Annealing, when to?

[Waldo]

Hi All,

Well after my experimenting with annealing for the 5.6x57 I now have the appropriate burner to anneal when I need to. The big question is when do I need to?

While the oldest boy was home for a couple of weeks we managed to burn thru a bit of ammo so I now need to reload some rounds for the .17Rem and .222Rem, should I anneal these cases before I start or only anneal if I have issues?

Kinda thought the .17 would be pretty hard on necks due to such a skinny little neck?

Cheers,
Waldo

[mick_762]

G'day Waldo,
My take on annealing is that it can/could/should be done after about 4x fired.


BUT and here is the caveat - I am most probably wrong and it will depend on caliber, velocity FL vs NS etc etc etc . . . . . . .


Mick

[Waldo]

Hey Mick,

Unfortunately (or is that fortunately ) I am not anal enough to count how many times I've fired my cases. I may just continue to make stuff up as I go along, maybe size a couple and see if any split then go full steam ahead.

Geez, it's a bit damp isn't it. Good rain, green feed coming up should make those deer nice and fat (and get some good antler growth)

Cheers,
Waldo

[MISSED]

G'day Waldo,
My take on annealing is that it can/could/should be done after about 4x fired.


BUT and here is the caveat - I am most probably wrong and it will depend on caliber, velocity FL vs NS etc etc etc . . . . . . .


Mick

Mick you sound like a Politician or a senior public servant

[Waldo]

G'day Waldo,
My take on annealing is that it can/could/should be done after about 4x fired.


BUT and here is the caveat - I am most probably wrong and it will depend on caliber, velocity FL vs NS etc etc etc . . . . . . .


Mick

Mick you sound like a Politician or a senior public servant

Nah, a politician or public servant would never say "I am most probably wrong"

[TexNAss]

Simply- isn't needed until the brass won't tighten onto the bullet properly.

Then go for it.

Obviously this "time between" varies on crimp/non-crimped, brass, age (of the case), pressure/stress on the neck...Blah blah blah.

If you're one of those target shooting weirdos chasing "perfection" and "uniformity"- then that's a little different- for most of us mere mortals- 6-10 reloads before it needs to be done.

At the end of the day- it's done to remove the "work hardening" of brass necks- if it ain't hardened- it doesn't need to be done.

Tex.

[MISSED]

Yeah your right Waldo

As for the annealing do it when you want to.I do mine after after fire forming.

I am going fishing now after 3 hours changing a fuel filter on the Pootrol.

[curan]

On the other hand, can you anneal too much?

[mick_762]

Yeah your right Waldo

I am going fishing now after 3 hours changing a fuel filter on the Pootrol.

Missed - 3 hrs? 20 minutes on my Patrol . . . .

[Camel]

Yeah your right Waldo

I am going fishing now after 3 hours changing a fuel filter on the Pootrol.

Missed - 3 hrs? 20 minutes on my Patrol . . . .

Yeah that is for normal people mate, you have to take in the "Passion Fingers" amount of time for him.

[The Raven]

On the other hand, can you anneal too much?

From a pure engineering perspective, I wouldn't think so. The chamber is there to hold the pressures, not the brass.

Worst you could probably do is 'extrude' the case into places it shouldn't be....as unlikely as that is.





Now I'll duck and wait for a reloading expert to suggest an alternative explanation to engineering and physics (as some tend to do).

[chappo555]

My fly brass gets done at the end of each year. That's about 10 firings but I'm using bushing neck dies so I'm only moving the necks a few thou each time they are sized. I FLS, shoulder bump, neck size, trim and anneal in that order.
I also anneal before and after fire forming when making custom cases ie 20VT out of 223 brass.

Just my two cents.

[Jeff 8]

Do people use water or air to cool the brass when annealing? I always used water, but am willing to try something different if there is a benefit.

Jeff

[trevort]

On the other hand, can you anneal too much?

From a pure engineering perspective, I wouldn't think so. The chamber is there to hold the pressures, not the brass.

.

No
If the brass goes thats when you get blow ups

[Camel]

Do people use water or air to cool the brass when annealing? I always used water, but am willing to try something different if there is a benefit.

Jeff

Jeff, when I anneal my brass, which isn't often and Im far from an expert, I just gently tip them onto the concrete slab of the shed, figuring that as soon as the brass is taken out of the heat, it will immediately drop below the annealing temperature. The floor acts as a big heat sink as well and draws the heat out of the brass. Now I dunno if this is right, but it seems to work ok for a mug like me.