case annealing

[volshooter]

What is the best way to anneal cases and how do you know when to do it? All I have read about it is heating with a torch and then cooling it quickly, that seems to me it would harden the case rather than allow the brass to work again. Any and all answers appreciated

 

[mete]

You're talking about cartridge brass not steel.This brass cannot be hardened by heat treating . The annealing process starts at about 450F. But for cases when you start getting cracked necks you should anneal the whole batch. A common method is to stand the cases in a pan and fill the pan with water up to the shoulder .Heat the case neck with a propane torch until it just starts to glow red then tip it over into the water. ...Bell the case mouth only enough to insert the bullet and don't excessively crimp and the cases will last longer.

 

[ftierson]

I agree with mete with one slight change. Ideally, you should heat the case mouth/neck up until it's a little shy of red. Red hot is really too hot. If you have good light, you can see the colors flow in the brass before it gets red (bluish/brownish). If you have poor light, it's really hard to see the color change. If you have the case setting in water (I keep 6.5x55mm cases in water up to about a half inch below the shoulder), you then just tip them over into the water. Unlike steel, brass is softened when quenched like this...

 

[volshooter]

Thanks for the info

Your replies have cleared up my questions..."seek and ye shall find"

or something of that nature the good book says.

Thanks again
vol shooter

 

[45 ACP]

Here's a FANTASTIC link for in-depth information regarding annealing.

Varmint Al's Annealing 101