Gun store Shooting Locations It is currently Fri Mar 29, 2024 4:12 am



Rules WGO Chat Room Gear Rent Me Shield NRA SAF CCKRBA
Calendar




Reply to topic  [ 49 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next
 My New Giraud Case Trimmer 
Author Message
Online
Site Admin
User avatar
Site Admin

Location: Renton, WA
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2011
Posts: 51919
Real Name: Steve
I was tired of fighting with trimming cases, so I decided to go straight to the top and buy a Giraud. I bought it for .223, with the complete setup to also run 30-06; the grand total with shipping was about $525. :shock:

I just unboxed it this morning and tried it on a pile of .223 brass. I could get going pretty fast, using both hands:

Image

But after 500 cases or so, my fingers were tired . . . but that's better than my whole damned upper body aching, which is what happened with my old setup.

Running like I was in the video above, all of the cases are in a 0.005" band. If I spend a little more time, that will come down to maybe 0.003". I'm still not at the 0.001" that I was hoping/expecting, but maybe that's unrealistic and/or unnecessary. Either way, it still beats the living shit out of my old trimmer.

My thanks to dougja for proving the feedback on his trimmer before I bought this one. :tiphat:

_________________
Steve

Benefactor Life Member, National Rifle Association
Life Member, Second Amendment Foundation
Patriot & Life Member, Gun Owners of America
Life Member, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Legal Action Supporter, Firearms Policy Coalition
Member, NAGR/NFGR

Please support the organizations that support all of us.

Leave it cleaner than you found it.


Sun Sep 04, 2011 9:16 am
Profile
Site Moderator
User avatar
Site Moderator

Location: Olympia, Warshington.
Joined: Fri May 27, 2011
Posts: 12506
Real Name: Oly Damon
Very cool. Nice investment.

_________________
www.olydemon.com


Sun Sep 04, 2011 9:58 am
Profile WWW
Online
Site Admin
User avatar
Site Admin

Location: Renton, WA
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2011
Posts: 51919
Real Name: Steve
Oh . . . and of course it chamfers and deburrs at the same time.

_________________
Steve

Benefactor Life Member, National Rifle Association
Life Member, Second Amendment Foundation
Patriot & Life Member, Gun Owners of America
Life Member, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Legal Action Supporter, Firearms Policy Coalition
Member, NAGR/NFGR

Please support the organizations that support all of us.

Leave it cleaner than you found it.


Sun Sep 04, 2011 9:59 am
Profile
Site Admin
User avatar
Site Admin

Location: Olympia, WA
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2011
Posts: 38292
Real Name: Dan
bring that with you tomorrow..... hehe


Sun Sep 04, 2011 11:47 am
Profile WWW
Founding Father
User avatar
Founding Father

Location: Woodinville
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2011
Posts: 4631
Massivedesign wrote:
bring that with you tomorrow..... hehe



=)) That would bring new meaning to the term "Tactical Reloading."

_________________
"There's two things in life you can't take back... Bullets and words. So make sure you hit what you aim at and make sure you mean what you say."


Sun Sep 04, 2011 12:19 pm
Profile
Online
Site Admin
User avatar
Site Admin

Location: Renton, WA
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2011
Posts: 51919
Real Name: Steve
Massivedesign wrote:
bring that with you tomorrow..... hehe


Oh, I can bring it down but it's also coming home with me. Are you bringing the generator or the 8-mile extension cord??

_________________
Steve

Benefactor Life Member, National Rifle Association
Life Member, Second Amendment Foundation
Patriot & Life Member, Gun Owners of America
Life Member, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Legal Action Supporter, Firearms Policy Coalition
Member, NAGR/NFGR

Please support the organizations that support all of us.

Leave it cleaner than you found it.


Sun Sep 04, 2011 12:36 pm
Profile
Site Admin
User avatar
Site Admin

Location: Olympia, WA
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2011
Posts: 38292
Real Name: Dan
I'll bring the mosin stock... :)


Sun Sep 04, 2011 1:16 pm
Profile WWW
Site Supporter
User avatar
Site Supporter

Location: University Place/West Tacoma
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2011
Posts: 1401
Nice Steve!

The key to consistent trimming is consistent sizing since it trims from the shoulder of the case . I use an "over-priced" tool from Innovative Technologies http://www.larrywillis.com/ I say "over-priced" because there may be other ways to do the same thing for less money. This was just the easiest for me. I calibrate this tool with either my rifle shot brass or a factory round and then set my die to match.

So when the shoulder set back is set and unchanging then the trimming should get you to within 2/1000" (0.002"). It takes time and you may curse the concept of trimming from the shoulder rather than from end to end. i think in the long run you are making a better product.

It did make a difference for me when I went from my Lee Challenger press to the RCBS rockchucker supreme in getting a consistent sizing/shoulder set back. In both I use the same Lee full length sizing die, which means the sturdiness of the press is what helped improve consistency.

So in short, the consistency of your shoulder set back will result in consistent trim lengths. I hope that makes sense.
Good luck with the Giraud.

Doug

_________________
Doug
University Place/West Tacoma


Sun Sep 04, 2011 2:29 pm
Profile
Online
Site Admin
User avatar
Site Admin

Location: Renton, WA
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2011
Posts: 51919
Real Name: Steve
Interesting gadget there, Doug. I haven't seen that before . . . very nice!

I understand how it will fit your brass to your chamber, but I don't understand how it would make the brass more consistent. If my die is set in the same spot for two pieces of brass, won't those two pieces of brass be the same? And therefore they should trim to the same length with the Giraud?

_________________
Steve

Benefactor Life Member, National Rifle Association
Life Member, Second Amendment Foundation
Patriot & Life Member, Gun Owners of America
Life Member, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Legal Action Supporter, Firearms Policy Coalition
Member, NAGR/NFGR

Please support the organizations that support all of us.

Leave it cleaner than you found it.


Sun Sep 04, 2011 2:35 pm
Profile
Site Supporter
User avatar
Site Supporter

Location: University Place/West Tacoma
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2011
Posts: 1401
MadPick wrote:
Interesting gadget there, Doug. I haven't seen that before . . . very nice!

I understand how it will fit your brass to your chamber, but I don't understand how it would make the brass more consistent. If my die is set in the same spot for two pieces of brass, won't those two pieces of brass be the same? And therefore they should trim to the same length with the Giraud?



I agree. Scratch my head . The press is the only other variable I can think of. I know you have a quality press, but is it rock solid secure?

This may be a question for Giraud Tool Co. For me the two factors were knowing my shoulder set back was consistent and quality of the press set up. The Lee die was fine.

To your point.... " If my die is set in the same spot for two pieces of brass, won't those two pieces of brass be the same? And therefore they should trim to the same length with the Giraud?" In theory yes. I should bring the shoulder set back tool up there to measure the two pieces of brass and make sure they are "the same".

It will get easier.... I went thru the same things. I found my "groove" in a few things I do ... I only use Lake City brass for consistency, I set up using the shoulder set back measuring tool and I use a rock solid press. Maybe they are all shots in the dark but it ended up working for me.

You should be able to get near perfect results with any brass, I just got tired of screwing around with really short once fired brass and such. I find Lake City much more consistent and easier to get my desired results.

I will bring the tool up next week. It might not be the answer but it will at least help us understand one more variable.


Stay with it!

_________________
Doug
University Place/West Tacoma


Sun Sep 04, 2011 2:52 pm
Profile
Online
Site Admin
User avatar
Site Admin

Location: Renton, WA
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2011
Posts: 51919
Real Name: Steve
dougja wrote:
I know you have a quality press, but is it rock solid secure?


I have a Hornady LNL, which is a progressive press . . . so I suspect it's not as rock-solid as a single-stage press. That may be part of the issue.

But regardless, even the way it's running now I think it'll be fine. And, as I use it more I'm sure I'll be more consistent with how I turn the brass, how hard I push, etc. That will help.

_________________
Steve

Benefactor Life Member, National Rifle Association
Life Member, Second Amendment Foundation
Patriot & Life Member, Gun Owners of America
Life Member, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Legal Action Supporter, Firearms Policy Coalition
Member, NAGR/NFGR

Please support the organizations that support all of us.

Leave it cleaner than you found it.


Sun Sep 04, 2011 3:07 pm
Profile
Online
Site Admin
User avatar
Site Admin

Location: Renton, WA
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2011
Posts: 51919
Real Name: Steve
Here's a better video:

Image

I did better with it this afternoon; I'd say that most cases were within a 0.002" range. I'm messing with the cases less; I just push it in, wait for the trimming to stop, then give it a quick quarter-turn.

thumbsup

Oh, and the best part: NO MESS!! It catches all of the chips.

_________________
Steve

Benefactor Life Member, National Rifle Association
Life Member, Second Amendment Foundation
Patriot & Life Member, Gun Owners of America
Life Member, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Legal Action Supporter, Firearms Policy Coalition
Member, NAGR/NFGR

Please support the organizations that support all of us.

Leave it cleaner than you found it.


Sun Sep 04, 2011 5:33 pm
Profile
Site Admin
User avatar
Site Admin

Location: Olympia, WA
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2011
Posts: 38292
Real Name: Dan
Next time you go out of town, I'll babysit her for ya.


Sun Sep 04, 2011 7:29 pm
Profile WWW
Site Supporter
User avatar
Site Supporter

Location: Marysville, WA
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2011
Posts: 11581
Real Name: Mike
dougja wrote:
Nice Steve!

The key to consistent trimming is consistent sizing since it trims from the shoulder of the case .


Because of this I opted for the Dillon Rapid Trim for all my .223 brass. It sizes and trims all as a single process.

As for "de-burring", by keeping a sharp edge on the high speed carbide cutter, any burr formed is nominal. What little is created is eliminated when I load the brass. I use a Lee Collet Die on station one of my 650. The mandrel both expands the sized case mouth and renders the burr (if any) moot.

My fingers don't get tired after thousands of rounds trimmed and it cost me less than half that of a Giraud.

Not putting down the Giraud or any other of it's kind, just saying that there are many routes to the same destination and some don't have as high a price.

_________________
"I've learned from the Dog that an afternoon nap is a good thing"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother
" - William Shakespeare


Mon Sep 05, 2011 7:42 am
Profile
Site Supporter
User avatar
Site Supporter

Location: Marysville, WA
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2011
Posts: 11581
Real Name: Mike
dougja wrote:
Nice Steve!

The key to consistent trimming is consistent sizing since it trims from the shoulder of the case . I use an "over-priced" tool from Innovative Technologies http://www.larrywillis.com/ I say "over-priced" because there may be other ways to do the same thing for less money. This was just the easiest for me. I calibrate this tool with either my rifle shot brass or a factory round and then set my die to match.



I would say it's overpriced. Nice looking but for what it does, it's about 2.5 times as expensive as the Sinclair/Hornady Headspace gauge. Of course with them they assume you already have the digital caliper.

What I like about the Sinclair/Hornady is that it uses the same method of measuring headspace as is shown in cartridge specifications. I can look at a cartridge drawing, measure the case, and have an apples/apples comparison.

I only neck size my bolt action brass until it gets the point where I get a "hard close" on the bolt. Then I knock the shoulder back .002 and start the process over.


As for "Factory Ammo", what's that? Can't remember how long it's been since I bought any of that. :)

_________________
"I've learned from the Dog that an afternoon nap is a good thing"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother
" - William Shakespeare


Mon Sep 05, 2011 7:55 am
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Reply to topic   [ 49 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 36 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum



Rules WGO Chat Room Gear Rent Me NRA SAF CCKRBA
Calendar


Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
Designed by ST Software for PTF.
[ Time : 0.545s | 16 Queries | GZIP : Off ]