I bought one of these trimmers based on this video. Mine is pretty terrible. When adjusted only one index mark (and/or back), I get anywhere from .004” to .012” variance in trim length. Also, not one case, ever, is trimmed flat across the mouth. Always .002 to .004 “wobble” across the mouth, as I turn the case in the caliper. Luckily, I trimmed the few cases I did, longer than needed, just to check quality and consistency. There is a lot of shaft wobble , the case shakes in the collet, too. I’m not seeing the value here. I finished trimming on my RCBS trim pro trimmer. I’ll be sending this back. I may try a WFT/WFT2.
I literally came on this video to see if anyone else's does this cause mine is impossible to get a flat cut. I just started reloading, and I wasn't sure if this is supposed to be normal or if it's a bad thing, and I'm gunna assume it's not a good thing. I'll be sending mine back as well.
How can the case shake in the collet? Your supposed to tighten the outer collar until the collet slightly grips the case. Is everything assembled correctly? Are you using a drill? If the whole tool is wobbling, your drill chuck is junk. Many drills I've used in my life wobble. Wear n tear, poor quality, etc. Find a drill where the chuck spins true AND tightens up true.
As with any trimmer that indexes on the shoulder, you have to have consistent sizing. Any variation in shoulder bump will also vary in OAL. Gavin mentioned this and it’s true.
This is super sweet, I've been the Worlds Finest Trimmer for a few years now but its cartridge specific, this little versatile thing will make a fine trimmer.
I use the Giraud Tri Way Trimmer and a cordless drill for 5.56 and 7.62 Lake City brass. Which works really well. It trims, chamfers, and deburs in one step. Slick product.
Nifty lil tool....wish they made it so that it chamfered and deburred cases too. There are several other similar cutters that will do all 3 functions but this one has some cool features like the micrometer style sleeve.
@@AZIROC Lee makes a press mounted 3 in one cutter which is the cheapest option. Another 3 in one cutter that hasn't already been mentioned in the comments is the Trim it II. It's more $ than the FA tho
@@DusToDeath agreed. But that's why I'm saying if F.A. made the deburr/chamfer included, in addition to what they have now, they would take over the market. It really isnt much more needed. Just instead of 1 blade it would be 2.
I am a dummy with any type of diy or tool lingo I don't know what bushing is even so this was hard for me to get but I am trying I know u done a great job instructing and informing with this video....great stuff I shall continue to ejamacate myself lol PE@Ce from UK
I went down to Sportsman's Warehouse one night years ago and spent $125 on a Lyman Case Trimmer I just had to have. After much farting around I realized pistol brass don't stretch. Waste of $125. (maybe .44 Mag and .357 Mag do with the hottest loads, but regular 9 mm, 38 Spl and both .45's don't)
Complete trash. Ruined about a dozen 223 cases trying to get a straight cut with this tool. Every case had a slanted cut. I set it up many times, and completely disassembed and reassembled it consulting two different guides online (and this video as an example). I wanted it to work because it was way faster than the Lyman Hand case trimming system, but it just doesn't work. It quickly ruined cases. Whereas the Lyman slowly made perfect cases. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast (and cheaper than trhowing cases away).
I'm really happy with the universal-series tools by FA. What I like the most about this tool is that it indexes off of the shoulder of a bottleneck rifle case. That gives me consistency where I want it. And I couldn't agree more that it works really well.I appreciate your unboxing and showcasing.
Picked up one of these, found a 6.5 CM case in need of a trim...followed the step by step instructions, wow, one of the cleanest cuts from any trimmer I've tried in the past. No visible burrs or "chatter" marks, still gave it a quick "de-burring" on my Lyman Case Prep Xpress.
@@Ultimatereloader Originally had my eye on the L.E. Wilson, which are awesome, but then your review of the Franford Arsenal and thought, hmm, why spend close to $200 when the FA will do an impressive job for under $80
I just can’t seem to get a consistent concentric trim with this thing… particularly with 300WSM. the plastic inserts are getting worn. Not sure what’s out there that’s much better in the budget category. Do I have to step up to a henderson or a guraud???
I recently purchased a Frankford Arsenal Universal case trimmer. I have watched your video several times but can't get the first part right of making sure that the case is up against the cutter. Do you do it just by sight? or by feel? or is there some trick to it? any advice would be helpful.
I like your demo but you need to specify what case length you are trying to achieve instead of the "case length specification" (which we assume you mean max case length specification). The way you present it suggests you are trying to achieve a case length of 1.600 inches but then you measure the first case at 1.590 inches and immediately trim it even shorter. You did the same thing on the Lyman Case Trimmer demo as well. Please keep these demos coming but reconsider your scripting so that what you say reflects what you do. Thank you again.
*FA has some of the worst Customer Service I've ever experienced. I would be very careful about I purchased from them. Not to mention, much of their stuff is made in China*
I did not even get through 400 pieces of brass before having catastrophic issues with this. came loose in drill, when I tightened it ever trim afterwards was crooked/ angled. took it all apart and inspected and the cutting head and shank are not level with each other. this was 140$ canadian and highly disappointing. we will see how their support is now........
Gavin, thanks again for a clear video. Can you please show what a trimmed case looks like close up. Does it use a flat type cutter or a "V" shape like a lot of the speed trimmers?
I've been use the black widow trim it 2. Cuts, chamfers and deburrs all at once. I can do a 1000 .223 in about an hour and a half. I chuck it into an electric drill, mount that in a vice and go to town. Best money spent on a reloading tool. This looks nice but I doubt it will be a tool that will last as long as the trim it so I'll spend the little bit extra for a better tool.
Didnot you mock the older gentleman about processing one cartridge at a time. Gee according to your humor your being ridiculous. Lee is cheaper and works better.
You only need to trim to 0.010" less than max length. No need to go 0.020" shorter than max length. I actually have 1 gun that I run my case necks 0.005 longer than max length, but that is a special scenario.
Hello Gavin, great review. I subscribe and watch all of your videos. You are my "GO TO" for reloading information. I've ordered many reloading items based on your recommendation without issue. Well, I ordered one of these trimmers. It worked as advertised and perfectly trimmed around 20 cases until it seized. I suspect some of the brass trimming migrated down to the bearing. Perhaps you could show your viewers how to disassemble and remove the cutting shaft because I'm sure this will happen to many of your viewers who purchase this trimmer. Thanks, LC
Very interesting tutorial on the trimming tool. probably going to get one now. Amazed at the tidy workshop, i'm a toolmaker and work clean and tidy but, wow.
This appears to just be the trimmer that is on their case prep station. Not that that is a bad thing, because that thing works great when you get it dialed in.
Hello Gavin, excellent review. I am writing to you from the Argentine Republic, please excuse my English. Do you consider this tool appropriate for trimming the .357 SIG cases? Thank you
I’ve always thought that FA M press was a shottier version of the co-ax. After watching you struggle to size those tiny 224 cases I am convinced I’m right.
I was first told that trimming 45-70 was not necessary. However I have purchased some once fired brass and some of them are longer than the factory new COL recomended in my reloading manual. My question is will this trimmer handle the 45-70 cases.
I cannot get mine to work consistently. It’s not taking off anything no matter what I do. No the drill isn’t is reverse. I’m getting very frustrated because I’m following all the setup instruction. I can get one case to trim after I set it up but then the next case won’t take anything off...even if it’s longer than the case I setup with. WTH!
When using a trimmer that stops against the shoulder, we should also measure the trim length from the shoulder and also set the bullet from shoulder to ogive. Bullet jump to the lands will always be constant no matter what the head space is.
I use the Little Crow WFT2 with great results, and this tool uses a similar process. What I do is keep one case of each caliber I use with the length I want, put in the trimmer to adjust the length and done. Obviously, if you use different sizing dies or have brass allocated to a specific rifle, then you have to use a case for each combination.
Just to follow up on this product . This is the biggest piece of junk I've ever used. I bought this setup after watching this advertisement. I regret this purchase.
Would this work for shorter bottle necked pistol cartridges, ie Tokarev, 30 Mauser, 22 tcm? Or would they be too short to reach to the cutter and still have some base to be able to hold onto?
Enjoy your tutorials - they are succinct and informative. I’m disappointed to hear you starting to use the “go ahead” phrase when you’re about to do something. Please leave that one to the muppets!
McJ Tools makes a cutter with a pilot that when fitted in the Arsenal Trimmer makes the case a very solid fit and should extend the life of that plastic insert/collet.
The giraud tri way trimmer is still better in my opinion.. chamferes and deburrs at the same time.. it is case specific, but in my case, I'm only mass reloading a few different cases
So, u set the amount to trim off? Not to the trim length u want? So, if i have a bunch of different length 223 cases this still wont true them to the same length?
Do your cases actually grow in length? Reason I say is my straight cases actually ' *shrink* ' in length as I shoot them. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever had to trim anything in the 45 caliber variety at all. They're not 44mag cases, but still.
fluxcapacitor05 I bought Hornady FTX and the case needs to be trimmed to hold the longer led. It’s the only bullet I’ve seen that needs to have trimmed brass. The cases do not grow.
@@derekp9877 Odd. Do those bullets change in ogive or something? I use to load 357sig and found out real quick that the 9mm roundnose bullets would seat past the contour. I've had to load with flatnose ever since.
@@derekp9877 On another note, my FA universal trimmer just came in the mail. As I sit here playing with it it looks like it will probably trim your brass, but not to a specific length. From what I can tell it needs a collet to "headspace" on the neck for it to be of any use. Otherwise it will just cookie monster you brass until you pull the case out.
I love these videos! Dude dress up as Van Drisen from Beavis and Butthead for Halloween and do a video for halloween this year! Dude would be the Ultimate costume for you your voice matches his so well lol 😂
If I may ask a shoulder bumping question....? I load on a RL 550b with Dillon dies. Question: will the Dillon full length sizing die (.223) bump my shoulder back .020 or do I need a bushing sizing die like what Redding offers??
One tip that would benefit desired trimmings, would be using the butt end of the mircometer while adjusting. Adjust the cutting head to the neck, then check case stick out with mircometer. If that makes sense
Gavin, do you still use this and if so, how is it holding up?? I've been using the WFT2 for awhile and they are great BUT setting trim can be a serious pain! This seems like a much easier endeavor and also unlikely to change from trimming session to session which I have found to be a problem. 😔
I did not even get through 400 pieces of brass before having catastrophic issues with this. came loose in drill, when I tightened it ever trim afterwards was crooked/ angled. took it all apart and inspected and the cutting head and shank are not level with each other. this was 140$ canadian and highly disappointing. we will see how their support is now........
Oh Gavin, why did you cut scene between trimming then measuring, and only showing the cases that measure exactly the same. Makes me question the legitimacy of this review. Sorry, but why...
Chris- two things: 1- please read the article. 2- please buy this tool and repeat what I did. You will get the same results as outlined in the article (for all cases, a total variance of 0.001").
Hey Gavin. Put that in a mini-lathe and build a tail stock fixture to hold the brass. That would make a nice "making with metal" project. You could sell it too.
Have to admit from an engineering standpoint picking up on a datum in the center of a shoulder is smart, it's how fluid fittings poppets are validated, super good way to go about it, now I'm just thinking about getting one of these, mutilating a brushless corded drill and printing a housing that holds the drill Chuck and motor to make it bench mounted. Plus to hold on those wrench flats so the body with the markings stays stationary.
