Annealing Brass in HD

[freestylmx311]

why not anneal new brass? Makes sense to me to do it right away, just like buying new Lapua or LC brass that has been annealed.

By the way, I guess I just ruined 50 cases because I thought it was supposed to glow red..oh well live and learn

[ammosmith]

@freestylmx311 They already are. They polish off the heat coloring afterwards.

[freestylmx311]

@ammosmith

ohhhhhh, now I feel dumb, thanks lol

[ammosmith]

@freestylmx311 Please dont feel dumb. There's no such thing as a stupid question. If you actually anneal a new piece pf commercial brass you will most likely over soften it to the point of being dangerous.

[ammosmith]

@freestylmx311 Please dont feel dumb. There's no such thing as a stupid question. If you actually anneal a new piece pf commercial brass you will most likely over soften it to the point of being dangerous.

[ammosmith]

@freestylmx311 Please dont feel dumb. There's no such thing as a stupid question. If you actually anneal a new piece pf commercial brass you will most likely over soften it to the point of being dangerous.

[epicfirefighter]

Do you anneal before or after neck sizing, and do you do it for new brass?

[ammosmith]

@epicfirefighter Before..and not on new brass.

[raceman956]

do you have to anneal the brass each time you reload the brass

[ammosmith]

@raceman956 No...I do it about every 5th-7th loading.

[Feh60169]

Great video! I reload .223 and was wondering how people do this without spending $300bux on an annealer, I was sure I could do this with a torch, but needed some reassurance. Thanks!

[jasauve]

Awesome video. I've got a stupid question though: Why do you quench the brass when you are done? Wouldn't that make it more brittle than letting it cool slowly? I'm rusty on my metallurgy but I thought generally speaking quenching made things harder... Thanks!

[xzqzq]

Good video. I have some 7 x 57 brass that I want to use in my 8 x 57 Mauser... I'm thinking of annealing the brass before resizing, to keep the brass from splitting. 

[ammosmith]

@xzqzq Good idea...don't over do it though.

[PRACERZ]

I just found your channel. Let me say, I am impressed! You explain everything like we have no idea, which is fantastic because it gets ride of poor knowledge. I spent alot of time watching many vids and everyone of them was super, thanks.

[ammosmith]

@PRACERZ Thank you very much. I will be post more videos as I get settled in at my new place.

[Milby20289394bc]

what are the pros and cons of annealing? does itaffect accuarcy? is it practical for the average reloader? or just for long range or competition or something.

[ammosmith]

@Milby20289394bc Pros: Extends case life. Cons: If you over do it you ruin the brass and cause an unsafe condition. It's very practical if you shoot a lot and you want to get the most from your brass.

[ThatDudeSirraj]

Thanks for this video! I'm new to reloading and never really new about the annealing process or what it was for. Now I finally know where the bluish color comes from. Had no idea. I will definately be utilizing your methods.

Be Safe n Happy Shootin'

[csaeteurn]

hey ammosmith, I was wondering, is this new brass from the factory that you're annealing?

and should you anneal brass thats straight from the factory?

[ammosmith]

@csaeteurn No..these are 220 Swifts on their 5-6th loading.

[realgungho]

As always, AmmoSmith delivers great advice.

[GeneralG1810]

Do you only have to do this procedure once in the life of the brass or should there be a follow up?

[millster101]

Great video. 

[ammosmith]

@millster101 Thanks! I hope it helped you out.

[xzqzq]

Good video. I am attempting to form .300 Savage brass from .308 brass, since the former is 10x more expensive than the later.... even after trimming the case, and sizing in a .300 Savage die, I can't get the bolt to close on my K-98 Mauser....I'll have to try annealing the brass, to make it easier to form the sharp shoulder on the .300 Savage brass...

[pr4runner]

Problems. I annealed about 100 cases 3006. When I went to load it w/ a crimp, the case crushed right below the neck. What is wrong?

[ammosmith]

@pr4runner Too much heat. Only heat it until it starts to turn blue. If it turns red hot you're way over the limit.

[skipsoft]

Thank you ammosmith for your videos, they helped give me the confidence to start reloading, and im really happy with my loads now.

One quick question though, how imperative is the quenching? Once heated if i just let my cases air cool, will anything bad happen? I ask this because i did a small batch your way and had trouble getting water out of the case. ~ thanks

[ammosmith]

@skipsoft I quench then to keep the heat from transmitting to the entire case. This keeps the annealing to the neck and shoulders.

[11Bulletstopper]

@skipsoft All quenching does is get your cases yet. I let my brass air cool too.

[ammosmith]

@11Bulletstopper I quench mine to keep the heat from moving down the body of the case.

[fuser662]

Do you have to anneal handgun brass as well? Or is annealing just for rifle ammo? Just wondering since i'm looking at getting into reloading

[ammosmith]

@fuser662 Sometimes...not as often though. Usually I only anneal 44 magnums but rarely.

[762infidel]

I think a mineral oil quenching would be better than water...

[penchant1972]

Tried the technique in your video. Works great. One quick tip, when purchasing a deep socket for this purpose, I'd suggest buying a 12-pt. socket instead of a 6-pt. - less "wobble".

[paininthe10]

I learn alot from your videos, thanks for the info and keep up the great work.

[koolmike79]

another great video that I learned!!! great job sir!!!

[ammosmith]

Bismuth only gives off alpha particles...and very low amount at that. The russians use a mixture of lead and bismuth as a coolant in their nuclear reactors in subs. Bismuth is used in shot for shotguns. It's perfectly safe.

[MrBootifull]

gotta love the intro music... especially when you got the bass fed thru a subwoofer. ;~)

[gasitman]

Very nice video. After annealing, about how many reloads can you get from one piece of brass? Is this necessary? I was told I can get about 5 reloads out of one brass if new. Is this correct?

[gsho2915]

Kind of off topic, but I needed to ask you this.

Can you cast .30 cal. boat tail bullets? (i.e. for a 30-06 bolt action) and if you can, will there be more gas cutting? And if there is.... are there special boat tail gas checks? Thank you so much!!

[ammosmith]

@gsho2915 No. There will be more gas cutting. I am working with another subscriber to make a boat tail gas check. It will be in all actuality a 1/4 jacket but from all I can gather we are looking at a rebated boat tail design which makes production easier.

[nogindrops]

great vid

just did 50 lapua .308 brass

used a lee holder mind as didnt anything handy to fix socket on

thanks

[762full]

Dude have you ever tried to cast bismuth instead of lead?

Also is there a bigger cast than the Lee Six cavity? Like a Ten cavity?

[ammosmith]

@762full No I haven't tried bismuth yet but I plan to. There are 10-12 cavity molds out there. Most are custom though.

[762full]

When are you doing bismuth? will you make a vid?

Do people make a 12 cavity by just putting together two six's??

[ammosmith]

@762full I don'tknow when. Bismuth is expensive (and mildly radioactive) so it may be a little while.

[762full]

Bismuth may be radioactive, but at least its safer than lead

[camerl2009]

@762full nope if you know what your doing lead is safe

bismuth is a big price compared to lead most lead i can get for free and bismuth

is about $17.00 a lb. if its radioactive its not safer then lead

[762full]

@camerl2009 Its not as toxic as lead though.

Have you tried Tin?

[camerl2009]

@762full tin mixed with lead and antimony like this wheel weights are good for most handun rounds

[762full]

@camerl2009 What about pure tin?

[camerl2009]

@762full too soft its about the same as pure lead in BHN

but pure tin is way too light just use wheel weights or

some like that the cost is much less the both and just dont have the kids running

and playing in that space till you clean it up where a dust mask it your that

worry about lead then you should not be shooting even jacketed bullets have lead in them

[762full]

@camerl2009 Lead is still better than bismuth? (besides any costs)

While it is not totally safe, bismuth is still "less" toxic" than lead.

Bismuth is harder and fragments naturally.

[camerl2009]

if bismuth is to hard that it fragments then it will do so in the barrel

bismuth mixed with lead and tin my be better

but still if its radioactive then id not tuch it with a 10ft pole

ive casted for over 3 years now and wheel weights is the way to go for

most any thing that i shoot

[762full]

@camerl2009 Aside from the bismuth thing, what if you were to pour in tungsten birdshot into the cast and then pour in tin, lead, or whatever to bind it together.

Would it not create a very lethal and nasty fragmenting round?

[camerl2009]

@762full you cant melt tungsten in a lead pot

where not looking for some thing so hard the it srips the rifling out of the

gun casting bullets is cost saving thats way we cast them from lead we can get a chape as we can. if you want bullets for self defense you go and buy loaded ammo. its safer for you that way

[762full]

@camerl2009 The purpose is not to melt the tungsten (or steel) but to bind the birdshot together, so it disintegrates on impact.

[camerl2009]

@762full you dont need the bullets to disintegrate

tungsten melts at a very high temp and steel melts at 2800F

most molds are made from aluminum that melts at 1200F or so

now i see what your talking about the only way to bind birdshot tohether

is to swage jacketed bullets as for that it has to be lead birdshot

[762full]

@camerl2009 But why wouldn't a low-temp metal be able to bind birdshot together?

Would the metal not seep in between the spheres and hold them together? Naturally a bunch of spheres or balls have space between them because of their shape.

[camerl2009]

@762full everything flots on lead the steel or tungsten will go to the

top and not bind thats it

[762full]

@camerl2009 oh

Will steel or tungsten float on bismuth?

[Iraqveteran8888]

Oh it just dawned on me it is a socket...even cooler...lol

[Iraqveteran8888]

Those pilots for the drill work great, huh?

Great job James...Take care and I hope all is well my man.

[RemMan700]

Good vid. I will try this out.

[catdoc541]

Great video ammosmith!

[faksen13]

Nice tip and video. Normal prosedure here is a tray of water (like a steak in oven pan) let the emtys stand so the shoulder is free from water. "everybody" has a gass skiburner (to prep skies). It looks like your method is best.

[VIKINGWARLOCK]

very good method awesome

[omegahpla]

great info, thanks

[particlefield]

I have a question about annealing. Toward the end of the video you showed 4 cases. The 2 on the left were fired the 2 on the right were not. I was looking at it and wandering would it be best to anneal the brass as soon as possible but no later than after 5 reloads. I was also wandering if this was a 1 time deal for each brass or do you ever want to do the process again?

thanks

[ammosmith]

@particlefield You can anneal the brass when you first get it or after a few firings. Yoy want to anneal after every 5-6 firings.

[americansharpy]

With so many people doing hot-loads these days (the obsession with speed), annealing is being wasted. Blowing out the primer pocket cant be reversed. Great video btw.

[ammosmith]

@americansharpy Speed isn't everything. If you push the limits of pressure the brass is ruined and the action is over stressed.

[AA550cord]

One of the best videos I've seen on the subject so far. Easy, easy. Keep the vids coming.

[bigbuckjeff1]

you do a very good job

thanks

[bigbuckjeff1]

Please tell how do you dry inside the brass?

thanks

[ammosmith]

@bigbuckjeff1 I give them a bath in acetone. it removes all traces of water.

[bkub1234]

could you explain why you drop cases in the water, doesn't it harden cases back to original state by cooling them down quickly. i always let them cool down slowly. great vid as always

[ammosmith]

@bkub1234 Brass is the opposite of steel. Brass will soften whereas stell will harden.

[multicam2000]

the ammo i shoot in the army looks like the one on the far right. does that mean we are shooting reloads? almost has a rainbow sheen to it.

this looks really clear in 1080p. like a dvd

[ammosmith]

@multicam2000 No. All military brass ammo is annealed to prevent splitting.,

[shotfirer1972]

the cases you use are annealed at the factory. you are not using reloads.

[axishans]

killer! would this also work for caliber conversions prior to die forming?

[ammosmith]

@axishans Yes..but not on necking down. Necking up yes.If you're necking down anneal after forming.

[daewooparts]

nice, goodshit xlnt way to save money and prolong your brass

[biguy525]

Couldn't you stand them in a pan of water and heat the tip until blue and knock them over, eliminates the drill.

[jakebavin]

The point of the drill is to evenly heat all sides of the case. Standing them in water and only heating one side doesnt work as well.

[ammosmith]

@biguy525 Yes...I like doing it this way to evenly anneal the case. It distributes the flame over the case uniformly.

[grimproteusverum]

You could, however that might result in uneven heating on the case; propagating a split. Just a thought.

[chuckiep268]

Darn good idea!

[Hawcer71]

Love the use of the socket. Great idea!

[kaptainkashstacka]

Good vid!

[daywalker627]

Thanks for sharing the tip on annealing the brass!! I will have to try this.