Annealing brass questions

[acemisser]

How often should one anneal the brass?

Should you anneal befor resizing or after resizing?

Thank you..John

[Aircraftmech76]

Before resizing. The very nature of brass is that anytime it's moved or displaced, it work hardens. I anneal with every firing.

Kevin

[thomae]

Before resizing. The very nature of brass is that anytime it's moved or displaced, it work hardens. I anneal with every firing.

Kevin

I seem to recall that Aircraftmech76 owns a whiz-bang super-cool (can you tell I am jealous? ;) ) annealing machine that he likes to fire up at the slightest mention of annealing.

For the rest of us, it is not as frequent as every loading. perhaps every 3-4 loads? ...or when we sense that the brass is becoming hardened.

Disclaimer: I am planning on building a rather neat (not sure if it will actually meet the criteria required for "whiz-bang") annealing machine. Anyone have the inside scoop on a low speed gear motor?

[Aircraftmech76]

:-D

The motor you would be looking for would be from a rotisserie. I do like my whiz-bang tools ;-)

Kevin

[jhelmuth]

How about this....
(you can aslo see more here: http://www.savageshooters.com/showthread.php?15822-DIY-case-annealing-machine-FUN! )


Hey fellow barrel-nuts!

Just wanted to post some pics and kinda brag on my pops for this new toy he made me...

http://i50.tinypic.com/6glo2w.jpg

http://i45.tinypic.com/1zdbrfc.jpg


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BALv64gKDcM



Nice to have a Dad with a machine shop in his detached garage! I have relayed some "tweaks" to him on the next one - but he got this prototype pretty much spot on (and he dosen't handload or have any real exposure to reloading or much shooting for that matter).

Some intial “specs”, etc….

? Runs at 1.5 – 4.5 RPM
? Can use single or double torch
? Automatically rotates the brass so that the flame/heat is evenly distributed around the case neck
? Fully adjustable flame tip – up/down/right/left/in/out (albeit we need to tweak that just a bit more)

Anyway... just wanted to brag a bit. ;D

[Added June 23rd, 2012 7:53pm]
I just got word from my Dad that he will be taking pre-orders for the annealer. He can be contacted at delbert.helmuth@hotmail.com.

All the best,
Jim

[thomae]

:-D

The motor you would be looking for would be from a rotisserie. I do like my whiz-bang tools ;-)

Kevin

Good thought, but actually, I want something with a bit higher RPM. My plan is to make something similar to this:

http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/annealer/?action=view&current=nottoohot.mp4

[fgw_in_fla]

I used to anneal after each firing and before resizing. Then I knew everything was sized correctly. I did notice the case necks were too soft & seemed to loose their elasticity so....

Now I anneal after every 2nd or 3rd. If I try to neck size a case & I gotta get the neighbor to stand on the press handle with me, it's time to anneal the brass. Having the case necks a little stiffer & more elastic seems to work better for me.

Frank in Fla.

P.S. - Not all of us have a fancy auto-annealer at our dispose. I have to use my fingers & endure extreme pain with 3rd degree burns.....

Wooooeee is meee......

[acemisser]

I will give away my idea so if anyone has one they can build it and let me know how it works...Get an old
record player if you know what one is..place the brass around the outside edge and let it run around for a few minutes..
Sounds like it might work....

[fgw_in_fla]

Ace.... I think you're on to something. One minor problem though......

Most record players are antiques & worth more then the buying the brass pre-annealed.

IF... you can even find one that's not on stage & being used for "scratching" , I think it's called?.... (never thought I'd live long enough to see that...)
Or, maybe a junk store?

I'm gonna look in my attic. I just may have one to send you.

Frank in Fla

[acemisser]

Frank-----Flea markets might be the place to look....Even a kids player will work..You can make little bushing from PVC pipe and
glue them on.Make a seperate device to hold a small torch and set your saes in the bushings and turn it on...You will have to watch
the color of the brass to be sure it doesn't get too hot.....I know it will work.....

They use the old crank type players here to wind up the copper wire when trolling for lake trout,so that type is very hard to find..

I have a couple more ideas as well on how to make a turn table.....John

E bay has a lot of old record players for sale..As long as the table turns your in business...

[DougMH]

Wow! Grafs is wanting $540 for the bench-source machine. I would like something more automated, but that's a ton of money to me... especially when you still have to sit there and feed it.

I will continue my manual case in a brass holder in my drill method. Spin the tip of the mouth of the case in a 1.5" propane flame for 6 seconds and it melts a 650 deg F tempil stick perfectly. Just count 1-1000, 2-1000 and so on up to 6-1000. I then drop it in an aluminum baking pan where any heat in the big part of the case is sinked away by the aluminum and the neck it just cooled by the air. It works for me. Puts the heat ring exactly where it is in new Lapua brass.

[brtelec]

I use an Anneal-Rite set up it is quick and easy and I do not have to handle the hot brass.

http://cartridgeanneal.com/

[Luckus]

Me and the local Smith buit an anneal rite in about an hour, and it works great. 650 degre tempilaq on shoulder, when it turns black dump it.

[stangfish]

too hot and the zink flashes off making the brass to soft.... So the anealing guru told me.

[darkker]

How often should one anneal the brass?

Should you anneal befor resizing or after resizing?

Thank you..John

Why? unless you are FL sizing it shouldn't be needed with "standard" cartridges. My 223WSSM has crap brass, with hard necks. Beyond that I have never needed to.
Here is a link you may find helpful in this arena.

http://ingunowners.com/forums/ammunition_and_reloading/140337-new_brass_life_test_annealing.html

[supergolfer18]

That is crazy how many firings they got out of that brass just neck sizing with ol' faithful LCD

Thanks for the link

[MrMajestic]

I run a Bench Source and anneal prior to every resizing operation. Accuracy is a lot about consistency. The unit is expensive however I noticed a reduction in average group size and to a "Gun Crank" that's priceless!