Any tips for annealing cases?

by jgt, Thursday, October 09, 2014, 11:08 (3639 days ago) @ Hoot
edited by jgt, Thursday, October 09, 2014, 11:19

Keep It Simple....
Stand the case a pan of water with depth enough for the water to cover the area that is not to be annealed. The part sticking out of the water can be heated with a propane torch to a glow. Lowering the lighting of the room helps you see the glow. This does not take long nor is there a need to over think it. Heat to a glow, then tip the case over in the water. It will even anneal if you leave them to air cool as the water acts as a heat sink and will cool the heated part in short order. That is about all there is to it. If you want to be exacting about the temp, there is a product sold by midway that you can use. It is called Tempilaq (450* for $21.49). It can be found in welding supply stores sometimes also. It comes in temp ranges for about four to seven hundred degrees. You paint it on a small area of the case above the water line and it will change to the appropriate color when the desired heat is reached. Hornady uses 475* Tempilaq in their annealing kit sold by Sinclair with three(small, medium, and large) case holders in the neighborhood of $35. The holder is put into a drill then the case goes into the holder. The case is spun as the heat is applied to the neck area treated with Tempilaq. When the temperature is reached the Tempilaq turns color and you know you have reached the temperature it was designed for. The case is then removed and placed where the kit instructs. Good luck.