.223 brass, did I mess up?

[neogouken]

Hey all,

I think I done goofed...

Placed this in the oven at 390F for 30 mins to dry out any liquids remaining after some processing. The brass is really discolored. Is it still safe to use or should I just toss the batch?

Thanks for any insight!

(set of 4 properly processed brass on the bottom right vs the 3 that were part of the larger batch on the bottom left)

[FLIGHT762]

[bhilliker@comcast.net]

bout 8-10 minutes is max usually about 5. at 30 minutes there is no way I'd use that brass.

[Red Mist Maker]

That brass is toast. … on to the next batch.

[plinkr]

Looks like you annealed that brass, which I think you are supposed to do once in a while. I don't know enough to opine on whether the strength, hardness or ductility were adversely affected. Here is an article on the subject.

https://www.ampannealing.com/about-brass-hardness/

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

[bohoki]

i would reload and shoot it brass strength is based on thickness not any heat treating


all you did was rapid tarnish it


please don't think you ruined it

[ysr_racer]

OP, be honest. Are you using the easy 23 step brass cleaning process?

[JackEllis]

i would reload and shoot it brass strength is based on thickness not any heat treating


all you did was rapid tarnish it

I'm no metallurgist but based on all the discussions I've read about annealing, I have to disagree. Cases are annealed from just below the shoulder to the mouth, and never around the base. Why? Because annealing changes certain properties of the brass, like it's hardness and it's ductility.

This article might help the OP decide what to do.

I'd shoot them, and next time I'd set the oven temperature to 220 degrees, which should cause any moisture in the cases to evaporate within a few minutes.

[kevins750]

You only anneal the neck and shoulder.

Those cases got hot. That being said 223 is plentiful, toss them.

[WartHog]

OP - watch Craigslist, OfferUp, etc. for a multi-level Food Dehydrator - impossible to hurt brass drying in one of those. American Harvest/Nesco make good ones like this - https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/hsh...215994301.html

[kcheung2]

That looks like about 100 cases, so $6-$7 worth of brass. Not worth it. But in the bigger picture, a $7 lesson when it comes to reloading safety is pretty cheap I'd say. No reason to make it more expensive than that by being frugal at the wrong time.

[neogouken]

Thanks everyone. I'll just toss them out. better to be safe, lose a few bucks as opposed to lose a receiver or more!

[michaelf3]

Next time throw them on a towel, place the towel on a shoe drying rack and dry them in the dryer. 30-45 minutes and nice and dry.

Used 223/556 brass are cheap, trash/recycle those.

[pacrat]

Thanks everyone. I'll just toss them out. better to be safe, lose a few bucks as opposed to lose a receiver or more!

THAT HOT......THAT LONG......You for sure annealed them totally. BAD JuJu.

Good Call to chuck em.. I go a bit farther. I smack em with a hammer or crush the shoulder area with vice-grips when I know brass to be unsafe.

[hambam105]

Oven Roasted 556 brass?

A little, butter, a sprinkling of salt, Monday Night Football...