First atempt at anealing brass

[Iron Worker]

What a hassel. I think I need a hotter torch then a small propane torch. I set the case's in a pan of water. Water was just below the case shoulder. I heated and heated till I saw a very faint color change,I waved the torch around to atempt to even the heat. Took out of water when i could touch them by hand. Now the case's look like they have been anealed.So is that it? Now I size them.So that will make my case's last longer? Soften them up? Even grip on bullets? Our those the reasons why we should aneal our brass? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

 

[Mule]

Work hardening through resizing and shooting is the culprit of the split neck. If you "work" the metal enough then it gets harder and less ductile. Eventually, the metal splits since it cannot effectively flow during shooting or resizing. Annealing takes out and removes the work hardening. If you heat it too long past the "color shift", then you get "dead soft" conditions which lead to excessive ductility and "flow" of the brass. This will leave you with lots of trimming to perform as the brass will stretch way beyond what you want.

You do not need the water pan thing. Just roll them in the torch, watch for the color shift and set them to air cool. If your concerned about over heating the case body, your fingers will drop it before you can do any damage /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Annealing should increase the neck life. Not much you can do about the head area failures from bad brass, poor chambers or excessive loads.

Mule

 

[biff's reloading]

the dip in molten lead for 2 seconds method is far easier than the torch method. and its alot better. the torch is uneven and the water cools one side of the brass before another when u tip em over.

 

[Centre Punch]

Unlike here in the UK where brass is twice the price of what you guys pay, i cant see why you bother annealing when new brass is cheap.
Unless of course it is for something exotic where cases are $1+ each.

Ian.

 

[Black Diamond 408]

Iron Worker

You had too much water in the pan, about 1/3 of the case is plenty. Propane torch is good enough, turn off the lights so you can see the brass change color better.

Dave

 

[Guest]

the reason to anneal is longer case life, but only the neck/shoulder area.You had to much water in the pan and the heat was carried away to fast to do the necks. Hornaday markets a set of pot chucks for this purpose, they hold the case in the lower half and conduct heat away from the base. They are used with an electric drill and spin the case for even heat distribution,holding the flame tip at the shoulder /neck junction will give a uniform anneal when dropped in cold water.A color shift to a dull red as seen in a dim light is the correct temp.

 

[Iron Worker]

Looking at my brass you can clearly see the color transition. Well live and learn.

 

[BountyHunter]

Hornady also sells a templac that you put on to get the correct temp. Any welding house also sells the temp crayon sticks. this is a much better way to do it if you do not have the annealing machine.

http://www.kenlightmfg.com/products.html

http://www.6mmbr.com/annealing.html

BH