Saw for cutting down brass??

[Equalizer]

I have been trimming down brass with a hand trimmer (lathe) but it's getting old trimming .215" off of each case (using 358 Winchester brass to form a shorter 35 cal wildcat)

Do any of you have any suggestions? I've heard of guys using a cheap harbor freight mini chop saw for 300 blackout case forming. School me please.

Any input, insight and or advice would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[DJ Fergus]

Tagging in.

 

[david g ranes]

I have had one for years that I use to trim arrows with works on carbon and aluminum fine I would think it would trim brass I give 19.00 dollars for it back in the 90s. David

 

[Equalizer]

Thank you for your reply Sir. Can it use fiber disc cut off wheels or is it metal blade only?

 

[oldfortyfiveauto]

The metal blade that comes with it works just fine. You'll want to make up some kind of fixture to speed up the process.

 

[Equalizer]

Nice. Thanks Sir!

 

[david g ranes]

I mounted mine on a 2x6 put a stop on it how long I needed my arrows you could mount it on a bench and just build you a stop with a piece of angle iron to keep your cuts consistent. David

 

[Equalizer]

I have some angle laying around thanks for the tip!

 

[J E Custom]

I still have and use a lyman case trimmer for a drill press but don't think they make or sell it any more, but it is great for trimming cases down as much as you are.

Here is a Forster drill press case trimmer that would be a good substitute and would make trimming fast and would not deform the cases and leave them square to the case head. I use the drill press stop to trim to length and after sizing/forming a new neck I do a final trim with the hand trimmer.



Hope this helps

J E CUSTOM

 

[elf]

WOW - yer taking off almost a 1/4th inch! I trim frequently with a Wilson mounted on a block of wood and held on my bench with a vise. I removed the handle/cutter and bought a Sinclair replacement which mounts to a cordless drill. It make trimming effortles.

 

[Bravo 4]

I have used the Harbor Freight mini for several years to cut .300 RUM brass down to make my .510 subsonic cartridge.

 

[Equalizer]

I appreciate all the replies. Yeah my trimmer (& arms) are tired of the current process so I will be trying some of these other ones. It takes forever to trim down 50 pieces ....

 

[J E Custom]

When I can't find 450 bushmaster cases, I trim 280 winchester cases down to 1.700 inches by trimming the neck and shoulder completely away to get the 450 Bushmaster cases with my drill press case trimmer and it is fast and easy. I end up removing almost 1/2 Inch (.470) of the 284 Win case.

Before I build myself a rifle in any chambering, I always look to see what case I can use to substitute if the parent case is not available, and most of the time I can find several that will work.

This process has came in handy at times of shortages for some cartridges.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Alb Greg]

I have been trimming down brass with a hand trimmer (lathe) but it's getting old trimming .215" off of each case (using 358 Winchester brass to form a shorter 35 cal wildcat)

Do any of you have any suggestions? I've heard of guys using a cheap harbor freight mini chop saw for 300 blackout case forming. School me please.

Any input, insight and or advice would be appreciated. Thanks

I use a dremmel multi tool with a metal blade and the brass in my bench vise with rubber jaw pads to make the brass for my .300 BKL, cheap and works fast.