Just been doing some annealing 😎

[Donkey Basher]

After doing a couple of hundred 25-20 & 32-20 cases I thought I’d finish off doing 100 ready to load for the fallow does

Not bad for a hand held blow torch & a battery drill with a nut driver to hold the case though I say so myself

 

[wytonpjs]

Go Ugly - you won't regret it

 

[kenbro]

After doing a couple of hundred 25-20 & 32-20 cases I thought I’d finish off doing 100 ready to load for the fallow does

Not bad for a hand held blow torch & a battery drill with a nut driver to hold the case though I say so myself

View attachment 442389

Hi D B;
Do you quench after heating or not?
Some stand cases in shallow water then knock’em over after heating and some just throw them into a water filled container.
I leave mine to cool in the air.
KB.

 

[fizzbangwhallop]

No need to quench Ken as they’re already cooling down rapidly.

I do drop mine into a jug of boiled water via a piece of drainpipe with the end under the surface when I’m molten salt annealing but that’s only to remove any salt from the outside of the case, stop any water splashes getting anywhere near the hot salt pot(that w’be v. dodgy!) and prevent any mess from salt splatter.. and it stops the case necks taking a hit on the way down.

Cheers

Fizz

 

[fizzbangwhallop]

My molten salt set up….



It hovers around the 510 degrees markand I anneal to a steady count to 5 with the metronome going on the phone.

Cheers
Fizz

 

[Rutland lad]

Go Ugly - you won't regret it

Totally agree.

 

[Jelen]

Hi D B;
Do you quench after heating or not?
Some stand cases in shallow water then knock’em over after heating and some just throw them into a water filled container.
I leave mine to cool in the air.
KB.

I don’t quench mine either

 

[Donkey Basher]

Hi D B;
Do you quench after heating or not?
Some stand cases in shallow water then knock’em over after heating and some just throw them into a water filled container.
I leave mine to cool in the air.
KB.

The pile you see in the pic is just as they come out of the nut driver - air cooled but in a tray so they stay in one place - if I’m doing a lot I use a metal biscuit tin

 

[Donkey Basher]

Go Ugly - you won't regret it

Maybe if I was doing hundreds of cases on a regular basis, but £200 for something that does what I can already do with my existing kit & which probably won’t take the 25-20, 32-20 or .297/.250 cases that really need looking after is a non-starter for me. Thanks for the tip, but I’ll pass for the time being.

 

[foxinmad]

My molten salt set up….
View attachment 442391
View attachment 442392
View attachment 442393
It hovers around the 510 degrees markand I anneal to a steady count to 5 with the metronome going on the phone.

Cheers
Fizz

That looks way above my pay grade, but very interesting I have to say.

 

[Reloader708]

They look very evenly done.

 

[Rookandrabbit]

@Donkey Basher ....do you have a source for 297/250 cases or were they converted from .22 hornet?

I used to make my own 297/230 cases an exercise in frustration!

 

[Klenchblaize]

My molten salt set up….
View attachment 442391
View attachment 442392
View attachment 442393
It hovers around the 510 degrees markand I anneal to a steady count to 5 with the metronome going on the phone.

Cheers
Fizz

I have some of that flat green cable and didn't understand its true purpose until I tried wiring some lights with it! Boy, does it get HOT!

K

 

[Donkey Basher]

@Donkey Basher ....do you have a source for 297/250 cases or were they converted from .22 hornet?

I used to make my own 297/230 cases an exercise in frustration!

Converted from Hornet.

I’ve been toying with the idea of trying to make some but trying to find a suitable watchmakers lather at a sensible price is near on impossible! I’ve decided that as I don’t shoot it that often I’ve probably got enough cases to last me till I’m too old to shoot it any more.

 

[safer]

Whatever other advice you listen to regarding brass annealing - DO NOT QUENCH THE BRASS.
You totally wipe out any benefit of the annealing process by doing this.

 

[MilesW]

Whatever other advice you listen to regarding brass annealing - DO NOT QUENCH THE BRASS.
You totally wipe out any benefit of the annealing process by doing this.

Quenching brass will not undo/reverse the benefit of annealing. It does no harm at all.

 

[safer]

Quenching brass will not undo/reverse the benefit of annealing. It does no harm at all.

It actually does. When you cool quickly the metal retains crystal structure that had on that temperature instead of cooling slowly and forming original crystal structure and be soft and playable. Think of steel, if you cool quickly it retains hard but brittle structure. If you heat and cool slowly it becomes soft steel. It is exactly the same with almost all metals and alloys.
I am mechanical engineer and studied the heat treatment of ferrous and non-ferrous metals extensively.
In the end of the day, each to their own.

 

[MilesW]

It actually does. When you cool quickly the metal retains crystal structure that had on that temperature instead of cooling slowly and forming original crystal structure and be soft and playable. Think of steel, if you cool quickly it retains hard but brittle structure. If you heat and cool slowly it becomes soft steel. It is exactly the same with almost all metals and alloys.
I am mechanical engineer and studied the heat treatment of ferrous and non-ferrous metals extensively.
In the end of the day, each to their own.

I repeat, it actually does not. Do not think of steel, it is brass. Metallurgy 101. Oh, and in the case of physical facts, it is not each to their own.

 

[safer]

It is metal alloy and the heat processes are exactly the same other then temperatures that they react to. Heat two pieces of brass and cool one in water and leave the other one to cool down slowly. Then measure the hardness by calibrated equipment.
But nobody's ever convinced anyone by stating facts.
As I said, it is up to the individual to make up their mind.

 

[Stalker62]

FWIW

I use an AMP.

I do not 'quench' the brass.

Quenching alters the metallurgy of brass, primarily by increasing hardness and strength but decreasing ductility. It achieves this by rapidly cooling the heated metal, which changes its microstructure, creating a finer grain structure that is harder and more brittle.