Annealing brass. Should you?
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- A discussion about the advantages of annealing brass and some of the products available for that purpose.
Annealing Made Perfect's research and information page: www.ampanneali...
Videos I mentioned:
Roger's awesome AMP setup: • Revised AMP Mate on AM...
Bolt Action Reloading's annealing videos: www.youtube.co...
Erik Cortina's annealing videos: www.youtube.co...
DIY Induction Annealer videos: www.youtube.co...
I've started annealing after every range session, after cleaning the brass. I've noticed more consistent neck tension when seating projectiles.
I now anneal after each competition too. havent had time to shoot outside of that in the last 14 months or so.
I built my own induction annealer for just a little over $200. Works great. You just have to adjust your timing. I’m glad you commented on that system. AMP is a great tool but too expensive for the average Joe.
When I started reloading 5 years ago I thought I had an unlimited supply of brass because I always picked up my brass for 20 years. Turns out when you reload, you shoot A LOT MORE!
The 5,000 or so pieces I had are now going on their third firing so I started annealing them the hard way, one at a time. This video has convinced me that I need an annealer! Thanks for all you do and keep em coming!!
100%
Oof. I only have 400 total and I'm very ready to buy one if I get a deal. Crazy what a difference it makes after 3-4 firing, eh?
I love my ep integrations annealer. Very good price for what you get.
I hand aneil my brass and for the last 18 years or so. I use a quarter inch extension in my electric drill and use a 1/4 inch drive socket that the cases Just sit in without wobble. As a rule it takes four seconds per case, and I always have the blue tip of the flame almost touching the brass. Any further away it takes longer to Aneil. I like to target shoot and hunt, but I don’t expect to put 10 bullets into the same hole. I am happy with getting more than 10 reloads per brass.- - shoot safe and enjoy the sport.
Annealeez is my favorite for saving brass during a time where you can't afford to loose brass to split necks ect. My last batch of lapua 6.5/284 is up nearby $50 per 100. Keep good notes.
"keep good notes" +1
I paid 125 for Laura 6.5x284 4 years ago bought 400 rods. So it's up 50 now
The Annealeez really was awesome. It is much quicker than my AMP, even with the AMP mate and case feed.
I use the Annealeez
notes r king
I have an AMP and glad I purchased it. Yes it was a boat load of money but since im in my late 20's my thought is it will pay for its self in brass life over my shooting career. I anneal my 450 bushmaster brass on it to prevent split necks. also it comes in handy when forming 25-06, 6.5 grendel and 256 win mag brass. I was never sold on annealing and bought the AMP anyway just for extended brass life. It turned me into a true believer when I processed a batch of 308 brass. Before annealing trimming on my RCBS powdered trim pro was a chore. After annealing I had to back off the spring tension as it was too aggressive and causing problems. This is what opened my eyes as to how hard our brass gets and how important annealing is. Obviously an AMP isnt for everyone but I encourage all non beginner reloaders to anneal.
Yeah, people can balk at the expense in reloading, but with ammo prices so freaking crazy it'll all pay itself off pretty quick. I barely shoot, honestly, but I've probably paid off my stuff in a few years.
Shannon, There is an Australian company that makes an annealing machine comparable to the Annealeez called Kase Annealr, that have made a very good set of tutorials on how to setup their flame annealer. While their tutorials mostly pertain to setting up their machine, I'd like to point out in their flame alignment video, they recommend setting up the flame so that the tip of the inner flame is just touching the neck/shoulder junction. I believe this to be a more consistent way of setting up the flame, and should help you to alleviate the issue of your flame running away from your case. You're machine should be capable of speeding up to compensate for the extra heat being put into the case, so you don't ruin your brass. I'm not saying you need to try this, it is only a suggestion, but it might be worth a try. Good luck with the tinkering.
Should switch to Induction technology. Gas becoming outdated.
ruclips.net/video/Bs5J5nZrKdw/видео.html
ruclips.net/channel/UCE-sacz5aoQz-CJHrwPcklA
I have an " annealeez " and have no complaints....... It may not be the best or most expensive but it works great !!
Wife bought me an AMP machine. Best machine out there.
I have done thousands cases with my Annealeez, works fine.
Also your flame is way to short / low. IME with the feather (inner Fame) 1/4 to 3/16 from the brass about 6 seconds is what you will want with that brass.
While my Annealeez 2 doesn't cure split necks in my 6.5 Grendel, the brass lasts longer. All my 5.56 range brass goes thru annealing prior to trimming & reloading. I watched Erik Cortina's videos and came away with "it's not so critical that I need an AMP for my needs". I anneal everything and agree that neck tension is more consistent.
Annealing should be done before resizing and not afterwards! You’ll ruin neck tension by annealing after sizing.
Listened to all pros and cons....for me proof is in the puddin, I load many different kinds of cartridges, black powder and wildcat hand made by forming and very old chamberings ect. I need and want cases to last as long as possible, also want low pressure loads to seal at the case mouth on firing , annealing after 20 years proved to me I need to, in most cases, every reload. Also I could afford an expensive annealer but , never bothered, propane tourch a drill and appropriate size socket work perfectly, 60-80 rpm for 6-7 seconds, tip of the blue flame touching the brass shoulder angled toward the neck. Not rocket science. I think "like everything" over thinking over complicates the process and bottom line.
The only real precaution for safety, is dont over heat the bottom third of the case, keep the flame up on the shoulder, if your nervious, Set the case in a pan 1 inch of water. I have done this precaution when annealing very short cases.
I use the lee hand trimmer that hooks to your drill and the shell holder that goes with it to hold the case and a propane torch like you said... I've just started messing with it and it does help tighten things up with your velocity numbers and makes sizing much more consistent. I've been waiting on this video ever since the livestream because I've been looking into annealing for a while and was looking at getting a machine because the way I'm doing it now takes forever. Great video as always keepem coming brother!!!
I use a socket set and put it in my wireless drill. I use the long sockets. I put the braas in the socket en let it turn in the flame off a cheap burner with disposable botle. I let the hot brass fall in an iron kitchen vegtable filter. So easy and not so hot as yours.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE my EP integrations 2.0 annealer! Crazy easy to anneal right out of the box & anneals from the smallest of cartridges up to 50BMG without having to add or remove any parts & adjusts from cartridge to cartridge in seconds. I'd check it out.
I assembled the DIY annealer offered on YTube. It worked beautifully, for close to 1000 cases. Went to use it this weekend and was not the same. Seems like the induction device is acting up. It gets hot, not that hot though. After 9-10 seconds, I gave up. Then I remembered I had to return the first one to Amazon. They were great about the exchange, prompt, no questions asked.
Maybe the quality is spotty. Maybe some get lucky and get a good one. I got two that did not hold up. I am going to purchase the Ugly Annealer. Looking at several videos I think this may be reasonably affordable and well built. It comes with all you need less torch for under 300.00. Thanks for all you do.
I have an Annealeez Gen 3, so far it's been great. As far as 300BO brass I anneal it after cutting down 5.56 brass before forming to 300BO.
Annealing black powder cartridges is a good idea as well. A softer neck will expand to seal the chamber more easily preventing blowback. If your BP cartridges are dirty out of the chamber, you might need an annealing.
Thank you very much for creating this video! I will be bookmarking this video (I may even download it.) Great video for anyone who wants to take reloading beyond just reloading a couple of their rifle cases from time to time.
Shannon (or Shawn..I can remember) got it, so as long as my PC lasts and it has power I'll have this video to refer to for myself or anyone I know who is considering annealing. Again, thanks a million!
One thing I have to remind of is that I don't shoot to make an income, therefore I don't need to spend $$ on the best of the best equipment. I find a thing that suits my needs and that's what I use. I'm using the Annealeze and have had no issues with it, other that heavy ends precipitating out of the gas and clogging the burner nozzle which is no fault of Annealeze. I use a 750 deg F temp stick (Markal Thermomelt) to set it up and record my settings. I've done some studying on brass metallic annealing and seen the temp curves required to fully anneal without "cooking out" base metals. Form watching the video, Its hard to judge the amount of heat you were putting into the brass, but from my experience with that machine, you need more heat.
JRB is my favorite channel bar none on RUclips.
I bought one only because i have an 8.6 blackout and make my own brass but now i love it and use it all my brass
Got the amp annealer about 3 months ago. Great machine! Fast!
I`ve had my annealeeze for about five years. I`ve had good luck with it. I used a batch of 100 5.56/223 mixed cases a few years ago and got eleven reloads or twelve shots out of them before I felt like they were finally worn out. I only lost two of those 100 to split mouths. Elfster has a new annealer he sells that can do brass from 300blk to 50bmg without changing out any parts. It's pretty darn cool and about the same price as an annealeeze.
Link?
@@MrBoostin18 EP Integrations LLC
Add an adjustable regulator with a gauge to your 20# tank , leave torch valve full open and adjust your flame with the regulator. Then record the time and pressure , the digital timer is available on Amozon or Ebay and an easy install.
That sounds like a good plan.
As far as the field expedient method, I just find a deep socket that perfectly fits the case I’m working with. Don’t have to worry about the case wobbling around.
If, like me, you want a nice induction annealer take a look at North East Texas Tactical channel for a $250 induction DIY setup. It isnt fully automated but it sure is simple and consistent and for 1/10th the price it does a great job.
Talking about the 900F salt bath. What is the dip time for best annealing of 5.56x45 brass for you.
What about the 6.5mm Grendel brass? Did you try Grendel cases in your salt bath annealer.
The secret to the AMP New Zealand induction annealer is that they use tons of hardness data using their Vickers Micro-hardness tester. That rig is a few thousand dollars by itself, so they amortize the cost for owning and operating that lab level hardness tester by passing along the cost to their induction annealer price.
Good stuff Johnny. I have that exact annealer. Adding an on/off and a volt meter does help.
I anneal everything, every pass. The Annealeez is so fast and simple, why not?
The real win with annealing is consistency in neck tension. The case life extension is just a good side effect IMHO.
I dont feel Tempilaq is worth the money. Its easy to set by eye in the dark as you showed.
One thing that Ive found to work well is to run from a 20# gas tank as it makes the torch more consistent.
Also I set the torch with the tip of the flame on the shoulder of the case.
The AMP folks are correct on the salt annealing. The salt bath just doesnt have enough high temp to raise the neck temp enough to actually anneal anything.
I tried several different variations of flame annealing and the results were universally inconsistent. Flame stability and consistency is just a constant problem. Induction is the only way that yields consistent results. The Annie annealer is what I got. It is just a basic unit with a cooling coil so that the power source is protected during high volume annealing. The small handheld induction units he discussed are fine for very low volumes but will easily overheat and burn up their power source if not allowed to cool frequently.
There are ways to get more consistent flames to help with that issue. The larger the fuel tank the better. Discharge rate to volume will drop the tank temp, and thus pressure. Different nozzle designs also can make a difference. Not saying it's perfect by any means, just things that can make a difference.
@@OddBallPerformance Yes, a grill tank helped, but truth is, there is simply no comparison between inductive and even the very best flame based results. Setup is slow and changes every time you use it. I can easily anneal 200 rounds with my manual inductive annealer in the time needed to set up and adjust it a flame based unit. Once you have used the alternative, you wont ever consider going back.
Been using my Gen2 Annealezz for about a year now. Works great, I use 55 on the speed and just kiss the brass with the blue flame. It runs about 5-6 seconds before pickup. Worth every cent and my brass is definitely more easy to size and I have almost no case splits.
I use 55 to anneal my 6.8 SPC brass. Love Annealeez.
I do not anneal using the Lee collet die followed by the Redding Body die, resizing 3/1000 every reload. There ie spring back after 3 firings so need to push shoulders back a little more each time to maintain the 3/1000. Because I only Lee neck die size they are not work hardened, so my brass last longer without the need to anneal. I get about 10 firings from each case. My case failures are typically the primer pocket, having only a couple split cases over the years. I have great accuracy and shoot competitively in my league shooting fantastic groups. I have great success as long as I push the back the shoulders 3/1000. This does not work with if push the shoulders back using a full length die or bushing die, poor groups three shootings. It is understandable to me, as the Lee Collet Die works the brass only a fraction of a typical die. Last week with my 6.5 Creedmoor at 1000 yards I shot a 7” and 9” (5 shot) groups on a bipod. I measure each piece of brass many times during the reloading process making sure every piece of brass is exactly the same after sizing. I absolutely hate annealing and have found a reloading process where I do not need to anneal. Problem, just bought a 6.8 Western and Lee does not yet make a collet and Redding does not make a body die. So, I have no choice but to anneal.
For my 300 Win Mag I was using the exact Coleman propane/torch setup you showed... And the little Lee case holder doodad, but I chucked it in my lathe and ran it at 120 rpm. But it was a tad slow so I dug around in all my sockets and figured out a 13 mm deep well fit 300WM just about perfect. No more fiddling with locking the case head in the Lee doodad.
Not a lot of people have a lathe in their shop. So go to Lowe's or similar and get a socket adaptor for 1/4" impact to 3/8 drive sockets. And buy a cheap Chinesium socket that fits your case... Chuck it in your drill or impact and get to annealing.
I've reloaded for decades and only started annealing in the last year - when I finally got serious with the CheyTac calibers. I have to agree that the salt bath looks very dangerous. I've purchased an AMP. My first experience was with .338 LM cases and boy that was some lesson. I really discovered that the cases after annealing are so soft that they like sticking to dies. Almost like bread dough.
I broke a case remover trying to get one out. Since then, I've switched to Imperial Sizing Wax to lubricate the cases after annealing. Anything else and they stick - HARD!
KISS principle works for me: lee trimmer holder, torch, drill and Sound Brenner app to provide 6-7 second timing depending on caliber. Never had a split neck or a case head separation, and all my final loads have single digit SDs.
i just use a torch and do it by hand. it will get too hot to hold if you are really screwing it up. it also has the benefit of drying them out after cleaning them so it does 2 things at once.
ive probably done like 2k 308 and 223 cases like that and its something i just have done while sitting around
I'm sure of it now! Johnny is also This Old Tony
Even with the small wheels, I had very poor results on my Annealeze not burning up the wheels. I gave up on both 300 BO and 6mm ARC. Great for 223 though.
You have to adjust the torch as close to the machine as you can and it will stop that
That's the complaint I keep running into. I tried to be careful and have the nozzle pointed slightly away from the machine. I saw a bunch of videos by a guy that added big fender washers as heat protectors for the wheels, but I haven't taken the time to watch them yet. Thanks for the info.
the gen 3 version lets you set the torch at an angle behind the machine. just ran 1500 300blk and no damage to the small wheels.
@@jeffnichols5176 crazy thing is he just sent me a email about that it’s a 4” exhaust clamp, I’m taking my gen 2 apart and going to set it up like the new one
Here is a video overview of the EP 2.0 Annealer
ruclips.net/video/BqZVj0OcouY/видео.html
Coming from the blacksmith world, you want to anneal in a dark(er) room, and when the brass turns a dull red drop it immediately into a tub of water. This may be a touch too soft for cartridge cases though.
That was how I used this; I would set it to drop the case just as a faint glow appeared, but I didn't water quench. My sizing became easier and more consistent, and I rarely split case necks anymore.
Water is not the answer for annealing brass
@@6creeder688 you should read a metallurgy book.
@@veteranironoutdoors8320 no need to, I’m not wetting my brass after annealing. When I anneal brass it’s time to load it not wait for it to dry again. I promise I know what I’m doing with brass and reloading my trophies prove that. Annealeez comes with a metal pan for it to drop into not a water bucket.
@@6creeder688 im talking apples and you are talking oranges. Im speaking about brass in the material sense. You are speaking brass as in formed cartridge brass.
Nice video. I keep researching annealing. I do think that EC might not be right on the over annealing meaning that I do think that you can overheat the brass and ruin it sooner than his video indicated. I am actually a fan of his. Some people actually ruin a piece of brass and back off which is not so bright. It does not hurt to double anneal. If you re-anneal the brass that is already annealed, it will not over anneal. Providing when you anneal it again it has cooled down. So, one could work their way up to the proper anneal and anything that may have been under annealed could be re-annealed. With a single flame and the right distance from the torch somewhere around 4 seconds should do the job on most brass. Very small calibers maybe less, very large maybe a little more. Reloading is a constant learning process.
I am planning to buy a aneelezz. Some of my older 45/70 black powder cases sent the case mouth down rage through my Sharps.
I anneal my 300 blk brass after cutting down the 5.56 cases and before forming .
I have been using the candle method for my grendel, but I don’t shoot tons of brass so it goes fast enough for me.
Don’t worry about it getting bright cherry red and I mean bright! Brass is a single phase alloy so can’t be over annealed. Providing it’s just the neck that glows you’ll be fine. Over annealed= melted. Don’t waste your money on tempilaq! Annealing at 750f needs an hour on the annealing S curve. You actually need around 1050 degrees over a few seconds which is enough to cause the necks to glow brightly but short enough to prevent the lower part annealing.
Hey sir, love your vids! I especially love how I can’t get out of my head the picture of Lt. Jim Dangle from Reno 911 sitting there reloading ammo! You sound exactly like him!
They make a lacquer that paints onto the neck and turns a certain collar at a certain temperature and they make a range of different temperature lacquers. Tempalaq or similar name. At that point you can set your dwell time on your drum to a certain reference number and be pretty sure it’s annealing properly.
I anneal the 300 BLK OUT after I cut them before I size them. Make a big difference.
I made my father promise to retire the salt annealing process. A drop of sweat reacts badly. Bought him an Annealeez. Very happy and my 76 yo father is good. The consistency with it is very consistent.
I have to agree. It's easy and worth it. In the last couple years I've picked up rifles chambered in cartridges you can't find when times are good. Few things are quite as aggravating as losing cases after one or two firings when you took the time to make impossible to find brass out of hard to find brass. Passed up a 250 Savage a while ago, wish I'd grabbed it as I have tons of 22-250 available to make into 250 Savage.
Others have commented but you need the inner light blue flame tip just touching the neck towards the shoulder. Melting wheels on these is a real thing..sometimes from improper flame setup but more often from conduction and convection. If you want hit me up and I’ll send you a solution to this.
Annealeez thermal shields full kit - finally!
ruclips.net/video/hecs4UTrR5I/видео.html
I have long hoped you would start annealing all your brass as a part of your reloading process. I feel your SDs will be decreasing in the future, good stuff Shannon!
Consistency is key.
Thank you for a great video again. The marking is not important because as you said would change with gas setup and also changes with brass. I found different cases needs different settings for annealing. I made my own annealer and i use the flame always max setting and if needed I adjust the distance of the torch instead of the size of the flame. But this is easy in my case because I only reload 223 and 308.
I don't even smoke pot but I could watch that thing spin for hours.
Giraud makes a great flame annealer as well. I'd recommend a regulator for the gas - keep it consistent. Plenty of cylinders will have varied output that a regulator will even out for you.
Good video
Please, please, please build the induction annealer!?! The idea of using a press to do it I also thought of. I was thinking of modifying a crimping die to contain the element somehow. Having a switch on the press that activates when the ram is at the top of the stroke. Only problem is I’m a dunce when it comes to wiring! So I have all the components but wouldn’t know how to wire in the timer or the switch. I know you have the smarts to do it so please do and show how all the wiring is done. Kindest regards from Australia, Superdude70.
You need the small wheel for 6.5 Grendel, 6 mm arc and I'm pretty sure 224 Valkyrie , I have tried using the medium wheels but just not enough brass hanging out, and the smalls really doesn't like to spin to good and that was with new wheel,, so i found annealing the dirty brass first. it did spin a lot better with the dirty brass then nice clean shiny brass. now 223 on the medium wheels was fine, but i on thinking about switching to EP 2.0 BRASS ANNEALER I anneal after every firing, i get long brass life and i have seen better groups on my worked up loads , which i had a harder time with be for annealing I find that i get the same release tension around the bullet
Thank you for answering why I cannot get consistent bump on my case shoulders...
Now I have to spend more money 😂
Seriously thanks for the Info.
I used to stand my brass in a roasting tin with water in the bottom. Heat up the brass with a blow torch once the brass are red knock them over into the water.
The purpose of annealing is to soften the metal, not to make it harder by quenching in water.
Great video. I built my own flame annealer last winter and have watched some of the same videos on building an induction annealer. While I like my flame annealer induction is the way I would personally like to go.
When I run my flame annealer I run it so that the inner flame is just kissing the point where the neck and shoulder meet and run it till it gets a faint glow and it then drops into my garage sale purchased bread pan.
Reese on the Range had some interesting videos on metallurgy when it comes to flame annealing and he makes it super simple to understand. Maybe someday I will have a job that will allow pay me enough for Amp Annealer money but right now I am happy with the flame. Great video thanks Johnny.
There's a YT channel that the guy shows you how to assemble an induction annealer for about $250. He uses a hand held induction heater (the type garages use to remove stuck bolts) with a digital timer (that is controllable to .01 seconds) wired in. He can do 50 cases in about 5 minutes. It's worth taking a look at.
what yt channel is it ? i thought about getting one to try out . and if it don't work good for cases i can still use it for stuck bolts .
I shoot BPCR Competitively, and 45/70 was my cartridge of choice until I moved to 40/50 Sharps Bottleneck. We anneal for the same reason everyone else anneals, neck tension for those who shoot with neck tension, and to make sure the case mouth/neck area actually fire-forms and seals off the chamber to keep black powder fouling from blowing back and sooting up the chamber. 38/50 hepburn, 40/65, 45/70, etc... most anyone who shoots these anneals. I anneal my 45/70 and 38/55 cases for smokeless too, so yes, you should anneal your 32/40's if you're after the extreme end of accuracy.
Thanks!
I use a my torch, socket and my electric drill bit. I just like doing everything by hand. I find it very pleasing and stress released process.
Get some 750 tempilaq. Then you can set time perfectly. I usually do 2 or 3 cases and save one in case I want to check it later to see if everything is still running correctly. I also use the tempilaq inside the case mouth. Then clean, size, trim and clean again only if needed.
Johnny now that you have that annealez and the salt bath I wondered if you'd be willing to do a test between AMP, Annealeez, and salt bath, testing relevant info such as SD/ES and consistency. I've been sitting on pitchinf this idea to you and BAR for probably 1.5 years now. This test would potentially require quite a bit of resources, especially if using work hardened brass but I think this info would be super beneficial and could potentially clear up some people's beliefs or disbelief in AMPs study on the subject. If you guys ever to decide to the test I would be more than happy to donate to the cause and I hope you hit me up.
Really enjoyed this. I did exactly the same (in thought process) before I bought the AMP. I too watched the videos on their web site and decided that everything else represented too much compromise. Their research is extensive. Just processed 600.
lol, im sure they want you to have that EXACT feeling after watching their marketing materials. Given that many people don't anneal at all and have good results, the difference between the cheap and expensive annealer will be so minute its hilarious.
@@James28R In general, I would agree. However, I spent a career in direct sales and am the most "pitch" resistant person you will ever meet. I was convinced by the data. I can feel the difference when sizing and I can see it when I measure.
I'm interested in DIY induction heating. I'm an electro-mechanical engineer by day job. If you build one I'd be willing to help. I can design circuit boards as well as mechanical stuff.
I don't believe you are going to get more consistent sizing Shannon. The amount of time those were in the flame seemed way to short. The case neck is thinner than the shoulder and it will start to change color several seconds before you get the anneal you are looking for. To get a proper anneal, you need to see the orange glow from the heat in the shoulder of the case. I use one torch and my anneal time is about eight to nine seconds per case. Of course it also depends where in the flame the case is. Try it using your shoulder bump gauge and you will see what I'm talking about. STAY AWAY from the temp. changing lacquers. Reese on the range is a metallurgist, and he has a couple of videos showing why lacquers don't work for home annealing. I highly recommend going here, ruclips.net/user/ReeseontheRange, and watching the annealing videos
As a wildcatter it's impossible not to be playing around with some calibres WITHOUT annealing.
We anneal Copper and nickel plates at work go through few time in process to make what plate size customer want and hardness of plates or coils of metal. All gos through heat then through water and acid clean the metals. Not into it yet for myself for reloading still think about it .
Temperature is part of the old AMP white papers and also addressed thoroughly by ReeseontheRange a metallurgist
Set the flame so that the tip of the inner flame (the hottest part) is right at the neck-shoulder junction. 5.5 seconds in the flame was perfect for .308 brass. As Erik Cortina demonstrated, the time isn't as super critical as most people think and for that reason setting time in the flame using the timer on your phone or ipad should be sufficient.
I found 6-7seconds in the flame is about the sweet spot for most brass in my experience.
I bought the smaller wheels for 6.5 Grendel. Haven't done any 300 Blackout with it yet.
Very well done
From what I could see your doing good , I do this after every firing it sure makes the brass easy to trim and by the way I use a drill motor and swap sockets per size of the case
I wonder if a flow gauge from the local welding supply would help keep a consistent flame that you could write down and dial in every time
The price of annealers is as bad as case tumblers. I use the torch method and just lightly chuck up the cases in my battery drill and count to 6. Works OK especially on 308 I've converted to 6.5CM. I am currently building my own liquid tumbler using casters and an old corded 3/8" drill to turn it. I shoot 100 rounds a week or so and my Savage holds .5moa. My problem is me as far as groups go now but the price of some of this equipment is crazy for the average guy.
Shoot a couple of Straight wall cases
45-70 and 38-50 Hepburn
The Hepburn is formed from 303 British and I have a 375h&h expander in a lee Universal decaping die you bring it from arround .310 to arround .373 in one pass
That’s is working the brass alot so i anneal before and after forming
I’m shooting black powder so i do not size my brass the projectiles can be seated with you thumb however I use a die just for consistency
So once fire formed im not working the brass much at all I still anneal just the case mouth every so often but probably don’t even need to do that
You could literally get 50 or more shots per case if you look after it unlike modern smokeless Cartridges
The person that made it definitely has a sense of humor. Sounds like Analease lol
It's been proven now that unfortunately salt bath annealing is ineffective on bottleneck cases. It looks annealed but the metal is still way too hard. Works fine for straight cases though.
I have just bought an AGS annealer but having a heck of a job finding a suitable gas torch. Any ideas where I could purchase one of these torches? I want to use a seperate butane tank. I am in the UK and amazon does not always cross over unfortunately but any name etc would be helpful... thanks bud
I've used an Annealeeze for several years and switched to a Benchsource annealer. More better, easier to get it right once you play with it a little bit. I set my torches so the two center tongues of fire meet on the neck of the case. I do it about 4 seconds and that seems right but you may need to go a little slower depending on the brass.
Have you actually had any neck failure? I've loaded for a few years and maybe 8 times on some and have yet to see it. Even on win .223 brass. I've messed up a few necks tho. Learning curve
Hey JRB - Just wondering if you have heard of wax candle annealing? Sounds good to me. Quite simple too.
I just went and watched a video. I hadn't seen that before! As long as it gets hot enough I don't see why it wouldn't work.
I have the V2 annealeez. I set mine up where I can just run the flame wide open and only adjust the speed for different cases. Makes it super easy to switch from 223 to 308 to 6.5 creedmoor etc. Just aim the torch and set the speed for whatever case I'm running.
I think that's what I'm going to try next. Seeing that flame change so much during the video was eye opening. I didn't notice it at all at the time! I think working under bright lights for the camera made it less obvious. If going wide open doesn't work for me, I might look for a different nozzle or something. I'm sure, if I look around, all of this has been talked about and figured out long ago.
It would be nice to put bullet in bullet at 300 yards with annealing. I settle for dime sized groups at 100 yards with my mixed brass reloads.
On my 45/70, I get bulges down on the lower part of the case that makes chambering difficult. I've never split a case mouth that I can remember. I've been reloading some of my brass for over 20 years, admittedly I'm not a high volume shooter of 45/70.
Whoever made this product had a pretty good sense of humor.
Why not just buy new brass when old ones are worn out? Reloading can be bit like going down a rabbit hole. Annealer will be just another piece of equipment in my storage after using maybe 5 times initially, then the thrill is gone.
So, im no expert but, in my experience ive found that if i anneal my 6.5 wssm after neck sizing it wont hold a bullet any more. So i anneal evry time before sizing.
For the people that do it by hand with a tourch use tempilaq 700 degree it's like nail polish you put a little swipe on the inside of the case and when you heat it it will dissolve and your done it is very accurate it basically works like a timmer.
Flame is too far from the brass, inner blue tip needs to touch the brass just right above where the neck and shoulder join. 5-6 seconds in the flame should do the trick.
Good Video, I just ordered one for myself
I wanna get one. Not crazy about the gen 3 though. The bottle free stands and i can’t see how that would be a repeatable way to anneal
Same here about the gen 3 version.
is it common after the 4th or 5th resize that you can't get the shoulder to bump at all? I've been having that issue and thats why I'm researching annealing.
I'd like to make a annealer from a 3d printer heating cartridge. You could probably tear apart a cheap 3d printer and have all the parts required to have perfect automatic temp control heater that almost fits in a 223 case. I'm smart enough to know there's a way to do it just not smart enough to do it.
I have that same annealer. The bottom wheel no longer spins the top wheel. Any idea how to tighten it back up? I tried using a socket set and i am obviously doing something wrong. Thanks
Easiest way to spin cases I've found is to decap them and put a decapping pin or small diameter drill in the drill. Just put the case on the pin at a moderate spin rate (I use a zip tie to control the drill speed) and put the drill in a vice. 4-5 seconds works for most bottle neck cases.
how many do you spin? I only shoot 100/month on my precision loads @ 800m, I anneal when I get a set of brass that has
Do you anneal nickel plated cases??????? If so, how does the procedure differ??????
First off, yes I anneal my brass...do I need a machine? Well no, I dont shoot like you, but...you do need to anneal your brass!