If annealing cases for necking down do you quench or not??

[Ogre6br]

Hi
I'm try annealling for the first time- using a MAP gas.
If the purpose of your annealing is so its easier to neck down the case do you still quench the case after is annealed or do you let it air cool to keep it soft??

thanks

later
P
BTW- trying to form 223R into 221FB

 

[jwv2001]

First of all, you have a heck of a job ahead of you if you're trying to form 221 FB out of 223 brass. It will probably be much cheaper,time and aggravation) to just buy 221 FB brass,approx. $22/100). If you load them sane they should last forever. The problem with forming them,well, you'll see) and then you have to turn the necks because you'll be down in the thick part of the brass.
When annealing brass, once the target temperature is reached the job is done. The reason you quench the case right away is to keep the high temp from migrating down the case. If the area around the case head get annealed,i.e. soft) then the brass becomes useless.

 

[Asa_Yam]

The reason you quench the case right away is to keep the high temp from migrating down the case. If the area around the case head get annealed,i.e. soft) then the brass becomes useless.

If you stand the cases in a pan of water or metal "loading block", the need to quench goes away. The water or metal block prevent heat from migrating to the case head.

 

[kitsap]

If you have not read this article, it gives you some good background information.

Annealing

 

[SF340Driver]

First of all, you have a heck of a job ahead of you if you're trying to form 221 FB out of 223 brass. It will probably be much cheaper,time and aggravation) to just buy 221 FB brass,approx. $22/100). If you load them sane they should last forever. The problem with forming them,well, you'll see) and then you have to turn the necks because you'll be down in the thick part of the brass.
When annealing brass, once the target temperature is reached the job is done. The reason you quench the case right away is to keep the high temp from migrating down the case. If the area around the case head get annealed,i.e. soft) then the brass becomes useless.

??????????????
I form 221FB from 223 Winchester brass and it works great. I run it thru a Redding Type S FL die with out the decapping rod/button in place, trim to length, size once more with the button and load up. I don't turn the necks as there is no need to with winchester or Lapua match brass. BTW: I am shooting it in a SAMMI min spec chamber.

The problem with Remington 221 brass is the fact that the neck is extremely short. The OAL of the case is around 1.390. The min OAL for a SAMMI chamber is 1.432. I trim to 1.427 with my chamber and I get almost no growth after 10 firings.

I have shot reformed 223 brass for years without annealing, but since I got my Ken Light annealer I have started. The neck of the brass is heated up to temp very quickly and there is not enough mass to migrate enough temp to the case head to become an issue, therefore you don't need to quench the brass if you heat it quickly.

 

[Allene]

I have a couple questions and a comment or so. I would like to know if anyone annealing their brass concerns themselves with the burnt powder residue or does anything in the way of cleaning it away prior to annealing? I just wondered if the carbon content may vary the results in any way. Second, in the Ken Light machine, the brass is dropped into a dry container. I own one and although I've read the previous article a couple times, he states the reason is to keep from having to dry the brass prior to continuing the sizing operations. Wouldn't it be advantageous to drop the cases into water and allow the cases to stop the annealing process more quickly? I know he knows much more than I will ever know about annealing but it just seems that would be the more logical process. Finally, has anyone had any success in contacting Ken as I have left numerous messages on his 800 # and have yet to receive a return call? I would like to order an additional plate and have had no luck at all.
Thanks,
Allen E