**Updated ** Awesome DIY Annealer for $15 (minus torches and propane)

Here are some build and feature updates to my cheap annealer project. I made these changes over a year ago and am just now getting to the vid. If you want to buy this type of setup go to cartridgeanneal.com That's the company that makes this design but I just wanted to try to make it myself and save some money. It works great! - One tip - if you try to make this like me - use the Lowes brand of black steel pipe - it's a slightly bigger diameter on the inside and fits any 308 based cartridge perfectly if you use the 3/8"x4" piece. The same size pipe at Home Depot was really rough inside and I would have had to ream it out for the brass to fit in.
***For those that will point out any faults with this setup getting even coverage because the cartridge doesn't spin, I get 8 or 9 reloads out of my Hornady 6.5 Creedmoor brass before I start to see some cases fail. I load my 6.5's a bit hot as well so that comes in to play. I have a friend that uses this setup to anneal his Lapua 6.5x47 brass and he gets 25+ reloads off of his brass so pretty sure this system is quite proven.
***Once I get my torches set up and the flames even, I paint a strip inside and outside the case neck with 750 degree Tempilaq. I use those initial cases to gauge the time it takes to reach the proper temp then I just count in my head for the remaining brass. Each time you turn off the flames and turn them on again you should re-do the Tempilaq process to make sure you reach the proper temp
I have nothing against all the awesome more elaborate setups out there I may even try to make one of the cakepan systems some day but it's hard to spend the time and money when this works as simply as it does.
Materials list for 308 based cartridge setup:
qty 2 - 3"x5" wood mending plate $.88 each
qty 2 - 3"x7" wood mending plate $1.25 each
qty 1 - 1-1/2" wide metal strip (about 1/8" thick) (had it from another project)
qty 1 - 3/8"x4" black steel pipe nipple (Lowes brand) $2.50
qty 1 - Wood drawer handle $1.50
qty 3 - 1/4" hole large fender washers $1
qty 2 - 1/4" hole nylon washers (had them lying around)
qty 1 - 1/2 wooden dowel (had it lying around)
qty 1 - 1/4"lock nut and 2 1/2" long hex head bolt
qty 1 - 9" cake pan from walmart $1 (to catch your brass)
qty 2 - Bernzomatic Pencil Flame Brass Torch ($14 each at Home Depot)
misc supplies:
Velcro strips (Heavy Duty)
small screws
pieces of MDF Trim board
plastic cutting board (for height spacing)

[@dougkapounek9024]

KISS ( Keep it Simple Stupid ) And no implication on stupid ! Wow so simple and well done ! Nicely Done Sir !

[@greenstreet5287]

Awesome simple idea. By far the best I’ve seen. Thanks for showing newbies like me a cheap and simple way to anneal my cases.

[@83ldamian]

Faktycznie fajny pomysł👍

[@johnmiller8592]

This is simplistic genius! Very cool concept and gives your audience enough information to personalize their own version. You posted this long ago but I’m new to annealing so this is new for me and valuable information. Thanks!

[@jassonco]

Simple machines, improving life. Brilliant, Keeping It Simple Stupid, works every time!

[@DimaProk]

Wow! I am blown away by simplicity. Mainly I didn't consider vertical design and it's advantages. I am going to add a wheel and attach maybe 5 or 6 pipe pieces and have a stepper motor programmed to run timely and stop for about 5 seconds and I'll be able to load next shell from the side and add ball bearing for the wheel so it doesn't jam. For what you made though it's amazing.

[@guypurinton2228]

If you were to slot your bracket, you could slide your case holder up and down for different length cases. Awesome and thanks for sharing.

[@jaywolfe8557]

Easy to construct from your video, works great, for less than $30.00 minus the torches, just as good as those $200.00 to $300.00 annealers. Thank you will recommend your video to all my reloader friends.

[@thelittledetailscr7231]

It's great, but the 300 dollar ones are stack the shells and walk away. My anealeze is like that.

[@paulhatch7759]

Nice design. Eliminates requirement to rotate case genius !

[@lutherprice2062]

Hey jpex, how can I send you some pictures of my build? Thanks for the inspirations, beats the heck out spending hundreds on a machine

[@chicagorandy]

Simple, super affordable and an elegant DIY alternative to the 'big bucks' machines. Thanks for sharing.

[@marklacombe2671]

Very interesting set up. The one improvement I could see is instead of swapping tubes drill pin holes with push pins to raise or lower for different case length sizes. Otherwise for a cheap set up it works well.

[@jimwhitaker8751]

It's simple . . . it works . . . I like it enough I think that's what I'm going to make.

[@sebastianmoller6583]

thanks mate! fantastic and simple setup! will be running to the hardwarestore this evening and get supplies. thanks for sharing!

[@stefbig9489]

thank you for sharing your setup. it's perfect and simple and cheap ! you are a great engineer... I would download myself a metronome app and use it with my phone for timing. ( it's what I do witt my torch and drill setup...) Bravo !

[@perrseb5772]

Stef Big great idea the metronome!!! So you can calibrate with tempilac and then annihilate the rest of te brass without! Problem solved!

[@jtn-minn8105]

Best to turn the propane tips at a angle away from each other or they heat each other up, the brass pipe is a great conductor of heat it follows down and gets the tanks very hot. Check the pipes by the valve's for heat if you do a lot of cases at once..

[@autoprime12]

Good info, thanks for putting it out there...

[@farmerwayne1404]

Like your idea. Was thinking if you cut a slot in that flat stand, you could loosen the bolt/wingnut and and slide your pipe for height adjustment..

[@frankrios4584]

Simple, efficient and effective. Thanks for the great idea .

[@frankrodriguez1977]

Awesome. Like you said save money and buy more reloading components. Pure genius. Thanks for sharing

[@possumpopper89]

Love it and just as fast as the expensive machines.

[@dandexinventor]

I'm building one next weekend...thanks jpex!

[@Johnny-jr2lq]

Hello I love this design however I’m extremely torn between a induction style and a propane style. I understand that the induction process will be way more accurate. However those designs are really complex for me I believe if I set my mind to do that style I’ll be able to do it. But when I went outside and did the socket method with a propane torch I drastically shrink my group size. So I guess if your just a home gamer with reloading this style will definitely work.

[@rodrigocreis1968]

Awesome idea! Thanks for sharing, Mate!

[@jamesmiller360]

Wow, so simply it's genius!

[@greenbudkelly2820]

Great setup. I didn’t see the brass glow. Maybe it’s the lighting?

[@a.k.4363]

Definitely better than buying those expensive ones.

[@PC-vq5ud]

I agree with previous comments: Simple and excellent.

[@marcelododox]

Amazing solution! Thanks for sharing!

[@NYRM1974]

Low tech rules....... I like it.

[@dimibernard]

Hello, great setup, but I have a question... Don't you think that the 2 sides avec warmer than the front and rear of your case ? As the 2 sides are closer from the blue flame... Thanks for your feed-back

[@gcarson19]

OMG! You haven’t strapped down those torches yet?! And you haven’t burned down your house?! What sort of voodoo is this? All I can say is that you must be careful, competent and responsible... great solution and presentation! Thanks!

[@michaelflinn2394]

Great ideas, thanks for posting them, however there is one minor detail that bugs me. The propane flames are not actually heating anything about 1/4 to 1/3 of the time. Have you investigated a way to have the flames on a case more of the time? It seems like a three or four way case holder (instead of the two way shown in your video) would reduce the idle time for the flames to less than 5% ... It also points the way to increasing throughput - a 5 or more way case holder would enable the use of two or more torch pairs (instead of only one pair as shown in your video).

[@skunkworksrifle3443]

Wow, after seeing this, I threw my man card in the trash 😒.....😂👍👍👍 Great job 👍

[@thedetective8150]

Excellent video and worth becoming a new subscriber.

[@Dkluch_]

I want to build one of these but I'm wondering if you have the two flames without a spinning case do it get an even anneal? Maybe i'll consider three flames.

[@79brumley]

Use a arduino with a servo motor and you can use a servo motor with a timer built in to control the exact time its in the flame and you can increase the case to case consistently 10 fold.

[@inferno8428]

Just saved me $500... thanks

[@N9IWJ]

Nice setup for sure Yeah you are correct about 4 seconds Max

[@jimmadalerichardson792]

Thanks, this is what utube ought to be. Mark Richardson

[@grabbabitewelfed1641]

Very nice, will definitely fabricate, great idea👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼✌🏼

[@SimpleLife1971]

I'll be building this, thank you!

[@jasnonya3005]

Excellent process and design

[@ikesquirrel]

Pure genius. I can't say enough.

[@treece1]

Thanks man. this got to be best way

[@EliteSniper1110]

3 years too late to this party, Have you thought of replacing the "turn knob" with a handle similar to a bench vise, a threaded bolt with nuts on both ends. That way you hand is further from the flame and the handle drops out of the way of the torch heads. Regardless an amazing tool!

[@davidpaulk5658]

Cool KISS rig.Thanks for sharing!

[@alananderson2961]

Very smart young man 👏👏👏

[@ronmacdougall9612]

Can you make out measurements of all items

[@josephsoltes1250]

Hi the only thing on it,I don’t like these 2 torches hating each other

[@swbeene0747]

what is the measurement from the base(top of board) of the nipple mount to the center of the 1/4 bolt?

[@jamespollard1670]

Sweet and simple

[@alpha6five528]

Super awesome man !! Thanks for the vid 👍👍

[@petecallamaras5774]

What is the cut-down length of the dowel you use centered inside the 3/8X4" Pipe? Anything special about gas vs galvanized pipe? Thx

[@jermpexton1]

The dowel is 2" long. The 6.5 CM brass sits 1" down into the pipe. I used black pipe because at my local lowes the inside lip of the galvanized had a sharp edge for some reason, didn't want to scratch my brass. Haha.

[@rolandmohler2695]

Heating galvanized is very dangerous. The fumes are deadly. Ask any welder.

[@JerrBearTactical]

Nice job! Thanks for sharing 🤪👍👊

[@RetrieverTrainingAlone]

Excellent! Great tip to paint a strip inside and outside the case neck with 750 degree Tempilaq to determine correct timing for annealing.

[@RetrieverTrainingAlone]

@John Beige Where can I get a temperature gauge instead of using Tempilaq? THANKS.

[@Cotton088]

It only gets two sides...reach up there and spin it with your fingers to get all sides ;-)

[@billyraibourn758]

I like it, it's brilliant.

[@scott5803]

brilliant!

[@FMeng]

Smart

[@nickjm37fordel1]

How did you determine the length of dowel in the pipe ?

[@jermpexton1]

basically held the casing on the outside of the pipe to see how much I wanted the casing to stick out then made a mark on the pipe - did the same thing for the other side and I had my approximate dowel size

[@nickjm37fordel1]

I guess that's kinda a da moment for me !

[@Mr.Big-Gunz]

Outstanding..!!!!!,, pure Brilliance in action,, way to go man,, great idea..!!!

[@First.nameLastname]

genius

[@slamminhawgs9847]

awesome!

[@rogerchien2329]

What purpose of doing that?

[@artifacthunter1472]

That is not enough time to soften the brass, if you actually had it tested it did not change the hardness!

[@larryd1296]

Nope... I don't trhink you are getting up to the correct temperature.

[@ccwynn6657]

I have read where in a dark room a dull red at the neck opening corrresponds to correct annealing temperature. Do you, in your experience agree with that?

[@jermpexton1]

I've also read/heard this but all the top shooters I follow use 750 tempiliaq to gage more accurately.

[@rjinnh3933]

Absolutely NOT! Way too hot if turning even slightly red in the dark. Old timers use Tempilaq @ 650, not 750, to adjust flame(s) and record the time for it to change color. 750 may be OK but long time precision shooters use 650. After a few test runs with Temilaq, they simply time a case in the flame, usually 5 to 8 seconds, dump it (maybe in water/maybe not) and move on with the next case.

[@curtislong1987]

No!

[@kieranh2005]

If you watch the case and flame when annealing, you can see the brass change colour going from shiny to dull, then start to glow. Between the colour change and the glow, the flame changes, becoming more pink or orange where it contacts the case. This is the alloying elements that make it brass and not just copper burning out. At this point it's over cooked. The brass colour change where it goes dull is the annealing.

[@victortsykunov]

Be good if you can measure the different 👌

[@ckhcvd6211]

much mo betta!

[@inthemountainswithmeachum3256]

Should be dumping those in a water bath , so you lock in the annealing. Dry will let The heat will travel up the case. 👍

[@beres70]

Dropping onto the mouth? Not a good strategy.