), and it does save lots of time vs. manually doing it (or even using the 'official' method where the case has to be chucked and drill started and stopped each time), the trimming and depriming operations are two I am comfortable doing when watching television, so I don't feel too hurried. Every other reloading operation I feel needs too much focus to do while distracted.

Basically, I liked the idea that they just can't trim cases too short, and that they are inexpensive, and I can do only a couple operations sitting in a comfortable chair, even watching television - basically the sorting, cleaning, depriming, inspection, and trimming.

I couldn't really do that if I had to use a bench-mounted and/or motorized trimmer.

What I didn't like was that on the occasions where I DID want to use a drill (not so much to speed things up, as to make the hands less fatigued if I do more than a couple hundred at once), the Lee setup makes you chuck the case, and if not locked in the holder just right, it can rotate eccentrically, and you still have to get the 'stud' into the case, and push the cutter to do the trim. Once done, you have to take the case out of the drill (stopping it), and exchange it for the next one. Lots of handling of parts, not easy, at least for me.

So. . . what I did was have the 'handle' turned down (The drill I used then was only a 1/4" chuck one) so IT would fit into a drill, which I could then leave on (the tricky part was finding an appropriate speed). After that, trimming was just a matter of picking up a case out of one bin, slipping it into the case holder, a quick turn of the locking handle, slip the case mouth over the stud and bottom the guide/length gauge out to trim the case, then pull it off, and with a quick twist of the handle, drop the case off into the other bin, and repeat the process.

The case holder on the right in the picture is the only part you have to handle, and although the picture doesn't show it all, it's basically just like an ordinary shell holder, with a larger hole, that is threaded, and a little knurled 'button' that screws in to hold the case snugly and provide a surface for the gauge's pin to abut against.

[Sixgun]

I've used 'em all and I keep going back to my Forster manual job. Its the only one that is consistent , and by the way, the first one I bought back in '73. Some things can't be improved on but I did make a little thing-a-ma-jig so I can turn it with a small Makita cordless drill------6

[BILLYDIXON]

I bought the Lyman power trimmer when they first came out. Still have it. I've probably saved my hand and wrist from falling off. After trimming 200 cases at a time I could barely use my hand. So yes buy it.

[Tycer]

I use the Forster with an old 6v Ryobi. Bought it used years ago. Not sure where the old drill came from.

[Chris83716]

If you have the manual RCBS trimer remove the screw that holds the crank handle on. Take a trip down to the local hardware store and get a slightly longer bolt and nut, a power screw driver, and a socket bit that fits the bolt head. Powered case trimmer for under $30 bucks. I have done thousands or cases this way.

Chris

[kasTX]

I've had one for a few years. It's OK, but I think there is still room for someone to invent a better way.

One problem is that the way the case is secured to the tool on the left side doesn't always align the case mouth with the pilot/cutter on the right side. When you start to trim, the case will tilt to align with the pilot/cutter at which point the cutter digs into the case mouth and mangles the case.

The cutter doesn't rotate particularly fast either. I have found I can trim cases faster on a Forster trimmer than this one (unless I am using the three way cutters) though it is more tiring. Forster is also easier/faster to set up.

There are other options that trim based on distance off the shoulder, which sounds a little odd but the reviews reflect that they work well and are very fast. Doing a search I found Little Crow Gun Works as one supplier. I'm sure there are others. Could get expensive though if you are reloading a lot of different cartridges.