Another annealing question

[Sudsy]

Is this stuff worth the $$ ?
If you don't use it, how do you know when it's done ?

 

[Weldor]

I use it, shop and you can find it cheaper sometimes. Just make sure you store it inside. It does have a shelf life so write down all your info when annealing. I have had to throw out more than you can imagine. They also make a thinner, it's worth it.

 

[EdP]

I think so but I use the 475F. Perhaps some of the high tech annealing machines are preprogrammed and controlled so that checking isn't required. In my case the flame adjustment varies so I need to know how long to keep a case rotating in the flame. Using the Tempilaq on a few cases lets me establish a time count in seconds and check occasionally as I go. A single bottle should last a very long time.

 

[doverpack12]

I’ve purchased and used it on two different occasions. When I was holding brass in a drill socket and holding the torch while running the drill I saw some value to help inform time count in my head.
Few years ago I got a bench source and repurchased tempilaq. I don’t find a need for it anymore, I setup the annealer (most of the current machines I think you can do this same thing), turn the lights off and start annealing with the timer dial at a low second count number. I watch the brass and increase time until I can just start to see a dull glow, at that point I’m ready to anneal all my cases. Any I used in setup get put back into the machine to run again. I’ve run up to 140 pieces like this on the small blue gas bottles and not had to change the time setting.
I run the machine with the lights off so I can keep an eye on the brass.

I used tempilaq at first with the bench source but I find it difficult to use and see the change either applied to inside or outside of case.

 

[jja600]

I have a few test pieces to set it up. I turn off the lights in my garage and eyeball it to a faint red glow. It may not be the most scientific but it seems to work good for me. If you your bottles of propane are cold, put them inside and you will get a better flame.

 

[madcalfe]

lol i just use a torch, stick the brass over a screw driver and spin the bottom of the brass and count to 9.
seems to work fine for me as i get quite a few reloading's with my 300wsm

 

[BoDarville]

Is this stuff worth the $$ ?
If you don't use it, how do you know when it's done ?

View attachment 642519

Not very high speed, but the candle method that John Barsness uses seems to work very well and he has done the research regarding temps, etc to show it works (sorry, not a direct answer to your question but the article below addresses it)

Here is a cut and paste from a Handloader article on various methods (https://www.handloadermagazine.com/annealing-rifle-brass)

“Fred knew that a candle’s flame is far hotter than the annealing point of brass, so he applied heat-paint to the necks of various cartridge cases and started experimenting. He found that holding a case in his fingertips about halfway up the body, then placing the neck in the tip of a candle’s flame and turning it back and forth until the case grew too hot to hold, heated the brass to just about the right temperature. When his fingertips got hot, he’d drop the case on a wet towel, then use the towel to wipe the candle-soot from the outside. Presto, annealed case!

I’ve found candle annealing usually takes about 10 seconds on cases the size of the .308 Winchester or .30-06 and slightly longer on full-sized magnums. Add another five seconds to wipe off the case, and the annealing rate is about four cases a minute, so 20 cases can be done in five minutes. Since the “set-up time” of lighting a candle and wetting a paper towel is minimal, this is how I anneal most of my big-game rounds. It works a little faster on smaller cases, taking about 6 to 7 seconds on .22 Hornets. With care it can also be used with a propane torch, which doesn’t produce soot so bypasses the need to wipe off the cases, but I’m still not going to finger-anneal 500 Hornet cases.”

 

[hdc77]

I bought it, used it one time and didn’t find it useful, If I could mail it to you I would for free. If you’re in San Antonio, TX it’s yours.

 

[wapitibob]

The only way to know for sure is a hardness tester.

 

[TaperPin]

Next time you have a torch out grab a length of 1/4” copper tubing and just bend it back and forth with hand pressure until you feel it stiffen up due to work hardening. Put a flame to the middle until it just changes surface color, and bend it - it’s softer. Add more heat until it just starts to get a dark red - it’s softer still.

If you have a piece of brass you can do it with that, but the concept is the same - even a little heat that changes the surface color is enough to anneal it to softer than it was when you started and heating to a dull red is quite easy and anneals it plenty.

Theres nothing wrong with something that indicates temperature, it’s just not required.