Looking to get some brass annealed

[Morgan321]

Looking for somebody who has an annealing machine near pax river. I have around 400 cases I'd like to anneal. Not willing to attempt it by hand and can't justify the cost of a machine. I'd pay a reasonable fee, fill your propane tank, buy a few beers, etc.

 

[lee2]

water up to the shoulder of the case and a propane torch. wait for the color change.

 

[j8064]

water up to the shoulder of the case and a propane torch. wait for the color change.

This^

 

[Topher]

water up to the shoulder of the case and a propane torch. wait for the color change.

Agreed. Not hard.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Yeah , Lee said it first.

 

[10xclean]

Just bought one of these... waited on it a few months. Probably overkill, but I like it. bought setup for 223, 308, and 300 Win Mag. Can cover all the similiar case sizes easily.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCWni2nNNeE

 

[Pinecone]

Don't use water bath.

You can do it with a socket and powered screwdriver or cordless drill. You want the case rotating for more even annealing.

Looking for the color change, without some practice will lead to over heated brass. Get some Tempilac to really show what temp you are hitting. 650 degree is commonly used.

There is a guy on Snipers Hide that will deprime, SS tumble and anneal brass for 10 cents each.

 

[kohburn]

making some 300blk?

 

[Franklin]

Don't use water bath.

You can do it with a socket and powered screwdriver or cordless drill. You want the case rotating for more even annealing.

Looking for the color change, without some practice will lead to over heated brass. Get some Tempilac to really show what temp you are hitting. 650 degree is commonly used.

There is a guy on Snipers Hide that will deprime, SS tumble and anneal brass for 10 cents each.

just looked at the drill process on the tube. i have 250 308's to do when i get home tonite

 

[Morgan321]

Looking for consistency, so I'm not willing to do it by hand. Anybody?

 

[Pinecone]

Giraud machine.

 

[John from MD]

To do it by hand, you need to be in a dark room and, just as you see color, drop the case in the water. A small drill motor works fine if the chuck will open wide enough. I use an old battery that turns the case slowly rather than the normal speed of the drill. I have extended the lives of my expensive odd calibers at least 3X.

 

[Pinecone]

Chuck the proper size socket to hold the case head. Easier than the chuck. Also acts as a heat sink to reduce the risk of overheating the head area.

Water quench is not required. Air cooling works fine.

 

[hylomar]

To do it by hand, you need to be in a dark room and, just as you see color, drop the case in the water. A small drill motor works fine if the chuck will open wide enough. I use an old battery that turns the case slowly rather than the normal speed of the drill. I have extended the lives of my expensive odd calibers at least 3X.

I use the dark room process too. I have confiscated my wife's Lazy Susan and place a shall pan of water in. Brass gets heated while turned slowly by hand then gets knocked over into the water. Works well, but it is a slow process. I can do about 200 an hour.

More info here: http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/annealing/ Shows the science, methods, and some of the different machines available for those that don't know why they should anneal.

 

[coopermania]

I have a Giraud machine but I don't share well with others.
If I share Mr Pinecone is first inline.

 

[psycosteve]

Chuck the proper size socket to hold the case head. Easier than the chuck. Also acts as a heat sink to reduce the risk of overheating the head area.

Water quench is not required. Air cooling works fine.

Wouldn't using a water quench cause the brass to harden instead of softening it ? The whole point is to remove the heat treatment out of the brass right ? I know with iron or steel a quick water quench causes the carbon content to crystallize making your metal harder . Is the whole point in softening the brass to form it to the chamber or to make it last for more shots . I am a little lost here .

 

[wgttgw]

Brass can only be work hardened unlike steel. The water quenching is to immediately stop the annealing so it is not over done. There is a fine line between doing good and harm when annealing.

 

[Franklin]

Wouldn't using a water quench cause the brass to harden instead of softening it ? The whole point is to remove the heat treatment out of the brass right ? I know with iron or steel a quick water quench causes the carbon content to crystallize making your metal harder . Is the whole point in softening the brass to form it to the chamber or to make it last for more shots . I am a little lost here .

Soft metals don,t react the same as hard metals when rapid cooled. Makes the the case more workable so it doesn't work harden and break. Like anealing copper pipe to super swedge it.

 

[Pinecone]

I have a Giraud machine but I don't share well with others.
If I share Mr Pinecone is first inline.

And I will bring the beer.

 

[Pinecone]

Air cooling works as well, as the brass stops annealing as soon as you take the torch flame away.

But if water cooling makes you feel better, keep doing it.

I just don't want to deal with drying the brass afterwards.