ANNEALING MADE PERFECT

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  • onedash

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 24, 2016
    1,026
    Calvert County
    That is true. And lately I don't shoot much. But this seems like another tool that will help convince all the boolets to go into the same hole.
     

    j_h_smith

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 28, 2007
    28,516
    Cut that price by a 3rd and we'd have a deal. $1100 just for the machine. A little steep for me. But I'm not shooting like I once did.
     

    Speed3

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 19, 2011
    7,816
    MD
    A guy I shoot with had one, it's AWESOME. However I can't justify the price at the moment.

    Sure makes annealing a breeze though
     

    4570inMD

    Western MD Hooligan #007
    Jan 26, 2011
    1,337
    West Virginia
    This system starts at ~$98 and works well for me:


    Anneal-Rite_II-kit.jpg
     

    Aventus

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Sep 5, 2016
    778
    I went with one of these for $275. Gonna add a digital volt meter so I can record my voltage for each case.

    http://www.annealeez.com/dbprod/annealeezannealer.asp

    That's almost half the price of the one I'm looking at. Hmmmmm, With a torch system, why would you need a voltmeter?

    I'm still trying to justify annealing all together. Ive reloaded brass 6-8 times without being annealed and I'm sure I could have gotten a few more reloads if they were annealed but is it worth it?

    It might help with accuracy if shooting 400+ yards but's that well beyond my skills anyway. Decisions, decisions.
     

    balttigger

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 15, 2008
    3,051
    Middle River, MD
    That's almost half the price of the one I'm looking at. Hmmmmm, With a torch system, why would you need a voltmeter?

    I'm still trying to justify annealing all together. Ive reloaded brass 6-8 times without being annealed and I'm sure I could have gotten a few more reloads if they were annealed but is it worth it?

    It might help with accuracy if shooting 400+ yards but's that well beyond my skills anyway. Decisions, decisions.

    The voltmeter determines the speed of the motor and how long the case stays in the flame. Once I set up a case, I can just record the voltage so I can set the same speed again.
     

    Major03

    Ultimate Member
    I'm still trying to justify annealing all together. Ive reloaded brass 6-8 times without being annealed and I'm sure I could have gotten a few more reloads if they were annealed but is it worth it?

    It might help with accuracy if shooting 400+ yards but's that well beyond my skills anyway. Decisions, decisions.


    It does make a difference in uniforming neck tension in addition to extending case life. I see a difference in concentricity in cases that are resized after annealing and ones that have had several firings. Not much...maybe .001 or .002 and not in every case...but it all adds up.

    More uniform neck tension will also tend to lead to more consistent bullet release and more consistent velocities. Less extreme spread leads to less vertical dispersion at distance.

    I'll be honest and say that the effort I put into brass prep I'm sure has diminishing returns due to my shooting ability (or lack thereof).

    I do it because I like reloading as a hobby (almost as much as shooting) and I can't stand to think that there is something I could do to reduce variance and MAYBE coax those bullets into the same hole.

    Each must decide for themselves if the juice is worth the squeeze ;)
     

    Speed3

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 19, 2011
    7,816
    MD
    It does make a difference in uniforming neck tension in addition to extending case life. I see a difference in concentricity in cases that are resized after annealing and ones that have had several firings. Not much...maybe .001 or .002 and not in every case...but it all adds up.

    More uniform neck tension will also tend to lead to more consistent bullet release and more consistent velocities. Less extreme spread leads to less vertical dispersion at distance.

    I'll be honest and say that the effort I put into brass prep I'm sure has diminishing returns due to my shooting ability (or lack thereof).

    I do it because I like reloading as a hobby (almost as much as shooting) and I can't stand to think that there is something I could do to reduce variance and MAYBE coax those bullets into the same hole.

    Each must decide for themselves if the juice is worth the squeeze ;)

    One other thing to try....imperial case lube on the inside of the neck and on bullet for a more consistent "release" from the neck seems to help also. I'm got 9 firings and still haven't annealed my brass and seems to be doing fine.
     

    Major03

    Ultimate Member
    One other thing to try....imperial case lube on the inside of the neck and on bullet for a more consistent "release" from the neck seems to help also. I'm got 9 firings and still haven't annealed my brass and seems to be doing fine.

    Hmmmm....interesting. I would think that might help with inconsistent bullet release and improve velocity consistencies...but I wouldn't think that would have anything to do with case longevity.

    The length of time a case lives has more to do with work hardening the brass and how much it "stretches" during firing. The more it gets moved (tight vs. loose chambering and full length sizing vs. neck sizing only) and how much pressure is exerted ("light" loads vs. max to over max loads) the quicker they will get tossed.

    Annealing reduces/resets the work hardening the brass has had on the neck.

    Reloading is part science, part art, part voodoo. I've tried polishing necks with a brass chamber brush and 0000 steel wool chucked in a drill press to help uniform bullet release. That seemed to help a little. Case lube certainly seems like less effort for similar benefit.
     

    DanGuy48

    Ultimate Member
    Maybe I don’t understand the requirements, or limitations, but I don’t understand why all these things need a flame. (I don’t like flames indoors.) is it that the flame can provide a much more rapid rise in temperature vs. time? In the labs, we used little micro furnaces to sterile loops. They can reach over 800 degrees F and even the ones available now would probably work with small cartridges. Anyway, it seems like it wouldn’t take much to adapt that technology to annealing cartridges. They look like this.

    https://www.fishersci.com/us/en/pro...loop-micro-sterilizer-devices-components.html
     

    Speed3

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 19, 2011
    7,816
    MD
    Hmmmm....interesting. I would think that might help with inconsistent bullet release and improve velocity consistencies...but I wouldn't think that would have anything to do with case longevity.

    The length of time a case lives has more to do with work hardening the brass and how much it "stretches" during firing. The more it gets moved (tight vs. loose chambering and full length sizing vs. neck sizing only) and how much pressure is exerted ("light" loads vs. max to over max loads) the quicker they will get tossed.

    Annealing reduces/resets the work hardening the brass has had on the neck.

    Reloading is part science, part art, part voodoo. I've tried polishing necks with a brass chamber brush and 0000 steel wool chucked in a drill press to help uniform bullet release. That seemed to help a little. Case lube certainly seems like less effort for similar benefit.

    Sorry I wasn't clear, my neck lube was in response to the consistent bullet release , not longevity of brass. Clearly neck lube has nothing to do with that lol.

    The problem with any flame including the girraurd is the set up/temp.

    As the little bottles gas is used, it changes the temp. Each time you use it, you have to go through the setup. With the Ops product it's simple to set up and repeat. That's the main benefit
     

    Major03

    Ultimate Member
    All this annealing talk reminds me that I’ve got to finish my DIY model soon.

    070fce94a94c96e2fa1fc0cfa8b5bb51.jpg

    Looking like a good start!!

    The key to get mine up and running well was making sure the hole in main drum (baking pan) was exactly in the center.

    Took a few times to get it right.

    The other thing that lets it run more reliably is to use a large propane tank. It gets annoying to constantly have to adjust the flame so that it stays consistent.
     

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