Brass-O-Matic reveiw

[ST42]

Gents,

I had been exploring an annealing machine for a while and I finally spent the cash and picked up a Brass-O-Matic.

For those that are not aware of brass annealing machines, there are two units that are readily available to shooters. One made by Mr. Ken Light and the other, the Brass-O-Matic produced by Zephyr Dynamics.

I have seen several reviews of Ken's annealer and it has a very strong following. His machine is a bit smaller than the Zephyr which easily makes it a bench top unit. A couple of issues that I did not care for regarding Ken's annealer was the fact that you need to change the wheels to accommodate different cartridges. They run $50.00 each. And his unit uses water as a heat sink in the wheels. Knowing my propensity for personal disaster, I elected to remove the water from the fire and electricity equation. Here is a link to Kens web site,

http://www.kenlightmfg.com/products.html


The Brass-O-Matic arrives well packaged,

It includes a check list of items and a DVD that contains a PDF file on the set up and use. The unit arrives full assembled and only requires that the power adapter be plugged into the back of the speed control.
The dimensions of the unit are 18" long X 15" wide X 5.75" tall. These measurements are without the propane bottles attached. I would estimate that the weight of the annealer to be about 6 lbs. without the propane bottle and torch heads.

While I was researching an annealer, many posters of various forums talked about the need for a heat sink to protect the cartridge cases, specifically the case heads, from over heating. Annealing the entire case is absolutely Not desirable and could be very dangerous. I was troubled by this aspect of annealing and since the Brass-O-Matic does not use a heat sink. I placed a call to Zephyr Dynamics and spoke with one of the founders, Mr. Kyle Posey.

Kyle was very informative and explained how they determined that a heat sink was not necessary for annealing brass. Basically they conducted several experiments using Tempilaq to monitor the case temperature during annealing. Tempilaq is a a quick drying temperature sensitive liquid that
melts when the specific temperature is met. By applying three different Tempilaq strips to the case, they were able to demonstrate that the case head and body of the case never exceeded the temperatures that would endanger the cases integrity. I wish that I could include a photo that is presented in the instructional DVD, as it clearly shows that the temperature of the case remains at safe levels. This convinced me that a heat sink was unnecessary and so far my annealing has been GTG.

I decided that I would use my unit on top of my reloading cabinet and doing so was going to prohibit me from using the conventional propane torches as seen on the Zephyr Dynamics web site,
http://www.zephyrdynamics.com/index.html

I decided to use a 20lb. propane tank and I run both torch heads from this tank. This set up allows me to use my reloading cabinet as I desired.

Here are a few photos of the Brass-O-Matic,
specifically the leveling leg,

The speed control unit,

The Teflon reinforce area that begins were heat is applied to the case,

A shot of the torch head,

The process of annealing is very straight forward and the set up is easily accomplished in just a few minutes.
After adjusting the flames from the torches to the proper height and angle,

It is just a matter of indexing the dwell time for your case and then annealing the brass. The Brass-O-Matic includes sample dwell times for various cases and they appear to be very accurate. I used six seconds for annealing my 7 wsm brass in these photos and it does a great job. In the photo below you can see the case as it just enters the flame,

The case just starts to get an orange glow at 6 seconds,

And the case indexes out of the flame at 6 seconds ( sorry about the blurry pic. but it was low light and moving),

The cases fall out of the brass-O-Matic via a slot cut into the table top,

And here are the finished results of a few 7 wsm cases ( I must have reached the photo limit ),

Overall I am very please with the Brass-O-Matic. It does the job as advertised. The cost is a bit less than Ken Light's model. It will accommodate all of my cartridges without any component change out. And I'm not messing with water as a heat sink.
Again, I'm not saying that Ken's machine is a poor design or that the Brass-O-Matic is a better unit. I just saying that its a good fit for me. Also, I'm not getting anything from Zephyr Dynamics. I paid for the unit just like anyone else, I just thought you guys might want a little info. on the annealer. I hope this helps with your decision.

STS

 

[Brain]

Re: Brass-O-Matic reveiw

Great review.

Rarely does one have the patience to do a step-by-step photo journal when receiving a much anticipated accessory.

 

[ChadTRG42]

Re: Brass-O-Matic reveiw

That is a good review, and looks like a great product. How many cases do you typically need to anneal? To justify $480, I would hope a lot. I don't anneal that often, but when I do, the $40 Hornady annealling kit works fine. I did about 400-500 cases in a little over an hour with it. Plus, it comes with the temperature paint, so you don't get the brass too hot. For a high volume annealling item, this would fit the bill.

Chad

 

[Switchblade]

Re: Brass-O-Matic reveiw

The purpose(anneling brass) I can see is heat treating the neck. I suppose if I went into the archives I could find out why, but can you explain it for any newbies who would also ask?

The last pic:

 

[sheldon]

Re: Brass-O-Matic reveiw

Annealing is to soften the brass at the neck so that it won't crack there as it gets work hardened from being resized and work hardened from multiple reloadings.

 

[memilanuk]

Re: Brass-O-Matic reveiw

Switch,

Ever taken a metal coat hanger and bent it back and forth until it finally broke, even though it started as a fairly ductile metal? That's work hardening, in a nut shell.

Every time you do an operation to the case neck - F/L sizing, neck sizing, expanding, necking up, necking down, seating bullets, and firing, the metal in the neck gets pushed around, and gets just a touch harder and less springy. This starts showing up as reduced neck tension - maybe you start feeling some bullets seating noticeably easier than others, or have to use a smaller diameter neck bushing to get your same neck tension as you did before. Eventually the brass will not spring back hardly at all, and if you push it long enough, it may well crack/split (just like that coat hanger eventually broke when worked enough times).

The annealing process gets the metal up past a certain temperature where certain processes take place. I are not a metallurgist, nor did I play one on TV

so forgive me if I murder the technical terms from here on. The chemical composition of the metal stays the same, but the internal crystalline structure changes slightly and relieves the stress built up from the work hardening. There is a limit, though - you need a certain amount of hardness in the metal to maintain its toughness and ability to spring back. If you go too far, the brass becomes 'dead soft', where it just moves whereever you put it, and now has a very low yield strength i.e. it may shear more easily at a lower pressure. Not good at all. Thats why people get all sorts of concerned about the possibility of inadvertently annealing the case *head*.

 

[ST42]

Re: Brass-O-Matic reveiw

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Brain</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Great review.

Rarely does one have the patience to do a step-by-step photo journal when receiving a much anticipated accessory.

</div></div>

Well, truth be told. I have a practice of photographing any package I get when I see any possible box damage. I had a go around with UPS on an insurance claim on a scope that I purchased a few years back. Anyway, I was reviewing some photos on my camera and I had a spark of inspiration to shoot the other pics and do a review.

 

[ST42]

Re: Brass-O-Matic reveiw

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ChadTRG42</div><div class="ubbcode-body">That is a good review, and looks like a great product. How many cases do you typically need to anneal? To justify $480, I would hope a lot. I don't anneal that often, but when I do, the $40 Hornady annealling kit works fine. I did about 400-500 cases in a little over an hour with it. Plus, it comes with the temperature paint, so you don't get the brass too hot. For a high volume annealling item, this would fit the bill.

Chad
</div></div>

Well, so far I've annealed about 800 cases. I've done the 7 wsm's, 223, 308, 25 wssm, and some 338 LM's. I plan on doing some 408's here soon. I suspect that this will eventually pay for it self in longer case life and reduced ES and SD. I also plan on incorporating annealing into a more regimented brass prep program where the convenience of having an annealer all set and ready to go, much link my press or powder measure. But you are correct, It is a lot of cash. But I'm in it for the long run......Just don't tell me wife.

 

[257speed]

Re: Brass-O-Matic reveiw

Very nice review. I purchased a Ken Light this week (have not recieved yet). I looked hard at both, but the Light won out (for me) due to the nicer looking construction, the water, which warms the case to around 200deg prior to entering the flame, and the fact that the cases rotate in their pocket as they pass the flame. Again, this isn't meant to sidetrack your post, which is very good, just adding to it.

 

[ST42]

Re: Brass-O-Matic reveiw

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 257speed</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Very nice review. I purchased a Ken Light this week (have not recieved yet). I looked hard at both, but the Light won out (for me) due to the nicer looking construction, the water, which warms the case to around 200deg prior to entering the flame, and the fact that the cases rotate in their pocket as they pass the flame. Again, this isn't meant to sidetrack your post, which is very good, just adding to it. </div></div>

When it arrives please put up some detailed photos. I'd really like to see Ken's unit as his web site pics. are not the best. I have to admit, it was a hard decision to make as they are very close in price.

 

[C.K]

Re: Brass-O-Matic reveiw

I've have a ken light machine for about a year. Its a good machine. I'm going to be doing some brass tonight and I'll Email you some pictures STS(no pic host to post). If you want post them up. Both these machines are the cats ass for annealing large amounts of brass doing around 1000 per hour. Compared to 200 per hour max.

257speed the ken light machine will not preheat the brass to 200 degrees maybe to 120 and thats pushing it but it does suck the heat out of the brass pretty good. I would say they drop out of the machine at around 200deg at the web. The only thing I found is when doing BMG brass you need to use map gas to do a good job.

 

[ST42]

Re: Brass-O-Matic reveiw

CK

I got the photos. Thanks. When I get more time I'll put them up here. I have to admit. It is a beautiful piece of machinery.