papajohn said:
Jerry, you're cracking me up. My Company Commander in Basic Training used to give me jobs to do, and as long as I got it done right he made everyone else do it the same way. He figured I was the laziest Bastid in the company, and I would find the easiest, most efficient way to do it. He was right!
I like using the dremel because it's portable, and I can use it at work. My drill press weighs 85 pounds, but I might use it for case trimming, if I ever decide to actually DO that. :roll:
I haven't seen the need yet, but I'm still mulling it over.
My best idea for trimming so far is to put a trimming bit in the drill press, and then put the brass in an L.E. Wilson case gauge, and trim off everything that sticks out the top. It's hardened steel, so between the cutter and the gauge, the brass is the softest part there, and if the depth stop is set, it should go pretty quick. Then I just have to chamfer, and load!
Whaddya think of that idea?
Papajohn
I think you should at least measure your cases to avoid danger as suggested above. If you neck size rather than full length then trimming becomes less frequent, but I'd still measure from time to time.
As for the method you suggest, it's good. To simplify it a bit you could use the lee case length guage/trimmer in the press. Just put the cutter with guage in the drill press and stand the casing up on the bench below it with one hand. Lower the drill press so the guage goes into the case neck and the bench will stop it when it is cut to the correct length. Raise the press as you grab a new piece of brass then repeat...
Changing calibers is just a matter of unscrewing the guage and screwing in the correct one for the new caliber, or just keeping a separate cutter with guage (they are cheap) for each caliber.
It is also a good idea to put a piece of metal on the bench to stand the casing on so the end of the guage doesn't eventually wear a divot into the wooden bench and cause the case length to be cut shorter than intended.
I consider myself an accomplished lazy bastid as well, and I don't have a drill press (okay - I'm a cheap bugger too!) so I use a cordless screwdriver for most of my case prep. My drill is pretty heavy so I find this is more convenient. When doing large volumes a faster tool would be better. After reading this thread I will use the dremel next time to see how that works, I expect it will be much faster.
I use the base of the lee case length guage (the portion with the shellholder) inserted in the screwdriver. I insert the brass in the shellholder and give it a quick twist to tighten, run a brush inside the case neck with the driver doing the work, set down the brush and run the lee trimmer in, then debur/chamfer with the combo tool. Done, onto the next piece.
I don't have a tumbler yet, so if I'm feeling particularly energetic that day I'll run an old facecloth (don't get caught if you steal this from the wife!) over the case neck on bottle neck cartridges to remove fouling, or over the whole case to remove sizing lube before I remove the brass from the driver. Stubborn fouling can be removed with fine steel wool. Of course being a lazy bugger I use a collet neck sizing die whenever possible, so I don't have to deal with lubing cases in the first place.
As for the primer pockets, I currently just use the lee tool stuck in my drill and set the drill on my thigh with my weak hand operating it. Grab brass from one bucket, slide it onto the cleaner and squeeze the trigger on the drill once or twice, check that it's clean enough as I drop it into another bucket, and repeat...
I will change to using a brush or other tool for primer pockets as I feel the lee tool leaves a bit to be desired for this operation. I just keep forgetting when I'm at the gunstore. This step will also be using the dremel from now on thanks to this thread. The only advantage I can see that the drill and screwdriver have over the dremel (other than being cordless) is that you just need to push and release a button to operate them.