Who makes the best annealer...? Why?

[Victor N TN]

Hey guys, I've been contemplating buying an annealer for several years. I've had a couple of friends with them do my brass for me for probably 10 or 15 years. I did SOME hand work with a hand held propane torch back in the 1980s. But my old eyes are not what they used to be, even after cataract surgery on both eyes about 5 years ago. I want something that pretty much works automatically.

So let me have your honest opinions on what you have and what you think about it. Or what you have and what you WISH you had.

Thanks in advance.
Victor

 

[Down South]

I can't say who makes the "best" annealer but i use a Bench Source annealer and im very happy with it. I can anneal 100 cases (308) in less than 10 minutes, its fast and easy once setup. There's videos on you tube of it in action. I anneal after every firing and its worth the money to me.

 

[RobertB]

Ken Light is nice.

 

[DocB]

Victor,

If you can't read the temperature by the color of the neck as it anneals, I don't think any of them will do you right. And I know what Tempilaq does. Once set up, most of them are fast. Setup may be faster on some, but not a large difference. Hardest part is getting torches which will hold output. All of this said, I have a Ken Light machine; but was the only annealer going when I bought it. Wheels are now around $65 each. Girard (sp.) may be worth the big bucks, but I've never set one up for folks and I don't know what a conversion costs for one.

HTH,
DocB

 

[dieselgeek]

I really like the bench source I bought. It anneals them perfectly, and does not take a lot of time.

 

[cobyb]

another vote for bench source from me, quality equipment.

 

[delixe]

I have a Giraud.
I added a regulator to a 20 pound propane tank and I use the regulator to control the flame with the valve on the torch wide open.
I turn the motor on for a few minutes before I start annealing in order to warm up the electronics.
With this setup I'm able to verify the setup on the first few cases with Tempilaq, then load up the chute with cases. It runs mostly unattended, and I can work on something else in the shop while it runs. Every so often I slip a case with Tempilaq into the process to verify that neither the flame or the motor control has drifted. Cycle time, at 8 seconds for a .308 size case, is slow compared to a multi torch turntable style machine, but I'm free to work on something else while it runs. I'm pretty happy with it.

 

[brutus895]

Love my bench source. Have it hooked up to my backup BBQ propane tank.

 

[Victor N TN]

I have a bunch of brass I want to anneal before I start loading it. I'm just looking for the best annealer for the money.

 

[jmorris]

I want something that pretty much works automatically.

There are only two machines that I know of that feed cases for themselves, the Giraud has a case feeder but you still have to stack them in the hopper by hand and it is slower (by half) than the two torch machines.

The machine I built is collator fed, so you just come by every 10 minutes and dump another scoop of cases in the collator and go back to what you were doing.

http://vid121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/annealer/nottoohot.mp4

http://vid121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/annealer/an1.mp4

 

[jagged77]

I love my Benchsource, really good piece of engineering and straightforward to set up and use.

 

[Fongman]

Another +1 for Bench Source. Slick, efficient machine.

 

[sangumas]

Yeah, another +1 for the bench source. A piece of art, really. Just got mine in last week. The plate that comes with it will do it all (except 50 cal). Also, the owner is super cool--spoke to him for a good 35min the other day.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[gasdoc09]

Bench source.

I know some people like the Giraud because it has a magazine and feeds itself, but I wasn't going to leave a tool running a flame unattended, so that was an anti-feature for me.

 

[SWThomas]

I hate you guys! You're going to make me buy a Bench Source. How much $$$ are they going for these days?

 

[Victor N TN]

I was talking to one of my close friends yesterday about this. He said he is designing something very simple and the footprint on the bench might be as small as 6" or 8" square. He says what he has in mind ANY brass won't have to adjust the heat except to maintain the flame. And it feeds itself. No different plates when you change calibers.

I think I'm going to hold on a couple of weeks until he gets this thing finished.

 

[diego-ted]

links not working for me?

There are only two machines that I know of that feed cases for themselves, the Giraud has a case feeder but you still have to stack them in the hopper by hand and it is slower (by half) than the two torch machines.

The machine I built is collator fed, so you just come by every 10 minutes and dump another scoop of cases in the collator and go back to what you were doing.

http://vid121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/annealer/nottoohot.mp4

http://vid121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/annealer/an1.mp4

 

[gstaylorg]

I'm very happy with the Giraud. I can load up many cases at once and let it do its thing. As far as an unattended torch, I wouldn't ever leave a torch burning unattended, regardless of the type machine it was in. With the Giraud, I can be doing other things like resizing, decapping, etc., and simply keep my eye on the machine and the flame while its running, without having to continually refill it. IMO, the constant attention required to refill the two-torch turnstyle-type annealers negates their increased annealing speed.

 

[fireEMT5]

Another very happy BenchSource owner here. Spent the money to have a hose made up to hook up to a 20 lb. propane tank. No regulator is needed - regulation of the gas is done by the torch heads. As has been stated above, I too talked with the owner of the company who answered all my questions. No regrets with this purchase.

 

[Hairball]

+1 for a Ken Light. Had mine for years with no problems

cartridgecaseannealing

 

[delixe]

Bench source.

I know some people like the Giraud because it has a magazine and feeds itself, but I wasn't going to leave a tool running a flame unattended, so that was an anti-feature for me.

So you'd rather stand there and feed brass to a turntable than put that time to good use? There's always something that needs to be done in the reloading room, and my Giraud can run by itself while I'm knocking out something else.

 

[delixe]

There are only two machines that I know of that feed cases for themselves, the Giraud has a case feeder but you still have to stack them in the hopper by hand and it is slower (by half) than the two torch machines.

The machine I built is collator fed, so you just come by every 10 minutes and dump another scoop of cases in the collator and go back to what you were doing.

http://vid121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/annealer/nottoohot.mp4

http://vid121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/annealer/an1.mp4

What's the difference how long the Giraud takes to anneal a case? I'm not standing around watching it while it's running, I'm nearby working on something else that needs to be done. Any Giraud will do that right out of the box.

 

[jmorris]

The difference is it only uses one torch so you have twice the cycle time and have to load cases by hand into the hopper, I used the Dillon collator off of one of my presses.

Set the time/torches and just stop by for a second and dump more cases in the collator.

Ted, this is a link to the album for my build.
http://s121.photobucket.com/user/jmorrismetal/library/annealer?sort=6&start=all&page=1

Videos are on page 3.

 

[gasdoc09]

So you'd rather stand there and feed brass to a turntable than put that time to good use?

Yes I would, and that time is being put to good use. In reality my sammich maker likes to feed the annealer so it's a moot point.

Bottom line though, I didn't see any value in a feature I don't want, particularly one involving moving parts which could break or fail or need adjustment. Love my Giraud trimmer, but his annealer just wasn't what I wanted.

 

[FALex]

What are the prices on the Giraud, Ken Light and the Bench Source units? Thanks.

 

[delixe]

The difference is it only uses one torch so you have twice the cycle time and have to load cases by hand into the hopper, I used the Dillon collator off of one of my presses.

Set the time/torches and just stop by for a second and dump more cases in the collator.

Ted, this is a link to the album for my build.
Annealer Photos by jmorrismetal | Photobucket

Videos are on page 3.

Yep, and you had to build that.
My Giraud had a case feeder and all I had to do was unpack it from the box.

 

[delixe]

Yes I would, and that time is being put to good use. In reality my sammich maker likes to feed the annealer so it's a moot point.

Bottom line though, I didn't see any value in a feature I don't want, particularly one involving moving parts which could break or fail or need adjustment. Love my Giraud trimmer, but his annealer just wasn't what I wanted.

So your annealer has no moving parts?
I'd like to see that!

 

[Rprecision]

I built my own off the plate that Jmorris sells.

Fully adjustable from .223 to 50bmg. It is a two torch design that does not rotate the case as others do. My results thus far make that feature not necessary.

Cost, minus my time, approx. $190

 

[gasdoc09]

So your annealer has no moving parts?
I'd like to see that!

Now you're just being obtuse. Obviously, a simpler machine that does everything I want it to do is superior to a more complex machine that does things I don't want. For my purposes, anyway.

Clear enough?

Enjoy your Giraud. It's a fine tool.

 

[lightman]

After some research on annealing machines, I bought a Giraud. One reason was the hopper that feeds the cases and another reason was that I was very happy with his trimmer. It is a little slower than the multiple torch turntable models, but I sit there by it and do other stuff. It cycles most cases in around 8 seconds, which is slower than most of the others. Minor assembly is required out of the box but it has good instructions. There is a thread on here someplace about the mods that some have made to their machines. I'm happy enough with it that I would buy it again.

 

[delixe]

Now you're just being obtuse. Obviously, a simpler machine that does everything I want it to do is superior to a more complex machine that does things I don't want. For my purposes, anyway.

Clear enough?

Enjoy your Giraud. It's a fine tool.

Clearly you've never studied the mechanism in the Giraud.
It's extremely simple and the 3 moving parts are very robust.

Also, my wife has no interest in feeding an annealer; she has many interests of her own and is quite busy pursuing them.

My guess is there are far more reloaders whose circumstances mimic mine than yours, so for the majority, the value inherent to the automatic dispenser of the Giraud far offsets any perceived greater likelihood of failure resulting from it having more moving parts.

 

[jmorris]

My Giraud had a case feeder and all I had to do was unpack it from the box.

And orient the cases correctly as you stack them one at a time into the hopper. It allows you to walk away from it negating the fact that it takes twice as long to anneal each case but you still have to take the time to fill it at some point.

 

[Monmouth]

I use the Giraud. As far as time to anneal, I'm looking to add another flame to the unit

Also have too much to do with brass, so I multi-task while brass anneals. I wish I had jmorris skills. When he retires from reloading, a piece of brass with his name on it will hang from the rafters at the reloader hall of fame.