Hornady Lock-N-Load Trimmer

[choprzrul]

Got my Hornady trimmer the other day. I decided to mount it on its own piece of wood so that I could remove it from the bench when I wasn't using it. I had 100 .300wm brass to work up last night, so it came out and put into production. I had been using an old Pacific hand crank trimmer with a cordless drill. I would deburr by hand after trimming. That got old quick and made for sore hands. I think that the new Hornady trimmer has doubled my output on case prep. I know for sure it is much more pleasurable to use compared to the old trimmer. Anyway, here are some pictures:





Sorry, only a cell phone handy for pics. The one thing that I did notice while I was working with it was that it kept wanting to go undersize on me. 2.610 (if I remember correctly) was my case trim length. After it was set, about 10 cases later it would be reading 2.608. I'd move it and it would come back out to 2.610 or 2.611. I'd run 10 or 15 more cases and it would be back down to 2.608. It went this way through all of the 100 cases and never settled in for me. I would have thought a new machine would want to go oversize rather than undersize. The knob that tightens the lead screw for setting size is tight and I was trying hard to use exactly the same methods of tightening each case. I am thinking about tumbling and sizing another 100 cases to see if I can get it to settle in before I move it for another caliber.

Anyway, I will add to this thread when I have something new to report, but for now I really like it.

[pdq_wizzard]

So what is the $$ for that bad boy??

[Gio]

Nice!

-Gio

[C.G.]

I've been using one for about six months now. I got some RCBS three in one trimmers for .223, .308 and .338 Lapua and it trims, deburs and chamfers in one shot. I also got Hornady pocket reamers and ream out militaty crimps on it.

[C.G.]

So what is the $$ for that bad boy??

I got it for $278 at Natchez, but I guess they want $319 for them now, may be cheaper elsewhere.

[choprzrul]

So what is the $$ for that bad boy??

http://www.sinclairintl.com/product/...ase-Prep-Units for $309.95. I waited a month for it to come in from backorder. I see now that they are not accepting backorders. If I remember correctly, the serial number on mine is in the 1200's. This makes me think that they are having trouble keeping production numbers up with demand.

[Boilermaker]

Since I will not be able to afford one MidWay has some ready to ship for $340

[LGB Loader]

This really looks like a good piece of equipment. I guess Mrs LGB would flip if I told her that I was getting this anytime soon. I guess me buying one is gonna have to wait, I have a new rifle on DROS right now and have a couple of stripped lower receivers waiting their turn.

LGB

[choprzrul]

This really looks like a good piece of equipment. I guess Mrs LGB would flip if I told her that I was getting this anytime soon. I guess me buying one is gonna have to wait, I have a new rifle on DROS right now and have a couple of stripped lower receivers waiting their turn.

LGB

Yeah, I hear you there. I had to sell my motorcycle lift ($300) to buy this. Since I don't ride anymore (bad back), I think it was a good trade.

[kblack583]

Really looking at this. Need to speed up my bulk brass prep.

[choprzrul]

Really looking at this. Need to speed up my bulk brass prep.

I'll never go back if I can help it.

[C.G.]

Choprzul pmd me these questions, I thought it would be better to answer it in this thread in case others would have the same question.

What does it take to use the RCBS 3 in 1 on the Hornady? Do you have any problem with the pocket reamer taking off too much material in the primer pocket?

I bought one like on this picture:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=145038

The threads are the same as in the Hornady unit, but the threaded stud on the 3-way cutter is shorter and it can bottom out if a case gets stuck and then it is not easy to take it off. I wrap the thread in a lot of Teflon tape, which makes it easier to take off if it bottoms out.
I bought a complete .22 unit and then I bought the 3-way cutter for 6.5, .308 and .338 Lapua. Eventhough it is not difficult to change the cutters, it does take a little time to adjust them, so in future I will get complete units for all the calibers and keep the cutters for spares.

The reamer I use is this one:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=253550

Both the large and small so far have fitted nicely into the primer pockets and remove just the crimp. I think the only way it would take too much off would be if the primer pocket would be out of spec. Even if you are not dead on, the reamer turns slowly enough that it centers the pocket on its own.
Dillon swager works well and is slightly faster if you are only swaging the crimp, RCBS swager works but is slow. Since I ream while I clean and trim the case, it ends up a little faster on the Hornady than on the Dillon since I am handling the same case through all the stages.

[C.G.]

Choprzul, one other thought. Stock up on fuses. There is a fuse (I think it is 1 amp, whatever it is do not exceed it) and if the motor gers overloaded then it will do its job. It is a bit of pain to change the fuse because you have to take off the bottom cover. One of these days I'll move it somewhere where it is more accesible.

[Bushmaster223]

Choprzul, one other thought. Stock up on fuses. There is a fuse (I think it is 1 amp, whatever it is do not exceed it) and if the motor gers overloaded then it will do its job. It is a bit of pain to change the fuse because you have to take off the bottom cover. One of these days I'll move it somewhere where it is more accesible.

I got mine for Christmas and I really like it. The secret to fixing the fuse problem is to ease up on the pressure on the handle. It takes a few seconds longer to trim and deburr, but you won't have to change any fuses. That was the advice I received after I got mine and I haven't had to change the fuse since January. Hope this helps.

[C.G.]

The secret to fixing the fuse problem is to ease up on the pressure on the handle.

So far I've blown two fuses on stuck cases, I don't think less pressure would have made any difference. The good news is that there is a fuse so the motor doesn't burn out, the flaw is that the location of the fuse was designed by a Ford engineer in late sixties.