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Anneal or not to ANNEAL


I went to my local B &Q store and got the pencil-flame type burner and propane gas bottles. I already had the Tempilaq paint which, for those who do not know, is a temperature sensitive paint and can be purchased from the manufacturer Walters & Walters (tel 01763-245445). Check out the Company’s website for prices and delivery etc. I would also recommend that you also buy the thinners as sometimes the paint can harden up.


The Benchsource booklet recommends using Tempilaq paint rated at 650 degrees Fahrenheit, which will ensure that your cases are not over annealed but I thought I would go with Grant’s suggestion and use 750 dgrees F Tempilaq - painted in the case-mouth and a line painted down from the neck and over the shoulder to about halfway down the case wall (see photos). The article I read on 6mmBR.com stated that the necks should be heated between 750 – 800 degrees F to ensure that they are annealed correctly. To err on the side of caution you may want to follow the machine manufacturer’s recommendation by using 650 degrees F on the neck.


Then I put a line of the pink 375 degrees F paint from halfway down the case to the case-head. This will ensure that the case head does not get too hot - if overheated (above 400 degrees F) you may get disastrous results to ‘life and limb’ as it cannot contain the pressure due to being too soft. The 750 F paint will turn from green to black and you want it to change black to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch just past the shoulder and the 375 F paint should stay the same colour at the case-head but the first 1/4 inch in the middle of the case may change to a reddish colour.


To use the Benchsource machine was simplicity itself. There are a few bits and pieces that need to be assembled and set up but this really only takes a few minutes. As with all things, there are a few rules which should be followed for safety reasons. You must ensure that the gas supply is connected first before connecting to any electrical


power supply as minute amounts of fuel vapour may be present and must be allowed to dissipate prior to any electrical connection to the machine.


Also, never anneal in a room where there is no ventilation as carbon monoxide will be present in the immediate area from the burning of the torches. There are a few more commonsense rules that apply so read the booklet (you can get one as a .pdf download from the Benchsource website). Another one is to get a pair of oven gloves as those cases are bloody hot once they come off the machine. I can assure you that they are and will make your eyes water if you accidentally pick one up.


The only other thing I had to do before getting underway was to buy a three-pin socket adaptor as the plug on the machine is a two-pin type and also to drill out the torch holders to make the existing ½ inch diameter holes wider as the burners I bought were 5/8 inch diameter. I tried every supplier of burners in this area but not one had the ½ inch diameter ones. So I just got a 5/8 inch drill bit and job done as the holders are aluminium but, you may be able to find torches that fit exactly.


Once the gas bottles were fitted and the torches were positioned and aligned with the case spindle and at the correct height, I turned on the electrical power supply as I had previously set the machine up apart from the timer. I lit the gas and adjusted the flames so that the tip of the inner blue pencil flame was midway between the nozzle end and the brass case. Once all looked good and I was not going to set fire to anything in the kitchen, I started the machine and put it onto ‘auto’ and off it went.


I put on a painted test case first to try and find the best timer setting. After starting at about 4 seconds the green 750 F rated tempilaq paint started to turn black but just on the case mouth, so I repositioned


the case back on the turntable (that is why oven gloves are needed!) and increased the timer to 5 seconds. I finally settled on about 5.5 seconds and proceeded to do my first batch of fireformed 284 Shehane cases. I fed the machine and in no time had done the batch


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