The latest on Annealing

[Trickymissfit]

I havent read these articles on this stuff before. But I thought that the purpose of annealing cases was the quick transition from hot to cold?

Brass is just as temperature specific as steel is when drawing it back. That's where some data really comes to light. After you heat the necks to a specific temp (usually about forty degrees and slightly short of the desired area) you must quench the brass extremely fast (literally shocking the metal). This is why a lot of folks recommend ice water. The slower the quench the softer the brass and also the less controll you have over the area you just annealed. You need to learn to work fast after attaining heat in the neck area. The term "anneal" refers to tempering, and making the metal a little bit more ductile without making it so soft that it dosn't retain any strength. Similar to the process of normalizing steel, but for a different purpose. (with steel you often allow it to air cool). Some folks think that annealing brass also helps to take the stress out of the metal, but other knowledgeable folks say nay. I don't know for sure.
gary

 

[parker33]

I can say that I love the bench source annealer and started out using tempilaq also. I now anneal every time I shoot just because it is so easy with the machine. Good luck which ever way you go. Scott

 

[Hairtrigger]

The brass annealing instructions I have seen do not mention needing to rapidly cool the brass. The videos made by ken light and other annealing machines just show the brass falling into an empty container........no water or coolant.
Brass is not the same as some other metals

 

[Joe King]

The only reason I drop em in water is just to stop the heat from migrating any more than it already has. there's no other reason to do that unless your over heating the case already.

 

[Trickymissfit]

The brass annealing instructions I have seen do not mention needing to rapidly cool the brass. The videos made by ken light and other annealing machines just show the brass falling into an empty container........no water or coolant.
Brass is not the same as some other metals

one more time, suggest you read some publications concerning the annealing of brass. In the case of rifle brass you must stop the annealing process or you ruin the case, or create a dangerous condition when touching off a round. I don't pay a lot of attention to what some guy writting in a magazine has to say, unless he has a background in metalurgy
gary

 

[Trickymissfit]

The only reason I drop em in water is just to stop the heat from migrating any more than it already has. there's no other reason to do that unless your over heating the case already.

brass and aluminum are metals that tend to transfer heat rapidly verses steel or cast iron. Your only wanting to anneal the neck and maybe 25% or 30% of the shoulder. You must stop the transfer of the heat or risk weakening the main body of the case. Cold water (I prefer ice water) is kinda the norm for this in whatever operation when your annealing a small area. This is not my idea, but right from one of the smartest metalurgist the country has ever known
gary

 

[Joe King]

Right which is why I quench them. What I meant by my reference to over heating them is that at that point you would be quenching them in a failed effort to save an already ruined case. I seems to me that not arresting the heat transfer can lead to the same end effect of over heating. The real trick IMO is to get the right amount of heat to the area you want annealed specifically.

 

[Trickymissfit]

Right which is why I quench them. What I meant by my reference to over heating them is that at that point you would be quenching them in a failed effort to save an already ruined case. I seems to me that not arresting the heat transfer can lead to the same end effect of over heating. The real trick IMO is to get the right amount of heat to the area you want annealed specifically.

the easiest way to get the correct temperature with with a welder's temp stick. Select a range that's about 30 to forty degree cooler than you want, by the time you react it will be there. I for one do not like concentrated heat in small areas, and this actually destroys the metal.
gary