Well, In a word, annealing rifle brass is exposing the neck and part of the shoulder of the bottleneck case to enough heat for a period of time to relieve the internal tension (stress) imposed by firing and resizing brass – and just enough before bad changes in the internal makeup (grain structure and strength) occur. And being the discerning shooter that you are, always looking for that competitive edge, you’ve probably started doing research on annealing brass and have found that there are two accessible methods to do so: Propane flame and Induction. Either way, you’ll need to how long to expose the brass to the flame or induction heat, and you found out that you need to do so in a uniform and consistent manner. Not enough heat input and nothing happens – too much heat, and you have caused irreversible damage to the brass. Toss it in the scrap bucket.   Now that’s a definite source of anxiety when your Lapua brass is about a buck a round! In order to find the right temperature and time, and to avoid under or overheating, you need access to a metallurgy lab or you will need to use Tempilaq. That is so you will achieve a consistent stress – relief temperature. Well, use of Tempilaq requires patience, and if you are using a propane-based machine, you’ll need a double-dose of patience because the flame intensity changes as time goes by and the torch heats up.

By now, you are wondering if annealing is for you – but you don’t have to be or know a metallurgist. That’s because a New Zealand company called Annealing Made Perfect, or AMP, has done the tedious work of determining how much time and heat is needed to achieve the proper amount of stress relief. And AMP has done that work by measuring microhardness and correlating those measurements to heat input.

Now, enter the AMP machine. The company behind this machine has, for a tremendous variety of calibers and caseheads, determined the amount of heat input needed to achieve the proper stress-relief anneal. And if you can’t find your brass on the long, long list, send them samples and they will get back to you with a machine setting.

So, how do you use this machine? Simply thread in the proper pilot which properly positions the brass in the induction field, select the specified program number, and hit the start button after you insert the brass in the machine; after the seconds-long cycle, you pull the case out and insert your next case. It’s that simple. To change calibers, look up the caliber, and in some cases, the year-specific case head ID, select the program on the machine, and start annealing.

As far as the process of using the AMP machine, you have to handle each and every piece of brass. And so if you have the temperament (you do because you’re a shooter) and time, that’s not a problem, but if you are, say, a service rifle shooter and anneal cases after each firing it could be very time-consuming – a case feeder would be a welcome addition and it’s my understanding that one is on the way.

The machine itself is very solidly-built. The display is bright, setting the machine up is very fast, and the machine is very quiet. Overall, this machine is a pleasure to use. I annealed over 100 223 Rem cases in 30 minutes and look Ma, no Tempilaq, exposed high voltages, or hot flames. Personally, I have gone from the propane age to an induction unit with exposed conductors and induction coil, and have to say that this unit also feels very safe-to-use. So, needless to say, I am all in with the AMP machine.

The only things that could be improved might be the addition of an optional foot pedal to initiate each cycle, and a way to grip the heavy smooth casing when moving it – like carry handles on the sides or one on top – it is a heavy machine and that would make it easier to handle and place in storage, say, under your workbench.

Overall, get this machine if you are serious about achieving the more-than-anecdotal accuracy improvements from annealing – you won’t find anything else out there with greater ease-and simplicity of-operation, repeatability, and technical development behind the machine.  This machine gets a solid 10 for technical excellence, solidity, ease-of-use, and the research AMP performed to conceive the basis for this machine by considering every issue associated with case annealing and making annealing practical. Only one other suggestion I would have and that’s to change the name of the machine to AMPP, which would stand for Annealing Made Perfectly Possible.

Michael Glasman

Knoxville, TN USA

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With AZTEC MODE the AMP machines can analyse your brass cases and generate the perfect setting in seconds! It can distinguish between different calibers, brands, different LOT numbers and even if you have neck turned!

Stay tuned for updates on this introduction!

https://www.creedmoorsports.com/product/3554/–reloading

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Temperature Measurement, Equipment, and…When You Know It’s Time to Throw the BS Flag

Part of the journey towards being “Best in Class” as a club is providing technical information you so can make informed decisions on what you need to do to succeed. Last month we covered what happens and changes when brass cases are fired and re-sized, and we covered needed concepts to help you understand why brass has limited life with respect to performance and longevity.

In this installment annealing basics will be discussed.

To review – annealing rifle brass at 750 degrees for a second or two in the area of the neck where the bullet is seated slightly lowers the strength of the brass and improves ductility. This provides more consistent neck tension from case-to-case, improves accuracy, and improves case life with respect to neck splitting. Annealing should not be performed below the shoulder of the case because this weakens the case where it needs to be strongest.

Before starting with how to anneal, let’s dispel some myths heard in the pits and on forums…

• “I anneal till the color changes from shiny till it turns slightly red in a darkened room.” You exceeded 900 degrees F and have ruined that brass because it’s now way past being able to maintain neck tension. Grain growth has occurred in the material and it’s not possible to recover from that condition.
• “I put heat on the brass till the color changes from shiny to ” NOPE. The color change is due to oxidation or a reaction that occurs with contaminants on the surface of the hot brass and room air. This is not a reliable indication of annealing temperature.
• “I use an infrared gun to measure ” Well, unless you have a very sophisticated infrared measurement instrument that can isolate a small target such as a brass case, this is not a reliable way to measure temperature. Not to mention, you need to know the emissivity of hot, oxidized brass for accurate infrared temperature measurement, and you will need to do a lot of work to qualify your measurement methods. And you can’t use it with propane-fired machines

The common theme here is none of the above methods provide an accurate, reliable, repeatable means of measuring temperature. The key to successful annealing is accurate, consistent heating.

Now that you know what not to do for temperature measurement, let’s discuss acceptable methods. As indicated last month, it’s vital that you achieve the proper annealing temperature, otherwise, annealing transformation will not occur, or you will over-anneal and irretrievably ruin the brass.

The best way to measure temperature for our purposes is with a product called Tempilaq. This is a paint containing a substance that melts at a given temperature and is available at Brownells, or on Amazon, etc. For us, we need to anneal at 750 degrees F and Tempilaq Part Number 24423 is what should be used. ( See http://www.tempil.com/temperature-indicators/temperature-indicating-liquids/tempilaq- indicating-liquids/ ) This is an affordable, accurate, simple, reliable, and time-tested method of temperature indication for this kind of application. The author has relied on these products in his professional life in attainment and verification of pre-and post-weld heat treatment for nuclear welding and related heat treatment, and these products have always performed in a certifiable manner.

Part 3 of this series will discuss annealing machines. As always, if you have questions, contact Mike Glasman at orsatime@gmail.com

See ‘ya on the range! Mike Glasman

Note that this article shared by Mike Glasman was previously posted in the Oak Ridge Sportsman’s Association Rifle & Pistol Newsletter.

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“Our Stage One report on the metallurgy of annealing was designed to cover the basics of brass cartridge annealing, and also to address a number of misconceptions on the subject. In Stage Two, we have again worked with independent metallurgy laboratories to establish:

1. Why do different brands of the same cartridge case require different amounts of power to anneal correctly? Further to that question, why can there be lot to lot variation from the one manufacturer? To answer those questions, we again consulted with Andrew Ouwejan from Metlab Ltd.
2. What factors influence consistent, repeatable neck tension? In Stage One of our tensile bullet pull tests, we established a baseline using no internal neck lube and no cleaning. We now start to explore different options, again using the services of Nick Casterton at Air New Zealand Gas Turbines Materials Testing.”

The complete article can be found at Annealing Under the Microscope – Part 2

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The complete article can be found at Annealing Under the Microscope

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I had been following the progress of Alex and Matt Findlay with “Annealing Made Perfect” for almost four years as they pursued making the best annealing product for the private reloading market. The short explanation of why we anneal brass is to return the brass to a softer and consistent hardness after the brass has work hardened from repetitive firing and sizing. As the President/Owner of Sinclair International for over 21 years I saw a lot of products come through our doors that annealed brass but these products always seemed like they had very little supportive data and research behind them. Most of them were based on some type of torch system. The father/son team of Alex and Matt out of New Zealand spent the past four years addressing hard questions about annealing.

• What is the correct temperature to reach when annealing?
• How long should you take to get to that temperature and how long should you remain there?
• How frequently should you anneal?
• Can you ruin your expensive brass?
• How do we make the process repeatable for the handloader?
• How do you accurately measure the hardness?

The Findlay’s worked closely with the Electrical Engineering Department at the local University of Technology and invested a lot of capital into detailed metallurgical research. Their decision to use induction heating was because of its repeatability and the ability to reach exacting and consistent temperatures. Induction annealing is achieved by placing the cartridge in a magnetic field thereby inducing eddy currents within the brass and heating the brass without contacting the brass physically. To read more, I suggest the www.ampannealing.com website. This is a very informative site!

Why should you anneal? If you are just a casual reloader, then annealing isn’t necessary but if you a serious wildcatter or competitive shooter you may want to consider it. More and more competitive shooters anneal their cases (not necessarily for adding life to the cases) to achieve more consistent pressures and velocities.

My first favorable impression was received by just opening the box. Extremely well packed, you could tell these guys take a great deal of pride in their product. The unit comes with a shellholder gripper, a power cord, a thorough, well written, easy to follow instruction manual, and a USB cord for future software updates. Make sure you order the pilots you need for the cartridges you will be annealing. You have to order those separate from the machine. None are included.

This machine is so easy to use that I was up and running within a few minutes. All I had to supply was the correct pilot, the brass cases, the correct press style shellholder and an aluminum pan to drop the hot cases into. I started annealing some unturned 308 Winchester cases (Lapua headstamp) that had 4 firings. First, I threaded the pilot for 308 Win cases (#11) into the machine, placed my Redding 308 Win shellholder into the supplied shellholder gripper and turned the power on. The display fired up right away and soon registered the program level that the machine was set to.

Since the machine uses induction heating, you need to set the heating level for the correct setting for the brass you are using. The alloy being used isn’t as important as the thickness or amount of brass in the neck and shoulder region. For example, Lapua and Norma have more brass in that particular area so the setting would be higher for these brands than Winchester brass. Also, if you have neck turned brass, the setting would be reduced from the standard setting because there would be less mass in the air gap.

The settings are obtained by referring to the “Settings” section on the AMP website and are broken out by cartridge, brand, standard unturned cases, and then neck turned cases with various amounts of wall thickness removed. A great service that AMP provides to the handloader is that you can send sample cases of your brass to them and they will test the hardness for you and send you the exact setting for your specific lot of brass.

A note about the pilots; they are critical to the operation by adjusting how far the neck/shoulder are into the machine. Just a few mm deviation in placing the case in the current can change the hardness, so make sure you have the right pilot.

My setting for Lapua unturned 308 Winchester brass was “92”. The buttons on the front of the machine allow you to adjust the setting quickly. After you set the program number, the program setting is locked in after the first use until you change it again. I placed the first case in the shellholder, lowered the assembly (gripper, shellholder and case) down through the pilot and into position. I then hit the start button which illuminated immediately and then about 6 to 7 seconds later, the light went off signaling that annealing was completed. Now be aware, these cases are extremely hot. I lifted the case out using the gripper and then dropped it into my aluminum pan. I then placed another case into the holder, put it into the machine and then repeated the process.

Once I got the process and rhythm down, I annealed one hundred (100) 308 Win cases in about 24 minutes. I annealed some 6mm BR cases later (Lapua) and annealed 100 cases in about 15 minutes at the “75” setting. I did find myself raising my shop stool a little higher than normal so I was at a more comfortable height in relationship to the top of the machine. The unit was very easy to operate – I had a student that was job shadowing that day anneal a few cases and she had no problem at all following the instructions.

There is an automatic thermal cutoff that prevents the machine from overheating. Depending on the setting, this can occur after 200 or so operations in a row. When this has occurred, simply leave the machine on and the fans will cool it down so you can resume annealing. This isn’t surprising considering the amount of heat being generated. Also, during operation the area behind the pilot will start to get warmer, this is normal.

All in all, I found this machine extremely easy to setup and operate.

For more information about this annealing machine, visit Annealing Made Perfect’s website at www.ampannealing.com.

To order, visit Creedmoor Sports at Annealing Made Perfect.

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Check Out Their Revamped Site!

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We have used this machine ourselves on 6BR, 308 Win, 6.5/284 cases, and 6mm PPC cases and it really works. We were fortunate to be able to test one of the early models and we loved it. We have always been disappointed by various annealing methods we have tried especially those using torches. The variations in consistent heating and incorrect temperatures drove us crazy. Just seemed like voodoo! The guys at Annealing Made Perfect studied the issues, went back to the basics, worked with a metallurgical department doing testing on brass and after years of research came up with this machine. They have put all of their research and testing into building a machine that is easy to use and can be tuned specifically for annealing different case brands and even cases that have been neck turned. Once you get this unit, you can be annealing cases within minutes of receiving.

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