GRACEY "Match Prep" trimmer info needed

[oldhenry]

I bought a Gracey "Match Prep" trimmer back in '06 or'07 when I was shooting XTC. It was set up for .223. I trimmed a zillion cases with it (my 2 sons trimmed theirs on it also). I'm aware that most feel the Girard is better, but the Gracey suited me just fine.

PROBLEM: My eyesight no longer allows me to shoot a rifle (R. eye damaged by glaucoma) & I'm getting ready to gift my Garand & 03-A3 to my sons. I have many '06 empties (mostly military) from CMP days. Creedmore Sports advertises shell holders in many calibers for the Gracey. No one @ Creedmore knows anything about the Gracy. After receiving the '06 SH through Creedmore (drop shipped from Gracey) I found out that some "adjusting" needs to be done to the blades. Without adjusting I end up with a deep chamfer & no trim on the test '06 case.

Does anyone know the process for adjusting from .22 cal. to .30 cal.?

I don't want to mess up the .22 adjustment without this information. The alternative would be to trim the '06 cases on my Forester & chamfer by hand (not much fun with 500 cases especially with carpel tunnel syndrome).

If I can't get the info here I'll contact Gracey (I do better with something in writing that I can refer back to if needed).

Any help will be appreciated.

Henry

[garandsrus]

You need to loosen the two screws holding the blades and move them outward so that they match the 30 caliber case neck. It is a trial and error adjustment. You will probably mess up a case or two. Use a case pressing on the blades to help locate the cutters, then adjust the trim length.

Take a good look at the blades before loosening the screws. If they come out of the holder, make sure you put them back in correctly.

Giraud makes a carbide blade that fits the Gracey trimmer. It works great and is a nice upgrade. There is only one blade to move instead of two. https://www.giraudtool.com/giraud-power-trimmer.html

[country gent]

A lot of high power shooters used the gracey trimmer. you can set for different calibers its a trial and error adjustment. Easier is to buy the cutter heads for each caliber and leave them set changing them out as needed.I had the heads for 223, 243,308 the screws were replaced with pins and a destaco clamp held it in place.

The carbide blades that cut all together with one blade were/are much easier to set.

If you have access to a mill the heads arnt hard to make. I made mine out of steel with a bronze bushing for the cutter shaft. I remounted it on a new plate/board a little longer this allowed a love joy style coupling that was quicker to switch heads with.

When setting a light tapper and small pin helps to move only one blade at a time.

[oldhenry]

garandrus & country gent,

Thanks for the information. I had written a response earlier today. but when I finished we had tornado warnings & we lost our Wi-Fi connection (we're on a dish) & my response was lost.

In the meanwhile I contacted Dakota @ Gracey & he'll email me some instructions. In that phone conversation when I described blades on my Gracy & the difference between them & the new blades I ordered from Creedmoor he advised that my blades were aftermarket items. This baffles me because I'm sure that I bought it new (?).

I'll share the info I receive from Gracey when received.

[oldhenry]

The plot thickens:
I haven't heard from Gracey yet. Perhaps Dakota made a small error writing my email address that was given over the phone. I'll give them a few more days & follow up if I don't hear from them.

In the meanwhile, I cleaned the cutting blade with a Q-tip dipped in acetone & I'm convinced that my blade is a 1 piece affair machined so that some corners are radiused so that if moved, the movement will not be restricted by the longer thinner slot.

My blade is basically a triangular shaped affair with 2 corners notched to allow the case length to be altered + the IS & OS of the case will be chamfered. It is short so that none of it protrudes into the longer narrower slot enough to be effected by the rear set screw. In fact, there is no set screw in the rear set screw threaded hole.

In contrast the 2 piece Gracey blades are basically square/rectangular. One is quite small to align with the front set screw only & the other if much larger (enough to be secured by the rear set screw).

Obviously I didn't buy the Gracy new from Gracy (@ age 84 facts are not clear: I probably bought it from a fellow XTC shooter).

Since I know I'm dealing with a 1 piece blade I've mustered enough courage to loosen the 1 set screw & try to line up one of those notches with the mouth of an '06 empty. I slightly scored the position angle as is which I hope will assist me in returning the blade to .223 position when needed.

Henry


A real sport involved either gasoline or gun powder: all others are just games.

[country gent]

The one piece are easier to set. the big thing is keeping them square when adjusting them.

[oldhenry]

Update:
1. I got the blade positioned to trim the '06 empties. Thanks to "country gent" I made sure The blade was square to the empty (the raised part with the square edge). I got it to the point that it would trim & chamfer OK, but the mouth edge of the trimmed case was sharp: not like the edge it produced on the .223 cases. This would probably be OK, but I didn't like it.

2. I removed the blade (I'm getting braver) & I find that there is a cutting "notch" on all 3 points of the blade. I'm sure they are all the same, but I picked out a different "notch" (it looked a little different through my Optivisor) & after considerable effort got it adjusted. It now seems to do the IS & OS chamfering + leaves a reasonably flat (but narrow) mouth on the case.

I now see the advantage of the Gracy 2 blade design: you can adjust IS & OS chamfer individually + the case mouth end surface cut can be adjusted. However: my fingers are not as nimble as they once were due to age & carpel tunnel syndrome; so, the 1 piece cutter blade (probably a Giraud) is
best for me.

When I finish trimming this boatload of '06 empties, I'll readjust it back to .223.

Many thanks to garandsrus & country gent for their valuable help.

Henry