Case annealing

[Acmac25]

@Saracen666 Well I reckon that source is suspect...if you look at the Copper Development Association link I posted and any other books that I have read brass is not hardened by cooling slowly...I think he has just been told that brass is the opposite of quench-to-harden tool steel, and has reversed the properties theoretically. The idea that brass may become slightly more soft by quenching than cooling slowly is the nearest it gets...and I have only heard that applied to pure copper.

It is certainly not true from my empirical experience either.

Most of my projects have been from steel and stainless steel but the first few years before using the bigger hammers was working non-ferrous, mainly gold and silver as a jeweller and silversmith. But I have done a number which included hot forged and cold formed 60/40 brass, silicon bronze, aluminium bronze and copper and none of those non-ferrous metals become harder if left to cool after annealing.

@dreddrockz an alternative indicator to Tempilaq is laundry soap will turn black at around 400˚C which is the full annealing temperature of Aluminium and the stress relief annealing temperature for 70/30 Cartridge Brass, which is sufficient to prolong case life by preventing neck splits but still preserves the original degree of neck tension, which is lost with full annealing temperatures. I also find the soap easier and cheaper to use than Tempilaq.

We have had a few interesting annealing threads since this one! I wrote up the research I did regarding stress relief annealing, which led me to use laundry soap as a tell tale in Stress Relief Annealing cartridge brass and there were a couple of interesting discussions more recently Annealing cases was one of them.

Alan

Hi Alan, where do you buy your laundry soap bars from if you don't mind me asking?

Cheers

Ali

 

[Alantoo]

Hi Alan, where do you buy your laundry soap bars from if you don't mind me asking?

Cheers

Ali

Falcon Green Household Soap 3 x 125g : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

Falcon Green Household Soap 3 x 125g: Falcon Green Household Soap 3 x 125g: Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

smile.amazon.co.uk

But I don't think it really matters...as long as you use the same bar for the batch they will be taken to the same temperature...consistency being all.

Alan

P.S. Forgot to say earlier that the links posted by @1066 describing the annealing / stress relief annealing of cases were very good. I found so many descriptions on the internet and youTube which are full of misleading half truths...the classic one being "if you see a green colour, the case is too hot and you have burnt the zinc out of the brass" If it was possible to burn the zinc out of the alloy at that temperature there would be no possibility of silver soldering or casting brass which takes pace at twice the green flame temperature...you would melt brass and pour it into the mould only to have a lump of copper come out!

 

[Acmac25]

Falcon Green Household Soap 3 x 125g : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

Falcon Green Household Soap 3 x 125g: Falcon Green Household Soap 3 x 125g: Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

smile.amazon.co.uk

But I don't think it really matters...as long as you use the same bar for the batch they will be taken to the same temperature...consistency being all.

Alan

P.S. Forgot to say earlier that the links posted by @1066 describing the annealing / stress relief annealing of cases were very good. I found so many descriptions on the internet and youTube which are full of misleading half truths...the classic one being "if you see a green colour, the case is too hot and you have burnt the zinc out of the brass" If it was possible to burn the zinc out of the alloy at that temperature there would be no possibility of silver soldering or casting brass which takes pace at twice the green flame temperature...you would melt brass and pour it into the mould only to have a lump of copper come out!

Magic Alan, much appreciated

Kind regards

Ali