Its all a wash time wise, but I gave up my zip trim in favor of a drill press. Mount the cutter to the press (in the chuck) and you can quickly pick up a case, insert it into the case holder, and then cut it down in the mounted cutter.
Can't do any power chamfer this way though, so it slows down that part a bit (I find only a few turns back and forth by hand are necessary) but the case triming is super fast.
@testy462 I use a milling machine (fancy drill press) to trim my .50 BMG brass exactly as you describe.
For the lesser calibers (heh heh), RCBS makes a three way cutter that trims to length, chamfers and deburrs all at the same time. It's intended for their case trimmer. On the down side, it's $40 and needs some fiddly adjustment. I don't have one yet, but I've been thinking of making one using small carbide inserts.
@Liberty4Ever I thought about trying this as well, just hate to spend the money to find out it doesn't work any faster. On the other hand doing the case chamfer and pocket cleaner by hand makes you sore after a few hundred rounds.
Case prep is defiantly the most time consuming, and for me, least fun part of reloading. When doing large amounts of rounds it gets to the point where the only thing you want is the case prep to be over.
@testy462 The Zip Trim works better than I thought it would and it's cheap. If you're starting with nothing and have almost no budget, it's a good option. Most people have a cordless drill and it's just about as fast and easy. If you do much rifle caliber reloading, I think your best bet is the RCBS Case Prep Center, with a modification to trim as well. It's $100 well spent! I show that option in a few of my other videos.
Yes, the case length gage passes through the flash hole and indexes on the lock stud to determine the proper case trim length, so the old primer must be removed. The primer wouldn't need to be removed to chamfer or debur the case neck, or polish the case.
I'm not aware of a universal chuck for a reloading press if that's what you want. Resizing brass requires way more axial force than the Zip Trim universal chuck could withstand, even if you could adapt it to a single stage press.
I use the Lee .223 shell holder for reloading. If yours is loose, maybe you got a bad one?
Hey buddy. Help please. I reload and I have problems with my .223 rem casings wobbling loose on my shellholder. The darn things can be lifted out if wiggled! This shellholder isnt right. I want one SPECIFICALLY for .223 Your universal shellholder looks nifty. Whats the name of it so I can purchase one.
Interesting.. We were just talking about the zip trim in Glocktalk reloading. I've done the scotch bright thing also.. by hand.. Scotch bright is another one of this indispensible tools.. Keep posting :-)
thanks for the video. I'm doing the same set up as you now.
echo1er 1 year ago
Its all a wash time wise, but I gave up my zip trim in favor of a drill press. Mount the cutter to the press (in the chuck) and you can quickly pick up a case, insert it into the case holder, and then cut it down in the mounted cutter.
Can't do any power chamfer this way though, so it slows down that part a bit (I find only a few turns back and forth by hand are necessary) but the case triming is super fast.
testy462 1 year ago
@testy462 I use a milling machine (fancy drill press) to trim my .50 BMG brass exactly as you describe.
For the lesser calibers (heh heh), RCBS makes a three way cutter that trims to length, chamfers and deburrs all at the same time. It's intended for their case trimmer. On the down side, it's $40 and needs some fiddly adjustment. I don't have one yet, but I've been thinking of making one using small carbide inserts.
Liberty4Ever 1 year ago
@Liberty4Ever I thought about trying this as well, just hate to spend the money to find out it doesn't work any faster. On the other hand doing the case chamfer and pocket cleaner by hand makes you sore after a few hundred rounds.
Case prep is defiantly the most time consuming, and for me, least fun part of reloading. When doing large amounts of rounds it gets to the point where the only thing you want is the case prep to be over.
testy462 1 year ago
@testy462 The Zip Trim works better than I thought it would and it's cheap. If you're starting with nothing and have almost no budget, it's a good option. Most people have a cordless drill and it's just about as fast and easy. If you do much rifle caliber reloading, I think your best bet is the RCBS Case Prep Center, with a modification to trim as well. It's $100 well spent! I show that option in a few of my other videos.
Liberty4Ever 1 year ago
Do you have to remove the spent primer before trimming the case?
goerz 2 years ago
Yes, the case length gage passes through the flash hole and indexes on the lock stud to determine the proper case trim length, so the old primer must be removed. The primer wouldn't need to be removed to chamfer or debur the case neck, or polish the case.
Liberty4Ever 2 years ago
yay
louie000007 2 years ago
neat
cs512tr 3 years ago
Great video.
Very helpful to me.
You could have more lighting and a tighter shot for us old people.
tnekkc 3 years ago
well.... that is certainly a nifty little contraption... cool
lamarbrog 3 years ago
If you want a universal shellholder for the Zip Trim, Lee makes the one I show in the video.
midwayusa (dot) com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=352653
I'm not aware of a universal chuck for a reloading press if that's what you want. Resizing brass requires way more axial force than the Zip Trim universal chuck could withstand, even if you could adapt it to a single stage press.
I use the Lee .223 shell holder for reloading. If yours is loose, maybe you got a bad one?
Liberty4Ever 3 years ago
Hey buddy. Help please. I reload and I have problems with my .223 rem casings wobbling loose on my shellholder. The darn things can be lifted out if wiggled! This shellholder isnt right. I want one SPECIFICALLY for .223 Your universal shellholder looks nifty. Whats the name of it so I can purchase one.
P.S. I too have a zip trim!
lavid2006 3 years ago
Interesting.. We were just talking about the zip trim in Glocktalk reloading. I've done the scotch bright thing also.. by hand.. Scotch bright is another one of this indispensible tools.. Keep posting :-)
pdalko 5 years ago