Bench Source Annealing and 308 brass

[FTRinTexas]

Just received my BenchSource Annealing machine and the Tempilaq paint. Ran my 1st bunch of 308 brass. Followed the instructions but have a couple of concerns:

• The 650 Tempilaq turned black and not clear with the timer at 3.5 seconds for 308 brass. The blue tipped flames were touching the brass. Did I get the brass too hot? After existing the flames, the case mouth had a dull orange glow for a split second then gone.
• The 350 Templaq didn't change color at all. Thinking I'm good with that.

 

[ar15topgun]

Was your brass still shiney in the neck area? Could you compress the neck with your fingers? If not you should be ok.

 

[FTRinTexas]

Spoke with BenchSource, great folks to deal with. Brass is good to go. Tip he gave me was to use the 650 Tempilaq on the inside of the case mouth.

 

[Cigarcop]

I would go 4 to 4 1/4 seconds on the 308's and keep the blue tip about 1/4 inch from the middle of the shoulders. Just my 2ct!

 

[infantrytrophy]

I would go 4 to 4 1/4 seconds on the 308's and keep the blue tip about 1/4 inch from the middle of the shoulders. Just my 2ct!

If you use 4 1/4 sec for .308, what about 6BR? Same time, or a little less? 6BR is a little smaller (less mass), but the wall thickness of the Lapua 6BR brass is at least as much as the .308 brass.

Thanks,

Randy

 

[Shootinstick]

Looked at BenchSource web site. Machine looks interesting, but I hate pages with no prices posted. Makes me think it must be free! Any idea what the price of the annealing machine is?

 

[7stubby]

https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/20450

 

[Cigarcop]

I would go 4 to 4 1/4 seconds on the 308's and keep the blue tip about 1/4 inch from the middle of the shoulders. Just my 2ct!

If you use 4 1/4 sec for .308, what about 6BR? Same time, or a little less? 6BR is a little smaller (less mass), but the wall thickness of the Lapua 6BR brass is at least as much as the .308 brass.

Thanks,

Randy

Randy, ....I would lump it in with the 308 and 6.5x47 as well for the same time.

.223... 3-3.25 Sec

 

[btm_54]

Bench-source are a really good machines. The after sales service is great.
They are economical to run. When I started with mine I got a batch of old "range kill" brass to experiment with which worked well for me.
I noticed different brands of brass react differently at the same times.
I really like the one size fits all no extra do-dads to buy.
The main thing I have worked out I wanted to pass on was waxing the deck of the machine so the cases move at a consistent rate and do not stick or fall over. I found Lanotec was the best cleaner and lubricant for the deck.
All my buddies who see it going "want one"
My main problem with the bench-source has been running out of cases to do.

 

[jonbearman]

On benchsource's site there are orices.You are not looking at the right page.You have to open the additional imfo page.I have the one size does all myself and have had no problems with cases tipping or sticking.

 

[SmokinJoe]

I have had no issues with tipping brass either (except for my clummsy fingers), but BenchSource told me that I might need to wax or silicone the deck for smoothe brass movement.

BTW, I would caution anyone trying to set up their machine based on someone else's results. It might get you a start point, but you need to do your own final settings because the torches can vary significantly, then there are the guys that use some Mapp gas torches, too (like me). The best advice was given above. Get some junk brass, polish it up, then run it until you are confident that you know what you are doing. Then run your good brass. It really doesn't take much time or resources to do this, but it could save you a LOT of consternation. I do love my BenchSource annealing machine.

 

[FTRinTexas]

Re-adjusted the torch heads so that the pencil blue flame is 1/4" from the middle of the shoulder. Put the Tempilaq 650F on the inside of the neck and on the case body per the photo on BenchSource's Setup Instructions. The Tempilaq is turning BLACK and not CLEAR. What am I doing wrong?

 

[Erik Cortina]

Re-adjusted the torch heads so that the pencil blue flame is 1/4" from the middle of the shoulder. Put the Tempilaq 650F on the inside of the neck and on the case body per the photo on BenchSource's Setup Instructions. The Tempilaq is turning BLACK and not CLEAR. What am I doing wrong?

You might try taking your sunglasses off! ;D

 

[Kyle Schultz]

Paul:

I have same setup and had the same experience initially.

Did you buy any thinner? My problem was that I was applying the Tempilaq too thick. Thin it down and try to apply a thin layer.

I'm running 4.3 sec on my .284 cases. I'll see if I can find the pics of the annealed brass to send you. Just keep playing with it. It is a wonderful machine. Good luck!

 

[1967spud]

ive got one on itsway in to the uk at the moment its trying to clear customs

 

[btm_54]

A buddy came over to visit last week with some spare bottles for the "bench source" and managed 8700 cases in 3 sittings.
The cases were mainly 308 cases win and 223 Rem cases. I left him to it I think his best innings was 5200 Rem cases in one sitting.

 

[jonbearman]

What could be better than customs.

 

[jonbearman]

I have done probably thousands and cant believe it goes so fast once you get the rythym . At 3 seconds you do 20 per minute then it becomes obvious you did 1200 per hour. if you are up to it. Damn thats fast,LOL The best investment I ever did was buy my own machine. I have a friend who is afraid to use it thinking it will ruin his 6ppc brass. He runs them for 5 or 6 reloads and throws them into the scrap bin. I have recently,finally got him talked into saving it by annealing and testing it against his work hardened stuff. I know guys who anneal every time they reload. I do it every third time.

 

[geordiesniper]

I also have the Benchsource annealer and use it to anneal my 284 Shehane cases. I use 750f green paint inside the neck and put a line down to the middle of the case. Also I put 375f pink paint from midway down to the case head.
With the blue pencil flame midway between the burner nozzle end and the case neck it takes about 5 seconds to anneal and turns the green paint black to about 1/8 of an inch below the shoulder, and the pink paint turns red for about 1/8 of an inch as well, so the headstamp remains below 375f to make sure it remains hard.
Do not use other peoples settings but get your own sorted as how high/low you have the flame will determine the time your cases are in the flame. Your cases should not glow at all but you should end up with the necks a golden colour and a bluish ring just below the shoulder. The rest of the case should not change.
I do have a few photos but they are a little large for this site unfortunately.

 

[1967spud]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yec8Yy3fEdg