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Flashhole deburring before trim? Annealing?

DngBat7

Silver $$ Contributor
Reloading question.

1. Do I have to trim length of brass before I can debut the flash hole? I know the cone on the flash hole debur tool sits on the neck of the brass. I am assuming if it’s not trimmed, it won’t be even surface at the top of the neck???? This is not new brass I am talking about. It is once fired factory hornady ammo

2. At what point do I anneal? Is it necessary? And what is a budget annealing machine???

Thanks again for all the help I have been receiving with all my questions
 
1. Do I have to trim length of brass before I can debut the flash hole? I know the cone on the flash hole debur tool sits on the neck of the brass. I am assuming if it’s not trimmed, it won’t be even surface at the top of the neck???? This is not new brass I am talking about. It is once fired factory hornady ammo

I guess your deburring tool has a stop that rests on the case mouth. However this deburring is more by feel than a precise operation. Merely to cut a burr if it's even present. Long before these 'custom' tools were even made I just knocked the burr off with a drill bit in my hands. Remember it's for 'deburring' not to carve a cone shape into the inside of the case head.
 
I guess your deburring tool has a stop that rests on the case mouth. However this deburring is more by feel than a precise operation. Merely to cut a burr if it's even present. Long before these 'custom' tools were even made I just knocked the burr off with a drill bit in my hands. Remember it's for 'deburring' not to carve a cone shape into the inside of the case head.


Double down on M-61 said! This is deburring not removing anything more than the burr. I also use a drill bit, just a couple turns and that's it. Try it and tap the case out on your bench and you'll see how much you have removed.

Paul
 

These INTERNET PHOTOS show exactly what I would avoid. Which is a long way from removing a burr. I have only my own thoughts on this, nothing scientific and 'just' removing any burr is what I do. I have no idea if this cone is beneficial or harmful. Repeat-ability would be interesting. Just the size of the flash hole(small vs.large) seems to be somewhat debatable never mind this 'cone' effect. All of this is my opinion, meaning what I do works for me in my rifles.
 
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Unless you're using high-end brass which is drilled, most brass is punched leaving the burr on the inside corner of the flash hole, not just the hole itself. There is a reason why most if not all commercial flash hole deburring tools have an angled cutting edge and some form of static or adjustable stop. It sets the minor chamfer on the inside edge to to eliminate the burr caused by the direction of the "punch". This still maintains consistent primer ignition.
To answer your question Dan S, if you use an adjustable deburring tool guided on the case mouth...yes, you need to trim brass first. Either tool design will give consistent cut.
 
Reloading question.

1. Do I have to trim length of brass before I can debut the flash hole? I know the cone on the flash hole debur tool sits on the neck of the brass. I am assuming if it’s not trimmed, it won’t be even surface at the top of the neck???? This is not new brass I am talking about. It is once fired factory hornady ammo

2. At what point do I anneal? Is it necessary? And what is a budget annealing machine???

Thanks again for all the help I have been receiving with all my questions

This post will probably make some guys cry, but.......Yes you trim first, but not because it wont run true on the neck. The reason to trim first is so that when you set the stop on your tool you will be able to get them all the same {as long as they are all trimmed to the same length}. If your tool lacks a stop and it is intended to be used by "feel" get rid of it. As far as just barely giving it a kiss...some shooters do that. Personally, if I am going to go to all this trouble for accuracy I really want them all the same mechanically.....and that does not include believing they all "feel" the same. To be clear, no, you do not want the entire top of the flash hole heavily or deeply beveled, but you do want them all the same so the powder gets the same "spray of fire" from the primer, brass case wise.
There are a lot of opinions regarding when to anneal. Some do it every time they load the case. Some wait until they hear the expander ball chirp on the hardened case necks when being withdrawn from the die. The biggest thing to annealing cases is that, just like the flash holes, you get them all the same. The most cost effective annealing machine I know of is a propane torch. Might not be the best, certainly not the most expensive and it is not the most consistent, but it is the most cost effective and in the right hands/eyes it does just fine.
 

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