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Case Prep Centers

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I'm planning on purchasing a case prep center soon and I'm trying to figure out the best path forward with respect to prepping AND trimming.

My first thought was to get the Lyman case prep xpress for about $130 on Amazon and then find or mill one of those adapters that allow you to mount the lyman trimming cutter and pilot to one of the drives. I am concerned that the lyman drive system may not be robust enough to handle the possible torque of trimming because of the plastic gears... just read the amazon reviews... plastic gears.

Then I've considered products like the frankford arsenal platinum series case prep and trim center. Trimmers like this only trim bottleneck cartridges but still a huge timesaver.

What do yall use/recommend? Also considering the lyman brass smith trimmer but that's another $130. Trying to just buy one unit tho. Prepping brass gets old!
 
I went through the same decision making process and ended up picking up the Frankford unit. Love it and really glad I picked it up. I bought it used and had to drive out to Anderson SC to pick it up (off Craigslist) but got it for $50. You are right, bottleneck only. I still have an old Lyman hand crank universal trimmer from the 80's that I keep around for straight wall stuff. I found I was most frequently doing bottleneck anyway so it's a great solution for me.
 
I went through the same decision making process and ended up picking up the Frankford unit. Love it and really glad I picked it up. I bought it used and had to drive out to Anderson SC to pick it up (off Craigslist) but got it for $50. You are right, bottleneck only. I still have an old Lyman hand crank universal trimmer from the 80's that I keep around for straight wall stuff. I found I was most frequently doing bottleneck anyway so it's a great solution for me.
Awesome! Thanks! I do wish the frankford unit had more drives like the lyman. I guess it depends on if I were swaging crimps or not that day.
 
It's so quick to change bits it's not been a problem in the least for me. All I have in there at the moment is a small pocket crimp reamer (a Lyman bit). There is a storage tray with a latching lid on top of the unit for spare bits.
 
I've got the Lyman and it works great. I use the World's Cheapest Trimmer for my 223 brass. And I also use the Lee trim dies in the press.

I didn't realize the lyman has plastic gears but it feels pretty torquey.

I have no regrets about my purchase
 
FYI the Frankford Arsenal unit has standard thread pitch mounts, I've swapped most of the bits to RCBS or other brands including the trimmer cutter blade. I'm using an RCBS carbide trimmer blade setup on the FA unit. I usually use the RCBS primer pocket cutters as well (large and small) to cut out the primer pocket crimp. Normally hit it a bit with that, and then swage it with a bench mount RCBS unit. I didn't find the bench unit did a good enough job on it's own but the combo leaves me with very good primer pockets (using a primer pocket go/no go gauge).
 
I run one of the Frankfords. I like it. I have a couple gripes about it though. The whole reverse threads on adjusting the trim length. That crap gets me every time. Even when I tell myself it’s reverse threads before adjusting it. It’s also a pain trimming 300bo because the shorter case goes so far it’s hard to hang onto the brass. The accessory drive isn’t fast enough to use the rcbs military crimp remover(in my opinion) I’ve had the best luck running that bit in a cordless drill. However it’s great for everything else I’ve tried. i actually bought it on a whim. I’ve seen many folks on YouTube using it. So when I was at cabelas and noticed it was on sale. I said why not. Coming from a super old rcbs manual trimmer(had to be 30 years old) and doing all my prep by hand, I’m glad I actually bought it. My carpel tunneled hands appreciate it.
 
I run one of the Frankfords. I like it. I have a couple gripes about it though. The whole reverse threads on adjusting the trim length. That crap gets me every time. Even when I tell myself it’s reverse threads before adjusting it. It’s also a pain trimming 300bo because the shorter case goes so far it’s hard to hang onto the brass. The accessory drive isn’t fast enough to use the rcbs military crimp remover(in my opinion) I’ve had the best luck running that bit in a cordless drill. However it’s great for everything else I’ve tried. i actually bought it on a whim. I’ve seen many folks on YouTube using it. So when I was at cabelas and noticed it was on sale. I said why not. Coming from a super old rcbs manual trimmer(had to be 30 years old) and doing all my prep by hand, I’m glad I actually bought it. My carpel tunneled hands appreciate it.
That’s one of the main concerns I have with the FA. I plan on trimming a lot of 300 blk. I wonder how trimming 300 blk is on the Lyman trim mate express. I’m currently using the Lyman Ezee trim set with a drill and I like it pretty good I just wish I could find the 8/32 adapter for it to run it on a prep center
 
That’s one of the main concerns I have with the FA. I plan on trimming a lot of 300 blk. I wonder how trimming 300 blk is on the Lyman trim mate express. I’m currently using the Lyman Ezee trim set with a drill and I like it pretty good I just wish I could find the 8/32 adapter for it to run it on a prep center

I wear my old leather hatch patrol gloves when doing 300BO. From all the gloves I have, without buying something new, they work the best. My hands will start to hurt after a 100 or so rounds, even alternating hands every 10 or so pieces. That being said I’d rather do this than my previous setup. A friend of mine had the Hornady case prep trimmer contraption. Its awesome for 300BO. That thing is expensive though.
 
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