A new hope-

[Bill K]

Thanks Rick for the further explanation. I knew the original F/B was to aid in boosting FPS, ala R. Weatherby. And I believe I remember the reason for the caution on shooting factory ammunition in the Match Chamber. But now that point is clear up with your comment and I thank you for that.

[Tom Kat]

Yeah and good news, the trimmer is working great.

[Mike in Oregon]

The thread title is the name of the original Star Wars movie. In my case the new hope is for...case trimming. I hate case trimming.

I ordered a Frankford Arsanel Platnium series case trimmer. I did a lot of research and people seem to really like it. I will post a video review on here later.

Does anyone else have one?

I do. Back in the day I thought Frankford Arsenal was bottom of the line IMHO. I ran the RCBS 3-way cutter like Rick in Oregon did or does with tremendous accuracy with speed in my production line. This time around I'm going with the FA because of all the homework I did reading reviews. My fingers are crossed. I actually bought other FA products. Unfortunately, I just look at it all every day, as it sits brand new on my bench. Still not on line 100%.

[Rick in Oregon]

Mike, I do not have, nor have I ever had a FA trimmer, nor do I use the RCBS cutter. All my trimming is done on my old Forester trimmer that also can do outside neck turning, reaming, and hollow-pointing with various attachments/tooling. I've been using it since around 1978 or thereabouts. I also use a VLD inside chamfer tool vs the RCBS 45* cutter. The Forester trimmer is quite the versatile little tool.

Not a good quality pic, but here it is doing outside neck turning on a batch of 20VT cases:



All the brands of various trimmers have their own features, FA included. Some will do more than just trimming, but they all essentially are the same and do the same task....trimming. I'm sure the FA unit will serve your needs well, but after using it for a spell, come back and report your findings here. Good luck in that regard; now the work starts.

[Mike in Oregon]

Mike, I do not have, nor have I ever had a FA trimmer, nor do I use the RCBS cutter. All my trimming is done on my old Forester trimmer that also can do outside neck turning, reaming, and hollow-pointing with various attachments/tooling. I've been using it since around 1978 or thereabouts. I also use a VLD inside chamfer tool vs the RCBS 45* cutter. The Forester trimmer is quite the versatile little tool.

Not a good quality pic, but here it is doing outside neck turning on a batch of 20VT cases:



All the brands of various trimmers have their own features, FA included. Some will do more than just trimming, but they all essentially are the same and do the same task....trimming. I'm sure the FA unit will serve your needs well, but after using it for a spell, come back and report your findings here. Good luck in that regard; now the work starts.

I saw pic you posted showing you bought one back in the day on a whim and liked it. Therefor I assumed you tied it into your setup. My bad for assuming sir. Nevertheless, I really liked mine, and it speed up the process immensely for me.

[skipper]

Rick, that doesn't look like a neck "clean-up" run. It looks more like your prepping cases for some tight necked chamber rifle you're not telling us about. What gives, buddy???

[Rick in Oregon]

Rick, that doesn't look like a neck "clean-up" run. It looks more like your prepping cases for some tight necked chamber rifle you're not telling us about. What gives, buddy???

Good eye there, Skipper.

You're right, it's an older pic showing my neck turning of 221FB brass for my Cooper 20VT, and not a neck 'clean-up'. To get that perfect neck fit in my VT chamber neck required quite a heavy cut on that brass. Guess you noticed.

[skipper]

It was obvious to me. Those shavings look like the results of a lathe. Perhaps you can get one in the future.

[Rick in Oregon]

It was obvious to me. Those shavings look like the results of a lathe. Perhaps you can get one in the future.

Now that I'm fully retired and do not have access to a fully equipped machine shop that I had for decades at work, I've still got options. I had a mini-lathe, but it was not large enough to do much serious gun work, so it went down the road. Lucky for me, my sons shop has a Bridgeport, lathe, and various other equipment not suitable for my garage. He builds Baja race trucks, so has about all the machinery a guy could need or want.

If I need a mill or lathe, it's only a short hop away from my nest. Life is good.