Annealing Under the Microscope

[Jay Christopherson]

Some interesting information here:

https://www.ampannealing.com/articles/40/annealing-under-the-microscope/

 

[Ned Ludd]

Very informative, thanks for posting this. Now all I need to do is find out from their "secret" lab notes what brand "Case B" is. It seems to be harder in the region directly adjacent to where the primers seat. My 90 VLD .223 F-TR load is killing Lapua primer pockets in 3-4 firings, max. If "Case B" is not Lapua, it would be worthwhile to give it a try and see if it would last a couple more firings. That's probably a long shot, but perhaps the only way to know for sure would be to try some out.

 

[missed]

Excellent read, the carbon in the neck also supports one of my buddies theories regarding minimal cleaning.

 

[SMITTY33]

Thanks for sharing !! Great info !!! Interesting info on stainless media.

 

[CharlieNC]

Thanks for the technology which individuals cannot afford on their own.

 

[SheepDog]

It is good to see a company back up there product with tests from outside sources.

 

[gotcha]

Thanks for passing this info to us Jay !! Great read even for those of us doing gas annealing............... I'm wondering if the hardness test at body and case head on two "popular" brands of brass had anything to do with the type of forming process for the two brands of brass? ........... Or did it have anything to do with the ingredients of the brass alloys?? Kinda creates a lot of questions rather than answers... ......... Maybe future case head hardness tests will address these issues.

 

[clowdis]

More information than I need.

 

[Willie]

Thanks Jay for a thought provoking article. Alex has devoted a lot of time, money and intricate testing to make his product and library on brass annealing into my goto reference. Glad to see he is continuing to research the variables.

 

[Lapua40X]

Thanks. I've looked at this one before but it's so dadgum expensive I'll never be able to justify the expense:

http://www.brownells.com/reloading/...y&utm_campaign=itwine&utm_content=749-017-419

 

[Willie]

Thanks. I've looked at this one before but it's so dadgum expensive I'll never be able to justify the expense:

http://www.brownells.com/reloading/...y&utm_campaign=itwine&utm_content=749-017-419

So true, but it is probably one of the smartest investments I've ever made. The simplicity and repeatability are top tier. Early on, i sold my semi-trusty Bench Source annealer to help pay the price. They weren't available in U.S. at the time, so I saved up and preordered one from Graff's. Love at first use and made annealing as easy as decapping primers. I seriously doubt we'll ever see any for sale in the classifieds, unless the widow cleans out his loading room.

 

[Toejoe12]

Anyone serious about competition shooting I think this is a must read article. Not to promote a specific product but research/fact based information that has been debated for a while around annealing. I have played around with several different methods and products designed for this process and this article concludes with several outcomes it's takin me several years to figure out on my own.
1) Quenching is a waste of time and provides no advantage
2) Carbon left in the necks acts as a lubricant
3) Carbon left in the necks does not effect the annealing process or violate the composition of the brass
4) Annealing before sizing helps with consistency from piece to piece
5) Tumbling brass does not work harden (This article specifically refers to SS tumbling which is way more aggressive on brass than any other form)
My 2 cents

 

[Nude nut]

Thanks. I've looked at this one before but it's so dadgum expensive I'll never be able to justify the expense:

http://www.brownells.com/reloading/...y&utm_campaign=itwine&utm_content=749-017-419

You wont care about that after a couple a hundred cases I felt the same way as you but I do not regret it one bit.

Cheers Trev.

 

[Jet]

Thanks for sharing Jay

 

[243winxb]

Article said , bushing dies , no expander, doesn't work harden the necks as much as a standard neck die.. A good thing.

 

[dogdude]

The best purchases I've made in 17 yrs. of reloading:
1) Hawkeye Borescope, after going to a local gunsmith to get my first Comp. gun borescoped with it set up to a TV, told me what was wrong with the throat and my cleaning regiment,
after 2-3 minuets he was done and said ''that will be $75'', on the way home I did a little math in my head $75 x 10 = a Hawkeye..bought one latter that afternoon, have used it thousands of times..paid for it self the first week.
2)Sartourius GD-503 weighs to .005..nuff said
3) AMP, did the flame method for yrs., then the Annie, watched the above video a couple months ago and e-mailed Alex (AMP guy) about a wildcat I have..''send me six pieces of brass fired 3 times and we'll test it'', a week latter he e-mailed me the setting and put my name on the settings list..6.5x308 Palma Imp. unit is so easy to use even I can do it.
4) Force Measurement gauge (K&M) proves to me my neck tension is were I want it.
The first 3 are expensive and take a little time to ''pull the trigger on'', but all 1,000 yrd. matches are Won at the reloading table..GET THE AMP!!!

 

[missed]

Really $1000 in this game is cheap, I want one, just have not gotten there. I am planning on building my own induction annealer from the induction annealer thread. But the big thing with the AMP is you have the laboratory support that proves and confirms the methods and approach to obtain the desired result. I have access to some of the equipment they utilize for there testing, so when I go to build mine I can run the Vikers hardness test to refine my settings, along with other lab gear to inspect the cases.

 

[Lapua40X]

If proper annealing is a factor of material/mass/time/temperature then how do those who turn the necks of their brass make any necessary adjustments to avoid over annealing?

 

[Willie]

If proper annealing is a factor of material/mass/time/temperature then how do those who turn the necks of their brass make any necessary adjustments to avoid over annealing?

That is the great thing about the AMP annealer, it is backed up by extensive settings in the library. Most makes of brass and numerous neck thicknesses for neck turned brass are listed. Get on the AMP site and go to the Settings menu and you'll be amazed by the amount of variations covered and the Settings Library is continuously being updated.

 

[Mozella]

If proper annealing is a factor of material/mass/time/temperature then how do those who turn the necks of their brass make any necessary adjustments to avoid over annealing?

Tempilaq