Annealing Brass inexpensively and simply

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In this video I use an industrial product called Tempilaq and a simple Propane Torch to anneal Brass Cartridge cases.
Brass is generic term for an alloy of Copper and Zinc. The most common Alloy for Cartridge Cases is 70% Copper and 30% Tin. www.engineersed...
Brass is both malleable and ductile meaning it is easily shaped and formed and can withstand high strain loads before rupture. Brass is also a good conductor of heat and electricity as well as being a “low friction” Metal these characteristics make it an ideal material for cartridge cases. metals.about.co...
As brass is worked (fired in a gun and resized etc) It work Hardens. As a result, it’s malleability decrease. Eventually leading to split necks or ruptured cases. Another potential side effect of work hardened brass can cause a negative effect on accuracy as the neck tension between annealed and hardened brass will not be the same.
The Solution is to Anneal or soften the brass. Annealing, in metallurgy and materials science, is a heat treatment that alters the physical and sometimes chemical properties of a material to increase its ductility and reduce its hardness, making it more workable. It involves heating a material to above its recrystallization temperature, maintaining a suitable temperature, and then cooling
en.wikipedia.o...)
It is important to note that the Goal is to anneal the cartridge case at the neck and shoulder and to never anneal the base or rim of the case. This area is unsupported by the chamber and should remain in a relatively hardened state to maintain it’s ductile properties. It is not necessary for this part of the case to expand and create a gas seal in the chamber and a portion of the lower case is in most cases unsupported by either the bolt face or the chamber so it must withstand the chamber pressure in excess of 60,000 PSI in rifles.
So our goal in annealing is to differentially heat treat the brass cartridge case leaving the Base of the case in a work hardened state and the neck, shoulder and mount in an annealed state.
The most important factors in heat treating are time, temperature and amount of work hardening prior to the annealing process. In general Brass anneals at 350 Celsius or about 660 degrees Fahrenheit for between 10 and 30 minutes depending on initial hardness exact alloy etc. che.uri.edu/cou...
Because brass is a good conductor of heat we cannot hope to head the neck shoulder area in excess of ten minutes without also annealing the base. Fortunately, higher temps speed up the recrystallization process thus reducing the amount of time the heat need to be applied. This reduces the risk of softening the base and speeds up the process.
See Also:
www.6mmbr.com/a...
www.sinclairint...
carteach0.blogs...
Tempilaq: www.amazon.com/...
Propane Torch: www.amazon.com/...

[@jamespollard1670]

If you look at factory brass , it is not annealed more than 1/4 inch past the shoulder. Not 1/2 way down the case .

[@hardball107]

I also anneal my brass like that and have done it that way for 30 years. I'm an old NM shooter and go thru around 3000 rounds a year and with NATO brass I can get 12-15 loadings before I toss it and most time it's only because military gas guns really beat it up. Don't listen to the fella's that tell you you've ruined your brass, they have major OCD problems and I'm sure they measure everything down to 4 digits 3 or more times over.

[@davekoenig9935]

WWI Germans did use 35% Zinc to form 0.52” cal. Tankgehwer. Our cartridge brass runs from 10% Zinc upwards a bit. I think the big Ruger cases are at the high end. You can only form down 0.030” per stage. Copper tin makes bronze, not brass.

[@zednic416]

Good video

[@TheDiscipleofTheLord]

So much extra in this video, I liked how you said that watching for color wasn't precise enough as you're later just holding the case in front of the flame at a different distance every time "Precision" lol

[@Aereaux]

Took 11 minutes to do something simple.

[@BrickTactical]

Great video, might try this out!

[@JosephDAndrea0121]

Thanks! It's easy once you get the hang of it.

[@mikenixon5936]

I'm sorry but not gonna use your method, I'm glad it works for you.

[@JosephDAndrea0121]

I dont even use it anymore. and IMO the "best" method out there is induction. I have a flame annealer now saving pennies for an induction annealer

[@hardball107]

It works for me too. I'm a National Match shooter and go thru around 3000 rounds of 308 a year, I anneal and reload this way and it's worked for me for 30 years.

[@timfarley6493]

Excellent video; an inexpensive and effective way to anneal. Do you anneal while the Tempilaq is still wet, or doesn’t it matter if it dries?

[@JosephDAndrea0121]

I apply the tempilaq from right to left and than anneal from right to left and typically by the time i start annealing the first cases they are already dry. I dont honestly know if it makes a difference.

[@timfarley6493]

Appreciate your prompt response. I just received Tempilaq [700 Deg] from Amazon, so annealing is on the schedule for the weekend.

[@JosephDAndrea0121]

I dont remember if I talk about it in the video but I currently prefer to apply the tempilaq to the inside of the neck and using SS media to clean make life way easier after annealing.

[@tyranwhitehead8562]

Thanks for the info, do you heat treat your cartridges after each use? or do you reload say, 3 times, and then heat treat them? How many extra reloads do you think you can get compared to reloading without heat treating the cartridges?

[@JosephDAndrea0121]

Tyran Whitehead recently I have been annealing every firing because it's just easier then trying to remember and keep track off the number of firing each case has. id like to get more orginized and l9ad and shoot in batches and expirement with sorting cases by weight or case capacity. For .308 I generally lose the brass in my mega arms maten faster than it wearer out same for 223 I know I'm on 7 firings on the .338 edge with no signe of slowing down.

[@tyranwhitehead8562]

Awesome, that will save some good cash. I'll try it out. If you do keep track, let me know how long it takes for your .308 to start showing signs of cracking. Thanks!

[@hardball107]

@@tyranwhitehead8562 I anneal the same way. I used to shoot National Match and now do the John C. Garand matches and I get between 12-15 loadings / case. A lot of them still look good but I toss them anyway. What I have found that if you anneal every 5 loadings and only bump the shoulder .002" the brass will last indefinitely, the military gas guns really beat the brass up. That's why I toss it.

[@cavemanballistics6338]

You are going to far down the case. Totally wrong.

[@cavemanballistics6338]

LeverAction Gypsy yes it does matter. That part of the case is supposed to remain harder than the upper 1/4. What he is doing is wrong.

[@cavemanballistics6338]

Hornady Loader has a video about annealing that will walk you through the process.

[@JosephDAndrea0121]

@@cavemanballistics6338 Ever seen a military round? Notice how it is annealed a full 1/3 down. i.pinimg.com/originals/ef/f6/94/eff6941ee35b790966379636ee6d82c3.jpg Here is a photo for reference Also note how I use 250 degree tempilaq At the half way point and it doesn't melt meaning the brass is annealed anywhere near the case head which is the only part that is unsupported by the chamber.

[@donaldborsos4934]

What he is doing is not wrong, check the temperatures down the case. Otherwise how could he hold the cartridge in his hand?

[@dwaynewood8156]

Just ruined your brass anealing way to far down the cartridge

[@JosephDAndrea0121]

I guess all Military brass and Bertram brass comes ruined right from the factory.

[@cdcab]

You sound like joe rogan