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Annealing with power drill

Why not just get your brass annealed by a pro like DJBS? IMO, annealing and brass prep are keys to reloading consistency. It all gets down to how important is consistency in your reloading process?
Ben
 
Why not just get your brass annealed by a pro like DJBS? IMO, annealing and brass prep are keys to reloading consistency. It all gets down to how important is consistency in your reloading process?
Ben
Huh. The do-it-yourself aspect of this hobby is one of its most rewarding, I would think. Annealing is so easy and inexpensive to tackle, it would never occur to me I might hand it off to a professional.
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Huh. The do-it-yourself aspect of this hobby is one of its most rewarding, I would think. Annealing is so easy and inexpensive to tackle, it would never occur to me I might hand it off to a professional.
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I'm with you, as I don't have enough to anneal to afford buying a professional unit
 
Can’t see how hand annealing with a torch supports consistancy in the loading process.
Here is your famous quote...In God we trust. All others bring data.
Ben
Yep, and that points at you in this case. If you feel you can prove on the target the superiority of "professional" or automated vs what you call "hand" annealing, it's incumbent on you to provide the data. The burden rests on you to disprove my assertion of the null hypothesis
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Not to highlight a hack approach to annealing, but I stopped annealing via drill in favor of just spinning the rim of the case with my fingertips. It's about an 8 second duration in a pencil tip propane flame, with some calibration based on caliber ie neck brass volume. I've been doing 40 cases in 6.5 Skan which I use for load development only this way and I get consistent seating pressures and the brass is going strong after 9 cycles at modern action pressures. I anneal after every firing and get good results on paper. I almost overannealed a case once but then I had to let go of it. I can't say that the $500 machines aren't accurate, but I can think of more productive things to do with the money. I know everyone loves to think that this stuff is rocket science but the folks who know, know it's not...
 
At one time or another I have owned every commercial annealer on the market, from the drill to the AMP. The only one I haven't used/owned is the Ken Light annealer. I have also owned the DIY Skip annealer and the salt bath annealing kit. They all have pros and cons. Some work very well for one caliber, but become unreliable with a different case/caliber.

I keep coming back to the drill socket, torch and metronome app as my most reliable method for multiple calibers. If you're only using one caliber than there are plenty of goods ones that work for a single caliber.

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Kindest regards,

Joe
How long do you leave it in the heat?
 
Is this with the original MAPP (no longer available) or the MAP-Pro that replaced it and runs cooler?
"Map Pro". Not sure about it being cooler but it has worked for me for 10 to 15 years with no issues.:)
And, you leave it in the heat (7 to 8 seconds) till you see a color change in the shoulder/neck area.
In a darkened room the color change is more obvious. Do some junk brass to get the feel for the process. The color change shows up much better on clean brass.
And Joe Rs pictures? :cool: That's how I do it also. No water dump, just drop them in a pan and move on to the next one.:cool:
Take an old piece of fired brass. Squeeze the neck with a pair of pliers. Now squeeze one that has just been annealed. You'll see/feel the difference. That's what it's all about.;)
 
So if there's less in the can, it costs less and doesn't heat as high as the older stuff, what difference does it really make? Use the MAP-Pro OR use something else. Like I said, been working for me for the last 10 to 15 years with no issues. I don't use a lot so the can lasts me a long time.


This looks interesting, Is there anybody out there familiar with this device?

Had one, and after thinking about it a bit, figured it took more fuel to get the case hot so I got rid on it without ever using it.

Regular torch seems to work pretty good so why change? It can also be used for other things besides heating brass cases.
 
Awhile back,bought a battery powered metronome off fleabay.6-7$.I bought it for dry fire practice on a bolt action offhand work.Learned a lot,improves muscle memory yadayada.

What's interesting is how easy it adjusts the count,or beats per minute(watch your heart rate whilst dry firing).....it can be used for bullet casting and annealing chores.I'm using a swivel bench vise to hold drill motor/socket for annealing.Torch sits on welding table,swing drill to a stop,puts the case in exactly the same spot of flame.....tick tock,tick tock.6seconds,swivel out,change case,repeat.
 
Awhile back,bought a battery powered metronome off fleabay.6-7$.I bought it for dry fire practice on a bolt action offhand work.Learned a lot,improves muscle memory yadayada.

What's interesting is how easy it adjusts the count,or beats per minute(watch your heart rate whilst dry firing).....it can be used for bullet casting and annealing chores.I'm using a swivel bench vise to hold drill motor/socket for annealing.Torch sits on welding table,swing drill to a stop,puts the case in exactly the same spot of flame.....tick tock,tick tock.6seconds,swivel out,change case,repeat.
Very good idea,I'm going to try this
 
6 seconds for a 0.308 lapua case, based on Tempilaq results and using propane (blue canister). Did try MAPP gas (yellow canister) but too easy to overheat. Clean cases first and brush inside of necks.
Good info, what temp Tempilaq should I use and how far down case should I paint it on
 
Good info, what temp Tempilaq should I use and how far down case should I paint it on

I paint a line of 475F Tempilaq from where the case body meets the shoulder down to the extractor ring.

I remove the case from the flame when the Tempilaq has melted to about 1/4 inch below the shoulder/body junction.

Others will have different methods but this is what I settled on doing. Hope it helps.
 
Muleman,

If it helps, these .308 Lapua cases were annealed using propane for 5,6,7 & 8 seconds as indicated. They are all from the same batch and all were cleaned together in the tumbler. The necks are turned to 0.014.

At 5 seconds the neck retains most of its 'normal' colour after tumbling and a blueish line below the shoulder is just becoming evident.

At 6 seconds and above the neck colour changes to a dull copper look and the blue line gets stronger.

Martin
 

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