Salt Bath Annealing

[MudMarine]

I run this system and can wholeheartedly recommend it. As has been mentioned before, be sure your cases are dry.

i prefer to decap first. The brass goes in the salt for 6-7 seconds and then gets dumped in a bucket of water below and underneath my bench.

Once done with the annealing, i dump all the water and thoroughly shake all the brass in a spaghetti colander to know any extra water loose. When thats done, the brass goes in my tumbler.

It takes a surprising amount of time for the salt to cool in the pot. When it does, it shrinks and pulls away from the edges making it easy to remove if needed. I like to clean the pot occasionally to keep any corrosion at bay. No problems so far.

Replacement salt is super cheap to get from most industry supply stores, probably even amazon.

 

[raider1v1]

There's a standard case holder and a large. You use the level of the salt for your annealing depth on the case. I have the large and I anneal 25 wssm, all the RUMS, 7 saum, 378 Weatherby Improved and 340 Weatherby Improved. Works perfect.

do you set that level while its molten? and add more (very carefully) after its hot? or how would you adjust that for something like .223 vs .270?

 

[Doublezranch]

Those cases would need the standard. I believe the depth of the case in the shell holder stays consistent between the standard and large. Only differences are the size of the holes on top and the standard has 2 holes instead the large having 1. When the salt just turns liquid, you can place a case in the holder and take it out right away. There will be a line of salt on the case that shows its depth on the case. If you need more you carefully add. If you need less, I have a small scoop that I take some out and "drizzle" on my metal tray I made. The salt solidifies instantly on the metal. I just loosen it up and put it back in the container. Easy Peasy!

 

[TwoMore]

I run this system and can wholeheartedly recommend it. As has been mentioned before, be sure your cases are dry.

i prefer to decap first. The brass goes in the salt for 6-7 seconds and then gets dumped in a bucket of water below and underneath my bench.

Once done with the annealing, i dump all the water and thoroughly shake all the brass in a spaghetti colander to know any extra water loose. When thats done, the brass goes in my tumbler.

It takes a surprising amount of time for the salt to cool in the pot. When it does, it shrinks and pulls away from the edges making it easy to remove if needed. I like to clean the pot occasionally to keep any corrosion at bay. No problems so far.

Replacement salt is super cheap to get from most industry supply stores, probably even amazon.

I just ordered a holder but since yesterday he is out of the salt so
I ordered it here in the states were you can buy it in 1 pound increments, it cost me 4 dollars a pound plus shipping. I ordered 2 pounds it was 22.60 shipped

edit

sorry it ended up at 30.47 because they only use fedex on the low temp stuff

 

[raider1v1]

I just ordered a holder but since yesterday he is out of the salt so
I ordered it here in the states were you can buy it in 1 pound increments, it cost me 4 dollars a pound plus shipping. I ordered 2 pounds it was 22.60 shipped

would you mind sharing where you bought it?

 

[TwoMore]

not at all
https://www.hightemptools.com/salts.html
the quick temper 275 has a range of 300* f to 1100* f

 

[raider1v1]

not at all
https://www.hightemptools.com/salts.html
the quick temper 275 has a range of 300* f to 1100* f

thanks! i shot them a quick email to see if they can confirm its the same salt. I dont want to get a slightly different one and end up messing up the brass/rifle/whatever.

 

[Frog4aday]

Tagging in...

 

[Flatbow]

Let us know what you find out raider!

 

[catamountsierra]

The guy in Canada was out when I checked, so I ended up building my own setup. I'm hoping to test it out soon. I made my own case holders, so we will have to see if those work, but I can adjust the holder to set the depth for different cases, though I don't think this will be much of an issue as most cases are close enough to same distance from mouth to just past the shoulder. Building the setup from scratch wasn't that hard, and the costs, including the new Lee pot (I didn't want to use the old one that is full of lead) and the salt was right around $70. Thermocouples and PIDs are relatively inexpensive on Amazon...

 

[MudMarine]

It really is an easy thing to do. The case holder, using the right temp salt and being able to measure the heat accurately are the key points and all are cheap and easy.

No more open flames for me. The wife likes this part best.

 

[raider1v1]

so here is the sheet from wayne @ hightemptools. he says that it should be comparable but since im not a chemist, id like someone here to take a quick look. the 'original' one can be found here - https://ballisticrecreations.ca/salt_home/salt-rev/

 

[Mc Fraser]

I would ask what happens with the salt if heated above operating range, 1100f?

 

[catamountsierra]

I got the Quick Temper 275, which appears to be very similar. The working temperature range is close enough, and they both appear to be neutral so I wouldn't expect rapid corrosion. I plan to run my cases through an ultrasonic cleaner right after annealing to make sure the salt is off the cases.