lee ez trim pilot

buellsfurn · Jan 9, 2019

searched some threads from 2013 and 2016. But the ez trim pilot trimmer i believe to be different from those discussions. So what is the member opinion on the Lee EZ trim pilots. Just received my rcbs prep station and watched a YT video trimming shell casings using the prep station looks to be a lot faster than rcbs case trim lathe. ? Trim pilot looks faster but what about its accuracy

alucard0822 · Jan 9, 2019

have used the Lee pilot trimmer in the past, chuck it in a cordless drill, slip on a case, push it against a steel plate for the pin to bottom aggainst, and trims easy enough, faster than locking cases in a lathe trimmer, but nowhere near as fast as models that trim against the shoulder. Had a possum hollow trimmer for 223, worked well enough, I picked up the Frankford arsenal prep center. Once set up, it trims as easy as a pencil sharpener, and has the chamfer and primer pocket tools on it, can do a few hundred in an hour or so. Only way to go faster is a trim die setup to run on my progressive along with sizing. Have looked into the Dillon RT1500, but don't want to spend $350(and a $70 trim die per caliber) if I can avoid it. The Lee quick trim looks promising, might be able to set one up with a small cordless drill on top of the press, and get it to trim like the Dillon for $30, although no real way to catch or vaccum shavings and keep them out of my press.

buellsfurn · Jan 9, 2019

alucard0822 said:
have used the Lee pilot trimmer in the past, chuck it in a cordless drill, slip on a case, push it against a steel plate for the pin to bottom aggainst, and trims easy enough, faster than locking cases in a lathe trimmer, but nowhere near as fast as models that trim against the shoulder. Had a possum hollow trimmer for 223, worked well enough, I picked up the Frankford arsenal prep center. Once set up, it trims as easy as a pencil sharpener, and has the chamfer and primer pocket tools on it, can do a few hundred in an hour or so. Only way to go faster is a trim die setup to run on my progressive along with sizing. Have looked into the Dillon RT1500, but don't want to spend $350(and a $70 trim die per caliber) if I can avoid it. The Lee quick trim looks promising, might be able to set one up with a small cordless drill on top of the press, and get it to trim like the Dillon for $30, although no real way to catch or vaccum shavings and keep them out of my press.

I was just looking their primer pocket uniformer lot cheaper in cost compared to rcbs

Major03 · Jan 10, 2019

I am currently using the Lee quick trim dies. They work pretty well with a cordless screwdriver and a cheap single stage off to the side. I like that the cutter chamfers and deburs at the same time. I have noticed that sometimes the neck concentricity can be knocked out of alignment a bit if you trim after you resize by a couple of thousandths. Depending on how anal you are about things like that, it may make you think about where in the process to trim. I now trim prior to resizing, which isn't ideal but I'd rather have concentric necks that have minor case length differences than the reverse.

Bottom line, the Lee quick trim dies work pretty well for an inexpensive and fast way to trim cases. Trim dies that index off of the shoulder are probably a more ideal solution, but I question if it's worth the additional cost.

The die comes with a little plastic tray that catches most of the shavings, but some do get into the case and the press from time to time. It's not that big a deal though, just tip the brass as you remove it from the shell holder and have a small paintbrush handy to occasionally clean up the shavings off of the press.

If you make your own 300 BLK from cut down .223 cases it's a life saver.

Muleskinner · Jan 10, 2019

I use Little Crow case trimmers. They chuck into a drill or drill press. They are a little pricey but after using an RCBS manual trimmer with pilots for 25 years I will never go back. With the rcbs I could do about 6 cases a minute, with little crow I can do 20-25

BigRick · Jan 10, 2019

I've used the lee ez trim, Rcbs case trimmer and the dillon 1200 case trimmer all have pro's and con's I now use a Giraud tool case trimmer and I love it. It's pricey but works great!

outrider58 · Jan 10, 2019

I've tried the E-Zee trims mounted on my RCBS prep center with mixed results. They are OK if you are trimming brass that's been trimmed before and needs very little trimming. If much trimming is needed, they can take forever to do the job. I usually break out my Old Crows and drill press if I have a lot of brass to trim.

Another thing that can happen, the pilots tend to lose their set inward after a few cases, especially if you are pushing down on them(to speed things along) which results in cases being over trimmed too short. I give them two out of five stars.

buellsfurn · Jan 10, 2019

outrider58 said:
I've tried the E-Zee trims mounted on my RCBS prep center with mixed results. They are OK if you are trimming brass that's been trimmed before and needs very little trimming. If much trimming is needed, they can take forever to do the job. I usually break out my Old Crows and drill press if I have a lot of brass to trim.

Another thing that can happen, the pilots tend to lose their set inward after a few cases, especially if you are pushing down on them(to speed things along) which results in cases being over trimmed too short. I give them two out of five stars.

That's pretty much what i was looking for just received my prep station saw these on youtube and thought wow that looks to be a lot faster. Newby reloader I believe that i will crawl before i walk and just use the RCBS trimmer lathe for now Thank you for all the replies

lee ez trim pilot

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