Annealing Brass

[gasman]

Any one do this 

Been having an issue with my .25 WSSM brass splitting at the neck. Some say its the Winchester brass and I should  Anneal the neck and shoulder and it should extend the case life.

Been looking at some You Tube videos explaining the process and what to do and not to do.

Some say to cool off if hot water, while others suggest cold water and some to not even use water at all and let dry naturally.
Any one have preference and why?

It does not look difficult to do but would like step by step instructions.
Like, re-size before or after annealing?
Should you anneal new brass? why or why not.
Deprime before or after?
pollish before or after annealing?

A curious mind would like to know 

[Cap.Silver]

Here you go ,hope this helps :    http://www.6mmbr.com/annealing.html

I'd do after 5 firings ... all new ammo is annealed at the factory ,some is polished some is not ...like the federal military i think isn't polished .It's like Chevy vs.Ford and Dodge 

Fear not my friend ,get the torch and anneal away 

[yorketransport]

I anneal my more expensive brass and the wildcats that need to be fireformed.

The easiest way I've found is get a temperature crayon or other temp indicator from a welding shop. I use a 650` temp stick and mark the cases just below the shoulder. Then I rotate them through a bottle torch until the indicator "melts". Then drop them into cold water. I believe that it's the rapid cooling that helps to "cure" the brass.

I anneal the cases, then tumble them, the size and load them as normal.

Andrew

[scotty1969]

to anneal a metal is to heat it up and cool as slow as you can.in floordry,kitty litter or something like it to hold the heat until it cools naturally

[Heredoggydoggy]

The way I learned it, was to stand the cases in a shallow pan of water, heat the neck up red ot with a torch, and knock the heated case over into the water to cool it quickly.  I'm told that with brass, the rapid cooling is not a requirement. 

The slow cooling method scotty1969 described is the way I learned to soften steel.  Brass is evidently a different animal.

[scotty1969]

your right it is a diff. animal but the molecular structure is the same it wont harden so much with brass or aluminum if cooled quickly but the structure(bond) will weeken substantially and wont be long before seperation or cracks start

[Heredoggydoggy]

your right it is a diff. animal but the molecular structure is the same it wont harden so much with brass or aluminum if cooled quickly but the structure(bond) will weeken substantially and wont be long before seperation or cracks start

You are probably right.  The only brass that I've annealed is a batch of 30-30 brass I had years ago that was so hard that even after full-length resizing, the neck sprang back so much that it wouldn't hold the bullet.  Lately I have been necking down Hornady 6.5 Grendel brass to .204 to make my 20 LBC wildcats, and the cases have to be neck-turned a scosh to thin them down.  I've been averaging 1 split neck in 50 cases after the first firing and resizing, which I think is acceptable loss for such a small-neck/large volume cartridge.  I think modern brass is formulated better than the older stuff was, making annealing rarely a neccesary step in reloading. 

[scotty1969]

  i agree no need.i also know that bulk brass(military) has diff. metals in the mix that do harden.

[Heredoggydoggy]

I've also noticed that all the military 5.56 brass has the heat ring just below the shoulder showing that every case is annealed.  That and the crimped-in primers.  I guess a misfire is embarrasing when people are shooting back at you, so nothing is left to chance!

[halfpipe88]

I anneal my 223 brass...I use a socket on a drill and spin it so it's even then throw it in the water.  I keep water in the socket if  I can to keep the base cool.  It works well.  My .270 WSM was having trouble seating the bolt with my ammo, got very difficult.  I annealed them and reloaded them and they fit just right.

[scotty1969]

hmm maybe i should try that and see if i can do something with all this nato brass i got

[gasman]

I seen the socket on the drill method on You Tube. Keeps the heat more even.

[Worldhunter]

Use the shell holder and drill method...

http://www.sinclairintl.com/reloading-equipment/case-preparation/neck-turning/neck-turning-accessories/sinclair-driver-caseholders-prod33962.aspx

Be very cautious not to overh heat the shell.

[fishcrazy]

I've know guys to use lead. Heat it to the temp you want and dip the amount of case in you want to aneal. Pull out and cool it how ever you decide.

Kris