annealing

[dbaird]

Haven't tried to annealing brass yet. Will try with hand held propane torch. What do I put on case shoulder and neck to tell when it it hot enough so as not to over heat. Any advise on this procedure would be appreciated.

 

[lpreddick]

There is a product...templiq or some other spelling. I tried it but could not see the color change I was supposed to see. I use a propane torch and spin cases in a case holder with an insert going into a b&d drill mounted upside down in a vise.

 

[Sheldon N]

I do it with a torch and a drill. I connect a long socket to the drill that fits a case perfectly leaving just the neck exposed, so I can drop the case into the socket then just spin/anneal and dump it out when I'm finished. Never used tempilaq, and watching for case color change can be hit and miss depending on how clean the brass is. After watching many other people's annealing videos I just settled on 6-7 seconds per case and use a metronome to ensure I count properly. Quick, easy and simple.

 

[dbaird]

Do you anneal the necks to the shoulder? Do you want the flame to tough the shoulder at all?

 

[spclark]

Depends on whether you're after consistent neck tension and longest neck longevity alone or if you also want consistent shoulder bump when resizing.

I routinely anneal my brass (of all cartridges) with the torch flame focused but just off the case shoulders. The inner bluer flame is what I consider most important here, I like it about 1" - 1-1/4" long.

This way I get what feel I need: annealed necks (get hotter than the shoulders) as well as shoulders that don't resist being set back during a cycle thru my sizing dies.

Nothing fancy whatsoever in my hardware: single propane torch, 1/4" drive deep socket for case holder (stuff aluminum foil in first if cases drop in too deep), Milwaukee 1/2" 110V drill on a speed control set to ~ 80 rpm. Cases take 5 - 8 seconds, depending on cartridge size; 6HAGAR currently the smallest, 284WIN the largest.

Annealing cases in a drill press with the necks on the bottom may present issues not encountered with them held horizontal; remember heat rises!

 

[FeMan]

I would recommend using Tempilaq 700 or 750 on the inside of the case necks at first. Once I got the feel of annealing I stopped using it. It does help ensure that you don't over-do it though. I aim my flame on the lower portion of the neck. The dwell time depends on flame temp (of course) as well as brass thickness and surface area.

 

[Sheldon N]

Flame is going to touch the shoulder to some degree, but I point the torch at the neck. I try to be consistent in both drill speed and angle/position of the case when I hold it in the flame, usually right at the internal blue point of the torch inner flame.

 

[SWRichmond]

I use a drill and a torch like others here. I aim the flame at the junction where the shoulder meets the case body with the flame pointing slightly toward the neck. I am nearly touching it to the inter blue flame while spinning the case for what amounts to be four seconds maybe 5. Torch is turned down fairly low, inner flame is about an inch long. I do it in a mostly darkened garage and when I just begin to see color change on the neck I remove the case from the flame.

Never used tempilaq. Works great.

 

[comagutsa]

i made my own as i got sick of the hit and mis for time holding a drill and socket , used tempilaq 700f to find right temp so i could set speed

 

[BCBRAD]

Do the drill socket method with a propane torch, at my normal counting rate it takes a count of 13 to equal 8 seconds for the large cases , count to 8 for 223 for 5 seconds, works ok.

 

[Longtrain]

I have an older manual Ballistic Edge annealer, which allows me to slide and withdraw one case at a time into the flame.

I paint a small strip inside the necks of each case of Tempilaq 750F, which dries instantly, as the case enters the flame, it takes jut a couple of seconds depending on the caliber and brass thickness to turn from blue to black, which at that time it is withdrawn and the case drops through a hole into a small bucket under the annealer. I could just time the burn time, and not paint each case, but that's my choice.

Initially, on a test case, I'll paint a long strip from the base to the shoulder with Tempilaq 450F and a small strip of 750F inside the neck, once this case is annealed you can see that the 450F burns only slightly below the shoulder, not coming close to the base of the case, insuring that the case head did not get hot enough to cause a case failure.

This isn't really as fast as other annealers, but for my purposes works great. Case life is extended greatly and resizing is very accurate, bumping shoulders is very consistant. I usually anneal after 3 firings.

 

[nmkid]

It's important that the annealing is done right. But, don't over think it. It really is a simple process. Lots of good advice already given.