Annealer's any reviews

[DeadEyeDick45]

I ask because when I was looking for a good, economical and proven way to Anneal my brass I didn't find a whole lot of reviews that were from actual users, lots of stuff from makers, promoters.
I am a member on another shooter/reloader site and stumbled upon a post by a retired Engineer with a OCD complex (my words) that is a perfectionist. Struck up a dialog with him about Bench Rest Shooting (which he recently built a rifle to compete with) and our friendship grew from there.
Long story short, he is now into Annealing his brass and couldn't bring himself to spending $550 on a Bench Source (great annealer) so he built one for his use. He also made one for me and I got it yesterday. Wow! I'm glad he's OCD, what a great machine. Small footprint, solidly built with the case being 16ga 304 SS, and on and on. He's now making them for retail and his price point will blow several other makers OUT OF THE WATER.
I'll post pics and more info if anyone else is interested.
DED45

 

[Killick]

Love to see it. I've completed a prototype recently and will be posting a vid next week. 16ga.SS seems overkill to me but that's because I'm Scottish (well, my wife is). Let's see some pics or better yet, a vid.

 

[Randy L]

PM sent

 

[jonbearman]

Cant wait to see a picture or video. Sounds like he builds annealers like my brother and me build engines.

 

[itchyTF]

+1 for pictures / video

 

[DeadEyeDick45]

Fella's; the pics are of the "reveal" when I unwrapped the machine yesterday. I don't have any video of the Annealer actually working because the Templiaq I ordered hasn't arrived yet. I did load the Annealer with a few 300 Blackout Brass and did a test run to make sure it would properly handle such short brass, and it did!! So, here's some pics and a link to the very short video.
First thing out of the box was the manual/booklet;

Then the machine with accessories;

Then the little beauty exposed;

Then full frontal view;

And the video link:

 

[Killick]

Very nice, the 16ga. SS is the structural frame. Is the bottom roller fire retardant? It looks pretty close to where the flame will be. Simple, easy peasy design, brass retainer actuated by a striker attached to the top roller...brilliant!

 

[Dos XX]

I think the brass release is 2 opposing magnets? Watch the video closely. It doesn't look like any contact is being made between the top roller and brass release. It doesn't appear that metal strip, which I think is a magnet, is above flush on the top roller.

 

[spclark]

Thanks for including that shipping box label in your pic... close look gave me the contact info I was gonna ask about.

http://mikesreloadingbench.com/mikes reloading bench_025.htm

 

[DeadEyeDick45]

I think the brass release is 2 opposing magnets? Watch the video closely. It doesn't look like any contact is being made between the top roller and brass release. It doesn't appear that metal strip, which I think is a magnet, is above flush on the top roller.

Bingo!! That's exactly correct, I had to look closely to make sure.

 

[DeadEyeDick45]

Very nice, the 16ga. SS is the structural frame. Is the bottom roller fire retardant? It looks pretty close to where the flame will be. Simple, easy peasy design, brass retainer actuated by a striker attached to the top roller...brilliant!

The rollers are 6061 - T6 Aluminum.

 

[Joe R]

This is very nice but has some of the same shortcomings as the Giraud annealer.
1. The knob that controls the speed is very crude, no way to precisely repeat a setting if switching between cases. It needs some sort of digital counter.
See the kind of counter the Skip's annealer has down below
2. To turn the torch on and off a user has to fiddle with the torch head. That inevitably moves the head.
I have a Giraud and I know this is a problem.
3. Because the torch head is a turn valve the chances of repeating the same flame setting are very slim.
Both 2 and 3 can be solved by having an on/off valve close to where the propane tank is. See the torch below.

I just wished someone would make one like Skip's annealer and sell it commercially. This isn't rocket science. I just don't have the time.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Dos XX]

I will stick with my Bench Source. I can get repeatable flame, the time in flame controller is great, and I don't knock the torches out of adjustment when I shut off the torches.

 

[JimPag]

I will stick with my Bench Source. I can get repeatable flame, the time in flame controller is great, and I don't knock the torches out of adjustment when I shut off the torches.

Yup me too.

 

[Gabe22BR]

I use Bench Source


They have it all..torches, hoses, different plates for the BIG stuff, etc.. Easy to use and set up, plus David can give you a great starting point, and time for different cartridges.

 

[Bob L.]

Happy Bench Source owner here, too.

 

[DeadEyeDick45]

I don't know exactly how to respond to the comments or even if I should. This annealer is exactly what I needed to work my brass. It's a solid unit and has repeatable controller settings, not sure what Joe was alluding to because the "crude" knob speed controller is calibrated. I've checked the setting on mine and while running the speed is almost exact according to my stopwatch. Set it on a number on the dial and if you switch from and back to the setting the speed is repeatable, the same. The torch that Joe pictures in his post will work with this unit as well. BTW, a torch head doesn't come with the unit, I supplied my own.
This unit wasn't designed to compete with a Bench Source, hence the price point. Nothing wrong with a Bench Source, but I'm very happy with this unit and even happier with the $200 I saved.
DED45

 

[normmatzen]

I think I have to put in a comment on the Annie!
I thought that induction annealing would be the way to go with annealing. So, being an electronics engineer, I started designing one.
Well after a year playing with different bread-boards I realized that now that I am retired, I would rather be shooting than developing an induction annealer!
About this time, the Annie appeared. I contacted Fluxeon and kind of followed their development. As I spent a career designing analog integrated circuits, I understood the difficulties of doing just that! I finally bought one. I also had problems with it. All related to design/manufacturing issues. I stuck to it and now I have the latest version of Annie and have not had a problem with it. I can anneal cases as fast as I would be able to load and process a flame type with a feeder. I have experimented with different core spacing (it comes with two options) as well as winding a coil from thick wire. Now, I can anneal a 6BR case in 2.2 seconds and a 284 WIN in 2.7sec, so, roughly 5 seconds cycle time. That means I can do 50 cases in about 5 minutes! I then allow the cases to cool after tossing them into a small cardboard box while I do something else. I have done 100 cases in one setting with no over-heating problems ( a problem with original units).

I think the Annie is now a viable product and I am very happy I stuck with it. It is very small, requires no set up to speak of and makes no
mess. I have toyed with making a wood stand including a sliding puck with a hole to put the case in and slide it into the coil gap for repeatable mechanical settings. But, it is so easy to hold the case accurately in the small gap in the coil core and the processing time is so short, I haven't been motivated.
Thank you Fluxeon!

 

[nmkid]

Very nice. One question...Has your friend given any consideration as to how much heat the rubber o rings will be subject too? Seems like they would crack after a while. However, it's just a simple o ring that can probably be purchased at Lowe's. The price range is certainly palatable for a shooter like myself that would like an annealing machine but, don't care to pay the price of the established models because my budget won' allow it. My Jeep comes first! LOL. Regardless, it appears he has built a nice looking unit.

 

[DeadEyeDick45]

I think I have to put in a comment on the Annie!
I thought that induction annealing would be the way to go with annealing. So, being an electronics engineer, I started designing one.
Well after a year playing with different bread-boards I realized that now that I am retired, I would rather be shooting than developing an induction annealer!
About this time, the Annie appeared. I contacted Fluxeon and kind of followed their development. As I spent a career designing analog integrated circuits, I understood the difficulties of doing just that! I finally bought one. I also had problems with it. All related to design/manufacturing issues. I stuck to it and now I have the latest version of Annie and have not had a problem with it. I can anneal cases as fast as I would be able to load and process a flame type with a feeder. I have experimented with different core spacing (it comes with two options) as well as winding a coil from thick wire. Now, I can anneal a 6BR case in 2.2 seconds and a 284 WIN in 2.7sec, so, roughly 5 seconds cycle time. That means I can do 50 cases in about 5 minutes! I then allow the cases to cool after tossing them into a small cardboard box while I do something else. I have done 100 cases in one setting with no over-heating problems ( a problem with original units).

I think the Annie is now a viable product and I am very happy I stuck with it. It is very small, requires no set up to speak of and makes no
mess. I have toyed with making a wood stand including a sliding puck with a hole to put the case in and slide it into the coil gap for repeatable mechanical settings. But, it is so easy to hold the case accurately in the small gap in the coil core and the processing time is so short, I haven't been motivated.
Thank you Fluxeon!

Thanks norm, good review. That's a Champagne model and I'm on a Beer budget, but if I had the Bucks............