anneling?
- Thread starter Josh11
- Start date
You're not alone, friend! I anneal my cases using a 1/2" Milwaukee variable speed electric drill & a hardware store variety propane torch.
For your first few practice cases, use some old brass you won't be reloading again. Set the inner blue flame of the torch to about 1/2" - 5/8" long, place a case in the drill chuck & run the chuck down to a point where the case is held loosely but can still be tipped out to fall into a non-plastic container.
(Many plastics will melt so they're to be avoided. Using cardboard (my choice) don't heat the brass so hot it creates a fire hazard when dropped into the catcher. It doesn't need to be that hot anyway to anneal properly.)
Use cleaned brass only, before any sizing or other prep work. This helps in gauging the surface appearance, and is also useful for inspecting for other defects like split necks or incipient case separation lines up the case sidewall from the head.
Hold the drill, spinning around 60 RPM, so that the case shoulder is just at the tip of that inner blue cone of flame. The neck will heat faster, so watch carefully. For small cases (6mm) I use a count of five or six before dropping the case into the catcher; for .308 it's more like 7 or 8.
If you're in a dimly lit environment, watch for the first signs that the neck is beginning to glow a dull red then STOP. If you're in a normal room, often you can see the surface of the case begin to change color slightly - usually becoming bluish - at the right temperature.
Note that some brands of brass tend not to show the color change, so this isn't always an available indicator. Lapua is awesome - you want to achieve an appearance just like new Lapua cases when they come out of the box.
The drill chuck acts as a heat sink & will keep the sides & case head from becoming too warm. Some folks advocate dropping the annealed cases into a water bath too but I find that's not necessary, at least from my experience. Air cooling for 15 or 20 minutes before handling is sufficient.
I can run thru a batch of 100 cases in about 45 minutes once I'm set up.
Tempilaq is a commercial product that's useful in "calibrating" your system. I tried the solid crayon type product they offer but it's far less user-friendly than the liquid stuff. It's worth it if you have any doubts about your ability to gauge the right point to stop, considering the cost of ruined brass these days. You don't need to use it on every case, just the first few you're working with until you get a feel for when the necks reach the proper temperature.
http://www.tempil.com/closeup.asp?pid=27&cid=25&theme=0
For your first few practice cases, use some old brass you won't be reloading again. Set the inner blue flame of the torch to about 1/2" - 5/8" long, place a case in the drill chuck & run the chuck down to a point where the case is held loosely but can still be tipped out to fall into a non-plastic container.
(Many plastics will melt so they're to be avoided. Using cardboard (my choice) don't heat the brass so hot it creates a fire hazard when dropped into the catcher. It doesn't need to be that hot anyway to anneal properly.)
Use cleaned brass only, before any sizing or other prep work. This helps in gauging the surface appearance, and is also useful for inspecting for other defects like split necks or incipient case separation lines up the case sidewall from the head.
Hold the drill, spinning around 60 RPM, so that the case shoulder is just at the tip of that inner blue cone of flame. The neck will heat faster, so watch carefully. For small cases (6mm) I use a count of five or six before dropping the case into the catcher; for .308 it's more like 7 or 8.
If you're in a dimly lit environment, watch for the first signs that the neck is beginning to glow a dull red then STOP. If you're in a normal room, often you can see the surface of the case begin to change color slightly - usually becoming bluish - at the right temperature.
Note that some brands of brass tend not to show the color change, so this isn't always an available indicator. Lapua is awesome - you want to achieve an appearance just like new Lapua cases when they come out of the box.
The drill chuck acts as a heat sink & will keep the sides & case head from becoming too warm. Some folks advocate dropping the annealed cases into a water bath too but I find that's not necessary, at least from my experience. Air cooling for 15 or 20 minutes before handling is sufficient.
I can run thru a batch of 100 cases in about 45 minutes once I'm set up.
Tempilaq is a commercial product that's useful in "calibrating" your system. I tried the solid crayon type product they offer but it's far less user-friendly than the liquid stuff. It's worth it if you have any doubts about your ability to gauge the right point to stop, considering the cost of ruined brass these days. You don't need to use it on every case, just the first few you're working with until you get a feel for when the necks reach the proper temperature.
http://www.tempil.com/closeup.asp?pid=27&cid=25&theme=0
Spclark described this very well. I couldn't have given that well of a describtion. Most likely because he is much more experienced than I. How ever I have recently started anneling. He is dead on with 7 to 8 sec for the .308 case. Probably the only thing I could add is that annealing is pretty easy to learn how to do. With just a little practice. I use Lapua brass, but have several hundread Win cases. Some have as many as 9 firings on them and you can almost push a primer in with your thumb on some of them. I knew I kept them for a reason ;D. After just 25 or 30 cases with the old culled Win brass, I annealed my Lapua brass. They came out very well. I use a dewalt cordless drill and the sinclair driver and caseholders. Works well for me. There is probably better ways but it is just what I happen to have so I made use of it to achieve what needed to be done.
Spclark,
I'm glad you posted the link on the Tempilaq. I have thought about reading up on it to better perfect my annealing process.
Good post!
Spclark,
I'm glad you posted the link on the Tempilaq. I have thought about reading up on it to better perfect my annealing process.
Good post!
I use a deep dish socket and extension with the female end cut off. Never thought of using just the chuck itself, not a bad idea. The chuck on my cordless driver has a rubber coating which might begin to melt with continued use.
Always practice with some scrap first. Be ready to accept the fact that your good brass might need more/less time in the heat than the scrap. I learned in the dark but now work in the light after getting enough expierience under my belt.
Its a pretty easy job but you'll always be learning with every different batch.
Always practice with some scrap first. Be ready to accept the fact that your good brass might need more/less time in the heat than the scrap. I learned in the dark but now work in the light after getting enough expierience under my belt.
Its a pretty easy job but you'll always be learning with every different batch.
Yeah, I tried using a 1/4" square drive socket - 7/16" I think - when I had some 6HAGAR cases to anneal a week or so back. They kind of disappeared into the chuck of my Milwaukee drill, so I had to think up an alternative.
Chucked the socket, dropped in a case... the rest is history. Worked great.
For short cases a Sinclair holder is probably a wise investment, unless a suitably-sized socket is in the tool drawer.
I think something to act as a heat sink is important unless you're well practiced in this operation & know when to pull cases out of the flame. I've tried to work to a standard that doesn't allow the case wall surface appearance to change more than 3/8" - 1/2" down from the case side / shoulder intersection on 308 cases, about where I see Lapua sets their limit....
Chucked the socket, dropped in a case... the rest is history. Worked great.
For short cases a Sinclair holder is probably a wise investment, unless a suitably-sized socket is in the tool drawer.
I think something to act as a heat sink is important unless you're well practiced in this operation & know when to pull cases out of the flame. I've tried to work to a standard that doesn't allow the case wall surface appearance to change more than 3/8" - 1/2" down from the case side / shoulder intersection on 308 cases, about where I see Lapua sets their limit....
I use the same stuff to hold cases as skeetlee said. I did about 190 pc of my 6br brass this weekend seems to be fine. I'm holding the middle of the case neck at the feather tip for about 10 to 12 seconds. The look is very uniform a bit less marking from how I'm doing it compared to factory lapua. I can hold a case and hit it across the edge of my bench real hard and it just puts a small flat edge where it hit the table. Before annealing it wouldnt bend that much. Easy little check of the softness and I cant crush them by hand or anything.
I like cigarcop's set up. The sinclair case holder does work well. Just turn the open end toward my pan and with a little shake they fall right into the pan. Hey what ever works works right. I still anneal in a dark room with the door cracked just enough to let in enough light in from the hallway. So I can see to get the next peace of brass, or put the peace I annealed into the pan, and not turn everything over or catch myself on fire. :
;D For safety reasons I put my touch into a vise to keep from turning it over and setting the house on fire. I don't anneal my cases as far down as Lapua does. I'm not sure this is good or bad? I just worry about getting the body or head of the case soft. Isn't this where you want the brass to be stiff? looking at it from a safety factor?
;D For safety reasons I put my touch into a vise to keep from turning it over and setting the house on fire. I don't anneal my cases as far down as Lapua does. I'm not sure this is good or bad? I just worry about getting the body or head of the case soft. Isn't this where you want the brass to be stiff? looking at it from a safety factor?I have used Mr. Clarks's procedure for many years, without a temperature stick. I use MAP gas, and direct the tip of the flame about about an inch away from the neck area. It heats very quickly, and you need to be careful not to overheat nor underheat. This requires a measure of experience.
How does one know when annealing is needed? I anneal about every 6 - 8 rounds, simply because that seems to be the general concensus.
How does one know when annealing is needed? I anneal about every 6 - 8 rounds, simply because that seems to be the general concensus.
tclaunch
Silver $$ Contributor
Josh11, I been annealing for just over 2 yrs now and started out with the kit offered by Hornady. I`m like you and have seen all the new whizz bang set ups out there, and I can honestly say I see no need for an upgrade. The Hornady kit is simple, inexpensive and it works. Nuff said.
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