Tried my hand at annealing

[DrMike]

Fascinating.

 

[OU812]

Show us a picture of the case "chucked" in the socket...

Here is a small clip. Don't mind the mess, just chucked it up in the garage to do a quick video.

http://youtu.be/41mMPB3ofrg

http://youtu.be/tWzS4XkgAQs

That's pretty slick Scotty, may have to try that. My current method is to hold the base of the case and rotate the neck into the blue. By holding the case in my fingers the base never gets too hot because I'll drop the case before then, don't like burning my fingers. Rick S taught me that and it works great.

On a side note, Scotty have you ever considered a career in hand modeling? :lol:

Bill

 

[SJB358]

On a side note, Scotty have you ever considered a career in hand modeling? :lol:

Bill

I haven't, but I do retire soon and will be needy for work! Think I have a shot?


Bill, I thought about doing it that way, but the drill is easier and the cases look Lapua good when they are done with a nice even ring around them... That has to count for something? Right? :lol:

 

[OU812]

On a side note, Scotty have you ever considered a career in hand modeling? :lol:

Bill

I haven't, but I do retire soon and will be needy for work! Think I have a shot?


Bill, I thought about doing it that way, but the drill is easier and the cases look Lapua good when they are done with a nice even ring around them... That has to count for something? Right? :lol:

I would not have mentioned it if I didn't think so buddy. I'll bet we could start a poll here that might help kick start your new career.

I like your method and lapua good is always good in my book, my book isn't any more than a page or two but still.

Bill

 

[SJB358]

I would not have mentioned it if I didn't think so buddy. I'll bet we could start a poll here that might help kick start your new career.

I like your method and lapua good is always good in my book, my book isn't any more than a page or two but still.

Bill

Man, anything to put food on the table and elk tags in my pockets! I am in!

The method is actually Jake's. He owns the patent rights to it. He just passed it to me. It does leave a nice line on the cases when they are tumbled. It is so easy to do and really seems to promote consistent neck tension, I can see me doing alot more of it in the future. It really assisted the 264 with consistent tension. If it's in my mind, I am good with that too.

 

[OU812]

I would not have mentioned it if I didn't think so buddy. I'll bet we could start a poll here that might help kick start your new career.

I like your method and lapua good is always good in my book, my book isn't any more than a page or two but still.

Bill

Man, anything to put food on the table and elk tags in my pockets! I am in!

The method is actually Jake's. He owns the patent rights to it. He just passed it to me. It does leave a nice line on the cases when they are tumbled. It is so easy to do and really seems to promote consistent neck tension, I can see me doing alot more of it in the future. It really assisted the 264 with consistent tension. If it's in my mind, I am good with that too.

It's amazing how annealing it can take brass that has been fired several times and groups of your favorite load that are not shooting well any more and bring things right back to where they belong.

 

[DrMike]

The videos are pretty slick, Scotty. I appreciate seeing the process in action. Jake is to be commended.

 

[gerry]

Thanks guys, I'm going to try it as well some time on some of my brass.

 

[257 Ackley]

Show us a picture of the case "chucked" in the socket...

Here is a small clip. Don't mind the mess, just chucked it up in the garage to do a quick video.

http://youtu.be/41mMPB3ofrg

http://youtu.be/tWzS4XkgAQs

Thanks buddy...that is what I needed to see. Now I need to figure out a stand to hold the drill at flame height and some way to kick them out of the socket! 8)

 

[Wincheringen]

I use mapp gas, takes 5-8 seconds per case, ya don't want them to glow, just till they start to change color. you can quench them or not makes not a bit of cifference.
RR

Same here, Mapp gas torch and a few seconds in the heat then a dip in the water. I don't use a glove, the cases don't get hot enough at the base. They also don't need to glow red either, just a few seconds in the heat is perfect.

 

[Ridge_Runner]

brass is a mixture of copper and tin, I use to make copper pipe for a living, the dipping in water deal is because folks use low heat for a longer period to get the temp right, the heat is traveling down the case as your trying to get the neck annealed. use higher heat (IE yellow bottle of mapp gas on your torch) and you don't need to quench because the heat is concentrated on the neck and cools down before it gets to the base of the case. I never quench my cases.
RR

 

[SJB358]

brass is a mixture of copper and tin, I use to make copper pipe for a living, the dipping in water deal is because folks use low heat for a longer period to get the temp right, the heat is traveling down the case as your trying to get the neck annealed. use higher heat (IE yellow bottle of mapp gas on your torch) and you don't need to quench because the heat is concentrated on the neck and cools down before it gets to the base of the case. I never quench my cases.
RR

Thanks RR. That's good intel buddy. Appreciate it. I will try it the next time I can. Makes sense to me.

 

[JD338]

Scotty,

That video was slick buddy!

JD338

 

[Wincheringen]

I just dip them so I don't get a surprise when I go to grab a pile. Yea they do cool down quick and I'm aware its unnecessary to dip. I also like to keep a little water around anytime I'm working with a flame.

 

[C.Smith]

So is quenching them bad on them or just an unnecessary step?

Corey

 

[atmoshpere]

So is quenching them bad on them or just an unnecessary step?

Corey

Quenching them is not "bad" and MAY be unnecessary.

Quenching serves to keep the base of the case from getting too hot if you don't heat it hot enough fast enough and also helps prevent you from accidentally grabbing a still hot case if you're not paying attention.

Quenching requires that your cases be allowed to completely dry before they can be loaded, which means one more step or a long period to air dry.

If you can heat the neck/shoulder fast enough that it reaches the appropriate annealing temp without having time for too much heat to transfer to the base/head area of the case then quenching becomes unnecessary thus allowing you to avoid drying the cases.

Quenching hot brass does not make it brittle or hard like quenching other metals can.

 

[joelkdouglas]

Alright, I got a similar setup this weekend and annealed 40 cases between Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon (two batches).

How do you get your cases clean afterwards? They look cool, but the necks are black, and a bit of that stuff flakes off into the body die.

Tumble, then size? Or citric acid bath?

 

[jimbires]

I tumble then size . try to clean in the neck too ,the heat seems to make it a little rough . I use a brass brush . Jim

 

[pre6422hornet]

I jsut did a 1/2 batch of .308 cases myself without quenching. I did it just as Scotty, but instead of water I just let them fall onto a towel. There were no signs of the towel getting hot, and the cases were okay to touch after just a few minutes. I did it with the lights off in the room so I could see the brass glow.

I am amazed at how much easier the necks came over the sizing button ( I am also using a Forster Carbide button) and the ease of seating bullets.

I split the brass into two lots. Annealled and not annealled. I then split those up again and neck turned 1/2 the annealled and 1/2 of the not annealled.

I then loaded all the brass identically with a known accurate load for my FNSPR and plan on doing a little comparison between the 4 different variations of brass. Should be fun and I will post my results.

 

[bbearhntr]

I jsut did a 1/2 batch of .308 cases myself without quenching. I did it just as Scotty, but instead of water I just let them fall onto a towel. There were no signs of the towel getting hot, and the cases were okay to touch after just a few minutes. I did it with the lights off in the room so I could see the brass glow.

I am amazed at how much easier the necks came over the sizing button ( I am also using a Forster Carbide button) and the ease of seating bullets.

I split the brass into two lots. Annealled and not annealled. I then split those up again and neck turned 1/2 the annealled and 1/2 of the not annealled.

I then loaded all the brass identically with a known accurate load for my FNSPR and plan on doing a little comparison between the 4 different variations of brass. Should be fun and I will post my results.

looking forward to viewing your data 8)