.223 brass, did I mess up?

[divingin]

Brass is likely fine. Too low of a temp to change the crystalline structure.

"The grain structure of the brass begins to change - indicating the start of annealing - at just under 500 degrees Fahrenheit. At 600 degrees F, brass will anneal in one hour. At 800 degrees F, brass will take only a few seconds to anneal. Only the case necks should be annealed." From massreloading.com

That said, there's the accuracy of your oven thermostat to question, and given the availability of 223 brass, I'd say scrap it.

I dry cases at 70C for an hour; twice the time actually required, but easier to set on my dehydrator (though that's also mouth-down to eliminate pooled water. If laying them flat it may take longer.)

[sirgrumps]

Brass is likely fine. Too low of a temp to change the crystalline structure.

"The grain structure of the brass begins to change - indicating the start of annealing - at just under 500 degrees Fahrenheit. At 600 degrees F, brass will anneal in one hour. At 800 degrees F, brass will take only a few seconds to anneal. Only the case necks should be annealed." From massreloading.com

That said, there's the accuracy of your oven thermostat to question, and given the availability of 223 brass, I'd say scrap it.

I dry cases at 70C for an hour; twice the time actually required, but easier to set on my dehydrator (though that's also mouth-down to eliminate pooled water. If laying them flat it may take longer.)

based on previous discussions, I agree. It's probably ok.

[robert101]

He posted, "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?"

I think he mistyped and meant 390 degrees. If that is the situation. Reload and shoot brother.......

[rsrocket1]

Take a pair of pliers and squish the body of the brass. You will easily be able to tell if it's annealed or not. I anneal my .223 and .308 case necks and for fun, I once annealed the entire body of a .223 case. You can practically squish the body flat with just your thumb and 2 fingers on the pliers. Try the same on an un-annealed body and you'll know the difference.

If you want to anneal a case but don't have a propane torch, use pliers to hold a case neck in you gas range burner for a while until it discolors. You won't want to do this with hundreds of cases, but one is easy.

[slamfire1]

[Sal0327]

I bet your the guy the burns the brownies!

Trash them!

[ar15barrels]

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/

You can anneal the neck and shoulder but you should NEVER anneal the case head.
The case head needs to stay harder than the upper parts of the case to hold the combustion pressure.
That's why EVERY case annealing process only acts on the neck and shoulder area of the case.

400f probably didn't anneal the case head though.
It just oxidized it.

[ar15barrels]

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

False.
The case head is specifically harder than the case body/neck/shoulder as the case head has to handle the full chamber pressure in the unsupported area of the breech.

[hntnnut]

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

Wrong, the case head got annealed and is now soft, The above is BAD information. OP please don't use that brass, its not worth your gun, hands, or life.

bohoki, Please show us ANY brass annealer that heats up the base of the cartridge OR anyone that promotes heating up the whole case.

Remember what annealing does, it re-softens the case NECK caused from work hardening during firing.

Richard

[the86d]

Does this help?:

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/oven-annealing-how-long-at-400-degress.708622/

[The War Wagon]

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.

WHY so hot?!?! 150 for a half hour would've dried it out just fine.

[five.five-six]

WHY so hot?!?! 150 for a half hour would've dried it out just fine.

I think about 5 minutes would probably dry them at 150.

[bohoki]

Wrong, the case head got annealed and is now soft, The above is BAD information. OP please don't use that brass, its not worth your gun, hands, or life.

bohoki, Please show us ANY brass annealer that heats up the base of the cartridge OR anyone that promotes heating up the whole case.

Remember what annealing does, it re-softens the case NECK caused from work hardening during firing.

Richard

if i didnt already have a bucket of brass i'd pay to have it sent to me i'll load it up and give a report

the only think i have concern about is maybe tearing a rim off during extraction