De-burring outside of case necks

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Gunny Sergeant
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Sep 17, 2009
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#1
I am having problems getting all the outside burr off the case necks. I thought that perhaps my de-burring tool was old and worn (2 years old) so today I bought a brand new Wilson de-burring tool. Although I can see it cut chips, and know it isn't dull, I still have a burr that I can feel with my fingernail. When I measure it with calipers, it is about .002 (two thousandths) of an inch on each side of the case neck.

The only cases that seem to NOT have this problem is ones that I have run through my Forster case trimmer/neck turning unit.

My VLD inside neck de-burring tool works great, but this outside burr frustrates the heck out of me. The only 2 ways I can get rid of it completely is to either use the neck turning unit, or use a little grinding wheel and grind the burr off each case. But grinding the burr off is very labor intensive.

Does anyone have any other suggestions, or is this something that I don't need to worry about? I have considerably more burr from trimming the fired cases, but I can't seem to get rid of all of it. Am I being too meticulous?
 
#3
Re: De-burring outside of case necks

Make sure your only turning the case in the cutting direction on the tool otherwise you will put a slight roll on the edge which is probably what your feeling. Other than that chuck it in a drill in a case holder and do it that way mine are completely smooth when I do it like that.
 
#4
Re: De-burring outside of case necks

I didn't see anything on the tool indicating any "direction" that it is to be turned.

I have tried turning the tool either direction, and I get the same results. I wish the tool DID indicate which direction is "correct".
 
#5
Re: De-burring outside of case necks

It only cuts in 1 direction clockwise if you rotate it clockwise and then back counter clockwise it will make that slight roll I was talking about.
 
#6
Re: De-burring outside of case necks

Scoutsout,

Thanks for the tip.

I tried it again, and going the other direction with the new tool did help a bit, but much of the roll was still there. By leaving the brass in the spinning tool longer, pushing lots harder, and by rotating the base of the case in a circle I could get lots more of the roll off.

My rationale for wanting all the roll or burr off is that I want the case neck to sit as close to center of the chamber as possible. I worried that having a bit of a burr on one side or the other (the burr or roll isn't consistent on all sides) that I might be having the case sit more off center than I wished.

By using Scoutsout's idea of changing the direction of the tool, allowing the brass to remain in the spinning tool longer, pressing harder, and rotating the base of the case in a circle while doing all the above, I got most of the roll or burr removed.

Thanks for the help!

I put the de-burring tool in a unit made by possum hollow, then chuck it up in a drill and let it run. I'm only going in one direction as I'm trying to get all the burr/roll off about 600 once fired LC Match cases that a friend gave me after sizing and trimming them. Trying to de-burr all those cases manually would simply be more effort than I wish to expend right now.
 
#7
Re: De-burring outside of case necks

I use a fine toothed long flat file to deburr the outside of my case necks. (The name of the file is such that its name that is not useable on the net. That same name is the name of a long flat heavy british fighting sword from the 1100s and 1200s).
 
#8
Re: De-burring outside of case necks

Not enough hints to identify the name of the flat bastard?

Okay, it should be very obvious which direction to turn the cutting head, at least with every one I have ever looked at? It is easy to remove a burr on the inside but a lot harder on the outside, not sure why? But, this is a problem that develops when you have to remove a lot of material, meaning you might have waited too long to trim to length, because it is very rare to have that much gained length from one firing. If it is from one firing, maybe the shoulder is like a 30'06 or 270 and those 17deg shoulders have a tendency to get longer than those with a 30 deg. shoulder? Whatever?

You have to trim to length and deal with the outside burr. My solution is to just keep turning the tool, some people use a sharp knife blade and the file works too. Your necks are getting too long and that makes removing the burr that much more difficult. I think you see more on the outside because the pilot does not allow the burr to accumulate as much on the inside of the neck? You might try going a little slower and less pressure, might help, might not? BB
 
#10
Re: De-burring outside of case necks

I think that putting pressure on the cutting head actually seems to chase a burr into the outside of the case neck. I find that an extremely light touch is required just to scrape the burr off. Remember you're not trying to get a chamfer like you would with the inside for bullet seating but instead just want to square off the OD.
 
#11
Re: De-burring outside of case necks

I was working over some once fired LC Match cases that only needed a few thousandths trimmed off. With the he inside de-burring tool, it is easy to see which direction it works...not so much with the outside de-burring tool.

So far, my best luck has been with a fine grit 3-4 inch diameter x .5 inch thick grinding wheel on low speed. One rotation and the entire burr is gone. But I was hoping to find a less labor intensive technique for 600 recently trimmed cases.

I'll take a look at the Possum hollow unit. I have had fabulous luck with their trimmers and power adapter. For around $40 for the setup, it is a great alternative for someone who only gets to hope for a Giraud or something similar at Christmas or Birthday time.
 
#12
Re: De-burring outside of case necks

I had the exact same problem. The solution is to "roll" the brass piece to a shallower angle relative to the normal angle if held perpendicular to the centerline of the tool. You can chuck the tool up in a hand drill or drill press and run the drill with one hand and work the brass with the other. I basically wobble the bottom of the brass in a 360 degree circle so that the tool is hitting all parts of the brass at a shallower angle. If you wobble too much you will feel the tool hit the shoulder or case. I hope that makes sense, it definitely will solve your problem and it only took me about 2000 rounds to figure this out!
 
#13
Re: De-burring outside of case necks

I second the above advice to use steel wool. 0000 steel wool works very well and is what I use. I no longer use an outside deburrng tool.

To speed things up a bit if you'd like, you can take a nut driver and stuff it with the steel wool and chuck it into a drill.

Sim
 
#14
Re: De-burring outside of case necks

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: A1para</div><div class="ubbcode-body">To speed things up a bit if you'd like, you can take a nut driver and stuff it with the steel wool and chuck it into a drill.

Sim </div></div>

This really comes under the category of "Damn, why didn't I think of that" ?

Paul
 
#15
Re: De-burring outside of case necks

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: pjparker</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: A1para</div><div class="ubbcode-body">To speed things up a bit if you'd like, you can take a nut driver and stuff it with the steel wool and chuck it into a drill.

Sim </div></div>

This really comes under the category of "Damn, why didn't I think of that" ?

Paul </div></div>

I got this from Varmint All's site a few years ago, this is the way to do it. Watch for bits of the steel wool that break off and remain in the neck.
 
#16
Re: De-burring outside of case necks

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Unknown</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I am having problems getting all the outside burr off the case necks. I thought that perhaps my de-burring tool was old and worn (2 years old) so today I bought a brand new Wilson de-burring tool. Although I can see it cut chips, and know it isn't dull, I still have a burr that I can feel with my fingernail. When I measure it with calipers, it is about .002 (two thousandths) of an inch on each side of the case neck.

The only cases that seem to NOT have this problem is ones that I have run through my Forster case trimmer/neck turning unit.

My VLD inside neck de-burring tool works great, but this outside burr frustrates the heck out of me. The only 2 ways I can get rid of it completely is to either use the neck turning unit, or use a little grinding wheel and grind the burr off each case. But grinding the burr off is very labor intensive.

Does anyone have any other suggestions, or is this something that I don't need to worry about? I have considerably more burr from trimming the fired cases, but I can't seem to get rid of all of it. Am I being too meticulous? </div></div>

Same 17 year old Wilson tool here, with no problems. Don't know what you could be doing wrong, but maybe your brand of brass is just harder?

I don't bother with steel wool and just try to get a nice bevel on both sides. I even have a Lyman 20*, or 22* VLD campher bit and it works well.

Chris
 
#17
Re: De-burring outside of case necks

Maybe I missed this, but what trimming tool are you using? A good sharp trimmer should just put the slightest of burrs on the outside, not something that resists all efforts at removal.
 
#19
Re: De-burring outside of case necks

I'm trimming once fired LC Match cases with a Forster case trimmer. The de-burring tool is a Wilson that I bought last Saturday (the 23rd of June I think).

It took alot of work, but I have gotten about 95-100% of the burr off the cases.

I'm also a knife maker and used to feeling knife edges for the slightest burr. Perhaps my feeling for a burr with a fingernail (like I do when sharpening a knife) is being overly critical.

I can actually see the chamfer on the outside the case neck, but can frequently still feel a wee bit of a burr with my fingernail. The cases that come off the neck turning tool don't have any burr.
 
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