Thread: Annealing brass

Originally Posted by JLF

Not a smart way to do it, use a gas torch.

Fred Barker, the man who devised the candle method, discovered that the heat supplied by the candle is sufficient to warm the neck of the pod. The advantage of using a torch is that it does not smoke the neck of the holster and that the desired temperature is reached more quickly. In my opinion, they are not serious drawbacks, the neck of the case is cleaned with the damp cloth, and apart I wash the case before placing the primer.

I have an AMP and have freely annealed brass for a number of forum members. It isn't an essential part of reloading (don't worry too much if you don't anneal!).

It does however do everything @dannyb and others say and can be thought of as one of the extras a reloader can do to lift the quality of their reloads beyond basic sizing, priming, powder charge, and seating. Sorting brass and projectiles by weight, adjusting concentricity of loaded rounds, cleaning the primer pocket, neck turning, cleaning brass before reloading are all in the same category (some of these stop being optional, eg untrimmed brass will FTL or split).

The fundamental rule of reloading is consistency...as little variation as possible from one round to the next to the 100th later. Annealing is one of many actions the reloader can take to eliminate inconsistency. So, not essential but satisfying for the reloader to know that is one less doubt to have when looking at their groups, and their limited supply of brass!

And I am still happy to anneal for free for members per the terms in that thread some time ago

Originally Posted by dannyb

Owen,
Anealling brass is meant to serve a couple purposes

*reduce work hardening of brass (think bending a paperclip back and forth until it breaks) annealing if done effectively "resets" the brass and effectively should increase brass life.

*consistency in neck tension, as with most hand loaders we go down this road to get the most accurate ammo possible and consistent ammo is accurate, so if your neck tension is the same every time you load because the brass is not getting work hardened then your ammo is more consistent and likely more accurate.

I use hot salt annealing and anneal every time a case is fired.... like I said for me it's about reducing variables to increase consistency/accuracy.

No matter the method if done effectively and consistently it does both of the things mentioned above.
There is no argument from me the Amp annealing machines are the gold standard in home annealing, I cant afford one but would have one in a heart beat.
Hot salt or flame annealing is still better than not annealing. You just need to refine your technique and keep it consistent.

Hope this helps
I'm sure others will chime in

That's as good an explanation of the process as you'll get.

Originally Posted by charliehorse

I tried the drill and gas torch method and couldn't get it consistent, my groupings went to shit when I tested it so have been saving for an AMP since.

Keep saving. The AMP was one of my better purchases - an amazing machine and made right here in New Zealand. I do a bit of target shooting and neck consistency was my main reason for buying the AMP.

Originally Posted by 10-Ring

Keep saving. The AMP was one of my better purchases - an amazing machine and made right here in New Zealand. I do a bit of target shooting and neck consistency was my main reason for buying the AMP.

Almost there, hoping to extend brass life on the hornet and 250

Originally Posted by charliehorse

Almost there, hoping to extend brass life on the hornet and 250

The AMP will certainly do that.

Some times we forget it is practical reloading not perfect reloading we want. Funny when you hear criticisim of simple methods until you dig deeper to find why the shots are not grouping. Suddenly the the old enemy appears... recoil.LOL.

Sorry, for most of the shooting I do I strive towards achieving perfect reloading. May not get there but I'm giving it my best.

for my 708 i used a salt annealing method .had it hot around 900F with a 15 count i then resized and used a mandrel 283 and it took about 150 psi to seat bullets . may seem a tad high but thats what the new brass was taking . i sized a brass with out annealing ,took a good deal more psi to seat that bullet

Originally Posted by misser

for my 708 i used a salt annealing method .had it hot around 900F with a 15 count i then resized and used a mandrel 283 and it took about 150 psi to seat bullets . may seem a tad high but thats what the new brass was taking . i sized a brass with out annealing ,took a good deal more psi to seat that bullet

I'm doing my salt bath considerably hotter at 550c and about 7 seconds, but using an aftermarket controller on my lee lead pot the standard pot controller is trash

Originally Posted by zimmer

Sorry, for most of the shooting I do I strive towards achieving perfect reloading. May not get there but I'm giving it my best.

When the drill annealing method enables the old Vixen to head shoot plovers at a distance practical annealing is good enough.This is in 2 Vixens. I load both.I dont shoot them and both hunters are in their 70's.

I used the drill method for years and frankly didn't get any real advantage. Consistency is where it's at and that's very hard to achieve. Enter the AMP Mk II (stands for annealing made perfect) which uses software that analyses a sacrificial case and gives you a number to use for that particular brass. You record that number and use it whenever you anneal that batch of brass again. I realise it's a machine that a lot of people can't afford. Pretty impressive though and well worth it if you want perfectly consistent annealing which in turn gives the foundation for consistent neck tension.

Originally Posted by 10-Ring

I used the drill method for years and frankly didn't get any real advantage. Consistency is where it's at and that's very hard to achieve. Enter the AMP Mk II (stands for annealing made perfect) which uses software that analyses a sacrificial case and gives you a number to use for that particular brass. You record that number and use it whenever you anneal that batch of brass again. I realise it's a machine that a lot of people can't afford. Pretty impressive though and well worth it if you want perfectly consistent annealing which in turn gives the foundation for consistent neck tension.

Every thing you say is correct!
I would never use anything else now

Sent from my SM-A025F using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by misser

for my 708 i used a salt annealing method .had it hot around 900F with a 15 count i then resized and used a mandrel 283 and it took about 150 psi to seat bullets . may seem a tad high but thats what the new brass was taking . i sized a brass with out annealing ,took a good deal more psi to seat that bullet

to recap i am not happy with the salt annealing .in my opinion it just not getting hot enough .tried a hand held induction unit it did not work anything like it does on the youtube vid.
i now have some thing different coming