Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
Articles
Latest reviews
Author list
Classifieds
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Reloading
The LRH Annealing Article
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Jeffpatton00" data-source="post: 1852858" data-attributes="member: 97649"><p>I just used my salt bath annealer for the first time. I found it very easy to set up and to use, but a couple of cautions: </p><p></p><p>1) I put too little salt in on the first try, so it didn't get to the shoulder, only the neck. So I put more salt in and now had a little more than I think I'd normally want to use, it reached maybe 3/8" past the shoulder. Others can chime in but I think 3/16" past the shoulder would be sufficient. I quickly dropped the cases into cold water so I'm not concerned about weakening the case head, but there's no need to anneal beyond the shoulder so watch your salt level. There is a slot in the support piece that holds up the top disc (through which you insert the cases) and as a rough estimate, if the top of the salt bath is even with the top of that slot, it'd be at the right level for my 6.5CM cases. Your cases will vary but that slot might offer a useful reference point. </p><p></p><p>2) My Lee melter has a pretty poor thermostat and allows temperature swings of 30 degrees C or more, and I ended up annealing a small batch at 485 C before I noticed it had cooled. I ended up manually moving the temperature knob up and down to keep it between 500 - 510 C, and I may see what it would take to replace the thermostat with a more accurate one that could keep the temperature within a narrower band.</p><p></p><p>I decided to rinse the cases in more water to get the salt off, then I ran them through an ultrasonic cleaner to make sure they're fully clean for the next steps, then they went into a case dryer. This isn't hard but be aware, if you choose to do this, that it does add steps and flow time. By the way, it's worth buying a set of leather welding gloves with long forearm protection, 500 C is nothing to fool around with, and don't take short cuts with eye protection.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jeffpatton00, post: 1852858, member: 97649"] I just used my salt bath annealer for the first time. I found it very easy to set up and to use, but a couple of cautions: 1) I put too little salt in on the first try, so it didn't get to the shoulder, only the neck. So I put more salt in and now had a little more than I think I'd normally want to use, it reached maybe 3/8" past the shoulder. Others can chime in but I think 3/16" past the shoulder would be sufficient. I quickly dropped the cases into cold water so I'm not concerned about weakening the case head, but there's no need to anneal beyond the shoulder so watch your salt level. There is a slot in the support piece that holds up the top disc (through which you insert the cases) and as a rough estimate, if the top of the salt bath is even with the top of that slot, it'd be at the right level for my 6.5CM cases. Your cases will vary but that slot might offer a useful reference point. 2) My Lee melter has a pretty poor thermostat and allows temperature swings of 30 degrees C or more, and I ended up annealing a small batch at 485 C before I noticed it had cooled. I ended up manually moving the temperature knob up and down to keep it between 500 - 510 C, and I may see what it would take to replace the thermostat with a more accurate one that could keep the temperature within a narrower band. I decided to rinse the cases in more water to get the salt off, then I ran them through an ultrasonic cleaner to make sure they're fully clean for the next steps, then they went into a case dryer. This isn't hard but be aware, if you choose to do this, that it does add steps and flow time. By the way, it's worth buying a set of leather welding gloves with long forearm protection, 500 C is nothing to fool around with, and don't take short cuts with eye protection. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Reloading
The LRH Annealing Article
Top