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Posted: 1/4/2015 11:30:16 PM EDT
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Looking at getting a case prep setup anyone have history with theFrankford Arsenal prep station?
Good/Bad/Ugly? Other alternate recomendations? |
| I have the RCBS Prep Center as well and love it. The only thing I would change about it is the fact that it can make a mess, I put an old baking pan under it which works well. Lymans Prep Center has a built in area to catch the brass shavings which I think would be nice. Then again it looks to be bigger then the RCBS one so it depends on how much room you have. |
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I have the Lyman, and it works fine. Having a built in lip to catch the brass shavings and primer pocket debris is nice. I'm not sure of the longevity though. I'd be willing to bet the RCBS has a higher build quality.
ETA, I forgot the Frankford Arsenal does trimming as well. I'm not sure how well it would work, but as Dryflash eluded to, most of them have a fairly slow motor speed, so it might take longer than expected. I trim most of my cases with a WFT trimmer on a lathe. |
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I have the Lyman, and it works fine. Having a built in lip to catch the brass shavings and primer pocket debris is nice. I'm not sure of the longevity though. I'd be willing to bet the RCBS has a higher build quality. ETA, I forgot the Frankford Arsenal does trimming as well. I'm not sure how well it would work, but as Dryflash eluded to, most of them have a fairly slow motor speed, so it might take longer than expected. I trim most of my cases with a WFT trimmer on a lathe. Care to provide more detail on the WFT trimmer? That case trimming is what turned my onto the FA unit I can basically cover all steps with this one setup. I currently use my Foster with drill attachment for most of these steps. |
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Looking at getting a case prep setup anyone have history with theFrankford Arsenal prep station? Good/Bad/Ugly? Other alternate recomendations? I have a Lyman and it has served me well ... but honestly ... since going to a trimmer (Giraud Tri Way )that trims/deburs/chamfers at the same time ... it doesn't get much use. Still gets used to uniform primer pockets ...but frankly, that can be done with a drill attachment and only needs to happen once for the most part...same with deburr flash hole. Cleaning primer pockets? .... Don't need to if you deprime and wet/stainless tumble. Primer crimps.... I use a Dillon swager...and if I didn't ...I would use a drill attached crimp remover device because it would be faster. Don't let me talk you out of getting one...because like I said, I own one .......... but consider what you really want to do on it first imo....and if deburing/chamfering will be your primary function.... I'd consider spending the $ on a trimmer that'll do it for you first. One mans opinion. If you decide to buy a station.. Compare attachments between brands ... when I bought mine some came with a lot included with the package and some came with very few if any. hope this helps |
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Care to provide more detail on the WFT trimmer? That case trimming is what turned my onto the FA unit I can basically cover all steps with this one setup. I currently use my Foster with drill attachment for most of these steps. Quoted:
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I have the Lyman, and it works fine. Having a built in lip to catch the brass shavings and primer pocket debris is nice. I'm not sure of the longevity though. I'd be willing to bet the RCBS has a higher build quality. ETA, I forgot the Frankford Arsenal does trimming as well. I'm not sure how well it would work, but as Dryflash eluded to, most of them have a fairly slow motor speed, so it might take longer than expected. I trim most of my cases with a WFT trimmer on a lathe. Care to provide more detail on the WFT trimmer? That case trimming is what turned my onto the FA unit I can basically cover all steps with this one setup. I currently use my Foster with drill attachment for most of these steps. I use the WFT trimmers, but if I had it to purchase over again, I'd probably buy the Giraud Tri Way. Trims and deburrs in one step. I run mine on a mini lathe, which is much more convenient for me than using a cordless drill. http://youtu.be/yc_ivk7kGBA |
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<a href="http://s250.photobucket.com/user/dryflash3/media/Tools/P8100501.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg272/dryflash3/Tools/P8100501.jpg</a> Had my RCBS since 1998. Never used any others, the RCBS was the only one out when I bought mine. Still runs fine. If I could change 1 thing, it would run faster. More RPM. But the slow speed is a safety thing I guess. It is but I agree faster would be nicer sometimes. Ever had a glove catch on a tool and start wrapping up your finger...I have 
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I use the Giraud Tri-Way. Mine is chucked up to a motor that I mounted vertically on the edge of my bench. Trimming isn't my least favorite step anymore.
My RCBS case prep center started collecting dust so I sold it. It was a great tool though. Some people even trim with them. I uniform primer pockets and remove crimps with RCBS bits and a DeWalt. Flash holes can be deburred the same way, but it's just as quick to do it by hand if necessary. Still use a lathe style trimmer for the calibers I don't load too often. I prefer it that way since I load those calibers for accuracy/hunting. |
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Quoted: It is but I agree faster would be nicer sometimes. Ever had a glove catch on a tool and start wrapping up your finger...I have Quoted: Quoted: <a href="http://s250.photobucket.com/user/dryflash3/media/Tools/P8100501.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg272/dryflash3/Tools/P8100501.jpg</a> Had my RCBS since 1998. Never used any others, the RCBS was the only one out when I bought mine. Still runs fine. If I could change 1 thing, it would run faster. More RPM. But the slow speed is a safety thing I guess. It is but I agree faster would be nicer sometimes. Ever had a glove catch on a tool and start wrapping up your finger...I have I never wear gloves around rotating machinery. Slow speed also keep the new guys from removing too much material on the case. |
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I never wear gloves around rotating machinery. Slow speed also keep the new guys from removing too much material on the case. Quoted:
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<a href="http://s250.photobucket.com/user/dryflash3/media/Tools/P8100501.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg272/dryflash3/Tools/P8100501.jpg</a> Had my RCBS since 1998. Never used any others, the RCBS was the only one out when I bought mine. Still runs fine. If I could change 1 thing, it would run faster. More RPM. But the slow speed is a safety thing I guess. It is but I agree faster would be nicer sometimes. Ever had a glove catch on a tool and start wrapping up your finger...I have I never wear gloves around rotating machinery. Slow speed also keep the new guys from removing too much material on the case. Family friend had a narrow front end IH 460 with pto and diesel with a glow plug....hard to start in winter.... on those, when it was really cold outside in the winter, the cold oil would make the pto turn real slow even when disengaged as it layed in moving internal oil. So...silly farmers we were would grab it to stop it in the winter so you cold hook up equipment without shutting motor off in the cold. Just grab it and it would normally stop. Problem this day was he had mittens on because it was cold, and the oil was extra thick because it was cold .......so he had to grab it real hard. you guessed it....while he was lucky enough to get 4 fingers out of mitten and save his arm....his thumb stayed. Twisted off while he held wrist with other hand. Gloves and/or loose cloths and rotating anything can be a bad combo..... but I digress. RCBS station is a nice one too. |
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Looking at getting a case prep setup anyone have history with theFrankford Arsenal prep station? Good/Bad/Ugly? Other alternate recomendations? Yup, I do. I did a quickie review on it at the link that follows. Having used it extensively since then, I like it even more. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/433722_Frankford_Arsenal_Power_Trimmer___Review_and_User_Tips.html |
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Thanks for all the feedback I like the idea of the all in one station realizing I'll loose some speed. The tri-way looks nice but those are pricey and caliber specific. Granted most of my higher volume reloading will only be 5.56.
I don't mind trimming with the Forster but I don't like doing primer pocket chamfer on military brass. It might not be so bad if they made a primer pocket uniformer that limited the depth. I tend to either take to much or not enough during crimp removal. |
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I was looking into a prep station then decided a trimmer would be a better option for me. Using a Hornady reamer to remove the crimp on the primer.
A Dead On trimmer is going to be my pick. Just need to save up some cash after the holidays drained the bank account... Dead on |
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