No furnace--How do I anneal jackets prior to swaging?

[Ironduke]

Howdy,

I am soon-to-be new swager. I have some stuff coming in the mail from a member here.

Anyway, I don't have a furnace, and I darn sure don't wanna buy one just for this. So I need another method of annealing jackets.

I know I can do it with a simple propane torch, but I also know that consistency = uniformity = accuracy. So my real question is how do I BEST anneal jackets to get repeatable results. I have annealed cases before using the stand-the-case-in-a-pan-of-water method with good results. But cases are much thicker than jackets I'll be using. Also, extending case life is less influential on accuracy than the jacket that actually goes downrange. How do yall anneal jackets? Is there a difference between commercial jackets and spent 22 LR for jackets?

Any help will be appreciated.

[GRUMPA]

Go into the stickys at the top of the swaging section and look for my name, click and I have pictures of what I use. I also use a cast iron skillet with a lid for the 45cals I swage, takes me 1/2hr for those.

[midnight]

I use the "clean cycle" on the electric self-cleaning oven. Others here use their lead melting pot, barbeque grills, Propane torches, etc. I'm sure others will chime in with their methods.

Bob

[Bullshop]

I use a pipe bomb in the wood stove. Lay it on the hot coals 7 minutes on each side. Perfect!

[MUSTANG]

+1 on self clean cycle for electric oven. Go to a Goodwill/etc.. thrift store and get an old baking pan/broiler pan/etc.. to hold the brass while it is in the self clean cycle. You will need to De-Scale the brass afterward.

[fredj338]

The easiest for me is a cheap Lee melting pot w/o the bottom pour spout. The small one will do 100. Put them in, turn to 6, cover with hvy alum foil. 5min, then stir & 5min more, done. All the other methods work to, this is just easier for me.

[ratboy]

i managed to find an electric kiln on craigslist for 60 dollars.

[Gunnut 45/454]

I just use a propane torch.

[warf73]

I just use a propane torch.

Same I torch them, put 100 cases base up heat up the case till it glowes, move on to the next one.

[tbj555]

+ on the Lee bottom pour, it works great and cheap

[midnight]

I like the self-cleaning oven method (except in the summer) but maybe I'll use annealing as an excuse to get the small furnace I really want for heat treating dies and punches I make.

Bob

[rubinschmidt]

I did an overnight treatment in a lee pot with an aluminum foil cover. My IR gun said about 950 degrees. I found they were still harder than about 4 seconds of dull red with a propane torch, and the scale was very spotty, and took longer to clean up.

My preferred method is the propane torch with the case spinning slowly on an electric screwdriver. Then just long enough in a tumbler with stainless steel pins some vinegar and finally a tap water flush

[JimB..]

As most of you know, I don’t know anything but am trying to learn, but the OP is asking about jackets, not about cartridge brass. Do you anneal jackets? I thought not.

[BK7saum]

As most of you know, I don’t know anything but am trying to learn, but the OP is asking about jackets, not about cartridge brass. Do you anneal jackets? I thought not.

It seems that every response listed above referenced jacket annealing and not annealing cartridge case necks. A lot of swagers use brass cases, fully annealed, to swage bullets.

If someone tried to anneal cartidge brass for reloading with any of the above methods, they'd have a kaboom/catastrophic failure of the case from being over annealed. .

[JimB..]

It seems that every response listed above referenced jacket annealing and not annealing cartridge case necks. A lot of swagers use brass cases, fully annealed, to swage bullets.

If someone tried to anneal cartidge brass for reloading with any of the above methods, they'd have a kaboom/catastrophic failure of the case from being over annealed. .

Just to confirm, to swage a bullet with a jacket you must first anneal the jacket? I’m surprised, I thought that jackets were already dead soft.

I’m talking about commercial jackets for swaging vs using cartridge brass as a jacket. Nothing to do with annealing for reloading purposes...all about swaging the bullet.

[country gent]

Annealing is a combination of heat (temp) and time at the heat level. You can anneal brass at 450*-500* but the "soak" time will take the better part of a day. A quick easy way to anneal brass fr swaging into bullets where you want it completely dead soft and all of it not just the neck. Pick up a charcoal lighter tube. Wrap the brass to be annealed in aluminum foil and seal the edges good. Start the charcoal to burning add the brass and more charcoal on top. A day with a nice breeze gives a hotter fire. Now simply walk away and let it burn until its burned out and cooled off. The ashes will insulate slowing the cooling rate more. This can be done in a charcoal grill, even a coffee can with holes drilled around it works. Build the fire add brass and more charcoal let burn until out and cooled.

[PbHurler]

I have never had to anneal commercial, purchased jackets for the specific caliber I'm swaging for when swaging them up. (J4's, or the Corbin brothers')

I do believe annealing a commercial jacket might be of benefit though when making a rebated boat tail. I've had a few "issues" when creating the rebate, pop-throughs of the core, not a well defined step to the rebate etc. This could be attributed to the jacket thickness, the diameter of the core seat punch or my technique. I don't do many rebateds, so I've never really explored annealing for this purpose. FWIW, I'm using Corbin S series dies in a Corbin CSP-1 press.

You can alter the malleability of the bullet upon impact / expansion by annealing the jacket, but I don't bother with it. Now, if I decide to make a bonded core bullet, you'll obviously anneal the jacket while melting the core. (I use a simple flame spreader on a propane torch to do this)

I do notice a little more "copper wash" in the barrel using bondeds, but the accuracy is still there.

Hope this helps

[BT Sniper]

Commercial (copper color) jackets = no annealing necessary

Jackets made from scrap brass cartridges (yellow color) = annealing typically required


Swage on!

BT

[tiger762]

Another nod here for either aluminum foil lined Lee melter or a toaster oven from Goodwill :)

There is an inverse relationship between temperature and duration. You can anneal in a matter of seconds with propane OR let a toaster oven get it done in an hour.