Ok, so I annealed my first batch of cases today using the salt bath and I deem it a success. Successful in that they look like the Lapua brass did when it came from the factory and successful that I didn't scald myself or even create a huge mess. So I guess that qualifies me as an expert.
A couple of things to note: I bought the kit from Ballistic Recreations and in includes instructions. Read them. I also watched a couple of Youtube videos that were helpful for what to do and few things not to do. I'll state that the potential for disaster is there with this method. It uses very high temperatures, so if you're a total klutz this is not for you. Set up where you won't be disturbed and have plenty of workspace on a solid bench.
Getting everything ready the first time took longer than the actual annealing of about 100 cases. But this was just a test run. Next time I'll have at least 200 cases ready to go. And while the salt bath annealing is fast I'm sure that induction is faster overall with less mess but it is waaay more expensive and for my needs the salt bath seems the way to go. I feel that success is largely dependent on taking the time to prep before you start. Have everything you'll need and have it logically organized. The instructions recommend wearing gloves and using needle nose pliers to insert the shell holder into the pot. Both are absolutely essential. So is protective eyewear. And have your bucket of water already positioned. Put it below your bench and not like the guy in one of the videos where he had the water sitting right next to the pot. Very bad idea. And get a metronome app for your phone. Never realized how useful that would be for accurately keeping track of how long the case is in the bath.
Finally I'll pass along my one close call. When I was done I took the shellholder out of the pot and set it to the side. It cooled just a little and then I started to put it in the quench bucket to rinse the salt off. Very bad move. Did I mention the high temperatures? I gripped the shellholder with my needle nose pliers and as soon as I started to touch the surface of the water the hot salts on it exploded. Not really but that's the best I can describe it. Fortunately I was wearing gloves and a long sleeve shirt so none of the exploding salts actually landed on me and I pulled the shellholder away before any more than 1mm was actually submerged. Let it cool first before rinsing it off!!!
If you're on the fence about annealing I think this is a very worthy option. It's much faster and more consistent than my old technique of one case at a time using a torch and it's pretty economical compared to some of the other popular methods.
A couple of things to note: I bought the kit from Ballistic Recreations and in includes instructions. Read them. I also watched a couple of Youtube videos that were helpful for what to do and few things not to do. I'll state that the potential for disaster is there with this method. It uses very high temperatures, so if you're a total klutz this is not for you. Set up where you won't be disturbed and have plenty of workspace on a solid bench.
Getting everything ready the first time took longer than the actual annealing of about 100 cases. But this was just a test run. Next time I'll have at least 200 cases ready to go. And while the salt bath annealing is fast I'm sure that induction is faster overall with less mess but it is waaay more expensive and for my needs the salt bath seems the way to go. I feel that success is largely dependent on taking the time to prep before you start. Have everything you'll need and have it logically organized. The instructions recommend wearing gloves and using needle nose pliers to insert the shell holder into the pot. Both are absolutely essential. So is protective eyewear. And have your bucket of water already positioned. Put it below your bench and not like the guy in one of the videos where he had the water sitting right next to the pot. Very bad idea. And get a metronome app for your phone. Never realized how useful that would be for accurately keeping track of how long the case is in the bath.
Finally I'll pass along my one close call. When I was done I took the shellholder out of the pot and set it to the side. It cooled just a little and then I started to put it in the quench bucket to rinse the salt off. Very bad move. Did I mention the high temperatures? I gripped the shellholder with my needle nose pliers and as soon as I started to touch the surface of the water the hot salts on it exploded. Not really but that's the best I can describe it. Fortunately I was wearing gloves and a long sleeve shirt so none of the exploding salts actually landed on me and I pulled the shellholder away before any more than 1mm was actually submerged. Let it cool first before rinsing it off!!!
If you're on the fence about annealing I think this is a very worthy option. It's much faster and more consistent than my old technique of one case at a time using a torch and it's pretty economical compared to some of the other popular methods.
