Annealing before or after sizing?

Annealing while holding the case may not be the most consistent method, so I would recommend buying or building a annealing machine and adjusting the amount of annealing you prefer for more consistent annealing.
I've seen people using something like a shell holder adapter to drill bit or even a spark plug socket but not really ever seen someone use just their fingers as a prefered method of holding a case for annealing.

@ButterBean Ive seen this YT before, jst counted 10 seconds after being annealed before he touched the case & when you think about it the case is in a shell holder collet so the base will be kept cooler that way as well.
Also being induction I dont think the lenght of time would be as long as flame annealing!

Just saying.

But hey, each to their own, some people think no pain no gain 🤐
 
I've seen people using something like a shell holder adapter to drill bit or even a spark plug socket but not really ever seen someone use just their fingers as a prefered method of holding a case for annealing.

@ButterBean Ive seen this YT before, jst counted 10 seconds after being annealed before he touched the case & when you think about it the case is in a shell holder collet so the base will be kept cooler that way as well.
Also being induction I dont think the lenght of time would be as long as flame annealing!

Just saying.

But hey, each to their own, some people think no pain no gain 🤐
I agree the shell holder acts as heat sink but its still warm and he goes rite to work, as I've said before , I annealed by hand for a long time, Is it the best way ? absolutely not , Will it work? Absolutely, When i first started doing it by hand I got all the stuff I thought I needed 700 and 400 degree Tempilaq ( 700 for the neck and 400 for the body) and came to the formula of 6 seconds twisting it in the flame by hand, the case head was just getting warm, Tempilaq in the neck was clear and clear half way down the body so most of the heat never got past there, now i can judge by the flame if it starts to turn a different color its been in too long, In my experience 6 to 7 seconds at the tip of the cone will do it, just being consistent and not over doing it is the most important thing
 
A few months ago I decided, out of curiosity, to see how hot the bases of my cases were after removing them from my AMP machine.
I annealed 223, 22-250, 257 Roberts and
25-06 cases and placed them on a wooden block straigt out of the machine. Then I held a Fluke temperature probe on the inside of the primer pocket.

Temperatures were,
223 - 114 degrees C or 237 F
22-250- 108 degrees C or 226 F
257 Rob- 103 degrees C or 217 F
25-06 - 98 degrees C or 208 F.

The temps dropped very quickly but where the case shoulders touched the wooden block it was scorched.

I would say that the cloth the guy in the video uses must have either water or some other fluid to aid cooling.
 
A few months ago I decided, out of curiosity, to see how hot the bases of my cases were after removing them from my AMP machine.
I annealed 223, 22-250, 257 Roberts and
25-06 cases and placed them on a wooden block straigt out of the machine. Then I held a Fluke temperature probe on the inside of the primer pocket.

Temperatures were,
223 - 114 degrees C or 237 F
22-250- 108 degrees C or 226 F
257 Rob- 103 degrees C or 217 F
25-06 - 98 degrees C or 208 F.

The temps dropped very quickly but where the case shoulders touched the wooden block it was scorched.

I would say that the cloth the guy in the video uses must have either water or some other fluid to aid cooling.
That's some great information but the OP is not using an AMP Machine, Entirely different method to achieve the end result
 
Annealing has a minimum temperature required to re-sort the brass molecules to reinstate the desired flexible strength. Consistency is indeed important to consistent accuracy results. Under-annealing (not annealed) is as useless as over-annealing is destructive.

Annealing with a torch by hand is a bit of an art that requires focus. Especially when annealing 100+ cases at a time. Its not surprising that many people prefer to use a machine. My ability to get the case neck and shoulder annealed adequately by hand is somewhat dependent on the case. E.g.: I can turn off the lights and roll a 30-06 or 300 WSM case in the blue tip of the flame for 6 seconds +\- and watch the brass just start to glow red Inside the neck without burning my fingers. At 7 seconds I gotta put it down NOW. Shorter cases like 308 are plenty hot on the finger tips by the time the case neck is starting to glow red on the inside.

It aint for the faint of heart nor those with highly sensitive fingertip pads.
 
Well when you gotta **** it feels good even if your ****ing in the wind and getting it all over yourself I guess. But hey I'm just degrading this website by telling you that you would get better results doing it the right way so I will quit trying to help. Go ahead and listen to this guy and and keep on spinning your wheels and wasting time.
I get what your saying. Some day I will buy a machine but for right now I gotta use what I got. Which unfortunately is a $25 torch and my fingers. Thanks to this fake pandemic, money is a little tight because oil is still worthless 6 months in. But an ES of 6, great accuracy and smooth bullet seating is nothing to sneeze at. Perhaps it could improve with the consistency of a machine but I also don't need better than .5 moa or a lower ES than six. Perhaps you or someone else already mentioned some but what are some dependable machines that won't break the bank?
 
I get what your saying. Some day I will buy a machine but for right now I gotta use what I got. Which unfortunately is a $25 torch and my fingers. Thanks to this fake pandemic, money is a little tight because oil is still worthless 6 months in. But an ES of 6, great accuracy and smooth bullet seating is nothing to sneeze at. Perhaps it could improve with the consistency of a machine but I also don't need better than .5 moa or a lower ES than six. Perhaps you or someone else already mentioned some but what are some dependable machines that won't break the bank?
Well at least your trying and that counts for something. I have no experience with any other machine other than the AMP. I was always too chicken to try the torch method for fear of ruining expensive brass but I have heard several good things about the salt bath method from other members on here and its pretty cheap to get started
 
Well at least your trying and that counts for something. I have no experience with any other machine other than the AMP. I was always too chicken to try the torch method for fear of ruining expensive brass but I have heard several good things about the salt bath method from other members on here and its pretty cheap to get started
I have been using the salt bath about a year now and appears to work well for me anyway. Easy and cheap.
 
I get what your saying. Some day I will buy a machine but for right now I gotta use what I got. Which unfortunately is a $25 torch and my fingers. Thanks to this fake pandemic, money is a little tight because oil is still worthless 6 months in. But an ES of 6, great accuracy and smooth bullet seating is nothing to sneeze at. Perhaps it could improve with the consistency of a machine but I also don't need better than .5 moa or a lower ES than six. Perhaps you or someone else already mentioned some but what are some dependable machines that won't break the bank?
Aeanleez is only 275 .00 and works fine www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMAKpUhVV98
 
I will stick to fingers....holding the head of the case...not where the torch is.....
65284..26nosler..280ai brass.....i have just long enough to spin that brass in my fingers to get it where it needs to be before I drop it into my pie pan......
I also have seen a lot of single digit SD...very low ES....
Tried the drill and socket...preferred the fingers....quicker...100 pieces of brass go fairly fast....and YES.....sometimes there is the one slip up and I burn my fingers......
He'll getting old and severe carpal tunnal with arthritis doesn't help......

Let's just compare these methods to age.....
When i was a kid..we learned to ride bikes..before a motorcycle....
Now kids skip the motorcycle and land on four wheelers.....
Just because technology is where it's at today...doesnt mean it wasn't developed by someone whom used the old version before inventing the new.....
 
Anneal before sizing....

I've never heard anyone say...**** my load sucks because I didn't get the proper anneal on my brass...or...**** my load is awesome because I annealed this brass perfectly. 🤪

I've been using a Benchsource for about 7 years and anneal every time. 😂
 
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