Which annealing machine?

I built my own machine for $200 which I am very happy with.

But if I was to buy one I would be looking at the Bench Source machine for sure, I know there are a lot ov machines out there similar to my build but I have always thought the BS to be a very good compromise between those & the AMP which is the rolls royce of course.


If you can chase down a better deal somewhere then great but if you were to be able to stretch the budget $50 more then I think it would be worth it!
 
I built my own machine for $200 which I am very happy with.

But if I was to buy one I would be looking at the Bench Source machine for sure, I know there are a lot ov machines out there similar to my build but I have always thought the BS to be a very good compromise between those & the AMP which is the rolls royce of course.


If you can chase down a better deal somewhere then great but if you were to be able to stretch the budget $50 more then I think it would be worth it!
Have you checked out fluxeon annie annealer with water cooler. It seems amazing and same cost as the bench source.
 
Have you checked out fluxeon annie annealer with water cooler. It seems amazing and same cost as the bench source.
Yes I have looked at it & think it & induction is a great, quick method.
I just recall that when I started to add things to it that I think I would want like the hopper & other things then it was starting to get up there in price.
I'd have to look at it again, I recall they made some mods from the original version.
 
Yes I have looked at it & think it & induction is a great, quick method.
I just recall that when I started to add things to it that I think I would want like the hopper & other things then it was starting to get up there in price.
I'd have to look at it again, I recall they made some mods from the original version.
I just put together a kit and the raising stand and I think it came to about 600$ not too much more than the bench source and appears it would be more consistent. The bench source allows you to have a rotating feeding station which is kind if cool though. Decisions decisions haha.
 
I have an older (8-10 years) Benchsource Annealer in good condition. A few marks from use, but works great. I ended up with 2 of them.

$325/shipped
 
I have a Mike's MRB and it's a well made product. Once you get your torch and timing set for a cartridge you can just let it go and only have to keep an eye on it.

Mike is in TX and was quick to ship. I got it in 3 days.
 
I have been doing annealing using a drill, socket and counting seconds. I'm now thinking about getting a machine. I don't do a ton of annealing so the AMP system seems a bit much at 1400$. A Bench source seems more reasonable at ~500$ but I don't want to spend 500$ if it is not good. What is everyone's thoughts on this?

FWIW:

I was "annealing" brass the way you describe. I had some problems with: 1) overheat and shrivel brass, 2) overheat and anneal the case head (blown primers, supah loose primer pockets), 3) very inconsistent results.

I have an Annealeez now.

Why I'm annealing my brass: I have a 6.5 Grendel I hunt with nightly. I hunt with reloads almost exclusively as I want a non-typical projectile weight (factory ammo not available in this combo). I have a friend who only buys Hornady Black 6.5G 123 ELD-M and who refuses to reload. Ergo, I get a pretty good supply of once-fired Hornady brass from my friend and have maybe as much as 1,000 cases. I will average about 100-150 rounds per month consumption, so I'm not loading each case a lot.

I had a problem with the case mouth splitting. I would find a few cases in my catcher/bucket which were split from time to time. I found cases were split after re-sizing on occasion. I don't mind the re-size splitting as much as the ones which apparently split in the chamber. This was happening with the Hornady 6.5G brass way too often. I believe some of the splits occurred on the first reloading.

I've been annealing my brass "properly" for the last two sessions of reloading (about 300 rounds total), plus some brass forming for a new 6 ARC, and I've had no problems with the case mouth/neck splitting. It, "annealing", seems to be solving my problem.

The Annealeez : I like the unit. Yes, I paid for it and some guys can't say they bought a ***, but I like it. If I didn't like it I would say so. It's been easy to set up and operate. It can be a bit fiddly to adjust the roller wheels to drop where they need to but they stay once set. I found the whole process to be fairly simple and actually a bit of fun. I did find that, with longer dwell times, the brass was melting the plastic roller wheels a bit. They, Annealeez , sell different thicknesses of wheels for different cases and I should have had a shorter/thinner wheel for the Grendel cases. I put my lower wheel in my lathe and turned it thinner (wish that worked on women) . I can fill the hopper with brass and let it run mostly unsupervised. I have the unit set on a steel work bench near the edge so that the brass, when it falls from the machine, falls into a bucket with water hanging on the edge of the bench. This quenches the brass to reduce the likelihood of trashing the case head (I did that in my manual process and it's not pleasant and I don't want to repeat that).

I don't have any regrets over the Annealeez . For what it cost and that it solves my problem, I'm happy with it. But, this is just my opinion/application.

--HC
 
Bench Source faster easier cleaner! From .222-50 Bmg. I have been very happy with mine and have not a single issue with the machine.
 
I looked at the Anealez and Mike's Reloading Bench annealer. I make my own 300BO and wanted an annealer that I could do high volume with. That's why I didn't look at the other machines.

Went with Mikes. I would have had to purchase extra parts for 300BO with the Annealez, and by the time it was all said and done the MRB annealer was only a few dollars more.

More importantly just looking at the two products the build quality of the MRB annealer looked light years ahead of the Annealez. I've still not touched an Annealez, but the quality of the MRB is really far above and beyond the price he is charging. It came with a very detailed (and personalized) bound instruction manual. Nice touch. Shipping was fast. Packaging was superb. I still use the box to store it when not in use. Mike responds to emails quickly and is very helpful.

It works real good and am sure it will last a very long time. It does bulk 300 BO and precision rifle stuff equally well. The parts are serviceable should something need fixing. I have zero complaints.
 
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