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Posted: 3/5/2017 6:13:04 PM EDT
[Last Edit: tzzler44][Edited]
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I found myself needing a trimmer for large quantities of 223, 308, 270, and 300blk as well as other random calibers in smaller quantities. I was torn between the Trim-It 2 and the Giraud Tri-Way. They both seemed to offer quality cuts with inner and outer chamfering.
I decided on the Trim-It 2 because it was more economical given my need for several different calibers. If I was only trimming one or two calibers I would have gone with the Giraud but at nearly $100 for each caliber "family" for the Giraud and only $20 to swap between calibers in the Trim-It 2, the latter made more sense. Before I ordered the Trim-It 2 I called the company and had a chance speak with Troy, who I believe is the owner, and he comes off as a great guy who was happy to answer any and all questions I had about the Trim-It 2. I told him about my dilemma, he said that while he thinks the Giraud is a wonderful tool for someone who only trims one or two "families" of rifle cartridges, the Trim-It 2 would make more sense for someone who trims a variety of differing cases. I has already come to the same conclusion myself and I was impressed that he would speak so highly of a product that directly competes with his own. I had seem some negative reviews of the earlier Trim-It 2 products as having poor tolerances and other issues so I decided to only go with one caliber die to start. EDIT** One of the negative reviews seemed to indicate that a few people experienced significant "wobble," or runout, in their trimmer. I asked Troy about this and he confirmed that some of the earlier models did have this problem but that now each and every trimmer that goes out the door is checked for runout before it ships. I did not check mine for any runout but I did not notice any at all while using it. I did do a visual check for obvious wobble, for whatever that's worth. Here's what I got in the mail: 
After taking it out of the package, I tried to install the .308 caliber die I ordered with it and it was tight.... really tight. I had read another review mentioning small burrs where the caliber die set screw was. I took a piece of sand paper and lightly dressed up the inside of the trimmer where the set screw is. As you can see from the picture, there was a small burr which was removed by just a few seconds of sanding. It's a small thing, but one would think it would be addressed at production. 
Because I can't help myself, I started taking the trimmer apart to familiarize myself with it. The trimmer body "fine tune" body is locked in place by three set screws. One of the set screws had a brass tip, usually reserved for non-marring set screws. I'm not sure why only one was used, but when I reinstalled it I put it in the only set screw hole marked with a red line. Why? Because I forgot which one it had originally come out of. 
I had already sized and wet tumbled all the .308 brass I wanted to trim. You don't have to remove the sizing lube but I didn't want to get lube all over the inside of the caliber die and risk it building up over the course of the hundreds of cases I intended to trim. Setting the right amount of chamfer inside and out was a little tedious, but not challenging. I expect I'll get better at this over time, but i wrecked the neck on a couple cases before I got it exactly where I wanted it. Once set though, I was left with a nice chamfer inside and out. 
I chucked the trimmer up in my hobby lathe and started going to town on cases. Everything went well and I was getting +/- 0.001 case lengths after trimming, often less. Keep in mind that since this trimmer indexes off the shoulder the trim consistency is only going to be as good as your consistency when sizing. I sized this brass on a Dillon 650 with only a sizing die installed in the toolhead. The Trim-It 2 came with a clear plastic guard which slips over the trimmer body to contain the brass shavings. I didn't care about keeping the brass shavings in so I left it off. If you care about keeping your workspace sparkly clean, leave it on. 
All was going great, but then I noticed something.... my cases were suddenly coming out at 1.996" in length instead of the 2.006" I had set it up at. I checked the set screws around the larger OD of the trimmer body, but they were fine. Then I noticed a little play in the trimmer shaft. The set screw way in the back that locks the entire trimmer body to the shaft had come loose and allowed the force of my pushing the cases into the caliber die to slide the trimmer body backwards slightly. This could very well be my fault as I did not want to strip the set screws. With the exception of the steel center shaft that the carbide cutting tip is installed in, the trimmer body is aluminum. I reset my overall case trim length, tightening the rear set screw a little more, and went right back to trimming. Over the course of the weekend I went through around 500 cases and with the exception of my little set screw mishap, I didn't have a single complaint. Overall, I'd highly recommend this trimmer to someone looking to cut time from their case prep and get a nicely trimmed and chamfered case mouth with excellent uniformity in length from case to case. I've since ordered 4 more caliber dies. UPDATE: After trimming around 1000 cases I encountered a bit of an issue with the set screw for the trimmer head. It's the little bitty one that takes a 0.050" hex key. It's a brass tipped set screw and the brass tip got destroyed by the high frequency vibrations in the trimming process and I ended up have the tighten it so forcefully that the screw head stripped. I spoke with Troy, who works for the manufacturer and he said that they have plans to replace that screw in future products with one that is 1) Bigger and 2) Not Brass tipped so that problem never happens again. I picked up another set screw from the local hardware store for 10 cents and I'm back in business. Small issue, but worthy of note. Just as noteworthy is the response received from the manufacturer - Great customer service and a willingness to do whatever it took to make things right. |
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Very nice review tzzler44.
I'm going to set the toggle to keep this thread out of the archives. In this forum, click on My Topics, and this thread will pop up. Handy for you when this thread slips off page 1. |
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Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other.
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Originally Posted By GunsNotPuns:
Did you find any wobble to it? One Youtube review I saw had a lot of wobble while the case was being worked. Didn't seem to affect the end product but it made me leery about picking one up. Good question, I actually asked Troy about that on the phone and I'm going to edit the original post to reflect that |
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Very good review.
I need to get one for 54R and you are the second member here that has one and recommends it. I read several bad reviews about it on UTube so I started a thread and asked. Only one member here responded that he had one and it's GTG. All the problems have been worked out as of recent production runs. His comment and now yours cinches it for me. I'll order one too. I'll just loc-tite all the screws since it will only be for one caliber. Thanks for taking the time to do this. |
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Originally Posted By deanald2pt0:
Great, now I'm questioning myself again. I was going to call Giraud today and order a couple Tri-Ways. All I load for is .223, .308. and 300 BLK. Yeah I'd go with the Trim-It 2 if I were you. Just from a financial standpoint you're going to end up buying 3 Tri-Ways for 223, 308 and 300blk since they're all in different "families." That's $294 where as the Trim-It 2 is $138 for the trimmer and $20 for each caliber die, so for you $198 to set up for those three calibers. Then again, you'll have to readjust the Trim-It 2 when you go between different cartridges where as you could leave each Giraud set. Just depends on your own personal situation I guess |
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I went the Giraud route, and as mentioned, you will need 3 different heads.
For me, I would rather have dedicated heads (either the Trim-it 2 ~or~ the Giraud) rather than trying to dial in the trimmer perfectly each time. But then again, there is a cost associated with that approach. Totally worth it in my eyes. Great review, thanks! |
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Originally Posted By Doublehelix:
I went the Giraud route, and as mentioned, you will need 3 different heads. For me, I would rather have dedicated heads (either the Trim-it 2 ~or~ the Giraud) rather than trying to dial in the trimmer perfectly each time. But then again, there is a cost associated with that approach. Totally worth it in my eyes. Great review, thanks! That was similar to my thoughts as well, except with Tri-ways. I reload 4 rifle calibers, my initial plan was to buy 4 Tri-ways. It would still be cheaper than buying the big, powered machine and 3 caliber conversions. Plus, an added benefit is no time lost changing or adjusting anything. Just stick it in your drill and trim. Mr. Giraud does not offer the Tri-way in 54R so I have to buy a Trim-It 2 for that one but I'm still going to get Tri-ways for .223 and 30-06 because I have one in x39 and believe it to be the better tool. I've trimmed over 3000 cases and made no adjustments and no screws have come loose. It's all steel, the other is mostly aluminum. Since I have a Giraud and know it's a high quality tool I'm not taking a risk by buying 2 more, I'll have to wait til I get a Trim-It 2 before commenting anymore on its' quality. Maybe I'll just call him everyday til he gives in and makes one for me. 
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Originally Posted By tzzler44:
Yeah I'd go with the Trim-It 2 if I were you. Just from a financial standpoint you're going to end up buying 3 Tri-Ways for 223, 308 and 300blk since they're all in different "families." That's $294 where as the Trim-It 2 is $138 for the trimmer and $20 for each caliber die, so for you $198 to set up for those three calibers. Then again, you'll have to readjust the Trim-It 2 when you go between different cartridges where as you could leave each Giraud set. Just depends on your own personal situation I guess I decided to go with the TriWays. Not having to readjust the cutters was a big selling point. |
| I use a Giraud for 223 and absolutely love but for whatever reason they refuse to make one for 6.5 Creed. I started looking for an alternative when I came across the Trim-It II and then found this post. It sounds like the only possible issue is that allen screw. I wonder if they ever updated it with a larger one? |
I now have a ban button. Want to see me use it? Keep it up. - Lancelot
You do not fight out of hate, but rather out of the love and compassion you have for those you are trying to protect.
You do not fight out of hate, but rather out of the love and compassion you have for those you are trying to protect.
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Good review. I have one I bought a couple years ago. One problem I ran into is the set screw that locks the body to the shaft is not totally up to the job and can allow the body to slip on the shaft. I fixed that with a locking collar I put on the shaft then butted the body against the collar before tightening the set screw. Now it’s not relying on just a single set screw and is rock solid! |
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Originally Posted By The_Hammer:
I use a Giraud for 223 and absolutely love but for whatever reason they refuse to make one for 6.5 Creed. I started looking for an alternative when I came across the Trim-It II and then found this post. It sounds like the only possible issue is that allen screw. I wonder if they ever updated it with a larger one? |
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Originally Posted By DonofKalifornia:
Well there are 2 of us that would buy a Tri-way from Giraud for 6.5 Creedmoor. I called Giraud and was told the same thing about the trimmer. Originally Posted By DonofKalifornia:
Well there are 2 of us that would buy a Tri-way from Giraud for 6.5 Creedmoor. I called Giraud and was told the same thing about the trimmer. Originally Posted By Lomshek:
Good review. I have one I bought a couple years ago. One problem I ran into is the set screw that locks the body to the shaft is not totally up to the job and can allow the body to slip on the shaft. I fixed that with a locking collar I put on the shaft then butted the body against the collar before tightening the set screw. Now it’s not relying on just a single set screw and is rock solid! |
I now have a ban button. Want to see me use it? Keep it up. - Lancelot
You do not fight out of hate, but rather out of the love and compassion you have for those you are trying to protect.
You do not fight out of hate, but rather out of the love and compassion you have for those you are trying to protect.
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Originally Posted By tzzler44:
EDIT** One of the negative reviews seemed to indicate that a few people experienced significant "wobble," or runout, in their trimmer. I asked Troy about this and he confirmed that some of the earlier models did have this problem but that now each and every trimmer that goes out the door is checked for runout before it ships. I did not check mine for any runout but I did not notice any at all while using it. I did do a visual check for obvious wobble, for whatever that's worth. Where did you contact them? If you have a link or number I'd appreciate it. I have an earlier Trim It 2 and I've had some issues with what I thought were sloppy technique on my part but may be run out and would like to contact them. Googling takes me to a machine shop by their name but the linked website is dead and I didn't want to call random numbers. |
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Originally Posted By H53EXPERT:
Just a small observation. The outside chamfer shouldn't be a chamfer at all. You should only be knocking off, or deburring, any remaining external chips. It looks like you are dialed in way to far in that respect. It is supposed to be a deburring operation not chamfering. Now, I have heard of people chamfering the inside lip to facilitate seating VLD bullets without distorting the thin walls of the bullet. Heck, I even have a VLD chamfering tool. :-) Still, the normal set up should be debur only, especially so, if you are going to crimp. Having said all that, why did you set it up to chamfer? Was there a particular reason? |
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Just to throw this out there about chamfering/deburring...
Back when I was using a Possum Hollow Cutter to trim .223 brass, I would just tumble my brass in a vibratory type tumbler with crushed walnut shells and a little bit of odorless mineral spirits (or rubbing alcohol) for a few hours. That did two things: 1. Knocked off the burrs 2. Got rid of the case lube I was using boat tail type bullets, so the inside chamfer wasn't really necessary in order to get the bullet started/seated. Now that I have Dillon's RT1500 sitting on a dedicated 650 toolhead, I use a FART with SS pins to knock the burrs off. And the lube. |
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