Thanks, Len. As you can see by that video, Robert Downey Jr. has nothing to fear.
Like many of you who anneal, I started annealing by hand. It works fine, but by the time I got about fifty cases done, I was wising I had a machine to make things a little easier. I made a manual machine first, then a couple variations of motor-driven models. Soon my friends were arm twisting me to make them a machine, so here we are. With a machine, I found out that my annealing was more consistent.
There's two major reasons to anneal. One is for increased case life, the other is for accuracy. By the time you get a half-dozen reloads on your brass, the case necks are getting hard and brittle. If you keep reloading, you will eventually get neck splitting. The neck hardness means your neck tension changes, and you may need to go to a smaller bushing for the same grip. Worse, your bullets are getting released at different times, so the pressure builds at higher and lower rates. Now your velocity varies, your shot to shot consistency is gone. I have read of 1000 yard shooters who anneal every time they reload, just for that edge.
When your necks get hard, it's time to anneal or replace your brass. If you have as much work and time in your brass cases as I do, it makes more sense to extend their life.
I make a manually operated machine and three motor-driven models to make it easier and accurate. Why four models? Cost, for one thing. Not everybody wants to spend $500 on an annealing machine.
Whether you anneal by hand or with a machine, remember it's time and temperature that anneals. You want to get the case neck up to temperature quickly and then get it out of the heat. I have a couple pages on my site that explains what annealing is and how to do it, including the temperatures that should be reached. My site is
Ballistic Edge Mfg - Offering*four distinct*models of accuracy-enhancing annealers
As far as technique--once you determine the time your case neck needs to be in the flame, you just load the machine and go. Annealing is no more difficult than reloading. You may want to consider it.
