I would like to try annealing some 308 brass. I've never done it before. Is there anywhere to purchase equipment to make make this process easier and consistent?
Equipment used to anneal brass
- Thread starter My Toy
- Start date
Use the search function on the site and you'll find a TON of resources on this. There are great machines out there, if you want to drop the coin on them. Bench Source, Giraud, etc. Expect to spend $350-$500 on the setup. If you're annealing 100s of cases every month, these machines are worth their weight in gold.
However, if you're on a budget, you can whip together the parts you need for 20-30 bucks at most. It may not be automated, but it's quick and works well. Go to your local hardware store, buy a propane torch (I use the big blue bottles from Home Depot), get a metronome app on your smartphone (free), and buy one of those cheap Lee case trimming kits. Then you can chuck the piece of brass in a power drill and anneal that way. I suggest building a cheap fixture out of wood to ensure you place the drill in the same spot every time to ensure consistent results. Use the metronome app to ensure you keep the brass on the flame the same number of seconds each time.
You can also pick up some Tempilaq from Midway. I use 400 on the base, 750 on the inside of the neck. Hindsight being 20/20, I would have only purchased the 400 for the base. Some guys say this isn't needed, but I like the added peace of mind and recommend at least using the 400 on the base while you are learning. Use the Tempilaq on a few cases to get an idea of what works for your setup. *CAUTION* this is what works for MY brass with MY torch setup, so DO NOT run these numbers without testing it for yourself, but I find that 7 seconds gives me the perfect anneal on Lapua 308 brass. I anneal after every firing, and my results are extremely consistent. Also, don't judge by color. It will vary, even with the same headstamp. Example...if I made my fired brass match the annealed colors of Lapua factory brass, it would be soft as warm butter, which is a certain disaster.
Hope that helps, good luck in your search.
However, if you're on a budget, you can whip together the parts you need for 20-30 bucks at most. It may not be automated, but it's quick and works well. Go to your local hardware store, buy a propane torch (I use the big blue bottles from Home Depot), get a metronome app on your smartphone (free), and buy one of those cheap Lee case trimming kits. Then you can chuck the piece of brass in a power drill and anneal that way. I suggest building a cheap fixture out of wood to ensure you place the drill in the same spot every time to ensure consistent results. Use the metronome app to ensure you keep the brass on the flame the same number of seconds each time.
You can also pick up some Tempilaq from Midway. I use 400 on the base, 750 on the inside of the neck. Hindsight being 20/20, I would have only purchased the 400 for the base. Some guys say this isn't needed, but I like the added peace of mind and recommend at least using the 400 on the base while you are learning. Use the Tempilaq on a few cases to get an idea of what works for your setup. *CAUTION* this is what works for MY brass with MY torch setup, so DO NOT run these numbers without testing it for yourself, but I find that 7 seconds gives me the perfect anneal on Lapua 308 brass. I anneal after every firing, and my results are extremely consistent. Also, don't judge by color. It will vary, even with the same headstamp. Example...if I made my fired brass match the annealed colors of Lapua factory brass, it would be soft as warm butter, which is a certain disaster.
Hope that helps, good luck in your search.
7-8 seconds works well for me on .308 Lapua brass, too. I started off using 450 Templaq down the side of the case and 750 inside the neck to get the feel of the process. I spin my cases inside of a 12mm 1/4" drive deep wall socket on an adapter in my cordless drill. I hold the surface of the brass about an 1/8" from the inner kernel of the torch flame while spinning it.
For comparison, my .223 Lapua brass gets spun for 5 seconds in the same torch flame for proper annealing on those.
For comparison, my .223 Lapua brass gets spun for 5 seconds in the same torch flame for proper annealing on those.
