Does anyone anneal case necks? I am curious about this topic, since I guess it would help consistent neck tension. What is the best method and how often should the cases be annealed? Any help and/or sheared experience appreciated.
Tron

I don't believe it would help, that being said you can stand your cases up in a pan of water about half the way up the case and get a torch and heat the top part to a red color and then tip them over into the water. Did that with pistol brass long ago when the cases started to split. But don't think it will help you with neck tension. Good Luck

I had to anneal some cases a while back so that I could fireform some. At first I did the thingy with the torch, got the brass way to soft. It took several firings and sizings to get the brass back to the proper hardness again. The next time I did it a little differently. Hold the case, UNprimed of course, with your fingers and use a regular wax candle to heat the case neck, turning the neck in the flame till it gets all sooty, hold it right in the flame just a bove the wick, it's cooler there rather than above the flame tip, it is difficult to over heat this way since the case gets to hot to hold before the neck is over cooked. Gene..

Tron - If you are only reloading factory brass 3 or 4 times, annealing is not necessary. However, if you would like to extend the life of your brass then annealing is necessary to avoid split necks. For those of us who shoot wildcat cartridges, you either have invested many hours forming brass or lots of money on expensive proprietary brass. Either way, annealing saves a lot of time and expense.

There is no mystery or magic to annealing. It is not difficult or very time consuming. The benefits are easy to see and annealing does improve bullet release and accuracy - both proven facts.

To properly anneal brass you must raise the temperature of the brass to at least 670 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a propane torch to heat - candles heat too slowly and will allow heat to migrate down the case. This CAN soften the case base and web area - something you want to avoid. Some folks recommend that you use a temp stick (like a crayon) to judge the proper temperature. This is not necessary as long as you are not color blind.

As you heat the brass in a flame you will see it take on a shine and then a blue wash color. This is caused by the brass re-crystalizing. This is as hot as you want to get the brass. IF the brass turns cherry red, you have over-heated the brass and it will be too soft to seat bullets.

There are two tricks to annealing - heat quick/cool quick and don�t let the heat run down the case body. To do this properly use a very hot flame and a tub of water. Rotate the neck of the case in the flame till you see the blue wash begin, then toss it in the water. For large cases you can hold the base of the brass with your fingers. For smaller cases you should use gloves.

There is a lot of data on annealing and its benefits. A-Square tested the annealing process and the improvements gained in accuracy, chamber pressure, and velocity SD. You can find this information in their book - Any Shot You Want. The best way to get started is to practice and experiment on old brass. Over heat a few cases and then use plyers to crush the neck. You will quickly see a noticeable difference in neck strength and you will find that it is possible to get it too hot.

In no time you will become a Zen Master at annealing. There is nothing to it.

[ 12-16-2002, 23:27: Message edited by: Zero Drift ]

What Zero Drift said....except....use a temp stick! I've found that in trying to show others how to anneal that perceptions of colors will differ widely. I don't recall the temp you need to reach (I always check my log book when I need to buy some new Tempsticks) but you will be operating in a narrow range.....not hot enough and the neck doesn't anneal and if you over-heat the neck you will ruin the brass.

There is a company called Arizona Ammunition that you can access on the web that will anneal your brass for you...if fact they will size it to you specs, trim it if needed, anneal and then polish it for an incrediably low price + send it back to you in a new MTM plastic box.

They also do benchrest-type prep but that isn't cheap. I've used them in the past when I get behind in getting cases ready to use load. If your time is at a premium, they can't be beat.

Here is the web site for Arizona Ammunition - http://www.arizonaammunition.com/

I have never used them, however, I understand from many folks they do a great job.

Of course trb in that you are located in Norway, you are on your own.

As has been noted, if you heat until cherry, the brass will be way too soft.

I have rarely had need of annealing, but the old method of holding the case immersed down to the shoulder in molten lead (as in a casting pot) usually heats to about the right temperature. There are, of course, hazards in using molten lead for this purpose, so take extreme caution if you choose to do it this way -- you must assure that your cases are clean and free of oil, water, or other contaminants (and refrain from breathing while engaged in the process). I only suggest it as another alternative.

Tks everyone for your replies. I live in Norway, so I can�t send my cases away, but I would rather do it myself anyway, since I really enjoy tinkering with my reloads. My primary concern is to get consistent neck tension, and then extended case life as a bonus.

Would I ever run the risk of heating the brass to much if I use the method of holding the base between my fingertips while heating the neck? Unfortunately I am kind of colour blind (I kid myself into believing thats why I work in an office instead of flying an F-16!)so I cannot rely on colour alone.

My A-square manual is dog-eared and I also read the chapter about annealing, but I can�t remember if there was anything about accuracy, so thats why I appreciate you shearing experiences on that subject. Tron

There is a typo in what Zero Drift posted. The optimum temperature for annealing is 670 degrees Fahrenheit, NOT 760, though the latter probably won't make that much difference. Agree completely with everything else stated in that post.

Bob - You are correct on my typo and the correct temperature. Post fixed. Thanks for catching....

[ 12-16-2002, 23:29: Message edited by: Zero Drift ]

Here is a link to an engineering article about brass.

Unfortunately, it does not correspond to the 670F figure that Narromore reports.

http://www.cda.org.uk/megab2/costeff/pub117/sec62.htm

HTH, Dutch.

carcano91

Just got my hands on the fifth edition, wonderfull....

Tron

I use Varmint Al's method and it works quite well.

http://www.varmintal.com/arelo.htm

Dutch,

What's the conversion from Centigrade to Farenheit? Those charts are in C.

Martindog

670 works out to be about 350 C. Like I said, the engineers and Narramore don't seem to agree....

Interestingly, the Hornady kit comes with Tempilaq rated at yet another number..... FWIW, Dutch.

OK. I've read every thing everyone had to say and I think I understand why you anneal the top half. I bought a couple of bandoliers of WCC-89 7.62X51 last week and they had been annealed. Top half was completly a different color than the bottom half was so I'll assume they had been annealed. Since GI ammo/expended brass was never intended to be reloaded (reloaders of MilSurp was never part of the equation) why was new GI ammo annealed??????

All bottleneck brass is annealed in the manufacturing process. Failure to anneal after all the working of the brass leaves it brittle and subject to cracking and splits. If anything, military brass has a higher need for annealing because of the longer storage/shelf life required.

TRB, If you're holding the case with your fingers you will not be able to get the brass too hot, you MAY not get it hot enough, but IMHO, less cooking is better than overcooking. Gene

[ 12-19-2002, 02:21: Message edited by: muffin ]

I got a batch of Winchester bulk brass awhile back that I wanted to neck up from 22-250 to 250 Savage. Multiple folks told me it was an easy one-pass operation.

My loss rate was 40% with the shoulder collapsing on most of them.

Long story short - I annealed both neck and shoulder using a propane torch, watching for the color change and using my fingers as a secondary indicator. I dropped them into room temp water.

My loss rate dropped to about 4%. With the increased ductility of the necks, they slid over the .257 expander much more easily.

BigIron