Anyone with Giraud Annealer Experience?

[BigDMT]

My father-in-law and I ordered a Giraud Annealing machine today. Looks like it's the way to go for annealing large quantities of brass. Figure the large capacity hopper hopefully means less time babysitting the machine at the bench.

I was wondering if any of you folks have one? Looking for reviews and pointers on setting it up. Or perhaps any successful modifications you have made to improve it in any way and why?

Thanks

 

[fl3gun]

Buy a hose to run it from a 20lb grill tank. The flame will stay much more consistant over long sessions.

 

[21shooter]

Nice unit, fast and trouble free,Load it up,get some brass prep done.
hint....tilt the unit back about 2deg.(shim under front legs)will keep longer cases from falling out before time is up
Thanks, John R Perkins Jr

 

[TerryPohl]

Same as the 2 above post, tilted mine and put a 20# bottle with a high pressure regulator. Have a cheat sheet on the side for the time I set it for different cases. Great machines.
Terry Pohl

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

I like mine very much. I don't know about using a 20lb grill tank, the regular tanks last a long time, especially since the nozzle is just about closed when in use. The tilting back a little bit is a good idea. I usually do 100 cases at a time, sometimes 200. I start it up, make sure everything is good and then load up the hopper and monitor. I never leave the machine running alone.

Edited for spelling.

 

[TerryPohl]

Bayou I only went to the big tank with a high pressure regulator is so after I got my flame set all I have to do is turn the bottle on and off and the flame stays the same. Of coarse I still have to adjust the tip for different case sizes.
Terry Pohl

 

[searcher]

I'd like to preface my experience with this annealer as saying it is a great machine and no regrets buying it. I have managed to jam it a few times when a small (short) case such as a 6ppc or 6br drops and stands up vertically, resulting in the turning wheel above to catch on it, thereby jambing the mechanism and stripping a gear in the motor gearbox. Possibly my fault in not taking the time to get everthing "just right" before running a large batch. The first time this happened, I was quickly sent a replacement motor assembly for replacement. Even though I was advised the gearbox portion of the motor assembly is not serviceable, I took the damaged one apart anyway to check it out. Turns out if you strip a gear, the remaining four or five gears can be used to replace a stripped gear in the future. After doing this several times (I have annealed a kazillion pieces of brass), I decided to lower the moving aluminum strip that holds the brass while heating by an inch (which also invoved a few material cuts and a few small additional pieces added) Problem solved and only cost about $10.00 for the aluminum and a tap to put in a few screws. I still have to keep an eye on the machine in case of a vertically dropped case, yet I now have time to remove a vertical case before the wheel drops another case - whereas before, it would jamb before I could be fast enough to the off switch. On larger cases, no problems at all - even before my modification. If you get in a pinch, you can also repair some of the gears by first cleaning with spray gun cleaner, then silver soldering. A few of the gears are clustered with a little one on top of a little one and the little one breaks loose and turns independantly of the larger one - which it is not suposed to do. The silver solder trick is quick and may get your machine back up and running quickly.

 

[BigDMT]

I'd like to preface my experience with this annealer as saying it is a great machine and no regrets buying it. I have managed to jam it a few times when a small (short) case such as a 6ppc or 6br drops and stands up vertically, resulting in the turning wheel above to catch on it, thereby jambing the mechanism and stripping a gear in the motor gearbox. Possibly my fault in not taking the time to get everthing "just right" before running a large batch. The first time this happened, I was quickly sent a replacement motor assembly for replacement. Even though I was advised the gearbox portion of the motor assembly is not serviceable, I took the damaged one apart anyway to check it out. Turns out if you strip a gear, the remaining four or five gears can be used to replace a stripped gear in the future. After doing this several times (I have annealed a kazillion pieces of brass), I decided to lower the moving aluminum strip that holds the brass while heating by an inch (which also invoved a few material cuts and a few small additional pieces added) Problem solved and only cost about $10.00 for the aluminum and a tap to put in a few screws. I still have to keep an eye on the machine in case of a vertically dropped case, yet I now have time to remove a vertical case before the wheel drops another case - whereas before, it would jamb before I could be fast enough to the off switch. On larger cases, no problems at all - even before my modification. If you get in a pinch, you can also repair some of the gears by first cleaning with spray gun cleaner, then silver soldering. A few of the gears are clustered with a little one on top of a little one and the little one breaks loose and turns independently of the larger one - which it is not supposed to do. The silver solder trick is quick and may get your machine back up and running quickly.

That was the same feedback I got from 2 other members through PM's. So I decided to cancel my order today because I don't want the hassle of having to wait on new parts when something goes wrong. That could ruin a good varmint hunt for us

Will be getting a Bench Source Vertex machine for about the same price instead. Excellent reviews and the same wheel will handle cases as small as the 22 hornet up to the largest magnums so no need to be changing out parts like with the Giraud every time I want to anneal different size cases. Has 2 head burner, digital timer, and rotates the case same as the Giraud. Plus Bench Source can ship us a machine by the end of next week so the wait will be minimal compared to the 12 week production time of the Giraud.

Thank you all so much for your valuable input, but I think I made the right decision. Take care

 

[Mr. Ten-X]

Exactly what is the price of the Bench Source Vertex machine?

 

[BigDMT]

directly from bench source it is $522 and change including shipping, but then if you pay with a check or money order, you save another $15. So about $507 shipped

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

Bayou I only went to the big tank with a high pressure regulator is so after I got my flame set all I have to do is turn the bottle on and off and the flame stays the same. Of coarse I still have to adjust the tip for different case sizes.
Terry Pohl

Thanks for the explanation and it does make sense. I adjust my flame so the blue center is at the same place every time and then I load up the hopper and let fly.

I'm sure BigDMT made the right decision especially if he wants to do small cases and a 12 week wait is a pain. I will say that I only anneal .308 cases because that's pretty much all I've been shooting these past several years; a few thousand rounds a year in competition and the Giraud has been flawless. I like the hopper capacity.

 

[Duster_360]

After you've had a chance to use yours a little, please post back and let us know what you think.

I'm in the market for an annealer and it helps hearing from folks actually using one.

 

[Mudcat]

I have had both, I now only have the Giruad, I gave the Vortex to my cabinet maker bud (someone got some new cabinets in the loading room!). I like the big hopper, auto feed, etc. I have had a few cases jam up (out of THOUSANDS), but have done no damage and if you keep a reasonable eye on things, its not a concern.

 

[BigDMT]

I have had both, I now only have the Giruad, I gave the Vortex to my cabinet maker bud (someone got some new cabinets in the loading room!). I like the big hopper, auto feed, etc. I have had a few cases jam up (out of THOUSANDS), but have done no damage and if you keep a reasonable eye on things, its not a concern.

Have you annealed cases as small as the 221 fireball? I ask because I've heard the shorter cases have way more trouble in the Giraud than longer designs.

Shorter cases we are plan on annealing are 20 VarTarg, 17 Pee Wee (30 carbine parent case), 20 Practical, 204 Ruger, 223 Rem, 22-250, 6.5 Grendel, 6.8 SPC, etc... Then of course larger cases used in hunting rifles.

 

[BigDMT]

After you've had a chance to use yours a little, please post back and let us know what you think.

I'm in the market for an annealer and it helps hearing from folks actually using one.

Will do