Case annealing

kscardsfan · April 7, 2009, 04:09 PM

Does anyone have any tips/advice on case annealing? And is that kit from Hornady required, or can you just use a bucket of water and a torch like the old timers did? I have a new 8mm Gibbs that I want to start loading for and I don't think I can just force the brass to work for me without annealing it first.

ems-1 · April 7, 2009, 05:12 PM

I have never done it before but my father use to do it all the time with a torch and a pan of water. He use to stand the cartridges up in a shallow pan of water and heat up the necks with a torch. Once the necks were heated sufficiently, he would tip the case over in the water. Make sure the water level covers the cases and only exposes the neck of the case. You want to make sure only the necks are heated. I have never actually done it myself but I would watch him many times. I wish I could be of better service but maybe someone else has more knowledge then I.

rgitzlaff · April 7, 2009, 05:42 PM

I've only done this once, and I'm not entirely sure if it was done correctly. From what I understand, if going from color, you should do it in a dark room and stop heating and quench in water when the case mouth just starts to turn orange. Heating it up too hot will ruin the brass. Also, you don't want to anneal more than the case neck, this will compromise the case integrity. If you plan on doing an aweful lot of case neck annealing, there are machines out there that will somewhat automate this process.

Advantages:
Increased consistency and accuracy potential, the tension holding the bullet will be more consistent.

Increased case life, anealing the brass prevents work hardening and will prevent the case necks from prematurely cracking.

Disadvantages:
Can ruin the case if done improperly.

Time consuming.

rocket12 · April 7, 2009, 05:51 PM

all you ever wanted to know about annealing http://www.6mmbr.com/annealing.html

PCJim · April 7, 2009, 11:14 PM

May I suggest you use the search function and the keyword "annealing". You'll find many threads on the subject, a few within the last 30 days. Most will contain links to other great references.

wilkersk · April 8, 2009, 05:06 AM

If I remember correctly from my past life, a quick process anneal for brass is to use a carbuerizing flame from a small brazing torch to put on a good coat of soot to the part to be annealed.

Once you have a good coat of soot, adjust your torch for a working flame suitable for brazing or light soldering. Then, just burn away the soot with even strokes, then quench in water.

And, your done!

jmorris · April 8, 2009, 08:19 AM

I built this machine to take the inconsistency/hassle out of anneal cases. It is effortless and quite fast. It’s also easy to change from one caliber to another. The base machine is as close of a copy I could make to a brass-o-matic from only photos. I still have a few of the “blades” left over if there are any “do it yourself” folks out there. Videos and step by step of assembly are here http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o...etal/annealer/

amamnn · April 8, 2009, 03:50 PM

There is so much BS written about annealing rifle brass, even by supposed "expert" gun writers that you should try to explore the subject extensively before attempting it, if you are going to try to preserve and/or restore match brass or any brass from which precision performance is required. The 6mmbr URL given above is a great place to start. Keep in mind that the caseneck thickness and body size in relation to the neck will influence how quickly a neck will be annealed or over-annealed.

Annealing a 6mmppc neck that is .007" thick is a different proposition from annealing a .014" .30-06 neck.

kscardsfan · April 8, 2009, 04:17 PM

Well actually I've got to blow out some .30-06 brass to make some 8mm gibbs loads up. But with the somewhat limited availability of primers right now I don't think I'll get to roll any up for a while.

April 7, 2009, 04:09 PM	#1
kscardsfan Member Join Date: December 19, 2008 Location: Kansas Posts: 30	Case annealing Does anyone have any tips/advice on case annealing? And is that kit from Hornady required, or can you just use a bucket of water and a torch like the old timers did? I have a new 8mm Gibbs that I want to start loading for and I don't think I can just force the brass to work for me without annealing it first.

April 8, 2009, 03:50 PM	#8
amamnn Senior Member Join Date: May 13, 2006 Location: WA, the left armpit of the USA Posts: 1,323	There is so much BS written about annealing rifle brass, even by supposed "expert" gun writers that you should try to explore the subject extensively before attempting it, if you are going to try to preserve and/or restore match brass or any brass from which precision performance is required. The 6mmbr URL given above is a great place to start. Keep in mind that the caseneck thickness and body size in relation to the neck will influence how quickly a neck will be annealed or over-annealed. Annealing a 6mmppc neck that is .007" thick is a different proposition from annealing a .014" .30-06 neck. __________________ "If the enemy is in range, so are you." - Infantry Journal

April 7, 2009, 05:12 PM	#2
ems-1 Member Join Date: July 22, 2008 Location: S.C. Posts: 47	I have never done it before but my father use to do it all the time with a torch and a pan of water. He use to stand the cartridges up in a shallow pan of water and heat up the necks with a torch. Once the necks were heated sufficiently, he would tip the case over in the water. Make sure the water level covers the cases and only exposes the neck of the case. You want to make sure only the necks are heated. I have never actually done it myself but I would watch him many times. I wish I could be of better service but maybe someone else has more knowledge then I.

April 7, 2009, 05:42 PM	#3
rgitzlaff Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2006 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 524	I've only done this once, and I'm not entirely sure if it was done correctly. From what I understand, if going from color, you should do it in a dark room and stop heating and quench in water when the case mouth just starts to turn orange. Heating it up too hot will ruin the brass. Also, you don't want to anneal more than the case neck, this will compromise the case integrity. If you plan on doing an aweful lot of case neck annealing, there are machines out there that will somewhat automate this process. Advantages: Increased consistency and accuracy potential, the tension holding the bullet will be more consistent. Increased case life, anealing the brass prevents work hardening and will prevent the case necks from prematurely cracking. Disadvantages: Can ruin the case if done improperly. Time consuming.

April 7, 2009, 05:51 PM	#4
rocket12 Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2005 Location: ohio Posts: 148	all you ever wanted to know about annealing http://www.6mmbr.com/annealing.html

April 7, 2009, 11:14 PM	#5
PCJim Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2008 Location: FL Posts: 570	May I suggest you use the search function and the keyword "annealing". You'll find many threads on the subject, a few within the last 30 days. Most will contain links to other great references.

April 8, 2009, 05:06 AM	#6
wilkersk Member Join Date: April 2, 2009 Location: Western Washington Posts: 57	If I remember correctly from my past life, a quick process anneal for brass is to use a carbuerizing flame from a small brazing torch to put on a good coat of soot to the part to be annealed. Once you have a good coat of soot, adjust your torch for a working flame suitable for brazing or light soldering. Then, just burn away the soot with even strokes, then quench in water. And, your done!

April 8, 2009, 08:19 AM	#7
jmorris Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 2006 Posts: 3,077	I built this machine to take the inconsistency/hassle out of anneal cases. It is effortless and quite fast. It’s also easy to change from one caliber to another. The base machine is as close of a copy I could make to a brass-o-matic from only photos. I still have a few of the “blades” left over if there are any “do it yourself” folks out there. Videos and step by step of assembly are here http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o...etal/annealer/

April 8, 2009, 04:17 PM	#9
kscardsfan Member Join Date: December 19, 2008 Location: Kansas Posts: 30	Well actually I've got to blow out some .30-06 brass to make some 8mm gibbs loads up. But with the somewhat limited availability of primers right now I don't think I'll get to roll any up for a while.