Who is annealing in sand?

[cape cove]

@birdiemc Let us know how you make out with the sand. TKS

 

[Flare]

Very curios too

Corey

 

[birdiemc]

My came home and caught me assembling my first ever AR that she claims I never told her about, so I'm gonna have to hold off a couple weeks before ordering my lee pot.
I might be in the clear I told her if it shoots like crap she can have it, so maybe that will get me out of the doghouse...mama always likes a new gun

 

[bushmotornv]

I think I'm sold on trying this...if for some reason I dont end up with the success you are describing I can always switch to salt...but first gotta get the pot.

Got mine off eBay, NIB,delivered for $26.

 

[Greasegun]

Just curious if there is an instrument on the market that will maintain the temperature at a constant. I like the salt-bath process, but.....it's a PITA to keep regulating the temperature continually using the knob on the melting pot.

Check out this video. Salt bath annealing
A PID controller is what i think its called that will fix that problem

 

[bushmotornv]

Check out this video. [Salt bath annealing](https://youtu.be/qaHGwrKzQYY)
A PID controller is what i think its called that will fix that problem

So...I put the salt bath to the test...and I like it! Heat control is crude with the dial on the Lee pot,but not unmanageable. I have ordered a PID controller and associated parts. Having said that,at about 8 seconds per case at a salt temp of 550°C,25 to 30 300 Win Mag sized cases will pull 25° out of the pot. But recovery is only several minutes, and what's time to a prairie dog! I'll follow on more info when I get the controller together.

 

[birdiemc]

I think I'm gonna order my pot tonight...prime should get it here by tuesday, so maybe I'll try sand then

 

[Greasegun]

Curious to find out how this sand annealing works out. The hard part is, comparing and proving what the results are.

Also, be careful not to heat the head end of the case

 

[Kmccord]

I think I'm gonna order my pot tonight...prime should get it here by tuesday, so maybe I'll try sand then

This is what I am really interested in, we know the Salt Bath method works, what I want to know is how the sand method works and how you verified the temperature and how long each case must be left in the sand.

 

[birdiemc]

This is what I am really interested in, we know the Salt Bath method works, what I want to know is how the sand method works and how you verified the temperature and how long each case must be left in the sand.

Verifying temperature is what I'm struggling with in my mind right now. Forgot to pick up some sand today, so I'll grab some from the masons at work tomorrow. I have some trash brass that I have been saving for just such an occasion so I'm gonna give it a go with the method Watson suggested, just crank it up and dip them in. But I am trying to find somebody with some temp measuring equipment that I could borrow just to test it out. Thought about tempilaq, but kinda seems like a bad idea since it will be out of the sand in order to be visible, so by the time it starts working the heat will be too far down the case body. So it's got to be a sensor in the sand sensing I would think. Also as Mikecr mentioned early on the thermal coupling in sand is horrible compared to liquid, so stirring the sand will be necessary to keep the temp somewhat even throughout the depth.But hopefully tomorrow I wont get stuck at work late and will have some very crude preliminary results to share.

 

[whirlwindjml]

Verifying temperature is what I'm struggling with in my mind right now. Forgot to pick up some sand today, so I'll grab some from the masons at work tomorrow. I have some trash brass that I have been saving for just such an occasion so I'm gonna give it a go with the method Watson suggested, just crank it up and dip them in. But I am trying to find somebody with some temp measuring equipment that I could borrow just to test it out. Thought about tempilaq, but kinda seems like a bad idea since it will be out of the sand in order to be visible, so by the time it starts working the heat will be too far down the case body. So it's got to be a sensor in the sand sensing I would think. Also as Mikecr mentioned early on the thermal coupling in sand is horrible compared to liquid, so stirring the sand will be necessary to keep the temp somewhat even throughout the depth.But hopefully tomorrow I wont get stuck at work late and will have some very crude preliminary results to share.

I got a celcius temperature probe off ebay for $6.

 

[Greasegun]

Tempilaq should be useful to verify that a: the neck got hot enough, and b: the body didnt get too hot

Also dont forget to quench in water immediately after heating

 

[Kmccord]

Verifying temperature is what I'm struggling with in my mind right now. Forgot to pick up some sand today, so I'll grab some from the masons at work tomorrow. I have some trash brass that I have been saving for just such an occasion so I'm gonna give it a go with the method Watson suggested, just crank it up and dip them in. But I am trying to find somebody with some temp measuring equipment that I could borrow just to test it out. Thought about tempilaq, but kinda seems like a bad idea since it will be out of the sand in order to be visible, so by the time it starts working the heat will be too far down the case body. So it's got to be a sensor in the sand sensing I would think. Also as Mikecr mentioned early on the thermal coupling in sand is horrible compared to liquid, so stirring the sand will be necessary to keep the temp somewhat even throughout the depth.But hopefully tomorrow I wont get stuck at work late and will have some very crude preliminary results to share.

I would think, stirring the sand as it is heating up would be the thing to do, kind of like heating something in a microwave, I thought I had read it took 5 to 10 minutes to heat up and burn off the impurities in the sand. I thought I read the person also used a hand held laser thermometer to read the temp of the sand. I would think after about 10 minutes, the sand will have the temp leveled out and would just be an up and down state with inserting new cases in the sand. Good luck and please keep us posted on your results.

 

[birdiemc]

Tempilaq should be useful to verify that a: the neck got hot enough, and b: the body didnt get too hot

Also dont forget to quench in water immediately after heating

While dumping hot brass into a bucket of water is exactly what I had planned to do, I have read several articles and white papers on annealing brass and various things related to brass as well as thermal conductivity and i have come to the conclusion that it's not necessary and from a metallurgical standpoint it offers no benefit. It does make it nice to handle though.