- Location
- West Quebec
I purchased the 750 here..from what I can tell it's about the standard..
Annealing
- Thread starter mrdayle
- Start date
A little bit of info on annealing brass. [Shamelessly copied from 6mmBR site. 
]
Optimal Case Temperatures for Successful Annealing
Brass is an excellent conductor of heat. A flame applied at any point on a case for a short time will cause the rest of the case to heat very quickly. There are several temperatures at which brass is affected. Also, the time the brass remains at a given temperature will have an effect. Brass which has been "work hardened" (sometimes referred to as "cold worked") is unaffected by temperatures (Fahrenheit) up to 482 degrees (F) regardless of the time it is left at this temperature. At about 495 degrees (F) some changes in grain structure begins to occur, although the brass remains about as hard as before--it would take a laboratory analysis to see the changes that take place at this temperature.
The trick is to heat the neck just to the point where the grain structure becomes sufficiently large enough to give the case a springy property, leaving the body changed but little, and the head of the case virtually unchanged.
If cases are heated to about 600 degrees (F) for one hour, they will be thoroughly annealed--head and body included. That is, they will be ruined. (For a temperature comparison, pure lead melts at 621.3 degrees F).
The critical time and temperature at which the grain structure reforms into something suitable for case necks is 662 degrees (F) for some 15 minutes. A higher temperature, say from 750 to 800 degrees, will do the same job in a few seconds. If brass is allowed to reach temperatures higher than this (regardless of the time), it will be made irretrievably and irrevocably too soft.
Brass will begin to glow a faint orange at about 950 degrees (F). Even if the heating is stopped at a couple of hundred degrees below this temperature, the damage has been done--it will be too soft. From this discussion we can see that there are four considerations concerning time and temperature:
1. Due to conduction, the amount of heat necessary to sufficiently anneal the case neck is great enough to ruin the rest of the case.
2. If the case necks are exposed to heat for a sufficient period of time, a lower temperature can be used.
3. The longer the case necks are exposed to heat, the greater the possibility that too much heat will be conducted into the body and head, thereby ruining the cases.
4. The higher the temperature, the less time the case necks will be exposed to heat, and there will be insufficient time for heat to be conducted into the body and head.
]Optimal Case Temperatures for Successful Annealing
Brass is an excellent conductor of heat. A flame applied at any point on a case for a short time will cause the rest of the case to heat very quickly. There are several temperatures at which brass is affected. Also, the time the brass remains at a given temperature will have an effect. Brass which has been "work hardened" (sometimes referred to as "cold worked") is unaffected by temperatures (Fahrenheit) up to 482 degrees (F) regardless of the time it is left at this temperature. At about 495 degrees (F) some changes in grain structure begins to occur, although the brass remains about as hard as before--it would take a laboratory analysis to see the changes that take place at this temperature.
The trick is to heat the neck just to the point where the grain structure becomes sufficiently large enough to give the case a springy property, leaving the body changed but little, and the head of the case virtually unchanged.
If cases are heated to about 600 degrees (F) for one hour, they will be thoroughly annealed--head and body included. That is, they will be ruined. (For a temperature comparison, pure lead melts at 621.3 degrees F).
The critical time and temperature at which the grain structure reforms into something suitable for case necks is 662 degrees (F) for some 15 minutes. A higher temperature, say from 750 to 800 degrees, will do the same job in a few seconds. If brass is allowed to reach temperatures higher than this (regardless of the time), it will be made irretrievably and irrevocably too soft.
Brass will begin to glow a faint orange at about 950 degrees (F). Even if the heating is stopped at a couple of hundred degrees below this temperature, the damage has been done--it will be too soft. From this discussion we can see that there are four considerations concerning time and temperature:
1. Due to conduction, the amount of heat necessary to sufficiently anneal the case neck is great enough to ruin the rest of the case.
2. If the case necks are exposed to heat for a sufficient period of time, a lower temperature can be used.
3. The longer the case necks are exposed to heat, the greater the possibility that too much heat will be conducted into the body and head, thereby ruining the cases.
4. The higher the temperature, the less time the case necks will be exposed to heat, and there will be insufficient time for heat to be conducted into the body and head.
- Location
- Jameson, SK
I'm not expert, but from what I know if it was red hot, it's done.
PN at about 1000 Deg for about 6 seconds.
Check out post post 72.
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1140943-Annealing-in-a-Casting-Pot/page8
I made this vid just to catch the attention on how hot it really is.
Pretty much..
Read this article: http://www.6mmbr.com/annealing.html Anyone thinking of getting into annealing should read this and Rich DeSimone's contribution at the end. It is very thorough and informative. There is a section about how to determine if your brass has been overheated.
Good luck!
Wrong. More research is needed by you via YouTube. Refer to my previous post above.
You meant to say that 750 F is the temperature at which to stop.
Yes it is.
Red hot is way over 750 F.
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A sure fire way, no, not unless you are a metallurgist and have the equipment.
Thankfully we have Darwin and Murphy to guide through others experience with it failing.
I've never used tempilac, but my accuracy is the same or better than before, and my brass lasts until the primer pockets are too big, so I would disagree that it is the ONLY way. A one time 1,000 yard world record holder Rich DeSimone would also disagree.
Red hot is definitely garbage.
I thought the water was supposed to protect the case head from overheating? This thread had me worried until I read the link posted by Mark222 (http://www.6mmbr.com/annealing.html) which states:
"There is no particular danger to over-annealing the case necks, which is the usual result of standing the brass in water and heating the necks with a torch. All that will happen is that your accuracy will not improve, or it may become worse, and the cases may seem to be a little more sticky during extraction. Case life will be improved because the necks are soft--too soft."
Something I do find with the torch and pan method is that the brass tends to flow more on one side of the case neck than the other, which can be seen when trimming between firings. That can't be good for accuracy. Still I have found it to be a good way to salvage age-hardened milsurp brass in less common calibers that has started to get cracks at the neck.
- Location
- Jameson, SK
The concern is that the heat got into the body of the case, and that can have catastrophic consequences.
If you're certain you had water up to the shoulder, the worst that will happen is you're accuracy is ####e and your neck will split.
-J.
If you're certain you had water up to the shoulder, the worst that will happen is you're accuracy is ####e and your neck will split.
-J.
