Cutting down cases ??

[stimpylu32]

For you guys that have cut down cases to form other Wildcats , what have you found to be the best / most efficient way to do this . I have always used a small fine toothed Hobby saw and trimmed with a case trimmer . Is there a better way ?

stimpy

[Ladobe]

Depends on how much brass has to be removed and on how many pieces of brass.   I've used trim dies, power scroll saws with a home made jig, tubing cutters and metal lathes all with good success.   I usually opt for a power method because with every new wildcat I get I make at least 1000 pieces of brass initially, and up to 10K for the long range shooters intended for the digger fields.

[stimpylu32]

Ladobe

Thanks for the ideas , I'm running an idea right now of taking a 30/30 case and cutting it down to around 1.70 and then dropping the neck to .224 with a 30 shoulder angle .

I like using .22 cal bullets and rimmed cases so this would cover both worlds , this is one of those -- Can i do it things , not sure how well it will work , just another or the strange things that roll around in my head . 

stimpy

[jedman]

I found using a tablesaw with a carbide blade to work good for me.  I have a wildcat that I form on 30-30 brass and after need to remove about .750 so I took a piece of wood and ripped it to about 1/16 th of a inch narrower than the finished length of the brass and drilled 4 holes about a inch apart with a 13/32 drill.  Then I push in 4 cases into the holes until they are bottomed with the rim against the wood block and set the fence to where the brass case rims are touching the fence and the blade clears the block by about .010 then push it thru slowly with a push stick and then you can remove the cases easily with your finger tips and keep going. You will still have to trim them with a case trimmer to final size but i found after doing it this way I can get my cases to within .010 or less of the final length. I also used a cheap bandsaw I have and it worked well until the band broke then I went to the tablesaw.  You could do more than 4 at a time but thats where I started and I was comfortable with working with a block about 6 inches long.   Jed

[BruceP]

The only cases that I have cut down were 223 cases cut down to form 300 whisper cases. I use a bench grinder with a cutting wheel for the first cut, cutting at the shoulder, then de-burred them then ran them through the sizing die the cut to proper length with the case trimmer. It might be a little more work than just running 221 FB case through the sizing die but I feel that it is easier on the brass.

Bruce

[AAA-0]

I cut down 223 cases for my 300-221 with a small pipe cutter.  Then trim them on my RCBS trimmer.  Then I size them and then trim again because they stretch slightly.  It's a lot of work but until I become wealthy and can afford someone to do it for me, I'll keep doing it this way.