Annealing brass, opinions VS facts &

[Hohn]

Annealing is a heat treatment to reduce hardness, and increase ductility.
Ductile would be a more proper term over malleable.

Yes. Ductile=able to be drawn into wire, malleable= Able to be hammered into a thinner form without cracking.

 

[Hohn]

I tried this exact version. 2 induction units later I could t make it work. Believe me, I tried. Did the torch / socket method for awhile. In the end I spent around 500 on a used Benchsource. Very happy. Any flame method takes practice as the variables in the torch setting and location within the flame produce different results. No matter what you do, there is no set dwell time in the flame. Each manufacturers brass is different. My Lapua brass cook much longer than Hornady, Winchester. Etc.

View attachment 1341076

What issues did you have with the induction unit? Defective or ineffective? Did it work poorly or not at all? It seems to come down to the coil you wind with these “bolt heater” type induction sources.

 

[Enosiophobia]

What issues did you have with the induction unit? Defective or ineffective? Did it work poorly or not at all? It seems to come down to the coil you wind with these “bolt heater” type induction sources.

Wish I had the winning answer for you. I bought the exact same model and components as the video stated. Followed his instructions to the T. Based on my recollections, the brass never heated up anywhere near as quickly as his did and the induction units got very hot. I tried everything I could think of as I really wanted it to work.

 

[ebb]

i don't always use heat to make my necks less brittle, but when i do i anneal

 

[Hohn]

Put the 750 INSIDE the neck. Not on the outside. It works better. Tommy Mc

750 is useless on the neck. You have to hold brass at 750 for over 30 minutes to anneal it.

 

[Hohn]

You using a birthday candle.lol Tommy Mc 750 inside the neck takes 6 seconds in my 6br.

The point is that you have to get much hotter than 750 to anneal in 6 seconds.

 

[Dave M.]

Wish I had the winning answer for you. I bought the exact same model and components as the video stated. Followed his instructions to the T. Based on my recollections, the brass never heated up anywhere near as quickly as his did and the induction units got very hot. I tried everything I could think of as I really wanted it to work.

Poor coupling between tank circuit and workpiece. Lots of reasons for this: incorrect coil ID, wrong input voltage, coiling shorting out, wrong frequency, etc.

 

[danny]

Holly crap-olla and I thought people had strong opinions about politics, it seams if one wishes to engage in SERIUOS verbal hand to hand combat forget about the reasonably bloodless realm of political debate comparatively speaking, start a discussion about the proper way to anneal rifle brass if you wish to be lower lip deep in a verbiage firefight.

Well unfortunately Im going to do exactly that because I have to learn how to anneal my brass. Why you might ask? well because I simply can not afford to spend $300-$1000 on an semi to fully automated annealing machine and I also have chosen 300 wsm as my preferred cartridge and 300 wsm brass is either or both VERY scarce and VERY expensive, and I also wish to dramatically increase how much and often I shoot (not just 300wsm but .308/Win as well) so accordingly I must maximize my brass life.

Like most newbies, I went about researching annealing at MANY multiple web sources like this one, and quickly became overwhelmed and the end result was the infamous state AKA "Paralyisis by analysis"

After much consideration I felt my options were the fallowing based on cost VS return on expense:
#1-Use torch and cordless screw driver method
I really like this method as I would only need to anneal 50 or fewer pieces of brass at a sitting, but reaching and maintain proper temp is the main issue. I know many use and swear by templaque but an equal number dismiss templaque as inaccurate for use in annealing and therefore useless.

#2-Salt bath annealing, sounds great but has certain safety issues, but I am leaning strongly towards it as the best all around compromise of cost (+/- $100), accuracy, practicality and safety
#3-Soaking in molten lead annealing, based on my research (and because of my quite limited knowledge I admit I could be wrong) molten lead soaking seams about ideal in all respects EXCEPT in terms of safety. I really don't want to deal with risking ingesting lead be it from direct contact or from breathing fumes. I know I can completely eliminate all contact with lead of my unprotected skin, but elimination the inhalation hazard is more difficult.
#4-Send my brass out to an annealing service, great idea but how do I know they are doing it correctly and turn around time might or might not be an issue.

So I have but two questions;
#1-All things considered is the salt bath system the best all around compromise as I believe, or am I better off with using one of the other 3 options?
#2-If I am going to do my own annealing and salt bath is the way to go would a person who is 100% confident they have mastered salt bath annealing tell me what temp they use and how long the anneal their brass for.

Thank you,
Arthur.

I have one of the automated ones. I have used it some, but not a lot. Annealing makes me a bit nervous. I think that it is one of those things that you really need to do frequently to be able to do it well, and safely. There is a certain skill to it. I suppose that this not what you want to hear, but it is just easier and better to send it off to one of the guys that do it, for the quantity you are looking at doing. Others have posted that response. It is sort of like the guy that deer hunts once a year, but wants to reload. There isn't a real gain to be gotten from doing so, unless it gives you something to do.

Danny

 

[Ccrider]

I tried them all- various torch methods and salt bath. I got the most consistent results with salt bath. Very low es mostly single digits. This was because you know what temperature the salt is and can maintain the same temperature in the same place on the brass throughout the process. The downside was dealing with a very hot liquid. You have to be safe.

I went ahead and bought an Amp after deciding that for me, annealing each time or not at all are the only options. The time I have saved using the Amp has paid for it and I have zero buyer’s remorse. If I did not have an Amp, I would not anneal at all because I think there is too much variation using a torch and the setup time is too costly for the benefit received. I would just keep my brass in rotation and use the money to buy new brass as needed. You can buy a lots of brass for $1500.

 

[Dave M.]

I tried them all- various torch methods and salt bath. I got the most consistent results with salt bath. Very low es mostly single digits. This was because you know what temperature the salt is and can maintain the same temperature in the same place on the brass throughout the process. The downside was dealing with a very hot liquid. You have to be safe.

I went ahead and bought an Amp after deciding that for me, annealing each time or not at all are the only options. The time I have saved using the Amp has paid for it and I have zero buyer’s remorse. If I did not have an Amp, I would not anneal at all because I think there is too much variation using a torch and the setup time is too costly for the benefit received. I would just keep my brass in rotation and use the money to buy new brass as needed. You can buy a lots of brass for $1500.

Hands down, induction annealing of brass is by far the most consistent manner to do so.

 

[Straightshooter1]

I agree that going the induction route it where your most likely to get the most consistent results.

I've worked with sheetmetal for so long, I'm very comfortable use the flame/propane method, which I find produces pretty consistent results when a good timing mechanism in used. While I expect there's a difference in consistency between using something like thee AMP and a good flame setup, the difference is so small I doubt it's measurable, even at extreme distance. I suppose a lot of that depends on one's skill level.