Annealing in molten lead

[Fire Dog]

If that's Fahrenheit then it's too low and it'd be too slow. If that's Celsius it's a bit too hot, though it could work if the timing is very fast making it a little hard to control.

That's the problem with internet searches as there's a lot out there that simply wrong. And most often temperatures like that are mentioned, but with no reference as to how long at that temperature it takes.


Sorry, but comparing colors to new factory brass doesn't help at all since those colors have nothing to do about the grain structure of the brass.


I'd say that red you're seeing is a decent indicator in getting to what you want. . . just not that they look similar to "most new brass".


Reading this kind of nonsense is what I gets me frustrated over and over, which led me to decided to buy a tool to actually measure my brass hardness and experiment to see what temperatures for how long actually works to get the hardness that is in virgin factory brass. Otherwise, it's nothing more than guessing and not really knowing what's really happening to the brass with any of the methods. Temperature color when heating up the case necks helps to some degree if you understand some of that relationship for the amount of time it takes at any particular temperature to get a desired annealing result. I see a lot of this wrong stuff is still getting repeated here.

The simple fix of course is AMP…
No flames, No molten metal, No heat crayon, No guess work, perfect every time…
And quick..
What’s {aside from cost} not to like…

 

[Capt. Oblivious]

Annealing brass by color is something new. lol

 

[itchyTF]

The other “simple” (for those inclined) is DIY induction.

 

[243winxb]

had a problem with lead sticking to the neck

Just like solder.

dipping the case neck in your bullet casting pot.

I think bad idea, when i tried it with my Lee 10 lb pot.

Lee claims maximum temperature to be 900F for the pot.

Knowledgebase

Official Lee Precision Support – Warranty, Complaints, Customer Service

support.leeprecision.net

 

[Oldbloke]

Met blokes that simply don't anneal. Yet shoot tiny groups.
So, perhaps the expense of some of this gear is a waste for hunters anyway.

As far as getting as technical as some do, I'm inclined to think its not necessary. Better to learn how to read the wind or practice more.

 

[Straightshooter1]

The simple fix of course is AMP…
No flames, No molten metal, No heat crayon, No guess work, perfect every time…
And quick..
What’s {aside from cost} not to like…

Yes. I'd characterize the AMP as the easy button to getting a consistent and decent anneal.

But a lot of reloaders have a hard time justifying the cost.

The other “simple” (for those inclined) is DIY induction.

Even with DIY induction, just like using flame, you have to determine how hot you're getting the brass (like using the glow color as an indicator) and for how long. That's what I had to do when I got a BurstFire induction annealer last fall since there no test code to tell you what setting for timing should be used.

When I test the results from my induction annealer with the results I get from my flame annealer (it's an old Annealeez I've used for years), I could find no difference in the consistency or the amount of annealing I got. But the induction annealing is slightly faster and, of course, don't have to deal with the hazard of a hot flame and propane storage.

Met blokes that simply don't anneal. Yet shoot tiny groups.
So, perhaps the expense of some of this gear is a waste for hunters anyway.

As far as getting as technical as some do, I'm inclined to think its not necessary. Better to learn how to read the wind or practice more.

You're right that one can do just fine without annealing to get tiny groups. That tends to take a different approach where one works with custom barrels, reamers and sizing dies. Often, annealing isn't just about tiny groups, but more about making the brass cases last longer, though even this can increase the life of one's brass.

 

[Mike TackleBerry]

Just read an old post about annealing brass by dipping the case neck in your bullet casting pot. Pros and cons? Thanks, James

The only pro is its cheap. The cons are endless.

 

[Pete Wass]

The folks at Annealing Made Easy have done a lot of scientific tests and have written it all down for anyone to read. It is well worth reading. Science beats visual every time.

 

[Webster]

If you ever put a case in a lead or salt bath that had some moisture in it there would be a large explosion with hot stuff flying everywhere. I feel very safe with my hand-held torch. You keep mentioning the Draper Point no metallurgist uses the Draper Point. All furnaces are monitored with a thermal couple to obtain real numbers and control. In some instances optical pyrometers are used.

Draper temp is one temperature. You can not relate it to any proper temp for processing the various alloys and metals (steel, aluinum ect). Each material has published proper temp for various prcedures (hot rolling, tempering, aging, austenitizing, annealing ect. Nothing to do with 977F.

 

[JFrank]

AMP..
Yep, just write a check for about $1200 for something you don’t really need.

 

[jelenko]

I've tried to resist, but can't hold back any longer.

There is no way I'd want a liquid lead or molten salts anywhere near me - unless I had fire/heat full body protection.

 

[TC260]

I've tried to resist, but can't hold back any longer

Do you feel better now that you’ve gotten that out?

 

[escopeta]

I am just a casual shooter with a 6BR and don’t shoot much so don’t anneal very often. I use an industrial soldering iron with a bronze tip That I used my chamber reamer to ream out the area I want to anneal. Have a small hole drllled so I can insert a small Fluke thermocouple in for temperature setting and I use a control for soldering set temperature. I heat for about 10 seconds and drop in good water. I already had all the components so no extra cost for me. For my use it has worked good.

 

[Fire Dog]

AMP..
Yep, just write a check for about $1200 for something you don’t really need.

$1’200 is far less expensive than starting a fire in the house..
Accuracy and speed was a primary consideration and never having to run out of gas half way is just a bonus and eliminates an ongoing expense.
“Long after you have forgotten the cost, you will still be satisfied with the product.”
My AMP is a MkI with the AZTEC upgrade and still producing a result that it was designed to do. Would I like to have a MkII? Of course, but at that cost it would be an indulgence rather than a necessity.
I don’t “need” custom actions, quality loading gear, more expensive bullets or primers but I decided that I would like to be able to get better results at the range than just good enough for the field.
Granted, everyone must strive to work to a budget but if you want to get serious about competion than the old adage used in racing comes into play….
“Speed cost money…. How fast do you want to go?”

 

[JFrank]

Granted, everyone must strive to work to a budget

You can’t buy wins at long range, you can only earn them.

 

[Fire Dog]

You can’t buy wins at long range, you can only earn them.

Absolutely… Arrows & Indians…