I've just read a couple of threads talking about how to anneal brass and it made me a little nervous. Here are two articles that pretty much have it nailed --- if you aren't using a temp-stick you are playing in traffic.

http://www.6mmbr.com/annealing.html

http://www.gun-tests.com/performance/jun96cases.html

I spend a lot of time prepping my brass and I typically anneal after each 4th firing.

If I need to neck up or down to form a case, I also anneal before I do that

Topic has been discussed quite a bit. I play in traffic now. I practiced a lot with temp paste to learn and as it turned out, I have each brand and caliber on a chart to tell me how many seconds it takes.

Don't use the temp paste now, but will if any brand changes or I start a new caliber.

Since the temp range for a correct annealing is not small, IMO the color of the neck in a dark room is quite indicative; with my torch and my way of annealing, about 7 seconds are right, since the necks barely start to get dark red; I've made some tests with different .27 and .30 cal brass with good results.

Varmint Al has a great discussion and explanation of annealing technique.

HANDLOADER magazine had an article by John Barnsness about annealing several months(?) ago. The short version is, use a household candle, hold the brass about 1/2 way down the body while turning it in the flame. When it becones too uncomfortable to hold, drop it onto a wet towel, wipe off, and on to the next.

The method was developed by a friend of John's who is a metallurgist, and used temperature sensitive lacquer to develop the the procedure.

Cheap, simple, and effective, per John.

Temp-L-Lac and Temp-L-Stick are great products that work just fine on welding and other heating projects involving metal parts larger than cartridge cases. Unfortunately, the proximity of the chemical to the heat of the propane torch which is much hotter in air than the transferred heat to the case will tend to melt it before the desired temperature is achieved in the metal of a cartridge case, especially those short fat cases like the PPCs and BRs. This is one of several professed reasons a lot of BR shooters do not anneal.

If you draw a stripe down a larger case like a .30-06, you'll find that using the "hold it in the fingers and turn it in the flame then drop it in the bucket of water" method is over long before the chemical can melt in the web and head area. In fact, you'll probably find that quenching the case in water was actually not necessary.

After some years and quite a few experiments, I've come to the conclusion that for my use, annealing with a large flame or two flames from propane until the case turns "case colors" and then allowing the brass to cool in air does the job.

I am annealing to restore ductility to the neck in order to try to uniform bullet release, not just to prolong case life. The former requires that the brass be annealed through and through in all 4 directions. The latter can be fairly accomplished with surface annealing, which is what you get using a single propane torch and water, if you're careful. The easy way to do the former is with a two propane torch machine, or a hotter flame. With a hotter flame you can of course more easily over anneal.

Well, I've got a question: If most of the info says you need to reach around 600 degrees, why does Hornady send 475 degree Temp-L-Lac in their annealing kit?

By the time you reach the 475 point and you see the paint melt the brass is probably closer to 600. Who knows?

quote:

Originally posted by C.C.:
...Barsness (said)...use a household candle, ...

This will not work on all Cases. Heat transfer is way too slow to the Case Neck.

This results in having to release the Case with your fingers too quickly - because - the Case Head begins to get hot prior to the proper amount of Annealing happening. And obviously it won't work at all when the Case is setting in a pan of water.

There is nothing "new" to be learned about Annealing. The old ways work all the time and this is another Technique Error reported by Barsness. It is not his first.

The best thing about this kind of Error is that it is easy to prove Totally Wrong for yourself by simply trying it on different size Cases.

Annealing is not difficult, but people keep trying to make it that way. Best of luck to you all.

Someone mentioned annealing using a lead pot ... anyone used this method? Sounds to me like a nearly ideal method for my circumstances (having the materials already and having a Fluke digital thermometer that can be immersed in the alloy). Couple of questions:

1) What is the correct temperature for the alloy?

2) How long should immersion take place to allow proper heat transfer to the brass?

3) How should the cases be prepared for this process to avoid contaminating the case mouths and necks?

quote:

3) How should the cases be prepared for this process to avoid contaminating the case mouths and necks?

Good question. I tried this trick, only to have lead or something sticking to the necks! I was supposed to hold the case by the head and dip the neck in the very hot lead until my fingers told me to let go then drop the cases into water. The annealing part seemed to work - it was just the contamination.

I have just finished reading several treatises on annealing, and just for the sake of discussion, it seems to me that there are several effective methods for case annealing, some much simpler and less equipment-inten$ive than others.

Has anybody actually tried it to see if Barnsness is barking at the moon?

I tend to go with cheap and simple first, because as shooters/reloaders, we tend to make things more complicated than they should to be.

We don't need to be engineers and mathematicians to produce accurate, reliable, and inexpen$ive ammunition, and do it safely!

Not being either of the above, I tend to accept the opinions of those who seem to give good information.

Examples: Ross Seyfried, although I don't like him personally, and John Barnsenss, who have both proven reliable in the past, and seem to realize their responsibility to provide safe, accurate, repeatable information to their readers.

Other scribes I read and still use their guidelines are: Jack O'Connor, Finn Aagard, Skeeter Skelton, and Ed Matunas.

Like reloading manuals, It's just a matter of choosing your expert.

Now, I don't know that John Barnsness' recommendation is wrong, and will cause my gun to explode, rendering me into small, smoking bits of flesh, but if I ever need to anneal case necks, that's the method I will try first. (cheap and simple, then, if it doesn't work...)

Like they say in engineering: If the theory doesn't match the results, go with results, and get a new thory.

But; it is a Fine and Pleasant Madness, isn't it?