Hornady Case Prep Center

[drkphibr]

Have recently decided I can no longer be without having one of these beasts.

Posted in WTB to see if someone has one they no longer use or need before trading the value of my 401k in baesed on current selling price.

In the mean time, for those who ownor use one, what are the good, bad and anythin in between on the Hornady Case Prep Center?

[C.G.]

The fuse is a PITA to replace, best to re-lead it to a more convenient place; they don't blow often but still a hassle if you have to take it apart to change it. Keep a couple of spare fuses as they are not a normal store item.

I modified RCBS 3-way cutters to fit. the unit works great using them.

[fguffey]

Have recently decided I can no longer be without having one of these beasts.

I do not know about all of the case prep centers, I purchased the RCBS Case prep center when my military 30/06 case count exceeded my ability to keep up.
I had 2240 surplus 30/06 cases to clean and prep. All of the head stamps indicated the primers were corrosive.

I have never regretted making the purchase, once I caught up, work for the prep center fell of; no matter what I will not getting rid of it. I found two belts of mixed brass in two ammo cans that I had forgotten, I cleaned the cases, but I did not remove the primers, what if someone wants to know if the cases are once fired?

F. Guffey

[ar15barrels]

Have recently decided I can no longer be without having one of these beasts.

Posted in WTB to see if someone has one they no longer use or need before trading the value of my 401k in baesed on current selling price.

In the mean time, for those who ownor use one, what are the good, bad and anythin in between on the Hornady Case Prep Center?

Look at a Giraud trimmer if you are spending that kind of money.
The Hornady case prep center appears to be an old style trim-only tool with separate spots to install inside and outside deburring tools as well as a neck brush and a primer pocket brush.

The giraud trimmer cut to length as well as inside and outside deburrs all at the same time so you don't need the extra spots to hold the inside and outside deburring tools as you won't need to do those tasks separately.

With the money saved buying the Giraud, you can but one of these for your neck and primer pocket brushes:

https://www.brownells.com/reloading/case-preparation/case-lube/graphiter-prod33845.aspx

[drkphibr]

Not a fan of the Giraud in all honesty. Looks like someone hacked some stuff together in a garage one afternoon. If I was going this route of trimming, I'd opt for a Henderson Precision. Same "idea" as Giraud, but with "design aesthetics", at least IMO.

I know one of these is sitting in someone's garage just waiting to find a new home!

[bigbossman]

I actually have an old Gracey unit. A pain to set up, but works well.

[SmokeTheClay]

I have the RCBS universal prep center...replacing mine with Giraud. That should tell you something about the Hornady.

[67Cuda]

I'd avoid the Hornady Trio Prep Center.

I have one. Didn't pull it out of the box for years, never used. First time I turned it on, it jammed.
One of the gears were split. I ordered nylon gears from McMaster, modified them, installed them. Good to go for as long as it or me lasts.
I was going to just buy another, but when I looked up what mine had cost, ~$140, I fixed it for $25.

Another thing that was wrong with it, it ran backwards, switched the wires easy enough, but I wouldn't put a lot of faith into anything electrical from Hornady.

[drkphibr]

I have the RCBS universal prep center...replacing mine with Giraud. That should tell you something about the Hornady.

[trouchelle]

I have it. I got it for free (+ about $35 in missing parts replacement).

Using it for trimming is slow and trimming length adjustment is kind of a pain. I moved to press-mounted trimmer which is, while more expensive, much faster and easier. The good thing is that the trimming length is more or less consistent, but I think it should be expected for the price.

Right now, I pretty much only use it for primer pocket swaging and occasional chamfering/deburring. If you only trim a small number of cases and don't care about the time spent, it works and does its job. But if you only want it for 1-3 calibers, I think a repurposed Makita router with Dillon trim dies and 3D-printed adapters would be cheaper, faster, and more convenient. You can get less expensive pocket swaging/chamfer/deburring if you need that.

I'm not getting rid of mine, but I don't think it's worth the full price.

[drkphibr]

I have it. I got it for free (+ about $35 in missing parts replacement).

Using it for trimming is slow and trimming length adjustment is kind of a pain. I moved to press-mounted trimmer which is, while more expensive, much faster and easier. The good thing is that the trimming length is more or less consistent, but I think it should be expected for the price.

Right now, I pretty much only use it for primer pocket swaging and occasional chamfering/deburring. If you only trim a small number of cases and don't care about the time spent, it works and does its job. But if you only want it for 1-3 calibers, I think a repurposed Makita router with Dillon trim dies and 3D-printed adapters would be cheaper, faster, and more convenient. You can get less expensive pocket swaging/chamfer/deburring if you need that.

I'm not getting rid of mine, but I don't think it's worth the full price.

Thanks for the info.

Can't beat the price you got it for, even including the cost of replacing missing parts!

I saw a video on one from ~2010, so I'm guessing that's around the time it was introduced (or so). A company usually won't continue to produce a product unless it generates revenue/profit, so I'm assuming this is still generating revenue for Hornady via continued purchases.

[desertrider]

I have it. I got it for free (+ about $35 in missing parts replacement).

Using it for trimming is slow and trimming length adjustment is kind of a pain. I moved to press-mounted trimmer which is, while more expensive, much faster and easier. The good thing is that the trimming length is more or less consistent, but I think it should be expected for the price.

Right now, I pretty much only use it for primer pocket swaging and occasional chamfering/deburring. If you only trim a small number of cases and don't care about the time spent, it works and does its job. You can get less expensive pocket swaging/chamfer/deburring if you need that.

I'm not getting rid of mine, but I don't think it's worth the full price.

Thanks for the info.

Can't beat the price you got it for, even including the cost of replacing missing parts!

I saw a video on one from ~2010, so I'm guessing that's around the time it was introduced (or so). A company usually won't continue to produce a product unless it generates revenue/profit, so I'm assuming this is still generating revenue for Hornady via continued purchases.

I second trouchelle's experience and opinion of the Hornady Prep Center.

I think I've had mine since 2018(?) and don't plan to get rid of it because the attachments for primer and neck cleaning are conveniently placed for high volume use, and I have the unit bolted to a 30lb plate along with my powder measures and my swager.

I've trimmed lots of brass with it, but have found that consistency can be poor at times. The problem is due to slop in the adjustment of the ram and a propensity of the vertical plate to loosen during use. You have to check about every tenth case to insure proper length and adjust if needed. If the inspection case is out of spec, this means going back and checking the previous cases as well. PITA.





I bought two Giraud TriWay trimmers and use those for high volume (.223 and .308), but still use my Prep Center for all 8mm Mauser reloads.

[C.G.]

Nice! I might do that for the 5.56 and 7.62 since I have a couple of motors collecting dust, but they don't seem to offer it for my other calibers.

[desertrider]

Nice! I might do that for the 5.56 and 7.62 since I have a couple of motors collecting dust, but they don't seem to offer it for my other calibers.

I have no regrets about my Tri Ways. Originally I considered buying a harbor freight drill as a dedicated trimmer mount and just sticking it in the vise when trimming. I didn't like the idea of having to stand by the bench though. I figured having something portable would be better.

I bought the motor at a yard sale for $20 and sourced the chuck (used) off ebay for $22.50. I made the stand from a section of workbench that I had to cut off after I upgraded to a larger tool box and ran out of room in my garage, glad I kept the piece I cut off.

I still use my Hornady for small batches of Mauser brass, but for 223 and 308 the Giraud is super consistent and a breeze to knock out large numbers of brass.

[AdamVIP]

I have it in my head that all my reloading equipment should be operable without power possible but triway cutters should be standard now so I picked up an RCBS trim pro 2 and a triway cutter for it.

If I had enough to do where speed was a deciding factor the Giraud looks the best to me. Seems like you can churn through them a lot faster than the Henderson and you don't need a clamp to use it. Realistically though having the RCBS already I would get the drill attachment first before spending the money on a giraud to see if thats good enough.