Thoughts on anealing (sp?).....

[cloverleaf]

OK first off I'm not sure of my spelling.... . Second I am always up for an experiment. Read a couple things and watched a few youtube videos, all in pursuit of a consistently accurate group. So - first thought- is annealing (neck tension)a variable I should be worrying about? Am I better served to focus on a different variable instead? I don't plan on sub half inch groups at 100 no matter what.
I would like to make the old 250 Savage shoot really once again. I plan on investing in a pound of powder for the recommended best load from the latest Nosler mannual. But I digress.... So IF I want to extend the life of my brass by annealing, heres what I did:

Chuck the 1/2 deep socket in the drill and spin them in the pictured butane flame. Thought the results looked pretty consistient. Second thought- Am I a fool to try this w/o temp laq? I think I got down a pretty good process but visual is not an exact science.

As you can see I held a couple on the left in the flame for a while but I didn't really see them get red hot. The color change in the brass moved significantly down the case.

I gave a bunch of them the crush test with the pliers but really couldn't tell any difference between the untouched brass, the annealed, and the stuff in the fire too long.

All the brass I used was scrap and on its 5th firing, at least. I probably should have cleaned it before annealing.

I'd be willing to do it in the interest of consistent accuracy. Not sure its worth it to save my brass when I could form it from 22-250 if needed, and I can still buy it.

All in all, I had fun with my experiment. Not enough experience to know what it really tells me. Anybody else have thoughts?

 

[Rol_P]

Cloverleaf, I am "thrifty" and want the extended life in my cases and improved accuracy, consistency in my reloads. Like you I use the 1/2" socket in my Dewalt battery powered drill to spin my cases in the flame while I count, one-one thousand, two one thousand.. and so on all the way to six one thousand. Before I started I purchased the Templaque, (spelling?) to indicate when the desired temperature was reached. As you know, the objective is to anneal the neck only, not the case body to soften the brass and create problems.

Experimenting can be fun, but try to keep the case color limited to the neck only. With a little practice, consistent flame size and counting sequence you should be able to achieve acceptable results. I do not load enough to justify the expense of an automated machine, or want to have another piece of equipment to keep track of. Good luck, and stay safe... Rol

 

[ShadeTree]

What Rol P said. Except I count to between 3-5 depending on the brass and probably a slight variance in my flame heat, changes in drill speed from 1 time to the next, etc, etc.

Regardless once you do one or 2 with a current setup, you get a feel for when that brass will flash over and change color. I direct the flame at the neck/shoulder junction. You will find about the time you see it change color then you quickly pull the flame away, it will continue for a brief second to flash over farther down from where your flame was. A line just below the shoulder junction maybe a 1/4 of the way down the case body is about as far as you would want it. I try to duplicate factory annealed brass I've purchased and that's how they look. You for sure don't want brass softened from heat, down in the middle of the case body.

 

[ShadeTree]

CL, guess it's 6 of 1 and 1/2 dozen of another and I'm not saying my way is better, but in looking at your pictures I see 1 thing you're doing that would be more awkward for me. But whichever way you're more comfortable.

I do the opposite. I put the drill in a vice so the chuck is standing vertically, and hold the hand held torch. You can zip tie the trigger if you wish so the drill is always spinning the same speed from 1 cartridge to the next. I'm right handed so I hold the torch in my right hand and with a gloved left hand I can toss the annealed case and drop in the next one.

 

[cloverleaf]

Thanks Guys! Looks like Im not too far off. Maybe focusing the flame a little more on the neck itself. Now too find the time....CL

 

[SJB358]

Take a peak at the candle method to CL. It’s a pretty decent baseline to know how much heat it takes to soften the necks.

Neck tension is very important. Without consistent neck tension you’re altering the release of the bullet at different times.

 

[hunter24605]

I got setup for molten salt bath annealing and that's the easiest and most consistent method I've found without dropping a bunch of cash on a machine. So far I've been pleased with the results. The little Lee Melter pot has no trouble keeping the salts annealing temp, I downloaded a Metronome app and just let it run and count the ticks when I put brass in the salts. Here's some 270 brass that I gave 5 ticks with the metronome. Although I think I need to adjust the depth on the annealing plate to a little less shallow for these particular cases.

 

[Thebear_78]

I did the exact same thing with the metronome app and salt bath annealing.

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[mjcmichigan]

I had a thought will reading the thread.

I have an infrared thermometer for the BBQ. I could get a temperature reading on the case necks to make sure I’m in a temp band I like...

Great thread CL!


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[mjcmichigan]

What about using an infrared thermometer to make sure the necks are consistently heated.

This one goes to 700+

http://www.walmart.com/ip/LCD-IR-Infrar ... /124410397


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[mjcmichigan]

Sorry for the double post. Got an error on the first and it looked like it did t post..


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