heating brass

[Ed333]

Another newbie question...I use an Ultrasonic cleaner on deprimed brass...in order to dry the clean brass thoroughly, I started using a high wattage Photoflood bulb in a reflector, close up to a pan full of brass. Come back in a couple of hours, and the brass is dry. However, it is also too hot to handle. Is it possible that it is getting TOO hot? Or are annealing temperatures way above what I would get from a high intensity light bulb? This is 6BR brass, all Lapua.

 

[spclark]

Not likely. What's too hot to handle without gloves starts at about 140F. Just as a quick check, take a hot case & drop it into some water, listen for a slight sizzle & watch for steam. Or drop one onto a piece of paper towel & look for scorching after a minute.

I doubt those cases'll be much above 180 - 200F given how quickly brass passes heat off to the air.

 

[Immike]

It takes a temperature above 482 degrees to have any effect on the brass. I have no way to guess the temperature of your lamps but you can use a temperature gun or templique to find out.

 

[Ed333]

Happy to read these responses...I will try the 'drop into some water' test. This is by far and away the best way I have found to quickly and thoroughly dry the brass. I rinse it in a colander, coming out of the utlrasonic cleaner, with boiling water, and that dries the exterior surface pretty well, but still wet inside. The Photoflood reflector lamp takes care of that quickly.

 

[spclark]

Never thought about a photoflood... certainly puts out enough heat!

I myself use a denatured alcohol rinse after the last water rinse, then leave 'em on a 'rat wire' screen (1/4" or 3/16" hardware cloth) in the sun for a few hours. If I'm in a real hurry I'll hold 50 or so in my NECO sieve over an industrial heat gun I used to use for working plastic laminate into curves. This operation requires heavy gloves though as that sieve gets too hot to hold real quick!

 

[Webster]

I dry wet cases in the kitchen stove oven because I can control the temperature. I put the cases on a piece of aluminum foil with the edges turned up. The lowest temp I can set on the oven is 225F. I put an oven thermometer in the oven. When the oven reaches 225F I turn the oven off. and I put the cases in the oven and let them dry for a couple hours. The oven loses temp when you open the door. I don't remember what the thermometer read when I shut the door after putting the cases in. Whatever it was your about 400F below any annealing temperatures.

 

[spclark]

I dry wet cases in the kitchen stove oven because I can control the temperature.

Yeah but can you control your significant other?

I try that it'd be divorce central in about two breaths....

 

[Ed333]

I dry wet cases in the kitchen stove oven because I can control the temperature. I put the cases on a piece of aluminum foil with the edges turned up. The lowest temp I can set on the oven is 225F. I put an oven thermometer in the oven. When the oven reaches 225F I turn the oven off. and I put the cases in the oven and let them dry for a couple hours. The oven loses temp when you open the door. I don't remember what the thermometer read when I shut the door after putting the cases in. Whatever it was your about 400F below any annealing temperatures.

I did that once, and was sitting at the counter reading a book, guarding the process (wife was not at home, but due any minute), when there was a big POOF sound and a flash through the window of the oven door. Evidently some powder residue had survived the ultrasonic washing...never did that again. Never told the spouse about it either. :
But I had the oven running, so that much was different.