Trimming 6x45 using the Lee Quick trim powered

[triehl27]

Well for trimming 308, 300BO, and .223 I have been running Giraurds TriWay trimmers, absolutely fantastic. BUT they wont work for 6x45, and they won't due as custom one reasonably priced quoted $199 or more double what a production caliber die would cost.

I am no fan of Lee Products due to a several negative experiences, with Lee, BUT in this case they do make the ideal tool, and heres what I came up with was the Lee Powered Quick trim.

I took the .223 trim die and gave it a try on 6x45... close, but it shaved the outside of the neck as the ram was raise, so thin to the point that it would split on seating, or firing, and certainly couldn't be reformed after.

So I took a 17/64th Drill bit an very carefully enlarged the trim die neck hole. In my case I used my drill press and centered the 223 die below. Took less then a second, and barely removed any material, but just enough that it no longer shaved the 6x45 necks. Then took a small felt polish wheel with Flitz and polished out the newly reamed trim die, made sure that the bottom where the shoulder headspaces in the trim die was clear of debris and shavings. 17/64ths is just perfect for even the thickest necked 6x45 brass. The 6x45 brass comes right thru the die like it was made for it, snugly and the trimmer slides right down and trims to 1.741"
I added a $23 Black and Decker rechargeable driver to run it. No cumbersome cordless drill (was running a Makita before, but the battery weight on the handle made the trim uneven) even with this little 4v B&D, just about 3 seconds and the trim is done. Rechargeable off of a Micro USB cord.

An ideal setup since after re sizing 6x45 by the 4th or 5th time can have the brass up around 1.760+" which in alot of cases I found to be causing sticking brass and rounds that wouldn't chamber in my AR.

An added benefit to the Lee is that it trims, chambers and deburrs all in one operation.

The down side is that the trimmer has a depth adjustment collar that is plastic and although you are supposed to be able to adjust between say 1.740 and 1.750 in .01 clicks, due to the design of it, you either get the hi or the low setting as it moves the collar during use for the middle settings.

Is this a precision trim? no, the trim can very .02" so 1.740 to 1.742" was what I was getting, but it keeps my brass is shootable form. I certainly wouldn't compare it to my Giraud triway trimmers, but it gets the job done, and is definitely needed since the brass stretches during re-sizing.
COSTS
Powered trimmer - $16.50 - $25 - Ebay
Hand Trimmer Deluxe - $24 - Ebay
Hand trimmer Basic - $20 - Ebay - (No chamber or deburring)
.223 Trim Die - $12 - Ebay
17/64th Drill - $3.99 - Ace Hardware
Optional - Black and Decker rechargable screwdriver BDSC30I $19.99on sale Home Depot.

Total cost for me was approx $40 with the B&D screwdriver. Better then the $199 I was quoted to make a trimmer die specifically for 6x45

[GaCop]

Nice write up, thanks for the information. I'm contemplating building a 6X45 in the near future.