• Frank's Lesson's Contest

    We want to see your skills! Post a video between now and November 1st showing what you've learned from Frank's lessons and 3 people will be selected to win a free shirt. Good luck everyone!

    Create a channel Learn more
  • Having trouble using the site?

    Contact support

Anneal every time = consistent?

I would really like to not have to address the inside of the neck on every single piece of brass I reload. I moved past the "amateur benchest reloader" phase a long time ago. I reload and shoot way too much to do that with every cartridge that I reload for. I don't mean that in a shitty way towards you. Not as a rebuttal or anything. Just looking for something that will allow me to mandrel without having to treat the necks
Got you. No offense taken. Im neck deep swimming in that phase.

I recommend the nitride die, When I say I feel the difference its just a "slight more resistance" and its probably non affecting. I just havent tested.
 
You can do that with bushings from the outside. The OD will influence the outcome post mandrel.
So you are running the brass thru a sizing die twice? Once to squeeze the neck down to where a mandrel will touch the inside of the neck and again to set neck tension with a bushing?
 
So you are running the brass thru a sizing die twice? Once to squeeze the neck down to where a mandrel will touch the inside of the neck and again to set neck tension with a bushing?
No.
What I’m saying is you don’t need to have .0005” increment mandrels. Your bushing size will have an effect on your post mandrel size.
Once into the busing. Once over the mandrel. Done.
 
I’ve been thinking about getting into annealing, but after reading your post I’ve had more to think about. I’ve been using 99% alcohol and lanolin spray for Lube also getting a quick spray across all the brass in the necks before sizing. I’ve tried tumbling and I’ve tried just cleaning the outside with 99% alcohol and a rag. I could definitely see a pretty consistent residue inside the necks after tumbling because the dust stuck to the Lube. But I’d like to skip the tumble step. I’m wondering if I anneal then spray Lube and then size if my necks would have enough Lube?
Just change your lube make up and then you can clean it off with warm water and dry em and be done.

I use 99% alcohol and rcbs lube mixed just like you do with lanolin. The rcbs is water based so it will come right off with water and works really really well sprayed when dissolved in 99%alcohol. This is the way.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ronn and Haney
Carb cleaner on a qtip applied to the inside of the neck will leave a super thin film of oil on the surface. Then graphite will stick to the neck.

This makes sense - I've found the same when I don't fully wash off the cleaning solution I use in my ultrasonic. But now I've found the joy of dipping cases in Neo Lube #2.
 
The more you expand, the more it will tend to spring back. In other words, if you use too small of a bushing, the brass will tend to spring back more after using the mandrel.
Isn't that the point of annealing? To prevent that springback?

I just ran Hornady 6.5 Grendel brass thru a 6.5G die without an expander, a 6BR die, and then a 6.5G bushing die with a .248 bushing and they're coming out at .247 OD on Mitituyo calipers. I ran them thru a Sinclair mandrel to .248, annealed, and then thru a Hornady 22 ARC die to a final size of .250. Loaded neck is .252. Where's the springback?

It seems like to plan on a specific amount springback is a sketchy plan.
 
Last edited:
Isn't that the point of annealing? To prevent that springback?
I know AMP says there is no springback. However, springback is caused by brass elasticity. You have to maintain some elasticity to hold the bullet in place. If you don't have any elasticity, the bullet will simply push the brass out of the way and there will be no force holding it in. Annealing certainly reduces springback, but it does not eliminate it - unless you over-anneal, which ruins the brass.

Try this:

Run the mandrel through a piece of brass twice. It reengages the second time. If there was no springback, it wouldn't engage at all after the first.

It seems like to plan on a specific amount springback is a sketchy plan.

On the surface, I would tend to agree, but I don't use this process so can't comment on its effectiveness. I use a bushing as close to the mandrel size as possible that still enables the brass to engage the mandrel each time.
 
It just seems like every brand/ type of brass wont springback the same way. The most predictable way to produce a prepped case with the desired neck tension is to use a bushing or mandrel sized appropriately. Most of the time you buy a .248 bushing to produce .248 diameter necks. This keeps you from buying 3 experimental bushings for each die set bc there's no predictable way to oversize for a "springback-mandrel" final size. I could see tho if you're using this springback mandrel technique where you would have to anneal every firing to keep springback as consistent as possible.
 
I don't think anyone said they need them in .0005" increments. But yes, I know you're just being dramatic to make your point.
Fred mentioned sizes. 21st Centutry offers other mandrels in .0005” increments. No dramatics. It was a simple answer to a simple question.