New Lee Quick Trim Die

[EDG]

It looks like Lee is releasing a new trimmer in an effort to improve its old abysmal piloted hand tool.
It is so new that it is listed in the front of the Lee site as a new item.
http://leeprecision.com/news/new-products-for-2013.html
There are a couple listed in ebay and online sellers. Form the limited photos it appears to be a cross between a crank trimmer and a trim die.
The trim die has a guide bore on top for the pilot-less trimmer. Not a bad design from the functional stand point. It will be interesting to see how much dies cost when you add a new round to your repertoire.
Trim dies have a weakness - that is expense if they are not designed to handle multiple rounds. Something like what you get with the case holders used in a Wilson trimmer.

[zuke]

It looks like Lee is releasing a new trimmer in an effort to improve its old abysmal piloted hand tool.
It is so new that it is listed in the front of the Lee site as a new item.
http://leeprecision.com/news/new-products-for-2013.html
There are a couple listed in ebay and online sellers. Form the limited photos it appears to be a cross between a crank trimmer and a trim die.
The trim die has a guide bore on top for the pilot-less trimmer. Not a bad design from the functional stand point. It will be interesting to see how much dies cost when you add a new round to your repertoire.
Trim dies have a weakness - that is expense if they are not designed to handle multiple rounds. Something like what you get with the case holders used in a Wilson trimmer.

What's the old saying about being broke so don't fix it?

[woody13]

I bought two since there are two diferrent ones just to see how they work. Well been waiting for the dies to come around at least for the basic calibers. I have had them almost a month now. I didnt buy them to mass produce but well see how they hold up.....

[EDG]

I guess if you don't mind carpal tunnel. It stinks to trim a large quantity of brass with the old Lee tool. Lee obviously recognizes that. If you load 40 or 50 calibers the Lee tool is not a vary good deal for the money either. My Forster is a lot more versatile and adjustable at $25 about 40 years ago. It was/is a lot cheaper than a pile of the Lee pilots which are not adjustable.

What's the old saying about being broke so don't fix it?

[leadman]

I just chuck up the Lee holder for the case in my cordless drill and clamp the vise grips on the cutter. I can trim alot of brass in a short time. Then it is to the RCBS casemaster for deburring, flash hole deburring if needed and clean and uniform the primer pockets.

[Stevtrains]

Has anyone tried to use these in a progresive press?

[W.R.Buchanan]

I like this idea from Lee. Tool wise it is a good way to do the cases of your choice. Looks to be relatively ergonomic.

Having to buy a separate die for each cartridge you trim is a bit of a pain, however the Deluxe Cutter assy doing inside, outside, and length is a better idea than most trim lathes have. You'd think more outfits would have figured this out a long time ago.

My first thought was that they need to produce the trimmer cutter with a 1/4 hex on the crank end so you could run a cordless screwdriver for a motor. IN fact if they made the cutter this way they could just cast a 1/4 female hex into the crank handle and you could use it both ways.

Bet they figure that out quickly.

This is just another way to do this task and just because there are a zillion tools already out there to do this job doesn't mean you can't make others too.. Time will tell if it sticks.

Randy

[dkf]

I have one but I did not get a chance to put it through its paces yet. Will have to try it on some .223 first.

[armedmoose]

Now someone just needs to fashion up an adapter to power that quick trim....

[GunFun]

FYI, I contacted Lee last week. Their rep said that they had no plans to develop a power adapter for this tool. I cannot imagine why not.

This would be a class leader if it could be chucked into a drill for volume work. It would do the same job as a $250 dillon power trimmer for around $25. In fact this chamfers and deburrs, so it would do a bit better. I would pay extra for a carbide cutter option.

I hope to making a large quantity of 300 BO in the future, and would want a powered version of this for any single loading of .223.

My thoughts for setup on my loadmaster progressive were as follows:
Seperate turret plate just for brass prep.
Station 1) Universal decapper. I bevel the shoulder on the decapper pin so that it doesn't hang up on .22 case necks.
Station 2) remove primer assy, and replace with a custom primer swager die that I would like to make. Basically just an extended primer seater with a slight chamfer.
Station 3) maybe resizer if I do this prior to tumbling. Most likely, I would do this step after tumbling, cleaning and case lube, but I could do a preliminary tumble and lube and only load lube free brass later.
Station 4) Quick Trim with a drill.

Some kind of shop vac mount with a foot pedal switch for drill/vac seems like a good idea too.

Operation would require stopping at the top of each stroke to trim. Drill might be locked on, and I might mod a bracket so that the press feeds the shell into the cutter rather than having to push the drill down.

Loading sequence would have:

Station 1) Decapper, just as a fail safe for things like tumbler media in primer pocket.
Station 2) Primer, sizing die with the decapping pin retracted.
Station 3) Powder drop
Station 4) Seater die
Station 5) FCD

I believe the above would result in significantly reduced total loading time for large volume loading of carbine calibers, and a very low tool cost.

Side note: someone asked above about using this in a progressive. One nuisance I have discovered for doing .223 in a progressive is that stick powders like varget can get into the shell plates where the rim is supposed to slide in and cause misalignment. If a couple stray grains of powder can jam things up, brass filings will too.Hence my notion of the shop vac mount.
Thoughts?

[yellowfin]

Now that the power trimmer adapter is here, has anyone here tried it? I'm deciding between this and the Little Crow WFT--got LOADS of .223 I need to trim and would really see benefit to saving myself hours vs. hand crank or zip trim.

[Hardcast416taylor]

HHHMMMMMMM? This makes my RCBS powered case trimmer that is a "few" years old look better all the more that I read about this "wonder LEE trimmer" since I load for 35+ calibers last I looked.Robert

[Silver Hand]

Power Quick Trim Adapter Motorize Your Quick Trim

The Power Quick Trim adapter enables you to motorize your Value or Deluxe Quick Trim. Hex shank snaps in to any inexpensive cordless screwdriver (sold separately).
To complete your trimming setup, order cartridge specific pistol Quick Trim die or rifle Quick Trim die.

product # 90740 MSRP $14.00

[GunFun]

About time. Their rep told me that they had no intention to make this product, which is just bizarre to me.

[GunFun]

Something tells me this will be a good seller in 300 AAC BO...

[MT Chambers]

I kinda like the "zip trim", very robust.

[NavyVet1959]

I ended up buying the Wilson trimmer. It's nicely engineered and I don't have that many calibers that need trimming, so having to buy a different holder for each caliber is not that big of a deal for me. Now, if they were to just make a cutter head that had a drill bit on it for making hollowpointed rounds, it would be even better.

[r1kk1]

I ended up buying the Wilson trimmer. It's nicely engineered and I don't have that many calibers that need trimming, so having to buy a different holder for each caliber is not that big of a deal for me. Now, if they were to just make a cutter head that had a drill bit on it for making hollowpointed rounds, it would be even better.

CH4D makes bodies for the Wilson too. When I have a barrel made, they cut off a piece for the chambering for me. Cartridge families with the same body and taper can share a holder.

take care

r1kk1

[yellowfin]

Well, I got my Lee Power Trim die and cutter in the mail today, and I like it! Plugged in my drill and it stands up nice on top of the press so I just work the lever with one and slide cases in with the other then hit the drill for a couple seconds, lower, swap cases, and repeat. Yeah yeah, the instructions say use a cordless screwdriver, maybe I'll get one, but didn't want to stop out to the hardware store late in the evening after dinner. Did a couple hundred .223 just to see how well it works, and while not quite as convenient as a Giraud, it's entirely adequate and 1/10th the price (and no multi month wait!!!) so you won't hear me complain. I can do it WAY faster than anything manual so that's a life improvement when considering the volume per year it'll see. $15 to swap calibers is really nice.

[Ed Barrett]

I bought one of the new lee tools to make 9mm makarov out of 9mm luger. Works fine for me, and that's what counts.