I'll post pics through the process.

So as we all know, inspect your brass first and throughout the process.

Already did the tumble.....sorry

bought to get sprayed with sizing lube 



I use a mix of lee sizing lube and rubbing alcohol.  After it dries it looks like this. I got a little ambitious with the lube this time....hehe



A trip through the sizing die



After sizing I check my die on a headspace gage before I end up with a bunch of rounds that won't chamber.  The headstamp should sit above the "valley", but not be higher than the "ridge" if that makes any sense to yall.  If you use a small straight edge it is easy to see where it sits. *Note - this gage works for 223 and most 5.56 brass.  However, LC cases have a slightly bigger diameter rim that prevents it from being inserted in the gage fully.  My workaround is that I size a NON-LC case that fits, check it in the gage and if its GTG, I know the LC cases will be too.





After sizing, I threw them all in a bucket with some warm water and a little detergent to get off most of the sizing lube.  I'm thinking of trying the "citric acid" bath with this bunch.  I heard it makes the brass super shiny!

Being that most of these cases have primer crimps, I couldn't decap and prime on the ram in one step.  I use this reamer from Hornady and chuck it in a drill press.  Works pretty well and its about a 10th of the cost of a super swage and comes with large and small reamers.





Before



After



After reaming, it's time to separate into "naughty" and "nice" piles. I use this from lyman and it makes it much quicker than calipers

NICE 



NAUGHTY 



more to follow........

Man. I got a ton of brass to prep too. I want to rig something to speed up my trim and deburr process. Dont want to spend bucks on a Gracey

I hear u. I use this lathe trimmer.  I mounted it to a piece of wood so I can bring it in front of the TV 

One day I may motorize it, but I don't process enough to justify it......yet!

I'm selling my Gracey w/ Giraud carbide cutter $250. check it on the for sale. Tool is awesome trims .223 to length, deburrs outside and chamfers inside all in one step...like a pencil sharpener

I'll post pics through the process.

Already did the tumble.....sorry

bought to get sprayed with sizing lube 

This is what I am going to be working on all this week. Case prep and reloading. My job is shut down for the week so I will have the time to catch up.   

I hear u. I use this lathe trimmer.  I mounted it to a piece of wood so I can bring it in front of the TV 

One day I may motorize it, but I don't process enough to justify it......yet!

I have the same thing, but I have the 3 in 1 cutter, trim, chamfer, and deburr in one operation.  I use the electric screwdriver attachment.  Save some steps, but I want to make something for it to operate like the Gracey/Giruad.

I'm selling my Gracey w/ Giraud carbide cutter $250. check it on the for sale. Tool is awesome trims .223 to length, deburrs outside and chamfers inside all in one step...like a pencil sharpener

Nice price, but why you selling??

I bought it on a whim and it sits in my closet most of the time.

I'll post pics through the process.

Already did the tumble.....sorry

bought to get sprayed with sizing lube 

Buhahahaha I have like 7K or so in process....


Dave

I bought it on a whim and it sits in my closet most of the time.

Hang on to it. Our ammo supply may dry up.

I'm selling my Gracey w/ Giraud carbide cutter $250. check it on the for sale. Tool is awesome trims .223 to length, deburrs outside and chamfers inside all in one step...like a pencil sharpener

I have a Giraud trimmer................it's the frikken bestest.  No friggen hand trimming.  I can see if you are looking for match grade stuff, but if you want volume, go with something with a motor Pit.

I have a Giraud trimmer................it's the frikken bestest.  No friggen hand trimming.  I can see if you are looking for match grade stuff, but if you want volume, go with something with a motor Pit.

I agree, unless time is on your side. I am working on 6-7K cases all single stage manually. Not all cases need trimming. Digital caliper is your friend.

Dave

^^^My friend you need a hand gauge.  Basically metal/plastic sheet that you measure your cartridges against for length.  Doing each one with a caliper is brutal.

^^^My friend you need a hand gauge.  Basically metal/plastic sheet that you measure your cartridges against for length.  Doing each one with a caliper is brutal.

Ya it is pretty boring. Thankfully I work from home and there are many empty hours to watch youtube and do things like these. I do want to get a , multistage press, gaurid annealer and some king of auto trimmer, but I am saving $$ for moving.

Dave

I have the same thing, but I have the 3 in 1 cutter, trim, chamfer, and deburr in one operation.  I use the electric screwdriver attachment.  Save some steps, but I want to make something for it to operate like the Gracey/Giruad.

I'm thinking of getting the 3 in 1 head......or a motorized case prep station like the rcbs or lyman.......haven't decided yet.

I'm selling my Gracey w/ Giraud carbide cutter $250. check it on the for sale. Tool is awesome trims .223 to length, deburrs outside and chamfers inside all in one step...like a pencil sharpener

Oh man, I am drooling all over this!!! I have bought so much stuff lately I don't quite have the $ for it.

I have the old RCBS case trimmer and my hand and wrist gets tired trimming all my .223 cases (Go ahead and throw some jokes this way).

My processes:

1.) Vibro tumble all cases.
2.) Size all cases using pam cooking spray as lube.
3.) Use brake cleaner to help degrease all cases and then vibro tumble again for another hour
3.) Separate all cases in head stamp lots. Then use digital caliper to measure cases. All cases measuring less then the lee trimmer on to next step, else trim with lee trimmer and cordless drill.
4.) Dillon super swag to remove  primer crimp if never done.
5.)  RCBS case prep center to debur if never done or trimmed and pockets cleaned.
6.) Prime case
7.) ready to load, on my lee classic cast press.

Reloading using Milsurp 488 powder, wolf primers, Horandy 55 gr FMJBT. 

1st reload is costing about $.20 and they will get a bit cheaper each reload.

I am not figuring in time.....

Lee is coming out with a new brass cutter that trims, deburrs and chamfers in one step

I am thinking maybe one of these:

http://www.littlecrowgunworks.com/wft.html

I bought it on a whim and it sits in my closet most of the time.

No more Highpower??

Lee is coming out with a new brass cutter that trims, deburrs and chamfers in one step

Seen this a while back.  Like over a year, but nothing out yet.  I really wanted the bullet puller, sadly nojoy.

I am thinking maybe one of these:

http://www.littlecrowgunworks.com/wft.html

These are cool too, but no deburr and chamfer.  I love the all in one.

No more Highpower??

been doing poorly lately and I can't pinpoint the problem.I used to clean at 200 and 300. Not sure what it is. Lack of motivation.