AMP

I’ve never beard anyone say different, I’ve been cleaning and annealing brass everyday since I got it, I wish every step was so easy. I’m getting pretty tired of sorting by caliber then head-stamp though i’m about to order some sorting trays.

I’d like to try a amp mate, but for sure don’t shoot enough or have enough brass to justify one.

Got mine last month and I'm in the same boat as you, fantastic so far. Didn't even burn myself!

I'm looking to extend my brass life and hoping this is the ticket. Never annealed until getting the AMP.

It's crazy where long rage shooting has gone in the last 10 years. The price of a good scope has remained pretty flat, but you can drop 3k on an annealer and trickle setup without blinking.

Long_Action said:

It's crazy where long rage shooting has gone in the last 10 years. The price of a good scope has remained pretty flat, but you can drop 3k on an annealer and trickle setup without blinking.

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Worth it though when the combined time to throw a charge and anneal the brass is shorter than throwing most charges on say a chargemaster. Love my autotrickler, want to eventually get a AMP to help out with neck tension and brass life.

I literally just hit the button on purchasing an amp, and I blame everyone of you. Did I “need” it? Maybe, maybe not. Am I going to anneal every piece of brass I can find now? Of course. Gotta get my monies worth. Here’s to hoping the packages don’t get lost!

Long_Action said:

It's crazy where long rage shooting has gone in the last 10 years. The price of a good scope has remained pretty flat, but you can drop 3k on an annealer and trickle setup without blinking.

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It's more a statement about how much people are willing to spend when you consider there are annealing machines that cost less than $250, work as well as the AMP, and are as fast or faster.

Long_Action said:

It's crazy where long rage shooting has gone in the last 10 years. The price of a good scope has remained pretty flat, but you can drop 3k on an annealer and trickle setup without blinking.

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dont forget the zero press

I love Ingenuity almost as much as I love Capitalism. Usually I'm trying to restrict variables in order to make a more precise part. I'm a Deep Draw Toolmaker by trade, and develop/run Mechanical, Servo, and Eyelet presses. Equipment that is North of 5 million to a few hundred thousand. I currently run 2 decked out 650's, a Forster Coax, and Hornady 50bmg press. Personally I see more benefit in checking the brass wall thickness and investing in top self reloading dies than spending 3k on a dropper and annealer. Like Ferris said, " It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up." Maybe when RCBS makes something similar for $350, Ill pounce? Some of the hardest drawn parts I run have o-ring dies that allow the die to float with the punch. I would never buy a zero press, because you will never find reloading tooling that is precise enough to keep everything concentric, or brass that is uniform. Induction is really, really cool. I'm guessing the thickness, brass purity, and oxidation plays a big part in consistency? Honestly, I thought scopes technology would have advanced a lot over the last 10 years. People still fight over Mil vs MOA and reticles are very gimmicky. I'm still trying to figure out if I want a Tremor3 or Horus59 in my next Barska. Regardless, I'm stoked Hide Members are still killing it and can drop hard earned $ on Equipment!

Cascade Hemi said:

It's more a statement about how much people are willing to spend when you consider there are annealing machines that cost less than $250, work as well as the AMP, and are as fast or faster.

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I’m in, which ones?

Brown2008 said:

I’m in, which ones?

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Sniperwannabee said:

Annealeez – For a Hot Piece of Brass!

annealeez.com

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I actually did look at theirs, looked great. Because of the smaller space I have and it being inside the house I was trying to avoid open flame annealers. Otherwise I love the design/concept

the Thing I like about the annealeez is it process brass all by it self instead of you have to do it one at a time. I think you could probably pay for either machine by processing other peoples brass tho...

Sniperwannabee said:

Annealeez – For a Hot Piece of Brass!

annealeez.com

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Or this one too.

elfster going to make one for sale @elfster1234

Adam B said:

In all honestly I hate wasting money but after talking with several people who had all of the flame annealers and then went to the induction style annealer they all said they wished that they has just gone that route first.

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This is it right here for me. I did the torch and drill socket for a while, then ponied up for the Giraud. Add another $150 in torch components trying to improve the flame and its consistency over large batches of annealing sessions. I dreaded the process and usually waited until I had a large enough batch to process at one time hoping I could keep the consistency from start to finish as well as hope I matched it to the previous session. I gladly sold my Giraud at a significant loss for an AMP. I invested in convenience and peace of mind knowing I could real quickly go anneal five pieces of brass for a test, or get ten zero check rounds’ brass back in processed circulation at any given time. And the peace of mind knowing that it was annealed just like the previous times and just like the rest of the loaded rounds I’m putting them back in with. Confidence.

While the AMP has brought its own issues like the neck tension stuff due to the oxidation, it has been mitigated. And it was an excellent opportunity to learn something new in the world of neck tension.

I recently got an AMP and been happy with it so far. This crust stuff I have to look into, wasn't aware of it. I think my process will be to tumble after annealing anyway and hopefully that will limit crusty necks.

Oh by the way, I got an AmpMate too, it's been working perfectly so far. Not too many complaints yet. His name is James and he's my 20 year old son.

I like when the brass isn’t completely dry and sounds like a jet engine spinning up.

reubenski said:

You paid a lot more for your amp mate

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Makes a prometheus lease look cheap

And would be even if he didnt work the amp.

reubenski said:

You paid a lot more for your amp mate

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reubenski said:

The burnt Amp crust on the inside of the necks is very much a thing. Tumbling after sizing, after annealing is my best solution. I also don't anneal every loading anymore. The fact that it doesn't happen with flame annealers also make me question just what flame annealing was really doing to my necks.

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Gives your brass pretty colors duh!

reubenski said:

The fact that it doesn't happen with flame annealers also make me question just what flame annealing was really doing to my necks.

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The same question could be asked of the AMP.

Sniperwannabee said:

elfster going to make one for sale @elfster1234

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Cascade Hemi said:

The same question could be asked of the AMP.

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Not so, there was a definite improvement of consistent neck tension going from a flame to the AMP.

I had an Anealeez and hated it. Flame issues, burnt/melted wheels, Tempilaq, setup, cold garage etc. etc. Have been running an AMP now for a couple years....love it! Have spent a lot of time talking to Alex and Matt (owners/inventors) over the years after meeting them at SHOT...both great human beings.

And what is AMP crust? Never heard of it.

Honest question.... how do you calibrate the AMP? I watched the video on setting it up for each caliber, but how do you make sure it is running properly. Over time I'm guessing it will fall off, and I'm wondering how you can check to make sure it's annealing correctly.

Long_Action said:

Honest question.... how do you calibrate the AMP? I watched the video on setting it up for each caliber, but how do you make sure it is running properly. Over time I'm guessing it will fall off, and I'm wondering how you can check to make sure it's annealing correctly.

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I am neither an engineer or metallurgist, so there is nothing scientific about how I confirm results. I use a strain gauge on an arbor press to check seating pressure in the reloading room. For me the proof happens on paper and readings from Labradar at the range. I shoot LR benchrest and F-class, so what I am looking for is a bit different than someone who is trying to hit a metal target at 300 - whatever distance away.
I started out using the Aztec program that the second gen units came with, where you sacrifice a piece of brass to get an initial setting. I have not changed too many of the initial settings, but have played with some of my neck turned brass to see if there is a difference in group size or ES/SD numbers. I have also checked brass that has been fired several times (5+) to see if I get a different reading when doing an Aztec program check. Whenever a new lot of brass is used, it will go through a Aztec check to get a setting. It is also interesting to see what the difference in your settings will be using turned vs non-turned brass from the same lot#.
I started annealing brass using a soldering torch and drill back in the late 80's, went to a Giraud in 2007, and finally have made the transition to AMP. You pay a lot for the research and engineering that goes into the AMP, but to me it is about results.
Cheers

Even prior to the AMP, I would graphite the necks before seating. While it certainly helped some with the AMP oxidization, basically I just redid load development once the AMP was included. I use it every time, and the new load developments really didn’t change a whole lot as far as the load. But it gave me verification and peace of mind that everything was stabilized as it should be with the inclusion of the AMP. Now, firing after firing on a piece of brass, I know it will perform the same as a fresh fire formed round.

One thing to note about the Aztec... get your reading off of a fired piece. Fired brass and sized brass don’t come out with the same Aztec code.

Long_Action said:

It's crazy where long rage shooting has gone in the last 10 years. The price of a good scope has remained pretty flat, but you can drop 3k on an annealer and trickle setup without blinking.

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For me, time is of most importance. I have little windows of time during the week to get ready for shooting on the weekend. I couldn’t stay in my garage late in the evening, with a fire extinguisher, watching the Bench Source anneal my brass. Then have to sleep early to wake up to go work. Good thing brownells has a lifetime return policy. Return the bench source and went with the AMP mark i. Well that’s when brownells use to carry the AMP. Got the AMP for just a little over a k with a promo code. And used my edge member to free ship 2nd day. Upgraded to Aztec 2 years ago. I think I already made out with this unit with how much I annealed. One of the best investments I made with my reloading hobby. This picture I annealed then my reloading work flow. All in one night..