First go at annealing

[RH Somerset]

I’ve been getting a few black cases on Lapua brass fired 3-4 fires times so thought I would give annealing a go to try and get a better seal.

I put the cases in a drill and blowtorched them for 6 seconds.

The pictures are not great but what do people think?

My only worry is that the case necks are a bit coppery in colour.

 

[Bledd]

I personally come down the shoulder a bit further. First pic looks like you might have overcooked them a tad (they look a little too blue to me) but not a million miles off. You’re gonna struggle with consistency using a drill - far better spending a couple of hundred (or less if you find one second hand) on a gas annealer

 

[RH Somerset]

Thanks for the feedback.

I think that first photo makes them look bluer than they actually are. I think you are right about the shoulders though. On some the mark is pay the shoulder and on some it only comes to the shoulder - I think I got a bitter better at it towards the end of the batch.

Will look at gas annealers. Thanks.

 

[Bledd]

There’s a Bulgarian called Lubo on UKV who makes one for less than £200. Really pleased with mine - excellent quality and works well. Didn’t have to wait too long, either. There’s plenty of others closer to home which other will vouch for, too

 

[Selous]

Try loading them and see how they do? Before annealing I can sometimes feel inconsistent seating pressures that get more uniform after annealing

 

[RH Somerset]

Yep, I'm certainly going to load them up and see what happens. I think they will definitely be better than they were before I annealed them.

 

[malmick]

Keep track of what you are doing in relation to the individual cases. There's a spectrum of opinions on the internet about correct annealing bearing no consistent relationship to the colouring of the cases post annealing. I use one of the UKV Lubo annealers and generally get OK results, fair consistency from case to case. From your first photo cases 1, 2 and 3 look a little more consistent than 4 and 5. See what they feel like when seating bullets.

It's another rabbit hole in relation to reloading

 

[User00044]

2nd photo, they look more consistent. You'll get better with practice, any that are over will soon work harden again by simply resizing
You can use traditional soap 1/3" down from the shoulder as an indicator or Tempilaq 475°F in the same way , use some scrap brass to get your timing .

 

[malmick]

@Fox Tales
Good advice there

 

[RH Somerset]

Thanks everyone.

I'm hoping that roughly consistent annealing is going to be better than no annealing so I think I'll try these out and if they are OK then continue doing it by hand and hope to get a bit better with practice.

 

[hunta]

I’ve been getting a few black cases on Lapua brass fired 3-4 fires times

I'm surprised that Lapua brass needs annealing after 3-4 firings unless you are into long range precision. I've reloaded Lapua brass for various calibres for years and have had no accuracy issues even after reloading the same brass for well into double figures especially when using neck size bushing dies. My reloads are for deer and vermin plus occasional gong bashing up to 1000m so I would expect MOA or better. If I was getting blackening of the neck/shoulder area my first thought would be that the loads are too low pressure so not getting a good neck seal. Have you tried upping the powder charge?

 

[RH Somerset]

I actually only had blackening on a new fox load - my deer load is fine, so I upped the charge on foxing load and annealed all remaining brass for good measure.

I thought that 3-4 loads was about when brass should be annealed anyway but perhaps I should have waited for poor neck tension first.

 

[viking90]

This is the way I've always done it. Once the necks are red they're done, no way would I spend money on annealing machines when a drill, torch and case holder does the job perfectly fine.

 

[Foxyboy43]

I actually only had blackening on a new fox load - my deer load is fine, so I upped the charge on foxing load and annealed all remaining brass for good measure.

I thought that 3-4 loads was about when brass should be annealed anyway but perhaps I should have waited for poor neck tension first.

Definitely agree with Hunta - with low reloading count sooting is likely down to poor obturation. I would look at increasing your powder incrementally before even considering annealing.
I have cases which have been reloaded well into double figures without any need for annealing.

 

[trickie]

This is the way I've always done it. Once the necks are red they're done, no way would I spend money on annealing machines when a drill, torch and case holder does the job perfectly fine.

View attachment 334764

I started that way, however I heated my brass until the neck was only just red, a little less than your photo, I expect the camera added a bit of the glow? Also my flame was directed slightly more towards the shoulder/neck junction. It is hard to tell properly from a 2d image of course.

 

[User00044]

Before this turns into a " should I" , "shouldn't I" anneal thread , neck tension isn't the only reason to anneal .
The OP has decided to give this a try , he'll also gain more consistent sizing . I imagine most of the work hardening takes place during f/l sizing process as opposed to the firing . Inconsistent shoulder bumping was the trigger point for me , where as I see putting brass in a wet tumbler for 2 hours an utter waste of time . It's down to the individual.

 

[25 Sharps]

This is the way I've always done it. Once the necks are red they're done, no way would I spend money on annealing machines when a drill, torch and case holder does the job perfectly fine.

View attachment 334764

If you’re seeing it glowing red in light you are getting it too hot!

Best done in a dark room and as soon as the neck starts to show any signs of red, stop…

 

[Acm]

Before this turns into a " should I" , "shouldn't I" anneal thread , neck tension isn't the only reason to anneal .
The OP has decided to give this a try , he'll also gain more consistent sizing . I imagine most of the work hardening takes place during f/l sizing process as opposed to the firing . Inconsistent shoulder bumping was the trigger point for me , where as I see putting brass in a wet tumbler for 2 hours an utter waste of time . It's down to the individual.

But they come out so shiny!!!!

I’ve had to anneal my lapua 6.5x55 cases after 4 firings as I was getting a lot of split necks, haven’t had any trouble at all since a trim and anneal.
Hard to describe the difference between annealed and not as far as handling goes. To me, it somehow feels kind of creamy, it flows better.

 

[hunta]

I’ve had to anneal my lapua 6.5x55 cases after 4 firings as I was getting a lot of split necks

I have had this problem with my 243 when using Winchester brass. Had annealing been a "thing" when I started reloading in the 70s then I might have tried. I changed brass to Norma and then Lapua and got double the firings before neck splitting. I then just ditched the brass and bought more. I've been reloading for decades and simply not found it necessary to anneal and still shoot minute of deer, fox and gong. As an experiment I reloaded the same two pieces of 6.5 x 55 brass continuously over a couple of years and shot at the same 100m target before outings regardless of weather. After 34 reloads so 68 shots my target had a ragged hole measuring just over 2". Some people would say you can't teach an old dog new tricks but I would say if it ain't broke don't fix it. These days I ditch my brass when I notice the neck feels more brittle during trimming which is normally after a dozen or more reloads. I'm not saying that annealing is unnecessary in certain circumstances but it strikes me that annealing after 2, 3 or 4 shots is not necessary unless seriously target shooting.