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  1. #1
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    Annealing... anyone do it?

    So... dabbled in the world of annealing, and I gotta say I'm sold on it. I did probably 200 cases of 300BLK, using the redneck method of a deep socket and drill with a propane torch. I did use the 750° Tempilaq, timed 5 cases with it and did an average. Then got a metronome app on my tablet and went to work (while watching John Wick... love that movie!)

    so long story even longer, I just loaded up the rounds, but at the same time I threw in 5 cases that I had NOT annealed, and I'll be damned if I wasn't able to pick out those 5 cases while seating the bullets. I got into a rhythm and the neck tension while seating the bullets was very, very uniform... I was able to pick out the 5 non-annealed due to the fact that 3 were quite a bit easier, and 2 required a bit more effort to seat, and that was after I had resized them all. I can see how that could possibly help with uniformity in rounds... better accuracy? less variance between rounds? May have to try some testing at the range.

    But ... if I'm going to do much, I gotta make a machine to do it. Talk about a total time consumer! Some good DIY plans out there it seems. Anyone have any experience with them? can't see spending $500 for a Girand, but others claim the DIY ones are around $100 in parts, and the time to make/test it. Don't have a shop with the awesome set of tools, but may give it a whirl. Gotta be better than a drill/socket combo (but that'll do for now)
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    Jim
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  2. #2
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    Here is something a newer member here but one I've known through other forums for a while made. Livn277 made this and I think it is exactly what you're looking!

    http://mdws.forumchitchat.com/post/7...post1286276681

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dstrbdmedic167 View Post
    Here is something a newer member here but one I've known through other forums for a while made. Livn277 made this and I think it is exactly what you're looking!

    http://mdws.forumchitchat.com/post/7...post1286276681

    That is almost exactly like the one we use to run where I worked. We used it for end crimps on oxygen pass thru couplings. Ours was all billet and PLC controlled, but that one is super simple

  4. #4
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    Yea it's on MY todo list. Problem is it isn't on the wife's...

  5. #5
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    yeah, that's just like the Australian one I saw, and many variations of it. Cheap enough to justify doing, just is an issue of space, and lack of it for both creating it and storing it.
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    Jim
    "You can never have too many guns" - my wife's actual comment
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  6. #6
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    That DIY is awesome. Wish I had the tools to make it. I would buy one from someone making them <HINT, HINT>

    Roger

  7. #7
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    what exactly is annealing?

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by KevinBL View Post
    what exactly is annealing?
    Annealing is when you heat the necks of rifle cases to relief the workharding. it allows the neck to flex? more during sizing and firing to slow down the splitting of said neck.
    Think I got that right,
    Roger

  9. #9
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    Correct... annealing is returning the neck/shoulder of the brass back to the softer properties it had before all the resizing with heat (750°f is the recommended temp). Every time you resize, and 'work' the brass, it gets a little harder and will lead to a neck split, but by annealing you can get more loadings from the same brass. Plus I've noticed that the annealed brass is more uniform across the cases in regards to neck tension while seating the bullets, which some claim will increase accuracy.
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    Jim
    "You can never have too many guns" - my wife's actual comment
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  10. #10
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    OK, I think I can do this. Found the motors and electrics on ebay.. Home Depot can get me the cut pieces of MDF, and ACE hardware for the bolts and nuts. I was capable of doing this years ago but since becoming legally blind, I hesitate to try this stuff.
    Roger

  11. #11
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    so resurrecting my old dead thread (it's Halloween anyways!)

    After looking into making a machine, I decided to just buy one. With my skills of assembly, it would probably be cheaper anyways. I'm great at tearing crap apart but SUCK at anything that requires finesse (and skill...)



    After testing the rheostat timer adjustment in conjunction with the tempilaq 750, I cranked thru 600 .223 cases in less time than it would have taken me to do about 100 using the old socket/drill method. And way easier on the hands... my hands were free for a mug of my fav beer!

    Pretty happy... yeah, I coulda built one for less, but this was far easier and less frustrating.
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    Jim
    "You can never have too many guns" - my wife's actual comment
    Alaska Fun

  12. #12
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    SJ, I remember as a kid in the 60's, people used all kinds of home-made set-ups to anneal brass. I didn't get to the stage in life where I started dabbling in reloading until cica '75 or thereabouts. More people, at least in my universe had shit canned the whole annealing thing, because, simply, brass was cheap and it wasn't worth it to MOST folks. Some guy's/gal's who shot really hard to find brass, usually the .40 to .50 cal. rounds used in African and other big game hunting. Then there was the crowd that found it to be part of their routine and found it relaxing. The same reason I always hand primed nearly all of my brass with the exception of high volume pistol brass. I'm wondering myself, what the "resurgence" is all about. If it's getting one or two more shots out of brass that's been work hardened past it's useful life, I'd have a hard time justifying it, however maybe new reasons are popping up? Just curious, what makes you want to anneal your brass?

    FT

    P.S. The design of that machine looks great, and simple. You should have, and maybe did, see some of the gowd awful contraptions some of the guys from the "olden years", used.
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  13. #13
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    Jim, what machine did you buy? If there is a pic/link, it's not showing on my iPad. Thanks.
    “ When I comes to modern politics, I think the inverse of Hanlon's Razor applies...In other words, "Never attribute to stupidity that which is adequately explained by malice." - Kerplode

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by FortTom View Post
    If it's getting one or two more shots out of brass that's been work hardened past it's useful life, I'd have a hard time justifying it, however maybe new reasons are popping up?
    I'm reloading right now, and maybe I'm wrong, but I've been led to believe that annealing can extend the life past just one or 2 more loadings. Thus driving down the cost per brass even further. That's how I'm seeing it at least. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

    Quote Originally Posted by Uffdaphil View Post
    Jim, what machine did you buy? If there is a pic/link, it's not showing on my iPad. Thanks.
    There's a video. Maybe has to do with your flash player?
    Find my photos on: Flickr, Facebook, Instagram

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thompson View Post
    I'm reloading right now, and maybe I'm wrong, but I've been led to believe that annealing can extend the life past just one or 2 more loadings. Thus driving down the cost per brass even further. That's how I'm seeing it at least. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
    I personally haven't annealed yet but eventually I will get into it. Annealing supposedly does more than just what you mentioned.

    First starting off with good brass will help a whole lot. Different brass all has different thickness and different hardness and different weight. If the brass is really hard you can get hot loads out of it but when you work it over and over it will be very brittle. Soft brass is less rugged so to speak.

    Think through what happens to brass when you shoot it, eject, resize, reload etc. Every time you pull the trigger that brass expands to the dimensions of your chamber. It flares out in the body and stretches length wise both. Every so many firings you need to trim the brass. Eventually the brass will become too thin particularly in the neck.

    Also from the continued working of the metal it will build up stress. Adding heat will relieve some of that but that's not all there is to the whole thing. Keep the big picture in mind.

    Another thing to remember about reloading is that brass can be thicker on one side than it is on the other. This applies to the body as well as the neck and it can cause a number of issues particularly when you are talking about extreme precision or very long range shooting.

    Long story short in an ideal world your brass will be perfectly concentric. It allows for the expansion of the brass to be uniform as well as to be seated in the chamber properly. It also allows the brass to hug your bullet evenly and consistenly from round to round to round.

    Personally I have gotten a dozen or more reloadings out of some of my brass. You can probably get more than that if you're not trying to go for super crazy hot high pressure loads.

    Basically we can get as detailed as you need to based on what your needs are. Annealing will definitely help with accuracy (given that you do all the other stuff to get there) and yes it can help extend brass life depending on the conditions and how you're using it, but if you're just doing minor plinking ammo there is no real need to anneal a case every single time you shoot it.

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