Annealing
- Thread starter DVS1
- Start date
Rutland lad
Well-Known Member
Are you afraid of doing it yourself in case you get it wrong ?
So was I but after speaking to people and watching some examples on YouTube I’ve tried it and it’s not as difficult as it seems.
My expansive kit list is a Makita drill and a blowtorch.
Set blowtorch, place rounds in Lee shell holder (could probably just spin in fingers) and rotate in hottest part of blowtorch flame for a count of 8 thousand (one thousand, two thousand etc) OR until brass colour changes and ’runs’ down into shoulder.
A rough and ready way for me is if when I remove case from flame - if I can’t touch/hold primer end it’s been in the flame too long.
So far I’ve done 6.5 and .300 cases and all seemed better to full resize and trim/chamfer afterwards.
If I’ve under annealed, then the cases are no worse off.
So was I but after speaking to people and watching some examples on YouTube I’ve tried it and it’s not as difficult as it seems.
My expansive kit list is a Makita drill and a blowtorch.
Set blowtorch, place rounds in Lee shell holder (could probably just spin in fingers) and rotate in hottest part of blowtorch flame for a count of 8 thousand (one thousand, two thousand etc) OR until brass colour changes and ’runs’ down into shoulder.
A rough and ready way for me is if when I remove case from flame - if I can’t touch/hold primer end it’s been in the flame too long.
So far I’ve done 6.5 and .300 cases and all seemed better to full resize and trim/chamfer afterwards.
If I’ve under annealed, then the cases are no worse off.
Turn the lights out and take out as soon as there is a hint of it changing red
Instead of a shell holder, just use a socket of the appropriate size. Drop case in, spin, tilt drill down to drop case out into a waiting pan...or quit being poor and get an AMP! (Just pulling your leg, I know not everyone can justify that kind of investment)
Any lads close to Surrey that are willing to anneal some brass for me...for a charge of course
@Stalker1962 has offered his services in this area a few times. Perhaps message him? [he bought an AMP annealer]
I did. And I loved that journey and now have an excellent DIY methodology:
Annealing: Settled on a method with highest repeatability - using garage tools
A while back I invested some time in building a Skippy-style annealer. As with all projects, the journey is half the fun. But what I soon realised was that the annealer I could make was not going to give AMP performance. And it would be a faff to operate. So...what I have done instead is...
www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk
Thanks some great reading there!!! Those case holders look top drawer also!I did. And I loved that journey and now have an excellent DIY methodology:
Annealing: Settled on a method with highest repeatability - using garage tools
A while back I invested some time in building a Skippy-style annealer. As with all projects, the journey is half the fun. But what I soon realised was that the annealer I could make was not going to give AMP performance. And it would be a faff to operate. So...what I have done instead is...
Sonicdmb73
Well-Known Member
I have somewhere a lump of aluminium round bar. With a rod in one end and a hole that takes a 243 case to around the shoulder the other.
I used to put it in the drill and in a darkened shed (lamp behind me) I used a blow torch and watched for colour change. Then dumped the case out and repeated it.
To be honest if I was going to do any more, I might be inclined to build or buy something that it a bit more automatic.
I used to put it in the drill and in a darkened shed (lamp behind me) I used a blow torch and watched for colour change. Then dumped the case out and repeated it.
To be honest if I was going to do any more, I might be inclined to build or buy something that it a bit more automatic.
I have several SD members sending me brass to anneal.Any lads close to Surrey that are willing to anneal some brass for me...for a charge of course
pm me me for prices and contact details
Cheers
Bruce
Rutland lad
Well-Known Member
Great idea. I hadn’t thought of that.
stevenedwards
Well-Known Member
My AMP arrived yesterday and I'm breaking the box open at the moment. It all looks a bit technical for me but lots of things are !
We anneal on demand
Post them up
We post them back
AMP annealed using AZTEC mode and a sacrificial case to maximise the code for your brass
Drop me a line
Post them up
We post them back
AMP annealed using AZTEC mode and a sacrificial case to maximise the code for your brass
Drop me a line
But how do you know what the desired temperature is?
Annealing is a combination of time and temperature
Low temperatures for a long time risks softening the head of the case leading to premature case failure
High temperatures for a short time risks melting the brass
Knowing the temperature is not enough - and most temperature indicating paints and pastes react too slowly to the rate of change in temperature used in most brass annealing set ups.
Cheers
Bruce
Annealing is a combination of time and temperature
Low temperatures for a long time risks softening the head of the case leading to premature case failure
High temperatures for a short time risks melting the brass
Knowing the temperature is not enough - and most temperature indicating paints and pastes react too slowly to the rate of change in temperature used in most brass annealing set ups.
Cheers
Bruce
Out of interest how do you decide on time and temperature?
With an induction annealer you can control time and power - the resultant temperature is a function of both those inputs
In my DIY induction annealer I run at fixed power and control the time
The correct annealing time is determined by measuring the hardness at the case neck
I normally start with a time which, from experience, will probably be too short and measure the hardness after that short anneal
Presuming the hardness is still too high, I anneal again with the time increased by 0.5 second.
I repeat this procedure of annealing and hardness testing until I get to a time which results in the case being annealed to the same hardness as new brass.
Interestingly, I have found with my annealer that European brass (Lapua, Sako, Norma, PPU, RWS and Geco) all require longer annealing times (8-10 seconds) than US brass (Hornady, Winchester, Federal and Remington) 6-6.5 seconds
Cheers
Bruce
In my DIY induction annealer I run at fixed power and control the time
The correct annealing time is determined by measuring the hardness at the case neck
I normally start with a time which, from experience, will probably be too short and measure the hardness after that short anneal
Presuming the hardness is still too high, I anneal again with the time increased by 0.5 second.
I repeat this procedure of annealing and hardness testing until I get to a time which results in the case being annealed to the same hardness as new brass.
Interestingly, I have found with my annealer that European brass (Lapua, Sako, Norma, PPU, RWS and Geco) all require longer annealing times (8-10 seconds) than US brass (Hornady, Winchester, Federal and Remington) 6-6.5 seconds
Cheers
Bruce
Interesting. I believe the AMP has the same behavior, in that European brass tends to need longer (higher program number) than US brass. This is for the older, non-Aztec programs.
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