Salt Bath Annealing

Swaim13 · Mar 3, 2019

Has anyone tried salt bath annealing? Seems pretty interesting, more consistent than annealing w a torch, and is pretty cheap. I am also interested as I would feel more comfortable using the salt bath inside vs a torch.

Does anyone know where to buy annealing salts in the area?

bigjohn · Mar 3, 2019

I’ve seen it and it looks very interesting that said, I don’t know if anyone doing it

Swaim13 · Mar 3, 2019

It looks interesting and I have an annealeez on order but am debating canceling the order and trying the salt bath technique. I cant afford an induction annealer atm and am thinking that even though it may take a little longer, I can do the salt bath annealing in my basement at my reloading bench where the annealeez I would want to take somewhere with better ventilation.

buellsfurn · Mar 3, 2019

several videos on youtube

CBo · Mar 4, 2019

youtube johnnys reloading bench, he posted a video a few days ago and is just starting to tinker with it, and for a decent price compared to the pro equipment. he goes over everything hes using and where he got it

John from MD · Mar 4, 2019

In my opinion, having salt fumes around the same area of tools sucks. Additionally, your Lee melting pot will definitely get corroded and they corrode fast enough just fluxing.

I have been using the propane torch in a dark room for probably 40 years and I can tell it works 'cause I don't get a puff of smoke in my face from my bolt guns. I'll just keep on doing it the old fashioned way.

ras_oscar · Mar 4, 2019

So, talk to me like I'm stupid. You anneal the brass between reloadings to... harden the case? Seems like it would make the metal brittle. What is one trying to accomplish?

teratos · Mar 4, 2019

ras_oscar said:
So, talk to me like I'm stupid. You anneal the brass between reloadings to... harden the case? Seems like it would make the metal brittle. What is one trying to accomplish?

It softens the brass.

John from MD · Mar 4, 2019

ras_oscar said:
So, talk to me like I'm stupid. You anneal the brass between reloadings to... harden the case? Seems like it would make the metal brittle. What is one trying to accomplish?

Shooting and sizing brass causes it to harden. This causes the neck not to seal gases, the neck tension to lessen and cracks and splits to occur.

By annealing the neck, you make it softer so that it can once again seal the chamber and not split.

Blacksmith101 · Mar 4, 2019

ras_oscar said:
So, talk to me like I'm stupid. You anneal the brass between reloadings to... harden the case? Seems like it would make the metal brittle. What is one trying to accomplish?

But you don't want to soften (anneal) the whole case because you want the harder brass in the case head and body for strength. So you anneal the area where the bullet goes to remove the effects of the work hardening caused by the repeated stretching and crimping of the case mouth and the shoulder on bottle necked cases. Often it is done with a propane torch either while they are partially submerged or by tipping the cases into water to limit the annealing to one end and preserving the hardness in the case head.

https://www.sinclairintl.com/guntech/the-not-so-arcane-art-of-brass-annealing/detail.htm?lid=16032

jrumann59 · Mar 5, 2019

Swaim13 said:
It looks interesting and I have an annealeez on order but am debating canceling the order and trying the salt bath technique. I cant afford an induction annealer atm and am thinking that even though it may take a little longer, I can do the salt bath annealing in my basement at my reloading bench where the annealeez I would want to take somewhere with better ventilation.

glad you took the time to spell that correctly or you could have been the "butt" of some jokes. :innocent0

Sundazes · Mar 5, 2019

Damn, I am stoopid. I am thinking why does he want to anneal bath salts..... DoH.....

babalou · Mar 5, 2019

my thoughts as well

ras_oscar said:
So, talk to me like I'm stupid. You anneal the brass between reloadings to... harden the case? Seems like it would make the metal brittle. What is one trying to accomplish?

I keep picturing the annealing like in the show Forged in Fire.

Major03 · Mar 5, 2019

ras_oscar said:
So, talk to me like I'm stupid. You anneal the brass between reloadings to... harden the case? Seems like it would make the metal brittle. What is one trying to accomplish?

Think about taking a coat hanger...and then working it back and forth, back and forth. While it may feel like it's "softer" because it's easier to move around, it's really becoming harder and just developing cracks. Eventually it becomes too brittle and will snap. That's what is happening to your case when it expands when used, and then contracts in the die...eventually it will lead to split case necks.

I'll also add that in addition to restoring pliability in the neck area, it'll make the neck tension a bit more uniform as well. Which may or may not lead to more precision depending on how anal the rest of your brass preparation process is.

YMMV.

Done right, if nothing else it will extend the life of your brass...which could be a considerable benefit if you shoot a lot of unusual calibers or had to custom manufacture your own brass (like a lot of 300 BLK users do). Be careful, if done wrong it'll ruin your brass and potentially make it unsafe to shoot.

I've fallen down the rabbit hole of chasing perfection and invested in all sorts of tools, to include a home made annealing machine. I'm not really sure it has improved my ability to stay in the x ring. A good set of dies and a decent press is probably all a mortal really needs.

I don't think I shoot well enough or often enough to justify 80% of what I've spent on this hobby lol.

Speed3 · Mar 5, 2019

Major03 said:
Think about taking a coat hanger...and then working it back and forth, back and forth. Eventually it becomes brittle and will snap. That's what is happening to your case when it expands when used, and then contracts in the die...eventually it will lead to split case necks.

I'll also add that in addition to restoring pliability in the neck area, it'll make the neck tension a bit more uniform as well. Which may or may not lead to more precision depending on how anal the rest of your brass preparation process is.

YMMV.

I've fallen down the rabbit hole of chasing perfection and invested in all sorts of tools, to include a home made annealing machine. I'm not really sure it has improved my ability to stay in the x ring. A good set of dies and a decent press is probably all a mortal really needs.

I don't think I shoot well enough or often enough to justify 80% of what I've spent on this hobby lol.

I don't know, a buddy of mine and myself go neck and neck in fclass. He recently(2nd 1/2 of last year) started annealing after each load and found that consistent pressure 25lbs to seat the bullet is the sweet spot. Controls vertical and he always seemed to shoot a few more X's or drop 1 or 2 less.

I swear that most of the "accuracy" comes from the neck area. Tension, concentricity, etc...but hey what do I know, I'm just a hobby guy having fun.

Never heard of salt annealing, I'll look it up tonight

Swaim13 · Mar 5, 2019

So the main place that people get the salts and brass holder is up in Alberta, CA. I spoke with the guy who runs it and he told me that he gets stock in every couple of days and lists it. When he does, it sells out in a few hours. Sadly, I have been calling around trying to find a source for the salt and no luck. It's interesting enough that I might still try it even after I get the annealeez.

Pinecone · Mar 6, 2019

What is special about the salt?

Major03 · Mar 6, 2019

Speed3 said:
I don't know, a buddy of mine and myself go neck and neck in fclass. He recently(2nd 1/2 of last year) started annealing after each load and found that consistent pressure 25lbs to seat the bullet is the sweet spot. Controls vertical and he always seemed to shoot a few more X's or drop 1 or 2 less.

I swear that most of the "accuracy" comes from the neck area. Tension, concentricity, etc...but hey what do I know, I'm just a hobby guy having fun.

Never heard of salt annealing, I'll look it up tonight

Oh, don't get me wrong...I'm not saying that it doesn't make things more consistent...I'm just saying I'm not a good enough rifleman to realize the difference yet :lol2:

I also remember a story about David Tubb shooting the best string of his career (to that date) with a box of hand loads that he had done all the tricks to...annealing, case neck reaming and turning, etc...

Only he'd picked up the wrong box, and realized he'd shot the string with a box of "didn't make the cut" rounds that were out of his spec.

ras_oscar · Mar 7, 2019

I always knew military rounds were annealed because you can see the discoloration ( they don't buff it out after loading) Any reason one couldn't just get a pan of water, submerge the cases up to the shoulder and hit them with a blowtorch?

Also, I assume this is only a benefit with bottleneck cartridges?

John from MD · Mar 7, 2019

You don't have to do it that way but you can. I find it easier to have a 5 gallon bucket between my legs sitting on a chair in a dark room. I heat the necks until they just start to glow and drop them in the water. No, this is not the most precise way of doing it but I has worked for me and many others for many many years.

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