First time annealing...

[MarikinaMan]

Annealed my first batch of cases. Couldn't find 700 or 650 degree Tempilaq around me. Decided I'd expense 50 rounds of range pick ups to learn by testing.

Read a bunch of tutorials and went with the wet towel and deep socket on an electric screw driver route.

It worked. Didn't ruin a single case. Stoked.

[67Cuda]

Best place to buy Tempilaq is McMaster-Carr.

https://www.mcmaster.com/#temperature-indicating-liquid/=15pa80f

[Metal God]

Couldn't find 700 or 650 degree Tempilaq around me

So what did you use to know when to stop ?

[MarikinaMan]

So what did you use to know when to stop ?

I counted to six and watched the brass glow a faint orange. Also watched the flame so that I quenched the case before the flame went from blue to orange. Settled on 5 to 6 seconds. After a while I was confident in focusing on just watching the brass and the flame.

When the flame goes orange, that's supposed to indicate that parts of the alloy has started to burn. Don't let it get to that. Another test is, after cooling, the brass shouldn't give to strong finger pressure.

Went well.

[baih777]

Are you using propane or as oxy/ace torch?

[Metal God]

Depending on the heat of the flame 5 or 6 sec was likely just right .

Although I agree with what all you said to a point . IMHO if you never used a temp indicator , you have no idea what temp you hit . The good thing about annealing is you have a pretty big window to work with . Something like 650* to 750* will anneal cartridge brass and get you the desired effect most are looking for ( extended case life )

I've done some annealing testing

These pics show three different flames/heats annealing the neck and shoulder to the exact same temp . I applied 750* tempilaq inside the necks and took the pictures when it melted .


1st pic is using MAPP gas and the flame is just to hot to control the heat applied . That flame went from almost no orange to massive orange flame in a fraction of a second .


2nd pic is using propane with a turned up torch making the flame very hot for propane . You can see I got just a tad or orange right as the temp indicator changed .



3rd pic is also propane but with the flame turned down resulting in less heat being applied . As you can see the flame never changed color when the 750* temp indicator melted inside the neck . You can even see the 450* indicator below the shoulder meted at the same time

Here's what I started with

[MarikinaMan]

^^^ good stuff.

Frrom your post and the guy with the mcmaster link, I got some Tempilaq to confirm my results.

Thanks guys!

[Maltese Falcon]

^^^ good stuff.

Frrom your post and the guy with the mcmaster link, I got some Tempilaq to confirm my results.

Thanks guys!

So how does that work?

.

[MarikinaMan]

So how does that work?

.

How does tempilaq work? It melts when you hit the stated temperrature.

I got a bottle to check my timing, and also each time I anneal. Propane pressure, valve adjustment, and other factors will affect the applied heat and thus timing.

[FALAK]

Tag

[bigdawg86]

I think I got a bad bottle of tempilaque... Mine is incredibly runny and is like water. You can barely see it when you apply it unlike yours which is clearly visible on the case neck. I want to try a tempilaque crayon next time.

[Jason_2111]

I think I got a bad bottle of tempilaque... Mine is incredibly runny and is like water. You can barely see it when you apply it unlike yours which is clearly visible on the case neck. I want to try a tempilaque crayon next time.

Did you shake it up really good first? It'll separate after sitting for a long time like paint does.

[Metal God]

Yes you need to shake it up . And not just a little . It can be hard to get it to mix up . You may need to stir it up a little to break it free from the bottom then shake it . I have some of the craons as well , i do not recommend them for this application