Annealing question...

[Rsadams]

Just a quick question....

When do you anneal your brass...???

Before resizing or after you resize and do all the work to the brass or does it matter..???

Thanks for your opinion,

Robert

 

[R.Morehouse]

Before.....It matters

 

[ronemus]

Anneal before resizing - the primary benefit is better consistency when sizing; in addition, brass will change dimensions in annealing which will introduce inconsistencies.

 

[565tinfitter]

Before resizing. It does matter. Lots of good info on this site to help you through the details.

 

[3Ackleys]

Never before or after. It doesn't matter which order!

 

[Rsadams]

Ok , looks like before is the winner but anybody else feel free to respond.... Thanks again I have some old brass to practice on and although I am in no way new to shooting or reloading the question of when to anneal just really never came up in all the videos I have watched....

 

[Straightshooter1]

Just a quick question....

When do you anneal your brass...???

Before resizing or after you resize and do all the work to the brass or does it matter..???

Thanks for your opinion,

Robert

The work hardening of your cases takes place when you size your brass. Annealing it what will reduce springback and produce more consistent case specs after sizing. Therefore, always anneal before sizing.

 

[Krogen]

The work hardening of your cases takes place when you size your brass. Annealing it what will reduce springback and produce more consistent case specs after sizing. Therefore, always anneal before sizing.

Not challenging before or after, but about work hardening . . . Brass work hardens when its form changes. Certainly sizing work hardens it, but it seems to me that running an expander through the neck does too. Also when firing, the case stretches to fit the chamber before springing back. I'd say it work hardens on firing as well.

IANAM . . .

(I am not a metallurgist!)

 

[RustyInBend]

"After" I decap and clean, and "Before" I size. Some people anneal before cleaning, but I use an AMP and don't want any gunk falling into the annealing chamber (hence the "clean first" strategy).

 

[chop house]

After" I decap and clean, and "Before" I size.

✓

 

[Straightshooter1]

Not challenging before or after, but about work hardening . . . Brass work hardens when its form changes. Certainly sizing work hardens it, but it seems to me that running an expander through the neck does too. Also when firing, the case stretches to fit the chamber before springing back. I'd say it work hardens on firing as well.

IANAM . . .

(I am not a metallurgist!)

You're right, whether it's an expander ball or mandrel or pressure from firing to cause movement of the brass, it all contributes to the hardening of the brass. So . . . take a cartridge, fire it, some work hardening occurs due to that expansion, though not a lot since there's not a lot of movement (at least in one that's been fire formed ). Then, the reloader goes to size the case where often the sizing die reduces the neck substantially causing a lot more working hardening than the firing did in addition to what was done when fired. One can limit the amount of work hardening by reducing and minimizing the amount of movement the brass does, which can be done with custom sizing dies as well as custom chambers. Annealing before sizing takes care of all of the working hardening that the previous sizing and firing induced making for more uniform cartridges when finished.

(I'm not a metallurgist either, but have worked a lot with various sheet metal alloys in the aircraft industry where constant expansion and contraction is a big issue. )

 

[Dimner]

Just a quick question....

When do you anneal your brass...???

Before resizing or after you resize and do all the work to the brass or does it matter..???

Thanks for your opinion,

Robert

Always always before.

 

[powderbrake]

I clean my brass before I do anything, then anneal, then size.

 

[wkndwarrior]

Most of my brass never touches the ground, so I anneal then size then wet tumble. I checked my sizing uniformity and it definitely makes a difference. The only exception is that when forming brass I will anneal after the brass is formed.

 

[6.5 forever]

"After" I decap and clean, and "Before" I size. Some people anneal before cleaning, but I use an AMP and don't want any gunk falling into the annealing chamber (hence the "clean first" strategy).

Yes yes yes. Too expensive to ruin the AMP

 

[coldboreshot]

"After" I decap and clean, and "Before" I size. Some people anneal before cleaning, but I use an AMP and don't want any gunk falling into the annealing chamber (hence the "clean first" strategy).

Same here

 

[Webster]

Just a quick question....

When do you anneal your brass...???

Before resizing or after you resize and do all the work to the brass or does it matter..???

Thanks for your opinion,

Robert

Just watched an annealing video on U-Tube. Everything the guy said was incorrect.

 

[varget204]

Always before resizing for me,makes getting .001-.002 shoulder bump Consistant

 

[jwv2001]

First thing I do is size and deprime, followed by an inspection, then a thorough washing. It is a must that there be no lube on the cases. Then I tumble the brass to make sure it is clean and dry. After this, I anneal. It is easier for me to anneal clean brass. The next time the brass gets work hardened is when you seat the bullet and fire the round.