Trimming brass for the original 56-50 ?

[Harve Curry]

I have 40 new cases trimmed to length but the rims are to thick from bolt face to the front edge.
So my question is how do you trim that without a lathe?
These are made from BELL 50-70 cases.
Then I will be annealing the top 1/3 with the torch and water method.
Thanks for any suggestions or methods.

[geo]

it is best to bevel the rims so that they feed through the magazine tube on any new 56-50 brass. but i had a gunsmith put each case on a lath to do so. i have pondered how to do it myself using a drill press. put a wooden dowel in the chuck, slip the case over the dowel and use a hand held file? good question you ask. good luck, geo.

[Fox Creek Kid]

So my question is how do you trim that without a lathe?

It can't be done. They have to be chucked up in a lathe on some sort of mandrel & trimmed from the front as if you do it from the rear your primer pockets will be too shallow. Your only other (expensive) option is to have the barrel removed & the breech face opened up. There were no SAAMI specs in the 19th century. Sorry to pee on the parade. 

[Harve Curry]

I figured out what was wrong. It wasn't the rims, some of the cases were wide in the shoulder, just needed full length sizing. I should of looked closer and checked all of them, not just a few.

[Fox Creek Kid]

Whew! That's good news!