Anyone try salt annealing

[69daytona]

Saw a video on YouTube about it, looks fast and simple and fairly cheap and results look repeatable every time.
Just like to know if anyone has tried it and what your results are.

[Valley-Shooter]

http://ballisticrecreations.ca/ (ballisticrecreations.ca/)

[dragon813gt]

Yes, I tried it. It did not work well. Salt stuck on the cases no matter what I did. The theory seemed great but in practice it didn't produce one useable case. W/ the low cost of annealing machines I see no need to use another cheap method.

[big bore 99]

I get good results just standing up my 45-70 cases in a cake pan filled up with water to the desired depth,then heat them up to just starting to change color. Then just tip them over into the water. A little slow, but I'm retired and have the time.

[robg]

Remember an article about annealing ,hold case by head in finger turn in flame when its to hot to hold its done.must admit I don't anneal cases ,just reload till they split.

[Nueces]

My salt system is inbound. This is a very old and well understood technology and is much better controlled than the manual torch techniques. I expect perfect results after a short spin up, which will include reading the instructions.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

how hot does a case need to get to be annealed, I know how to eyeball it by color, but was wondering if I could do it in the oven inn a pan of water?

[dragon813gt]

how hot does a case need to get to be annealed, I know how to eyeball it by color, but was wondering if I could do it in the oven inn a pan of water?

You can't eye it up. Cartridge cases are made of different metals depending on manufacturer. They will change color at different temps. Some won't change until its way to late. You need to use a product like Tempilaq so you can see when the case has reached the correct temperature.

[country gent]

Annealing is a time + temp job. Deoending on the materials it can occur at as low as 400*. On brass cases heating and quenching works well. Eyeing the color change is harder as the eyes change what they see with the time seeing the bright flame and constant watching. Doing it in a darkened room helps some but eyes still dilate and strain. I have tried lead baths on the necks with a little success, soldering may occur. I'm not sure of the salt as its the salts in corrosive primers that make brass brittle over time. I'm currently using a lead pot with silica sand ( glass making sand very very fine granuales). I bring it to 700* ( measured with a lead thermometer) and insert cases into the sand into a rack that sets spacing and depth. It holds 12 cases and I work around the circle dropping a case and inserting a new one. This gives a very controlled temp and time. It takes about 15 secs to work around the circle. Cases mouths and necks are much softer with a lot less spring back. I also anneal before trimming and chamfering new brass to get a better more consistant finish. On annealed cases I get much less grabbing and chatter.

[therealhitman]

I expect perfect results after a short spin up, which will include reading the instructions.

Wait...you lost me. Reading the what?

[Nueces]

You know, the tech order, the field manual, the hot sheet...

[therealhitman]

Oh, sure...I guess I've seen some girls reading 'em a few times...:kidding:

[Nueces]

Heheh!

[jdfoxinc]

Glass beads for a bead blaster in a PDI controled electric pot would work a treat.

[abunaitoo]

Could you use the lead pot for this?????
Make a cover like the one shown.
PID the lead temp.
Only thing I'm not sure of is if the lead will stick to the brass.

[rmark]

I ended up with lead stuck on the brass when I tried the lead pot.

[bruce drake]

I ended up with lead stuck on the brass when I tried the lead pot.

Same here.

[KenH]

I've got a small pot to use, and PID controller for it. I'd LOVE to try the salt annealing, but need a source for the salt. I emailed the guy, and it's $20 shipping for the $10 box of salt, $30 seems a tad expensive to play around with.

The idea of beads would work, but would need air flow to keep heat even in them. Lead would just tinned to mouth of brass as others have mentioned.

A fun idea to play with.

Ken H>

[Nueces]

I have communicated with Ballistic Recreations about a US source for heat treating salts. He agrees that this source appears to be ideal for use with his system: http://www.hightemptools.com/Salts.html

Scroll down for the "Low Temperature Salts for Heat Treating", $4 per pound in small quantities.

[M-Tecs]

KN03 patasium nitrate also known as saltpeter is what is commonal used. It melts at 633 F.

[dragon813gt]

You can buy pure potassium nitrate on eBay. Everyone should be forewarned about the dangers of this method. If you use the temp in the video that's 932F. I had an incident w/ cases condensing. Molten salt went everywhere. A shield may or may not prevent it from escaping the pot. It didn't in my case. If people want to try it then go for it. But there are safer methods.