Reloading .303 British : Annealing aftermath

Agreed theres something not right.

Firing the brass "works" it, making it harder & more Brittle.

Reshaping it "works" it, making it harder & more Brittle.

That's why we anneal, because annealing changes the structure to remove the work hardening.

If you ever were in the middle east & watched the brass workers they hammer the brass till it gets too stiff, then reheat to soften & beat on it some more. We're doing the same thing!

So what can go wrong?

Well its possible to over do the annealing heating. That's why I use "tempilaq" or "tempilsticks" (You can find them at the local welding & gas supply places) so I KNOW the exact temperature. I use 450℉ (brown) for the shoulder, or 600℉ (red) for the neck.

Some prefer the lacquer (liquid) others the Crayon (solid).

Its also possible to UNDER heat it, so nothing happens!

If its way overheated the zinc actually exits the brass leaving it permanently weakened.

I've annealed HXP this way several times & had no problem.

I use the lowest flame I can get, just a 1/2~3/4" pencil flame with a nice "electric blue" cone. The actual brass is about 1/2" away from the tip of the blue flame. Usually 5~7 seconds with continuous rotation via an electric screwdriver it really close.

I also hide most of the case in a deep well socket just in case I mess up. I also dump into cold water, but this isn't really necessary unless you're doing a lot all at once & they're going to heat each other up randomly in the dump bin.

Hopefully this will give you some clue as to wast isn't right?