Author: 303Guy
Subject: anealing
Posted: 14 September 2013 at 2:00pm
Red heat is way too much. That makes the brass dead soft and while it may be consistent, it doesn't hold the bullet firmly enough to prevent primer pressure from moving the bullet. I haven't seen any change in accuracy doing it that way.
Subject: anealing
Posted: 14 September 2013 at 2:00pm
Red heat is way too much. That makes the brass dead soft and while it may be consistent, it doesn't hold the bullet firmly enough to prevent primer pressure from moving the bullet. I haven't seen any change in accuracy doing it that way.
I've done the standing in water trick only I didn't tip them over. The quenching doesn't do anything to the brass but it does get them out the way so they don't get overheated. A moot point if they've been heated to red heat.
I like the oven idea but I can't see how enough heat can be applied that way without boiling the water away. I do know that long low heat in the oven will anneal brass completely. They don't discolour like flame annealing but they do lose their 'gloss'. They also expand at the head on firing! Probably not so much on a Lee Enfield since the case is fully supported but I wouldn't try it anyway. Obviously, an oven is a bad place to dry cases - one can forget them and anneal them!