Any of you bother to anneal your cases?

[damndave]

I don't anneal yet as the largest caliber I shoot is 308win. But when I start to move into larger calibers, I will consider it. Costs savings alone it will be worth it.

[killshot44]

So the benchsource machine - how are the cases quenched to get a strong anneal process?

Why anneal pistol brass? I shoot revolvers - the roll crimp on them works the metal more than taper crimp on autos and rifles.

There is no quenching involved.
Maybe that's how Joe in the basement with a torch and a socket in a drill does it.........but not how the manufacturers do it nor the way any of the annealing machine makers recommend.

I think the Bench-Source has the best array of features over the others including Giraud's new one.

No one I know of anneals pistol brass, only bottleneck rifle.

[cpatbay]

After getting 7 reloads per brass piece then on the 8th firing my .223 cases for my single shot rifle 25% developed cracks on the case necks. I'll be annealing pretty soon.

7 reloads? That's more than decent. Most recommend 5 reloads for 223 and scrap them.

[EmmaGoldman]

There is no quenching involved.
Maybe that's how Joe in the basement with a torch and a socket in a drill does it.........but not how the manufacturers do it nor the way any of the annealing machine makers recommend.

Apparently, Joe in the basement is the only one who understands metallurgy.

[fabguy]

I just recently bought some Lake City brass (.223) and they were already annealed, NO primer crimp, ran them all through a sizer and they were great, on the length side though they came out pretty consistent at 1.7530 - 1.7555
All 1K for $129.00 which is 2x the price for once fired brass but no hassle with removing primer crimp

[cpatbay]

I just recently bought some Lake City brass (.223) and they were already annealed, NO primer crimp, ran them all through a sizer and they were great, on the length side though they came out pretty consistent at 1.7530 - 1.7555
All 1K for $129.00 which is 2x the price for once fired brass but no hassle with removing primer crimp

Technically, these are 556 military brass; not 223. Yeah, I got a bunch of these, too. Great brass.

[fabguy]

True they are 5.56, hand primed 500 so far with CCI#41 and these are a lil tougher than the 500 swagged LC I hand primed before, I have another 500 to go but took a little break to post this cause hand is a little sore

[cpatbay]

True they are 5.56, hand primed 500 so far with CCI#41 and these are a lil tougher than the 500 swagged LC I hand primed before, I have another 500 to go but took a little break to post this cause hand is a little sore

Definitely hard work ... but they will serve you well for some time!

[DocSkinner]

Apparently, Joe in the basement is the only one who understands metallurgy.

You know those Joes...

Allowing a slow cool down on brass HARDENS it, a quick cool down SOFTENS it, just the opposite of ferrous metals.

I believe the heating-slow cool is much more for stress relief than for softening of the brass. Harder brass will also hold a bullet more steadfastly than soft brass - a key factor in big cartridge loads - you don't want you bullets moving around in the brass.

For revolvers with a roll crimp, the metal lip gets worked pretty hard, so needs stress relief AND softening.

But I get the idea no one here does it for pistol brass! :-D

[AMProducts]

Brass doesn't harden at all with heat treating, the only way to harden brass is by cold work. All of the bench-top case annealing machines I've seen just drop the brass into a box. The most critical feature of annealing brass is bringing it to proper temperature typically about 700 degrees or so, there are special materials like tempilaq you can put on the cases to make sure they are getting up to the proper temperature. The main problem you will have with annealing not done properly is you will make the brass too soft by holding the temperature too long without quenching.

Here's an article which contains a phase diagram for copper alloys. Cartridge brass is 70/30 Cu/Zn. http://www.keytometals.com/Article69.htm

[DocSkinner]

Brass doesn't harden at all with heat treating, the only way to harden brass is by cold work. All of the bench-top case annealing machines I've seen just drop the brass into a box. The most critical feature of annealing brass is bringing it to proper temperature typically about 700 degrees or so, there are special materials like tempilaq you can put on the cases to make sure they are getting up to the proper temperature. The main problem you will have with annealing not done properly is you will make the brass too soft by holding the temperature too long without quenching.

Here's an article which contains a phase diagram for copper alloys. Cartridge brass is 70/30 Cu/Zn. http://www.keytometals.com/Article69.htm

Thanks! didn't know the composition.

Also didn't know brass was different in the ferrous/nonferrous quenching aspect!

But:
"Recrystallization: If increased thermal activation is available (i.e., if the temperature is
raised) nucleation and growth of strain-free grains in the deformed matrix will take place. As these grains grow, the dislocations in the matrix are annihilated at the boundaries of the newly formed grains. Strength and hardness decrease considerably and ductility increases. The lowest temperature at which stress-free grains appear in the structure of a previously plastically deformed metal is termed the recrystallization temperature. This depends upon the grain size, the severity of plastic deformation, and the presence of solute atoms or second phase particles. The recrystallization temperature is usually 1/3-1/2 the absolute melting point of the material."

http://www.csun.edu/~bavarian/Courses/MSE%20227/Labs/5-Cold_Working_Brass.pdf

http://www.6mmbr.com/annealing.html

Very informative!

and I now know not to bother at all for the shooting I do and what I am willing to invest in the process.

Learn something everyday -

[Nessal]

Annealing pistol cases seem too risky for me. The heat would travel way too fast to head thus annealing the whole case it seems. Pistol brass is also CHEAP so no need to put yourself at that risk.

I anneal my rifle brass every other firing. They usually split at about 7-8 firings if you don't anneal depending on how tight your neck is.