Edit 7/1 -- please read entire thread since updates are scattered throughout
Hi guys. I have been using the FA Case Prep center (LINK) for a while. The cutting head it came with was awful, and completely dull after about 2000 cases. I replaced it with an RCBS carbide cutter. I was an early adopter of the FA prep center, so I paid about $200 for it, and $45 for the RCBS cutting head.
I always thought it was great, albeit a bit slow. I couldn't justify the cost of a Giraud in my mind, since I just pop the TV on and trim mindlessly. However, with the pile of 223 growing larger, I needed something faster if I ever wanted to get through it.
Enter the Giraud Tri-Way LINK) -- the same cutting head as their $480 trimmer, but for $90 (8$ shipping). You need to provide the spinning power. For this I grabbed a 1/4HP 1750RPM motor off of Amazon (LINK) for $55 (open box deal), a power cord for $8 (LINK), and a shaft coupler for $12 (LINK). Got it all wired up (side note -- this motor apparently needs a starting capacitor, so you'll need to give it a spin start if you don't buy a cap) and connected in about 10 minutes.
Kudos to Pat McD for doing this first -- I got the idea from his posts in the other thread
Total cost at today's prices -- about $210 for the FA w/ RCBS cutting head, and $185 for "my" Giraud setup. Note that the Giraud is caliber specific, but the FA can accommodate any cartridge. Keep that in mind if you need to bulk trim multiple calibers.
Basic observations are that the motor I used for the Giraud is quieter, but needs to be clamped to the bench. When cutting, I think the FA is a bit quieter. The Giraud traps all shavings, but the FA directs them downwards from the cutter.
The FA requires less effort to hold the case -- I felt like the Giraud required more pressure to keep the case from snagging on the cutter. These cases were still covered in sizing lube, so this may be a non-issue with gloves on, or if you tumble before trimming.
I have a bunch of TAA09 brass that is really long, most around 1.770". I trim to 1.750" nominally, but I didn't spend a whole lot of time setting either cutter up for this test -- I just ballparked it.
The FA case center took 22 seconds to trim 0.0185" (1.770" to 1.7515") and 4 seconds to chamfer/deburr. This comes out to about 0.00085"/second, but every case requires the 4 second chamfer/deburr. I have done thousands of cases on the FA at this point, and feel those times are consistent.
The Giraud took 39 seconds to trim from 1.7650" to 1.7455", and chamfers/deburrs during the process. This works out to 0.0005"/second. I confirmed this on multiple cases. You'll notice in the video that I didn't rotate the case in the Giraud 180 degrees as I finshed like you're supposed to, which caused a less than perfect chamfer. When used properly, the Giraud gives a perfectly clean chamfer. I will update this post within a day or so with a pic to show the chamfers.
The complaint I have about the Giraud is how badly it marks up the cases. In this photo, the FA trimmed case is on the left, Giraud on the right. These may or may not polish out when tumbled -- I haven't tried. I plan to wet tumble these cases, so I will update the pictures when I do that. I used to use a Possum Hollow trimmer which caused similar marks that did not polish out in a dry tumbler -- I didn't own a wet tumbler back then though.
Frankford Arsenal Case Prep Center
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kNh1aOTg7c
Giraud Trimmer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a75Jr5vrjcQ
Based on that, unless you only have a little bit to trim off of the cases (0.004"), the Giraud isn't worth it with a 1750 RPM motor, IMO. Say your cases are 1.760" -- the Giraud will get those completed in 20 seconds total, and the FA will take 12 second of trimming for 16 seconds total.
Stay tuned for updates regarding chamfer pics, and wet tumbling results. I will also post pictures of the full Giraud setup so you guys can get a feel for the size of it.
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