Is it worth it to anneal brass? And if you do anneal your brass how are you going about it? Thanks!
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Annealing brass
- Thread starter hillbillydelux
- Start date
I'm interested too in opinions... Would also be curious if it depends on caliber/rifle... Like if mostly shooting in an ar, is it a complete waste due to the brass taking a beating, or can it still extend the life of the brass...
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I do it periodically. I can really feel the difference with freshly annealed when resizing and bullet seating. It feels softer and 'grippier'.
I use a method called candling. Light a candle, hold the case in my fingers about halfway up the case. Roll the case (neck/shoulder juncture directly over the flame) just over the flame until it's too hot to hold, then wipe it off with a damp towel.
It seems to take about 12-14 seconds to get the heat up (308 Win case). Takes me about 30 minutes to do 50 cases. Low tech, but it works, and doesn't really cost anything.
If you put the case IN the flame, you'll get a lot of soot. Just above the flame is hotter, and cleaner.
Also, hold the case at an angle with the top upward. This prevents the rising heat of the flame from entering the case and giving you the heat too soon.
I use a method called candling. Light a candle, hold the case in my fingers about halfway up the case. Roll the case (neck/shoulder juncture directly over the flame) just over the flame until it's too hot to hold, then wipe it off with a damp towel.
It seems to take about 12-14 seconds to get the heat up (308 Win case). Takes me about 30 minutes to do 50 cases. Low tech, but it works, and doesn't really cost anything.
If you put the case IN the flame, you'll get a lot of soot. Just above the flame is hotter, and cleaner.
Also, hold the case at an angle with the top upward. This prevents the rising heat of the flame from entering the case and giving you the heat too soon.
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+1 on the Benchsource. I anneal the brass for my precision rifles after each firing and the machine makes it an easy task. Annealing if done correctly will provide more consistent sizing, neck tension and extend case life.
If you don't have a Benchsource use a propane torch. I place my brass in my K&M neck turning shell holder, chuck the holder into a drill and run it over the the tip of the flame for 5 seconds. I drop the brass into a metal bowl ( there is no reason to drop in water). I believe it extends my brass life (7wsm & 260) and lowers my ES/SD. There is also a noticeable difference when seating bullets.
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Definitely lengthens the life of your brass, no question. I wish I had started annealing sooner, because I had thrown away a lot of cases with cracked necks before I started annealing. Now I have yet to see a cracked neck on a case I've annealed. Live and learn.
I also use the bench source. I just bought mine and am still working on getting the time just right. I had to smile at jbrand11's description of it being "inexpensive". His piggy bank is definitely bigger than mine. At $529 delivered I don't think it's inexpensive at all but I do think it's worth every penny.
Plucked from another forum:
Originally Posted By Scorpius:
well...took me almost a year to complete the testbut here are the results.
Overall, I can say the annealing each time gave me more consistent groups and tighter, the worst was never annealing, they just kept getting larger and larger until they were like off the shelf cheap ammo.
With annealing every time 23 reloads
random anneal 20 reloads
no anneal 16 reloads
(couldn't locate my original thread so posting this)
I highly recommend the Bench source annealer. It works great and if you have any questions don't hesitate to call David. He is very helpful and is a competition shooter himself. I put it off for a while because of the price, but now that I have used it, it is well worth it. Once I started using it I found my shoulder bump and seating depths were much more consistent.
I have about $200 in this one! Click on image to see in action. It took me about 3 hours to build.
diego
diego
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Nice home brew annealing rig!! I got the bench source as my time is worth more then the $500 I spent it.
I know a couple guys that have them and are very happy with them. Only complaint is it's slower than the two torch rigs. I am building mine, hopefully get it buttoned up next weekend, I have a ton of brass that needs to go through it.
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It took me 20 mins to load 500 223 brass into the hopper, set the flame and set dwell time. It then took about 2 beers worth of time for it to finish all 500 while I sized brass right next to it.
If I were to nitpick, I'd say the speed control takes some trial and error to get it set perfectly, but otherwise works fine.
Also, since there isn't a pressure regulator, and the small gas bottle cools down and drops pressure after it's been on for a 10-15 minutes, you have to come back and adjust the flame. I've found that if you just let the torch burn for 15 minutes before you start the machine, then set the flame, it will stay fairly constant. Of course any annealing machine that doesn't have a pressure regulator will have that "problem", I just thought I should point it out.
I took the advice from someone who owns a Giraud and BenchSource Annealer, I got a BenchSource, using it every time is easy quick and repeatable, I anneal every firing, I have some 6.5Creed brass with 15ish reloads, when the primer pockets won't hold a primer I toss them, if brass longevity and accuracy(repeatabilty) is important, annealing is required for longrange shooting.
I have about $200 in this one! Click on image to see in action. It took me about 3 hours to build.
diego
What kind of electric motor did you use? Is the speed adjustable? I have everything else to make one...looks like a fun project!
I am saving my pennies for one of these, some day. I like the auto-feed option ove the benchsource...JMO
For now, I am going to use the ring anneling tip from Kindler
This is the largest thread on building them that I know of. Several different variations that folks have built.
finished the auto annealer today
The Dayton 2L009 is the motor, best place to buy it is zorotools.com
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^^^^^^^^^
Every thing you need to know is in the thread linked above!
I have built three with the J Morris wheel. It was easy.
Ted
Every thing you need to know is in the thread linked above!
I have built three with the J Morris wheel. It was easy.
Ted
I am a dinosaur and didn't know we had $500 tools now to anneal cases. I am still happy with a much cheaper version where I get a special torch head from Todd Kindler (of .17 fame) and attach to propane. Cases are separated and sitting in water with just the upper part out of the water. The head is lowered after putting the ring of the head over a single case, count x mississippis and then knock over in the water. The number oof Mississippis is determined by a one time trial and error per case size.Experience and color will help repeat.
