[Don in WA]

When using the temperature paste from the Hornaday kit have you checked if the necks glow in a darkened room? 475 degrees seems lower than others have recommended. I can't tell from the Hornaday site how the case holders work. Do you hold then in your hand? Thanks!

 

[CatShooter]

Don...

Here's what I do now, after annealing cases in a pan of water for years

For propane, I use the Coleman tanks, cuz they are short and fat, instead of long and skinny - it makes it easy to stand them on the bench with the torch going, so I don't have to hold it.

http://www.idealtruevalue.com/servlet/the-45819/Detail

I use the Bigass Burnzomatic "Jumbo #680" torch head, (not the whimpy #681)

http://www.bernzomatic.com/bernzomatic/consumer/jhtml/detail.jhtml?prodId=BernzoProd100019

I bought short propane bottles and the Jumbo tourch at True Value (No I don't work for them )

Here's how I did it the first time (A), and how I do it now(B).

A - I set the torch bottle on the right side of the bench with the flome pointing to the left. In the middle, I put a large coffee can 1/2 full of water. I use a battery powered screwdrived, with the Hornady case holder in it.

I hold the screw driver in my left hand... OK.

I put a case in the holder, switch on the driver, and hold the case in the flame. If I want to anneal just the neck, I hold the neck in the flame... if I want to anneal the neck AND shoulder (for case forming an Ackley or Gibbs), I hold the neck and shoulder in the flame... in about 10 seconds +/-, the neck (or neck/shoulder) will turn color, a blue-ish color. I let off the switch, the screwdriver stops (immediatly), and I tilt my hand so the case falls neck first in the water, by then I have picked up a new case and put it right in the holder and it starts all over again... it is SOOOooooo fast, compaired to doing it a pan of water... plus, the cases look like factory annealing (like a Lapua case ).

Now - "B"

I spoke to a metalergist who worked for Lake City in the case division., and he said:
"Dummy, do you think we made 1,200,000 cases a day and dropped them in water??? How would we get them dry in time to load them??"

He told me that the water was not necessary, that it came from a "hand over" from the water pan days. He said that I just needed to drop the cases on something (anything) that wouldn't be damaged by the heat, and a short distance so the cases wouldn't be damaged.

I was doubtful at first, but I put temperature paste on the rim/head area of a case, and tried it, and he was right - the neck was annealed fine, but the paste on the head did NOT turn color.

So tried a batch of .22-250, without water, and they were the best I have ever done. I droped them about 6-7" onto a pad made of an old washcloth.

So that's my experence. I might add that there is a fellow that makes an automatic annealing machine, and he doesn't use water either... the machine just drops the cases in a pile.

I'm sure that 20 guys will pipe in and tell you that none of this will work, but this is how I do it and I have been annealing cases for 30 years, and using the Hornady tool for 3 or 4 years.

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