First annealing wrong??

[artemistrad]

hi. I made a annealer with a pencil torch. I have the feeling the annealing went totally wrong only till the half of the shoulder is a colour change. Who can help me and tell me if they are ok or not. See picture. If it is done wrong; can I do it again now before these cases have been fired?

 

[Gord0]

It looks very inconsistent, and not far enough down past the shoulder. I'm not sure if they have been overheated or not, but they don't appear to be from the pictures. Either your torch head is too small (flame too small in diameter) or it was aimed too high. Annealing them again won't hurt them, as long as you don't go too long. It looks like you have a bigger problem with consistancy though. (Amount of time in the flame)

 

[Gord0]

Annealed using induction, but it gives you an idea how far down I run them.

Edit: different brass will turn different colors depending on it's exact elemental makeup.

 

[DUSTY NOGGIN]

gordos pictures above look very dark because of the white background . i would not try to duplicate that color on your first attempt . like he said practice the timing

i like to aim the torch right above the side wall to shoulder corner because the end of the case is a little thinner and the heat goes that direction a little faster . if your heat colors do not look like they made it to the end of the neck then your torch is too close , keep aiming at the same spot just bring flame farther away and leave in the flame longer

 

[jjmp]

no harm done,load them and shoot them ,or just r re anneale them, great advice above .

 

[Gord0]

gordos pictures above look very dark because of the white background . i would not try to duplicate that color on your first attempt . like he said practice the timing

i like to aim the torch right above the side wall to shoulder corner because the end of the case is a little thinner and the heat goes that direction a little faster . if your heat colors do not look like they made it to the end of the neck then your torch is too close , keep aiming at the same spot just bring flame farther away and leave in the flame longer

That's correct, the white background does make it look darker.

 

[Crunchy]

It did go well for me either on my first go around. Ever hear of templac? Good way to make sure you get them hot enough, but not too hot.

 

[artemistrad]

I used Templac. And a own made annealer. Have not the idea that timing is wrong. I guess the difference is as already mentioned that I have a to small flame and am to far on the outside of the neck, i should burn more to the schoulder i guess.

 

[WildRose]

You're going to do far more harm by overheating than under heating them.

In fairly low light (less than comfortable reading light) you just want to see a hint of a glow of red, no more. More than that and the brass will quickly get too soft and become prone to stretching and splitting.

 

[Gord0]

Looking at your setup, it doesn't look like your torch head should be too small. It just looks like you had it aimed too far down onto the neck. Aim more for the area where the shoulder starts

 

[Dr. Vette]

View attachment 107684
Edit: different brass will turn different colors depending on it's exact elemental makeup.

I also find that the color may vary a bit depending on the cleaning batch. Even though I use the same materials when I stainless tumble my brass, there are times it will look darker or lighter than others. My assumption (!) is that it's due to variances in Dawn and Lemishine concentration.

 

[WildRose]

I also find that the color may vary a bit depending on the cleaning batch. Even though I use the same materials when I stainless tumble my brass, there are times it will look darker or lighter than others. My assumption (!) is that it's due to variances in Dawn and Lemishine concentration.

After much reading and a great deal of time devoted to experimenting I've finally just stopped using anything other than "Purple Power" and clear white vinegar added at the rate of a couple of ounces per gallon of water and then about a half hour or hour in the wet tumbler.

Color remains consistent, little or no spotting and no excess removal or breakdown of the brass that can occur with other methods.