Help diagnose my inconsistent seating pressure issue

[CatShooter]

OK guys I believe I've found the source of the inconsistent seating pressure as well as the solution. I used to
1. Deprime
2. Clean brass with SS pins (1 hour)
3. Anneal
etc...

My hypothesis was: does the annealing raise the grain of brass much like water raises the grain of wood? The answer is don't know, but if does what would I do about it? The answer is polish it smooth again so that there is normal seating pressure. How do I polish brass? Very simple, with SS pins. So by reversing the order
1. Deprime
2. Anneal
3. Clean and polish the brass with SS pins (1 hour)
etc...

It works. I did it today. The ss pins polish the brass and even remove the neck annealing color. The brass comes out new as if you just opened the package and the bullets seat smooth as silk. No PJ needed.

Kindest regards,

Joe

"My hypothesis was: does the annealing raise the grain of brass much like water raises the grain of wood? The answer is don't know, but if does what would I do about it? The answer is polish it smooth again so that there is normal seating pressure."

It doesn't raise the grain ( )... but it does change the feeling of the surface - a fellow I knew described it as feeling "grabby".

I have always sized, annealed and then polished as the last step, to get rid of the grabbiness. Laupa does also.

 

[Joe R]

hkfan45 said:
How does annealing have any effect on the smoothness of the inside of the case neck? As long as you are polishing before sizing, what difference does it make if you polish before annealing?

It doesn't make any difference if you polish before annealing, but annealing does make the brass neck "grabby" as Catshooter put it. So, if you want, you can polish twice, before annealing and before sizing/seating. My guess is that "grabby" necks may contribute to runout issues as well. YMMV.

CatShooter said:
It doesn't raise the grain ( )... but it does change the feeling of the surface - a fellow I knew described it as feeling "grabby".

Catshooter,
Thanks for confirming my lay person suspicion. Your professional input is appreciated and valued. I'm just glad not to have to use PJ. Everything effects everything else, so anytime I can eliminate another variable is a good day.

Kindest regards,

Joe