Annealing mixup

[amamnn]

Apparently some folks have been reading the the old NRA handloading books and have misunderstood, or only read part of the articles on annealing rifle brass. To their embarrassment, this includes a well known brass maker, it seems.
These folks have abbreviated the quote from the article to render the following paraphrase: "Stand the brass in a pan of water and heat it up using a torch. knock it over in the water when done."
The entirety of the article, recommended the heat with a torch while held in the fingers drop in a bucket method. The standing in a pan method was only mentioned in passing as possibly being useful with the (then) new Meeks adapter sold by Woodchuck Den for the propane torch. This adapter was supposed to confine the torch flame and direct it in such a way that you were able to heat the neck evenly. It sold for $40.00. It was not very much used in its original incarnation as it was rather caliber specific.
There have been many methods advanced over the years many of which were attempts to sell devices like the above, or the swiss cheese annealer, or the lazy susan device a souther CA company wanted $325.00 for.
For a combination of effectiveness, speed, cost, and safety you can't beat the NRA recommended method, described on this and many other forums over and over again.
A gentleman by the name of Ken Light has marketed a machine for annealing brass that some benchresters like. Ken has been around a long time and is a sort of annealing historian by default, one might say. A review of Ken's machine and a good discussion of what works and does not work in annealing can be seen at:http://www.6mmbr.com/annealing.html

[ribbonstone]

One odd thing noticed when doing the finger-bucket-between-feet method. In a dim room, noticed the color of the FLAME from a propane torch as it came off the brass (not the brass itself) changed color (from a well adjusted blue to a slightly orange as it came off the brass)...then two heartbeats leater, the brass got finger-hot and i let it do into the bucket.

So I got to rely on htat color change...and i've not "cooked" a case.

But i do have to say that I will NOT anneal common brass. IF it's easy to come by and not expensive, will buy new brass and place the old brass into the "practice" catagory...and move the old practice brass to the "shoot-one-more-time-and-junk" catagory.

Now I honestly try to collect that "shoot-one-more-time" brass and dispose of it at the range, but that doesn't seem to stop epople from rooting through the trash. guess it never occurrs to them that that brass has been shoot dozesn of times, hase been gtrimmed 3 times, and really deserves a repsectful retirment....hope they don't shoot max. loads in it.

[amamnn]

The best thing to do with that brass is to take it home and flatten it with a hammer. If your club collects brass in tubs at the range, then dump it in the next trip. Or carry a ruger, I mean hammer, with you. Sorry, I just could not resist. I own 3 rugers and only use one as a hammer.

[ribbonstone]

Not abov givng the range "brass monkey" a little lesson, but not a dangerous one. Would keep a few old .38Special LARGE pistol primed brrass...some of the WWII era .45acp with that odd between-size military primer....and occasionally "feed the monkey".

Yeah...know I should sit thre and crush those cases...even if there are over 100 of them...but disposing of them in the STILL SMOLDERING BURNING BARREL seems a subtle enough hint for most normal people.