and was well pleased with the results. The great thing about the Benchsource machine is that once the case indexes into the flame and is stationary the case is rotated rapidly by a spindle so gets heated evenly. Other types of annealing machines do not have this feature I believe.
Once the cases index out of the flame they drop down through a machined slot on the top plate so it is necessary to have something to catch the hot brass. I just use a mid-sized pan and put a damp dish cloth over it so the cases drop softly into the pan to cool down for ten minutes or so. Once they are cooled I give them a once-over and you can see that the neck has turned a deep golden colour and there is a light bluish mark just below the shoulder, so job done.
One thing about annealing is that if your case mouth/ shoulder does not reach the required temperature then you have just wasted time and gas and the structure of the brass has not changed one bit. However, it does not take very much to over-anneal so be careful. Again, make sure that your case head does not go over 375 – 400 degrees F or you will be in serious trouble.
I now anneal my cases after each firing as I sometimes do not use all of the rounds in that batch on the same competition so, for simplicity, it is easier to anneal each time. My routine is to clean the cases thoroughly then anneal. Apparently, if you don’t, the carbon inside the case mouth and around the neck may harden with the heat and could be a bugger to remove.
I then resize and de-prime the cases. I know that the instructions say to remove the primers for safety, but if they have gone bang, then there shouldn’t be an issue but it’s your choice of course but just make sure that the primer is spent. The only downside, if you want to call it that, is if you have a proud/cratered primer, the case may wobble slightly on the rotating spindle and not give even heating of the case mouth. Another tip - if you re-size your brass before annealing, the heat may affect the sizing process, so you may have to re-size them again.
So, was buying a machine worth it? Well here is my twopenn’th. After checking some of my old plotting sheets for vertical pre annealing and post annealing, then undoubtedly, yes, I would recommend doing it. But as the saying goes, you pays your money and you takes your choice! You can anneal by hand of course using a hand drill to rotate the case and a single gas
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06-09.pmd 1 AVAILABLE FROM GUNSHOPS 23/06/2009, 08:35
torch or even use an induction type of annealer but, whatever you do, do not just put them on a tray and pop them in the oven at gas mark 7 because when you pull that trigger, it may be the last thing you do before going through the Pearly Gates in a sheet of flame and flying bits of metal!
Out of all the annealing machines I checked out I think that the Benchsource is the best one on the market (and no, I am not flogging them or getting brown envelopes stuffed full of dollars by that company for any recommendation) - just a very good machine that’s all.
The only thing left to do now to obtain the ultimate in accuracy is to cut the granules of my powder choice H4831SC in half to get the charge weight spot-on and also to weigh my primers. But I won’t………I’d rather go to the pub instead. Good shooting!
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