Yeah I agree on the lack of power and that a finer tooth blade would cut much cleaner.

If you go too fast the blade will slow which is probably what is happening to you.

You can always put an old file next to the mini saw and drag the brass across it to get the nasty burs off but I haven't had too much of an issue trimming while it has a rough edge.

Hopefully my barrel comes in soon so I can start producing properly sized cases.

Happy trimming

Well, I just came in from the garage where it became obvious why my blade on the Harbor Freight saw was dragging and stopping when I smelled hot plastic after making 2 and a half cuts on cases.

I pulled the guard off the left side and had quite an accumulation of rubber debris from the belt where it was slipping because the saw driving cog was't adequately secured and was slipping on the shaft. That resulted in extra heat buildup and the cog rested against the belt cover melting an indentation in it. Oh joy! I tried securing the set screw on the saw driving cog but it acted like it was stripped and I didn't have any metric replacements on hand

I must have received one made before some Chinese national holiday. When I originally pulled it out off the box I noticed the cord cover was outside the housing too but I didn't worry about that as I wasn't planning on stressing the cord. Reminds me of a Volve Turbo I once owned that must have been made the afternoon before Swedish summer holiday. What a piece of crap that was.

Now to see what Harbor Freight is willing to do about it. Guess I got what I paid for and less....

Update: I called HF customer service and they're sending a prepaid return Fedex label for return credit since I'm within 30 days of purchase. I have a local HF store I wasn't aware of and I'll pick up a replacement there as they won't take a mail order return. Suboptimal, but not bad in all.

The saw may not be as underpowered as I thought given the slipping drive belt I was experiencing. It will never be a powerhouse but seems to be adequate for the task and saves a lot of brass shavings.

Great pictures, love your jig, I think it will work better than mine.
I bought some little abrasive fiber wheels to use on the saw they seem to work just fine.
Now to get that power trimmer...

Glad I could help.

What size blades does your cutter take?

Also what trimmers are you looking at?

I have the same cut off saw. So I got blades that fit it, can't say of the top of my head, they may be just a little larger. The trimmer that you have is what I have been looking at but my drill press is out in the shed with no heat and the forester hand trimmer has been working....slow.
The problem I am having now is that the mill brass I have is not sizing down enough to fit in my new M1S barrel unless I use another 223 die to get it smaller. My have to go with a small base die for 100% reliability in my auto and keep the brass separate from my bolt gun stuff.

So even with the press camming over, the 300 die is not resizing enough for you?

Have you tried resizing the cases in your 223 dies before forming?

Yes and Yes, I have a number of dies 223AI, 7TCU, 222, 223, 17 Rem and have tried them all. Last night I dug through a box I got at an auction and found a forming die from 223 to 17 Rem, bingo it worked, it took the base down another .002 to .0025 smaller than all the other dies. They will run thru my AR just fine now at .373. The small base die was just a click away and some how I resisted. The brass I am resizing is bulk mil stuff I have had a number of years it measures about .375 to .376 and factory nonfired stuff is measuring .372 to .373.
Get that Can yet? What one is it? I have had most everything with a large enought barrel threaded that is 30 cal or less. Just got back my 10-22 and what a hoot...

No but I think I am close.

The ATF sent my class III dealer a letter saying they wanted to see my signed Declaration of Trust which is a small part of my overall Trust document.

Both my lawyer and my dealer said they do not need it and now the ATF is saying they need it.

Hopefully I get it in a few weeks.

It's an AAC 762SD and I have mounts for my Rem 700 5R, AR-10, 300 Whisper build, and various ARs in 223/556.

Are all three dies needed to make .300 Fireball brass from .223? Are the dies used for reloading after the brass has been formed?

I apologize for the question, but I am just trying to wrap my head around the process of making brass from .223 brass.

Thank you
jonblack

EDIT - fixed typo in quote code

Well two of the three dies are used to form the brass and the third is a seater die.

So yes, I use all three dies.

You either need a trim die or a neck sizing die to do the initial form and cut/trim depending on your method.

I do have a 650 like you but I am not going to invest in the 1200 trimmer, C&H trim die, and deal with all the stuff that goes along with it.

I can make a few hundred cases pretty easy using the method I outlined and I don't plan to loose my brass very often.