Annealing case necks.

[ovenpaa]

I am just starting to look at annealing case necks, I was initially going to build an adapter to hold a case in a cordless drill, put a spot of Tempilaq on the case neck and use a hand held gas torch but things develop.

The idea of turntable appeals as I can churn out many more cases per hour with potentially even more accurate temperature control, add a small motor and gearbox with a speed control and a B&Q gas gun and I should get reasonable results. Who knows, I could even offer it as a service to fellow F-B(UK)ers, then I read about induction heaters, which in theory should give a more controllable heating process albeit a re think of the turntable idea would be needed.

Soooo... is anyone on the forum annealing case necks, if so what process do you use and has anyone built a DiY induction heating coil?

Any views on annealing?

[dromia]

Case annealing shell holder, Temple stick and a gas torch.

http://www.pukkabundhooks.com/index.php ... ckinstock/

[Dangermouse]

I can see why you would want to build your own machine, they are not cheap http://www.annealingmachines.com/model_360
The basic design appears simple enough, although you may want to look at the benefits of having more than one torch.
I could see a possible source of revenue from hiring it out as you don't need it every time,

Good luck,

DM

[ovenpaa]

I can see why you would want to build your own machine, they are not cheap http://www.annealingmachines.com/model_360
The basic design appears simple enough, although you may want to look at the benefits of having more than one torch.
I could see a possible source of revenue from hiring it out as you don't need it every time

Thanks for the link, that is an interesting design, I like the way it indexes as well.

I am thinking of a constant rotation at a controlled speed and yes I think it would need two torches as well, once the speed is set it is just a matter of sitting next to it loading it up. (I have a lot of old 7,72x51 brass I can experiment with) Even given gas and postage costs I would still expect to be able to turn out 100 cases for around a fiver posted back with proof of posting for anyone that wanted some doing. I know some people anneal after every shot which seems excessive but in the search for perfect neck tension maybe it is the way to go.

[Dangermouse]

I am not convinced that annealing every case after every firing is the way forward. As previously mentioned the amount of time spent re loading is becoming disproportionately larger than the time spent on the range.
I believe having spoken to Vince, that he expects to get around 5 shots to a case. I was hoping for more like 10, but have to accept that this year I will be running hotter loads than last year, so it will be interesting to see.
Certainly I would have thought it more likely to be useful after around the 5th use of the case. I read one article that mentioned that it should be done after the case necks become difficult to re size (I think).

The one thing that I could have asked for on the "what re loading thing do you wish you had" topic, is more time to spend on the subject. At the moment I feel that all my time is spent on case prep and very little on shooting. That is partly due to the large reserve of once fired cases that I was waiting for the right tools to arrive before starting on,

DM

[ovenpaa]

Five seems reasonable to me as well, some of my Lapua brass is into double figures and is yet to be annealed. .308 is the one cartridge where I have not rotated my brass, that is to say I have not kept a strict record of the number of times it has been fired. I know exactly how many rounds have been through the rifle, I just don't record the number of loads per case. Maybe now is a good time to throw all of my .308 brass in the bin and start again.

As you say, no matter how well precise your load it will seldom make up for poor wind reading skills which is an area I certainly need brush up on, especially on Stickledown

(Notice excuse no 2 seeded into the thread)

Are you using Lapua brass?

[Dangermouse]

Not Lapua brass, all my brass has been sourced from HPS, I can not remember the name of the make but would recall if you mentioned it. All the cases are head stamped HPS.
John mentioned that he prefers them to Lapua as he feels they are more consistent. He did also mention that later on this year he was going to have to move over to Lapua brass, so HPS Target master will be using Lapua brass at some point.

I am glad that you say that you have not kept a tally re .308 brass.
With the exception of the new brass that has not been loaded yet, and my recent 40 test loads, I could not tell you what the others have done.
I was trying to keep them separate in boxes, but it just got too messy.

DM

[ovenpaa]

I think it is important to try and keep track of it if you can. This is what Christel does:

Build say 200.
Shoot say 50 and assuming it is dry pop it into a zip lock bag and store it somewhere cool and dry
Shoot next 50 and add it to the bag
Shoot the next 50 and again add it to the bag.
Prepare the 150 cases when you get a moment.
Shoot the last 50 and prepare the brass
Wait a few days

Reload the lot ready for next time.

I do similar with my 7mm.

I find it easier to build in reasonable sized batches and she will happily throw the powder for a couple of hundred cases in one go. Allowing a few days before priming, powder throwing and building gives the brass a few days to spring back and we know exactly how many times every single one has been loaded.

[rox]

from HPS, I can not remember the name of the make but would recall if you mentioned it.

MEN.

..

[Dangermouse]

Rox,
I thought you were having a go at Men, then realised that you have named the make of case that HPS use,
Yes it is MEN,

DM