case neck annealing

[elpac3]

Have been reloading going on 50 years now. Reloading skills have been evolving over they years. Simple things like case cleaning came into the mix, then measuring ogive when setting cartridge lengths, chronograph - etc.

The most recent addition has been case neck annealing. Have read about it for years, thought about buying a case neck annealer but cost was rather high and given the limited number of rounds I am shooting, I decided on the alternative - using a deep socket and a powered screwdriver.

For .270 cases I could a 1/2" deep socket to be a perfect fit. A little JB weld and a slotted screwdriver tip fitted to the attachment hole and I have a holder for cases when annealing.

I found four seconds in the flame tip give the rainbow sheen to the case and has provided a more uniform case neck tension when seating bullets. Gone are the "some fit tighter than others" I used to experience with non-annealed case necks.

With careful neck sizing, I am getting a few more reloads per case. Same is true with the .222 and especially when making .222 cases from .223 brass. Dirty little secret is to do this in a dark room with a lamp in the corner, makes seeing the flame tip much easier as well as positioning the flame tip on the neck/shoulder junction.

Never too late to learn new tricks.

 

[mtgianni]

They make a factory 1/4" 4 point socket driver with a 6 point end to fit in the power screwdriver or drill. I think this is the easiest and cheapest route. I also get good results. I finish by dumping the hot case into a bucket of water so I know where it is and so it doesn't melt the bucket.

 

[TXBryan]

I seem to recollect a published method for annealing that entailed using a candle. If memory serves, a big "if," by the time the case got too warm to handle, with fingers on the base, the case was annealed properly. Any truth to that?

Seems a big BTU difference between candle flame and propane which might account for the longer time required by the former?

I appreciate the post!

Bryan

 

[DWalt]

I just set up a line of cases in a shallow pan of water to prevent heating the lower part of the case body and go down the line with a propane torch to the case necks. Quenching is unnecessary. Case necks do not need to be heated red hot.

 

[diyj98]

Years ago I used a propane torch to anneal necks, but I have done any good n a long time.

 

[jcelect]

Holder

I cut the female end off a short 1/4" extension which allows me to change sockets for different calibers. I have used this method to form .224 K-Chuk brass from 22 Hornet and .256 Win Mag brass from 22 Jet. Also did a few 7mm TCU from 223 brass. All of the different brass used a different socket, and the short extension kept the drill chuck farther away from the flame. I did not quench the brass after the annealing, just dropped them into a metal pie pan to cool.
jcelect

 

[IAM Rand]

Saw on another site where the guy put the cases standing up in a pan of water and then put them in the oven for 30-40 minutes I think. can't recall what temp he set the oven at, 400 or 450 I think.

 

[Raddoc]

I've tried annealing with torch and socket attached to drill and water baths. My .225 win cases still develop cracks after 2 to 3 loads. What am I doing wrong? Waiting for color change, etc.

Blessings

Jack

 

[SMSgt]

I tried the drill & socket method and never found it to be consistent. Finally bought an Anealeez annealer. Best reloading bucks I ever spent. It's pretty much "set it and forget it." I keep a half dozen or so worn-out cases on hand to set the flame and timing, and then it's off to the races. I have to make my 6mm Mongoose cases from .223s, altering the case slightly and expanding the necks. I've yet to have a split neck. I'll wear out the primer pockets long before with the hot loads. It's so easy to use I anneal my rifle rounds after every firing.

 

[2152hq]

I just hold on to the case at the base with my fingers.
Twirl the neck in the propane torch flame for a '4' or '5' count.
Then place the case on the (cold) concrete basement floor to cool.

Quick, simple and no pans of water, drills, sockets etc.

It goes fast. You don't need to see a color change much at all.
A little hint of dark brass is all you will see when the case is cooled off and you examine it.
You are just relieving the stress built up in the brass from working it back and forth in the reloading and firing process.
In brass that hardens the matr'l.

No need to get the brass red hot. Than will only leave it dead soft,,too soft really for the job it needs to do in a cartridge case.
At that degree it can collapse during sizing sometimes.

I hold onto the case with my fingers and never feel any change in the temp.
If you do you are getting it way to hot.

 

[N-frame-guy]

Regarding the candle flame annealing, do a google search and include the campfire forums as I'm pretty sure that's where I read about it as well. The biggest problem with the candle is the soot on the case neck when you're done. It did seem to work for me, I used a metronome I happened to have on hand to keep the neck in the flame for a consistent time from case to case.
I put the case in a socket attached to my cordless drill and spun it very slowly and them dropped it on a folded up damp towel.

 

[DeplorabusUnum]

I tried the drill & socket method and never found it to be consistent. Finally bought an Anealeez annealer. Best reloading bucks I ever spent. It's pretty much "set it and forget it." I keep a half dozen or so worn-out cases on hand to set the flame and timing, and then it's off to the races.

Ditto too, also, as well (enough characters?)

 

[DeplorabusUnum]

I've tried annealing with torch and socket attached to drill and water baths. My .225 win cases still develop cracks after 2 to 3 loads. What am I doing wrong? Waiting for color change, etc.

Blessings

Jack

Not sure because I haven't seen how you're doing it, but I do know that one way to make your brass extremely brittle is to over anneal them.

 

[SMSgt]

I've tried annealing with torch and socket attached to drill and water baths. My .225 win cases still develop cracks after 2 to 3 loads. What am I doing wrong? Waiting for color change, etc.

Blessings

Jack

First off, water quenching does nothing for brass except cool it faster. Totally unnecessary. Does not affect the hardness one way or another.

Annealing does no good, or can cause damage, if the proper temperature is not reached. That is very difficult to do by sight, color, etc. I bought a bottle of Tempilac, 750 degree I think. Paint it inside the neck and when it melts in the heat, it has reached that temperature. I let my annealed cases drop onto a soft towel and cool off naturally.

Some cases, depending on thickness, etc., may still have splitting issues after annealing.

 

[TIMETRIPPER]

Annealed some cases last month with the drill and socket method and a propane torch. It was a bunch of old, once fired 38-40 cases. Folded head Remington brass that came with a model 92 Winchester trade. Tried to reload them but could not get a crimp to hold, even when using a factory crimp die. The brass was so hard with age that they would spring back. So after a few hours of Youtube research I annealed them with the above described method. 38-40 is thin and they all turned a dark red after a only few seconds in a low light situation. But afterwards was able to load all with a good grip which held up in the tubular magazine of the '92. Cases had a nice rainbow blue color at the shoulder and neck area but no discoloration at the base. This was my first venture in annealing.
Defiantly a worthwhile, easy to do and inexpensive process for prolonging the life of older, hard to find brass. I have a bunch of older 32-40 cases that will be annealed before reloading.

John

 

[mmb617]

I tried the drill & socket method and never found it to be consistent. Finally bought an Anealeez annealer. Best reloading bucks I ever spent. I've yet to have a split neck. It's so easy to use I anneal my rifle rounds after every firing.

I tried doing them by hand at first then I built a machine similar to the Anealeez using some plans I found online. It works great and cost a lot less to build than it would to buy.

I have it set up for .223 as that's what I do the most and I can put about 40 cases at a time in to feed automatically. I recently acquired a .308 and just feed them in by hand one at a time as I don't want to change out the feed drum every time I do them.

I also anneal after every firing and have used some of those .223 cases more than a half dozen times with no neck splits.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Way back when we did anneal rifle brass, we used a oxygen and acetylene bottle ( being an Iron worker ) where the gas and oxygen could be adjusted for high to low temp's , depending on how long you held the flame to the case.

The type of flame and ratio of the two , was critical to how the case heated up, so you needed to know what you were doing
be it water or a cement floor , to cool of the cases.

Water is ok but it will heat up when doing a lot of cases.

I don't anneal any more but it will make cases lase longer, if done properly.

Never tried doing it in a dark room.
My garage , had way too much light when I did this function.
I usually stopped around 4pm, since super and "Toddy time" was getting near.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I suggest you use a temperature sensing paste to achieve the correct temperature for properly annealing your cases without guessing and going by color. Sure you can get close but why not get it correct since you are spending the time to do it. I'm fairly sure 750° is the correct temp but please check that for yourself.

It is available on Amazon, just search for TEMPILAQ or TEMPILAQ 750

Hope this helps you...

 

[Nevada Ed]

I suggest you use a temperature sensing paste to achieve the correct temperature for properly annealing your cases without guessing and going by color. Sure you can get close but why not get it correct since you are spending the time to do it. I'm fairly sure 750° is the correct temp but please check that for yourself.

It is available on Amazon, just search for TEMPILAQ or TEMPILAQ 750

Hope this helps you...

As a welder, doing commercial jobs, some of the metal to be welded, needed to be Pre-heated and checked with a "Temp-stick" , to see if it melted, before the inspector, gave you the green light to start welding.

It will get me into the ball park but I never went out to try the heat paste, that was made for this job, since I never got too involved
on what was the real, "Correct" way and temp's needed to get it right, back then.

 

[SMSgt]

"Color" is a poor way to evaluate annealing temp. Templiq 750 works well. I use it on a few trash cases to set the flame and timing and let it rip.