Why annealing brass

It resulted in cracked necks, splits in shoulders, and in some cases neck was stretched part way into the freebore. I will have to see if my Dad still has the cases. He read," heat them until they just start to glow. Wrong glow. Daylight bright. He used a pan of water to keep the heat out of the case head. Over anneal and your cases are ruined. There is no doubt. Anyone who doesn't believe me, go get your touch and heat a case neck until it is red. You actually don't have to go quite this far to achieve the same results.

You will easily be able to smash the mouth of the case closed with your fingers. Try that with a new case. For most who reload, if the brasses accuracy potential is ruined, the brass is ruined. Anneal inconsistently and you are almost wasting your time. Reactions: Togeneral Sierra Gunny Sergeant Full Member. Nov 2, Atlanta, GA. While I am not sure about the myth or reality of over annealing, I am like many on here that use that degree range that results in good accuracy and good numbers.

While I trust the scientific method in most things, there is a little superstition that keeps me from walking under ladders and over annealing my brass. He gave a very specific temp, which is nearly double what is normally advised.

Thats a pretty big window. I'd say his point was a simple one. He wasn't suggesting someone put a degree propane torch on the neck of their case for 30 minutes. Pretty easy to get a thin piece of sheetmetal to bust through degrees, which sounds like what your dad did. Last edited: Feb 24, Yes i read the post. I also read the rest of the thread. Not the functionality of it once it was annealed down that far. Reactions: JRosson. I think is the best. The laser thing is cool if it works.

I wonder why they haven't incorporated something like it in an automated unit: heat the neck until the laser reads the desired temp and then turn off the heat or drop the case.

People say lasers don't read shiny surfaces very well. But brass turns matte when heated. Reactions: Boatninja. I think discussing the metallurgical implications of annealing at different temperatures is a perfectly reasonable thing to discuss in the Reloading section.

If not, a moderator can move the thread. Here are the questions I'd like answered: 1. How do we define "over annealed? Or is the brass just permanently ruined and will never regain it's elasticity? For those crazy enough to try and anneal by hand or in a drill bit, given a common propane torch, how many seconds window would they have between beginning of anneal, to a unsafe level?

Does cartridge brass have a "dead-soft" state it can go into at which it will never work-harden again? If so, given that brass has a melting point of around f, why wasn't it always in this state? It seems the brass should have started it's life above a temp that should have rendered it permanently un-work-harden-able I made up a word.

How was that measured and proven? One poster suggested f. The Amp Anneal article seemed to suggest a slightly higher temp. Maybe f. I don't know the temp, just the AMP setting. The neck reached deg per the tempilstik at setting 38, best accuracy was at setting 40, accuracy dropped off after setting GhengisAhn Last known Full Member.

Dec 29, 14 Last known. Y'all are thinking way too hard into this. Don't over think this. Anneal in a consistent manner and enjoy shooting your hand loads. Just get the basic rules down: -dont overdo the annealing -Dont anneal or let the case head get too hot.

There's too many variables that you can't control with the brass, so just anneal to the average. Best case scenario you anneal with induction like the AMPnor annie. Is it going to give you the same results case to case? Know why? Because you didn't make each case the same as the last. Unless you're neck turning and making sure each and every case is identical down to the thousandth It doesn't matter.

We live in a world of tolerances. Control what you can to the best of your ability and make it work. Reactions: lash and NCIowan. This is what cracks me up is how complicated people make it. I do understand the one point the corn dog said about this being a reloading thread and a not a metallurgy thread but if you are going to talk about annealing then we are talking about metallurgy. No body said you couldnt over anneal at the degrees you are talking about.

I dont know just curious. From the sounds of everything, no matter what you do with annealling you are wrong. Do you know the exact chemical make up of each peice of brass so then you know if it will take more heat than the other pieces.

There are other types of modern annealing tools, such as ring type annealers that rotate at a set RPM as they move the brass cases through a flame. With these ring-type annealers, the brass will usually be allowed to fall though the bottom of the ring into a container of water at the end of the cycle.

No matter what method you use to anneal your brass, the most important thing to remember is not to overheat the middle and base of the case. Overheating the case makes it unsafe to use. After a case has been properly heated and then quenched, it is then ready for the balance of the reloading operations. Lapua always leaves the annealing color on the case so that the reloader can see that the case has been properly annealed.

A lot of the other manufacturers will polish this annealing color off to make their brass nice and shiny, but Lapua leaves it on their cases. As you can see, the annealing process can be quite simple to work with, especially with the proper tools like the Hornady Annealing Kit. The paybacks of extended case life, and the ability to reform cases into different dimensions, more than make up for the initial setup cost of what I consider to be an important tool for precision reloading.

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Enable Accessibility. Firearms Education Reloading. Support our Supporters! Related Reads. Read more. Is premium hunting ammo worth it? Cam-Over on a Reloading Press Reloading. Like many things in reloading, Cam-Over is a misunderstood and often misused term.

What exactly is 'Camming Over' a press? Do they all do it? Do I need to? Understanding Brass Annealing — all brass is. Brass Annealing Theory Annealing is often confused with Tempering.

How do I tell if it is hot enough? Brass Annealing Results Longevity Peoples primary reason to anneal seems to be to increase the longevity of their brass. Consistency This is more my interest in the brass annealing process — consistency means repeatability, what you ultimately want in precision shooting; the bullet going the same place, time and time again.

What to be aware of A couple of points to be aware of when it comes to Brass Annealing. Only anneal the neck and shoulder When annealing, we only want to be heating the neck and shoulder. Previous article Shooting and Hearing Damage. Next article Venison Leg, Five Ways. Support The Bloke. This content doesn't make itself! Join The Blokes. Many reloaders believe the annealing process also helps them squeeze a little more consistency out of each round. Annealing each case during the reloading process also extends the life cycle of that case, allowing it to be reloaded many more times than a non-annealed case.

Feb, 05, Feb. Chris Baker. Share Article. Annealing Explained — Annealing Hey guys. Every now and then when you get your rifle ammo, you might notice around the case neck and shoulder here it might be a little discolored, a rainbow color or maybe darkened.

And people ask us is this normal? Is it OK to shoot?