What's a reliable temperature indicator for annealing cases?

[Straightshooter1]

Anyone tried an IR thermometer heat gun (Amazon):

Etekcity Lasergrip 1030D Infrared Thermometer (Not for Human) Gun Dual Laser Non-Contact Temperature Filtering-58℉ to 1022℉ (-50℃ to 550℃), 8.9 x 2.2 x 5.3, Yellow & Gray​

It doesn't work for annealing brass as it can't distinguish the heat of the brass from the heat of the source/torch-flame and the brass cools down too fast when removed from the heat source to get an accurate reading.

BTW: The technique shown by Metal God works very well, as I've done this too, but I'd only do it on test brass to get my timing down. Once you've got the timing down, you don't need to put tempilaq on the cases. Having tried this method, I still prefer the faint red glow method; it's just easier.

 

[jepp2]

Anyone tried an IR thermometer heat gun (Amazon):

I've got an IR thermometer. Works great and very accurate. Not worth a sh__ for annealing. It will measure the flame temperature (way too high and worthless for what you want) and the brass cools too quickly to get a reading after you take it out of the flame.

Metal God - when the Tempilaq inside the necks melt, I assume it re-solidifies when cooled or leaves a residue. How do you remove the Tempilaq from the inside of the neck and body once annealing is done so it does not interfere with neck tension or get down in the body of the brass. Do you clean it out?

I'll address this. First, it isn't necessary to coat the inside surface of the case neck as was done in the photos. Put a very thin vertical line inside the case neck. Will give you the same results. Tempilaq is a wax with a color indicator in it. When it reaches the temperature you are using, the wax changes to clear. If you put the flame on it and burn the heck out of it, it will turn black. A very thin stripe of wax inside the case neck will have negligible affect on bullet hold/neck tension/accuracy.

But first you need to decide what temperature you want to achieve. 750 degrees (the most common used Tempilaq) on the neck is stress relieving, not annealing. The dull red glow in a darkened room is approx 1000 degrees depending on how dull the glow is. That is annealing.

You will also read things like:
- you can over anneal and the brass will be dead soft and the necks will collapse when you seat the bullets
- you will burn the zinc out of the neck if the flame turns orange
- and so on and so on
I'll let you come to your own conclusions on these. But I thought the test Eric Cortina did had interesting results and is worth watching.

 

[Metal God]

Metal God - when the Tempilaq inside the necks melt, I assume it re-solidifies when cooled or leaves a residue. How do you remove the Tempilaq from the inside of the neck and body once annealing

Inside the neck I use acitone and a Q-tip . Below the shoulder wipes off easily with a rag while still hot .

Keep in mind you don’t need to tag every case . Only the first 5 or 10 to get the timing down for that batch . Then as above I use a metronome set at that timing . Tik tik tik tok . Put it in the flame at the first tik and remove on the tok .

Jepp2 , is pretty much spot on . You don’t need the whole inside of the neck coated and 750* is only stress relieving and will allow for more bullet hold/grip by the neck for auto loaders while extending brass life and getting some consistency of bullet release . You will need to get the necks hotter to fully anneal like the bench rest guys like for really consistent neck tension and bullet release .

 

[RegionRat]

It doesn't work for annealing brass as it can't distinguish the heat of the brass from the heat of the source/torch-flame and the brass cools down too fast when removed from the heat source to get an accurate reading.

BTW: The technique shown by Metal God works very well, as I've done this too, but I'd only do it on test brass to get my timing down. Once you've got the timing down, you don't need to put tempilaq on the cases. Having tried this method, I still prefer the faint red glow method; it's just easier.

Also…
A good thing to practice with the Tempilaq, is the time difference between the 750 change, and the glow point. You will find there is not much time between the two and with two torches there is even less.

If all you do is split that difference, you would find you can keep the HV roughly below 100 or a little less depending on your set up.

 

[drop_point]

I actual nosed around on a few webpages dedicated to metallurgy and to actually vaporize zinc from the brass was around 1800 degrees plus for greater than the time we spend in the flame.

 

[Woofie]

Anyone tried an IR thermometer heat gun (Amazon):

Etekcity Lasergrip 1030D Infrared Thermometer (Not for Human) Gun Dual Laser Non-Contact Temperature Filtering-58℉ to 1022℉ (-50℃ to 550℃), 8.9 x 2.2 x 5.3, Yellow & Gray​

Wondered about this. I use something similar in the kitchen to ensure pans are properly warmed.