Finished my Crimp Remover/Pocket Uniformer

[StickShaker]

I wasn't happy with my case prep station because it's WAY too slow and to make a good looking chamfer that's not lopsided I really had to concentrate on holding the case perpendicular to the cutter. Not to mention cramped fingers when doing lots of cases. I know it really doesn't matter as long as the primer goes in straight but it was bugging me to no end.

This setup didn't cost me a penny as I already had everything to build it. I can't remember where I got the motor from but I'm glad I kept it around for all of these years and finally found a use for it. The output shaft spins at 600 RPM and makes a perfect chamfer in just one second of cutting time. Total cycle time is around 5 seconds per case without rushing. I did about 500 cases today and found it to be so consistent that I don't have to inspect the chamfer any more which also saves a ton of time.







The spindexer supports the case and keeps it perpendicular to the cutter. The large spindexer spindle floats back and forth extremely easy for loading/unloading and cutting the pocket. I guide the case head into the cutter with one hand, and with my other hand, grab the front and back surface of the large disc with the holes in it using two fingers to provide the cutting force.







The motor is very neat and well built, probably in the 1950's or 60's. All of the bearings are high quality bronze bushings with no detectable play. The output shaft even has an adjustable bearing surface on the backside so axial forces, like what I'm doing, don't bind up the worm gears.







The case support in the spindexer is just a short piece of round stock with a hole and deep chamfer which pushes against the case shoulder. I made the hole large enough to give the case some play and let the primer pocket align easily with the cutter. I drilled a .30 caliber hole on the other side of the round stock and just flip it around. I chamfered some 30-06 pockets when I got done with .223 and it worked great as well.










Got fancy with the plug. I hate cords hanging off of things. You can see the axial bearing adjustments on both the motor and output shafts.







The spindex is cast iron and very heavy for its size. The weight plus the precision fit dowels allowed it to just sit on the plate with no need to clamp it down. Just pull out the finger tight dowels and the spindex can head off to other intended uses.

 

[dontpanic]

Nicely done.

 

[StickShaker]

Nicely done.

Thank you!

 

[C&RTactical]

Very nice!

 

[StickShaker]

Very nice!

Thanks....appreciate the comment.

 

[Neutron]

Stupid questions

That is a really nice set up you've built. I've only reloaded 30-30 in rifle caliber and I've never heard of what you are doing with the primer pockets. What is the reason for cutting into the pocket? I just push a new primer into the existing pocket. I trim the case length, but that is the only prep I've done so far. Also, I wonder if you could adapt your rig to trim case lengths? In any case,that is a really cool looking rig you've got there. Looks like it was built to last.

 

[StickShaker]

That is a really nice set up you've built. I've only reloaded 30-30 in rifle caliber and I've never heard of what you are doing with the primer pockets. What is the reason for cutting into the pocket? I just push a new primer into the existing pocket. I trim the case length, but that is the only prep I've done so far. Also, I wonder if you could adapt your rig to trim case lengths? In any case,that is a really cool looking rig you've got there. Looks like it was built to last.

The military brass has a crimp placed around the primer after it's installed. So after you deprime, there is a sharp edge that needs to be removed so the new primer goes in easily and straight.

I could turn it into a case trimmer with some work but I solved that problem a different way. I couldn't find an affordable motorized case trimmer that I liked but became interested in the Little Crow Gunworks WFT concept. It had a few issues that I didn't like so I was thinking of building my own but using the Forster 3 in 1 as the cutter which trims and chamfers inside and out at the same time. I was actually going to use the motor in this thread to drive it.

When the Forster cutter arrived I wanted to try it out before I started the project so I rigged it up on my milling machine. The setup that I used, also with stuff I already had laying around, ended up being almost as fast as the WFT trimmer so at this point I'm going to continue using the milling machine. I will post some pics up in a bit.

 

[StickShaker]

As mentioned, I'm pretty sure I will keep this for my trimming. Not too bad to set up and it's really fast and accurate. Forster or maybe Wilson makes a nice quick collet case holder that mounts on a drill press that I was considering buying at first.

Years ago I had a job to make several thousand of the same part so I needed a quick and accurate way to hold and change them out. The collet is an inexpensive soft emergency collet that you can machine out to whatever your needs are. I put two bores in this one. 223 on the bottom and one for 30-06 on top. It's a pneumatic collet holder with electric controls and that's what makes this setup so fast. Push the yellow button to open, again to close. The finish that the Forster cutter puts on the mouth and chamfers is amazing. They are so smooth and shiny that it looks to be gold plated.

 

[outrider58]

Really nice work there Mr. StickShaker!

 

[StickShaker]

Really nice work there Mr. StickShaker!

Thank you sir. All of the .223 is for my son in case you're wondering. He has an AR.

 

[HogCommander]

Very nice work! My guess is that you probably considered the Giraud trimmer but it's pricey. You could probably fabricate something that uses the Giraud cutter head and case holders if you ever decide you want more speed.

http://www.giraudtool.com/prod02.htm

Giraud's cutters are V shaped so you get the trim/chamfer/debur all in one step but the speed comes from not having to secure the case in a holding fixture. You push the case into the case holder by hand (which is spring loaded and shielded to ensure your hand can't get anywhere near the cutter) until you hear/feel it stop cutting, then rotate the case about 1/4 turn to even out the case mouth. Basically like using an electric pencil sharpener.

 

[StickShaker]

Very nice work! My guess is that you probably considered the Giraud trimmer but it's pricey. You could probably fabricate something that uses the Giraud cutter head and case holders if you ever decide you want more speed.

http://www.giraudtool.com/prod02.htm

Giraud's cutters are V shaped so you get the trim/chamfer/debur all in one step but the speed comes from not having to secure the case in a holding fixture. You push the case into the case holder by hand (which is spring loaded and shielded to ensure your hand can't get anywhere near the cutter) until you hear/feel it stop cutting, then rotate the case about 1/4 turn to even out the case mouth. Basically like using an electric pencil sharpener.

Thank you! I did come across the Giraud and another similar brand that escapes my memory at the moment. Looked at it closely and gave me a lot of good ideas on how I would build mine.

 

[Magnumite]

Nice work. Thank you for sharing.

 

[StickShaker]

Nice work. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks and you're welcome.

 

[noahhh]

Nicely done! I use a Wilson trimmer w/primer pocket reamer to remove my crimps. Slow, and hard on the fingers. Every time I use it for that I swear I'm going to find a better way. Then, when I'm done with the batch of the moment I say "that wasn't so bad" and forget about it until next time. Maybe one day...

 

[StickShaker]

Nicely done! I use a Wilson trimmer w/primer pocket reamer to remove my crimps. Slow, and hard on the fingers. Every time I use it for that I swear I'm going to find a better way. Then, when I'm done with the batch of the moment I say "that wasn't so bad" and forget about it until next time. Maybe one day...

Thanks for the compliment! I almost bought the complete Wilson trimmer because it looks very precise and I like the idea of their pocket reamer as well.

The machine in this thread was originally built centered around the Wilson case holders. I had a 1" collet in the spindexer which held the Wilson. To get the case back out of the holder I had a long 1" round of phenolic (because it happened to be the right length and diameter) stuck through the center hole from the rear which I lightly tapped on the case neck. But no matter how perfectly aligned everything was, most of my chamfers were still a bit off center. I also noticed the same thing when using the Wilson holder on the mill and I'm sure it was aligned. I never took the time to actually measure, but my thinking was that some of the primer pockets are not concentric to the outside case diameter.

So I was going to chalk this project up as a failure until I thought about supporting the case by the neck which was really easy to try. Plus it ended up being faster not having to knock each case out of the Wilson.