Anealing Gaschecks

[Ron in PA]

How do you Aneal Gaschecks, air cool or water Quenched. Thanks Ron

[BABore]

I use a 2" pipe nipple with end caps. Pour them in and put it in the coals of a fireplace, woodstove, or grill for a couple of hours. I just leave mine air cool. You can cool or quench them in water, but it makes no difference to the process, just saves cooling time. I also occasionally put a couple chunks of TP in with the checks. It burns up and consumes any O2 so the checks stay shiney.

[Bass Ackward]

Yep. I have gone to BAs method as I am lazy and can go off and do other things. :grin:

[felix]

The very best way is to enclose them in a steel pipe with some toilet paper, which serves to absorb the oxygen when the paper starts to burn. This burning steals the oxygen from oxidizing the checks. Thread the pipe and cap on both ends. Next time you BBQ, just lay the pipe across the coals, and when cool, the next day?, then the checks are ready to use. ... felix

[Char-Gar]

I have a glass toped electric kitchen range and just spread them out on the burner and turn it on high. I leave them for about an hour and turn the burner off and let the checks cool. That is it.

[abunaitoo]

I've never anealed my checks, but would like to try it. How hot do you need to get them?????
I was thinking of putting them on a metal pan in the toasted oven. Any suggestions on how hot and for how long????
Pipe method sounds easy, but no fire place and don't BBQ all the often.

[MT Gianni]

You can put them in a pipe like felix suggested and leave it in your mix for a casting session if your pot is big enough. An hour is enough, pull it with pliers and allow to cool. A 1"x3" pipe nipple capped both ends holds a lot of checks. Gianni.

[Nightfisher]

Does it realy help that much to aneal the gas checks?

Nightfisher

[Bass Ackward]

Does it realy help that much to aneal the gas checks?

Nightfisher


Yes and no.

If you have a caliber that needs sized down like 45 caliber pistol, you will probably get a good enough grip. If you have a 45 caliber rifle and are sizing .460, yea big time. And if you want to run top velocities, a softer check can get a stronger bite into the bullet shank to help with rotation. So the answer isn't simple, but why have any springback at all if you don't have to?

[44man]

I don't need to anneal with my hard alloy but with WW metal which is not as accurate in my guns, an annealed check doubles the accuracy. Who knows? I sure don't.

[Nightfisher]

Always learning something new here. Thank you.

Nightfisher

[Little Joe]

I dont understand about this.

Why would you do this?

Better to heat the checks up before use?

Out of here for now,

Litle Joe

[canuck4570]

very good but what happens if I aneale my gaz check than put them on my bullet but I heat threat the bullets wont the gaz check go hard again by the quenching process.....

[Diamond-City-Bob]

wont the gaz check go hard again by the quenching process.....
Copper unlike steel, work hardens, but when quenched after being heated softens.

[canuck4570]

well... just learn something.... thanks

[medic44]

Diamond-City-Bob is right copper softens w/ heat. It doesn't matter if you cool it fast or not. Work hardening is the only way to harden copper. The closer you can get the copper to "cherry red" the softer it gets.

[DLCTEX]

Night fisher, in case it is not clear, the reason we aneal gas checks is to prevent spring back when the check is applied so that the chack remains tightly gripped onto the base of the boolit. Uniformity = accuracy. If some lose their checks, we lose uniformity, plus flying checks can damage chronographs. DALE

[leftiye]

Dale, Thanks for clearing that up, that was the question in my mind too. I knew full well that softer checks no way were going to grip tighter. Hadn't thought of spring back, though.

[anachronism]

My method is pretty simple. I lay a single layer of gaschecks in an old LEE bullet pan lubing tray. It's just a cheap piece of thin stamped sheet metal. Then I heat the checks from the top with a propane torch making sure each one glows red hot at least briefly. I set the pan on the bare cement floor in the garage until cooled. And we're done. If I get a lot of black deposits on the checks from heating (scale), I'll tumble them before using. The annealed gaschecks fit my bullet bases so perfectly that it looks like they were cast with the bullet. This one step alone must have cut my groups with some guns in half.

[montana_charlie]

I've never anealed my checks, but would like to try it. How hot do you need to get them?????
My Daddy taught me that hot checks were someting to avoid...