Giraud Tool Company, Inc.
GIRAUD POWERED CASE TRIMMER
Page 5 of 10
In normal use, this is a very low maintenance assembly. Just a drop or two of
light oil will keep the inner and outer sleeves moving easily. If too much oil is
used, it can lead to unintended problems. Oil can migrate into the inside of case
while it is being trimmed and possible harm the powder charge or primer yet to
be installed. It can also just make a mess. Excess oil can attract shavings, dirt,
and grime requiring more frequent cleaning and maintenance of the unit. Use
the oil sparingly.
After trimming cases, you may want to empty the trimmer of accumulated
shavings. To do so, simply carry the trimmer over to your trash can, and slide
the clear lexan cover back over the trimmer body, and dump the shavings out.
Using a small brush, stubborn chips can be removed from the trimmer and
dumped in the trash. If you have access to a shop style vacuum cleaner, sucking
the chips out of the trimmer is the cleanest and easiest method. But don’t blame
me if you use
the better half’s house vacuum cleaner and get caught doing it. If
you want to further clean the trimmer, use a can of compressed air to blow the
remaining shavings out of the trimmer body and off the base, but take care not to
directly spray compressed air toward the bearing seal.
Do not use a high
pressure air compressor to blow chips out.
This could cause chips to be
driven past the seal into the ball bearings and lead to premature bearing failure.
Use care to protect your eyes and exposed flesh from any flying debris. Those
little shards of brass can get everywhere.
Adjusting the Trimmer and Changing Calibers
To change the trimmer from one caliber to another, say .223 to .308, the case
holder must be changed and the trimmer blade must be adjusted. The case
holder is pretty straightforward to change. Loosen the jam nut on the front or top
face of the unit and back the holder out. Insert the new holder into the trimmer
body until the holder is close to touching the trimmer blade, within about 1/16" of
the blade.
Next, using a 5/64" hex key, loosen the set screw holding the trimmer blade in
the shaft. Insert a resized case of the new caliber into the shell holder and
roughly position the blade so the case wall falls directly into the "v" of the blade.
Making sure the blade is firmly against the bottom of the shaft recess, tighten the
set screw holding the blade in place. Unscrew the shell holder until a case just
barely touches the new blade. Turn the motor on and try trimming a case. I
suggest using some of your scrap brass (the ones with the dented shoulders, just
about to separate at the head, loose primer pockets, etc.) because you will
probably not get the final adjustment right the first time. It may take 2 to 20
cases to get it just where you want it. As you do this more often, the number of
cases used should diminish to the point it only takes a case or two to adjust the
cutting blade.
For best results, insert the case into the case holder and then give it a half turn
while still firmly in the case holder. This will make sure that the cut is even all
around the case mouth. The trimmed case should have metal removed from
