Thread: Annealing, neck turning all that attention to neck tension and true Centering

Originally Posted by stagstalker

For those who don't have the flash machines, how are you doing your annealing? Ive seen the battery drill and blowtorch method but wonder if your results will be just as inconsistent anyway due to the guesswork involved?

I made this parts all from Amazon cost under $100.

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Originally Posted by 25 /08 IMP

I made this parts all from Amazon cost under $100.

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And the results are good? Consistent and improved your group?

Originally Posted by lee308

And the results are good? Consistent and improved your group?

I'm yet to try as new rifle and new brass but should make brass last longer and easier to size.

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Brass longevity is important.
My my case 100 pieces 338 brass @$6.50 each, I only need 2.3 extra firings per piece to make an AMP worthwhile for that caliber alone.
Worth the gamble and now I get to anneal all my caliber every reload.

We used to stand them in a tray of water (20-odd yrs ago) and run a torch over exposed-necks, seemed to work...made me feel confident about the whole process LOL

Originally Posted by lee308

After what I've researched a lot on you tube. I was shocked to hear what my gunsmith (who was a champion shooter) reckons. He said he didn't anneal or neck turn none of his brass but have won many championships and set records. He reckons I'll be wasting my time but will get some enjoyment out of playing with the gear if time and money is not a problem.
haha....... hard case guy but a Crack up to chat to.

This view of annealing is worth thinking about, ideally from an unbiased perspective, if it is possible to set aside for a moment the amount already invested in commitment to annealing. Whether you believe that annealing improves neck tension consistency, or whether it actually does, are two different things. The latter requires a metallurgical explanation that I have yet to see, and the passing of time or improvements in annealing equipment are not changing the underlying physics.
Annealing can help stop necks from splitting from work hardening though - if brass in that condition is not going to be replaced with new.

Another factor is case reforming - any significant shift in the brass will require annealing, maybe more than once. My first efforts at turning 308Win into 243Win cracked at the necks because I did not know that the necks needed to be annealed.

Originally Posted by rupert

Another factor is case reforming - any significant shift in the brass will require annealing, maybe more than once. My first efforts at turning 308Win into 243Win cracked at the necks because I did not know that the necks needed to be annealed.

reforming into a different cartridge would be fun to do. but I'm not going to do that for my match rifle and match ammo just because me being me don't trust the engineering skills of myself.

Originally Posted by stagstalker

For those who don't have the flash machines, how are you doing your annealing? Ive seen the battery drill and blowtorch method but wonder if your results will be just as inconsistent anyway due to the guesswork involved?

I hold my cases one by one by the base over my little camping stove and heat the neck evenly until its almost too hot to hold and then plunge the case into water. Some times I wear a leather glove.

Its fixed the splitting neck problem I was having with one lot of 300 SAUM brass so I do it with all my calibers now except for my .223.

Originally Posted by Puffin

This view of annealing is worth thinking about, ideally from an unbiased perspective, if it is possible to set aside for a moment the amount already invested in commitment to annealing. Whether you believe that annealing improves neck tension consistency, or whether it actually does, are two different things. The latter requires a metallurgical explanation that I have yet to see, and the passing of time or improvements in annealing equipment are not changing the underlying physics.
Annealing can help stop necks from splitting from work hardening though - if brass in that condition is not going to be replaced with new.

What I do know, is that before I started annealing, with the continual firing and resizing of brass I use to feel the increasing resistence to sizing the brass and even more noticeable was the increased pressure needed to seat bullets in sized cases compared to when they were new or fired less number of times.

After I started annealing the feel or pressure to seat bullets is now always consistent across all brass, I generally anneal every second firing.

How much is that AMP gear? I think it’s cheaper and easier to just buy good new brass. Lapua 308 is only $1.5 each. 5 fires out of it is pretty good value already. Then just use them for another 5 times as plinking close range ammo. I’ve fired some of my brass 12 times and haven’t seen any splits.

But I do use bushing dies all the time for precision reloading. Set the neck size reasonably loose so it’s not working the brass as hard as the standard dies which is usually 4-6 thousandth too tight.

Proper annealing is not so much about extending brass life, which it does, but more so about achieving uniform neck tension and thus better accuracy.

Have a look at the latest testing done by AMP. Good reading: https://www.ampannealing.com/article...he-microscope/

AMP manufacture their state of art annealer here in NZ. Well worth the money IMHO and their customer service is brilliant.

Originally Posted by 25 /08 IMP

I made this parts all from Amazon cost under $100.

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That's a pretty cool little setup. I would be keen to know some more details on what you used to put it together.

If brass is annealed inconsistently for example the necks are not all heated to the same temp / time due to guesswork, is it still worthwhile or are you just incurring inconsistent results on the other end?

Originally Posted by stagstalker

That's a pretty cool little setup. I would be keen to know some more details on what you used to put it together.

If brass is annealed inconsistently for example the necks are not all heated to the same temp / time due to guesswork, is it still worthwhile or are you just incurring inconsistent results on the other end?

I'll try and find you the link and send to you

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