LYMAN - UNIVERSAL TRIMMER PILOTS

This review is a followup to a prior review in which I received a cutter with a malformed screw that holds the cartridge guide in place. I have now used the carbide cutter and it is sharp and fast cutting. I get accurate, consistent lengths cut square to the cartridge neck. It is easy to set up. I just lock in an accurate length cartridge and push the cutter lightly to the case mouth. If the next cartridge I trim is too long I use the fine adjustment to make it right. Then I trim all of my cartridges consistently to the correct length with no further adjustment. As I mentioned I had a problem with the set screw in the first cutter and Lyman quickly handled the problem once I spoke to someone there.

Yes, this part is a little on the high dollar side for it's size and design. However, I got the power adapter upgrade and the ole steel cutter was chewing up case mouths so bad it was hard to pull the pilot out at times. This carbide cutter takes care of that. It will be the last cutter head you will need to buy. Like I said, the only con is the price.

Although I have since moved on to more specialised trimmers I used one of thes (Same cutter) for nearly 10 years without fault timming around 25,000 cases...I still cant bring myself to get rid of it...It is built like they should be. I cut the handle of mine and braised a hex head and did the winding with a small cordless drill... The added ability to convert it at a later date to the motorised version is an added bonus.

I reload .204 Ruger, so needed the .20cal pilot. Easy to adjust trim length. Screws down onto bench. Hand / wrist gets tired after trimming many cases, but the sharp cutter does make quick work of each case. Can be a pleasure when you get a rhythm going. Very heavy / sturdy base. For those who have trouble / complaints with squaring cases, I noticed it pays to tighten the chuck only when the pilot is deep inside the case neck. Specs state the plastic contstructed chuck with ball bearing is self-centering, but if you just throw the case in and lock the chuck the case may not be square / centered at all -- you need that pilot in there to keep it all lined up before you begin cranking the handle, I reckon. I too, am worried about the 'life' of the spring loaded plastic chuck, getting loose over time.

My old steel cutter head had dulled so decided to go the for the "quality" product at the higher price. After I received it, I replaced the old head and I found that the Allen screw that holds the case mouth guide was malformed. The Allen wrench would just spin in the screw head. I called Brownells and asked if I could be sent another screw. That couldn't be done. Things are complicated these days. The Brownells' service person instead called Lyman. Lyman was closed, but (I was told) a message had been left with Lyman to send the screw to me. Two weeks later nothing had happened so I called Lyman. They said they had no record of of any contact with Brownells, nor had anything been sent to me. I was told to send proof of purchase to The Lyman service person and they would send it out. I have now sent the proof of purchase to Lyman. I will update this review if or when I get the set screw.