anealing aluminum gas checks

[porthos]

annealing copper checks for the first time inside a pipe. would i anneal aluminum checks the same way. charcoal under and over the pipe for a couple hours?? might not be necessary; but, i like the idea of eaiser sizing and possible better adhesion.

[rcslotcar]

Interesting, have you recovered any bullets t see what they look like?

[gwpercle]

Heat the copper up to a dull red , in dim light not bright light and then let it cool down slowly or drop it in water...either way it will be dead soft . Don't burn the copper... 2 hours @ dull red will make it a crispy critter . As soon as the color goes dull red it's done.
Be aware that newly annealed copper is incredibly soft so be careful not to deform the check .

I have annealed copper washers for plumbing lines so they would seal better but I've never found the need to anneal gas checks .

I don't know about annealing aluminum .

Let us know how all this works out .
Gary

[35 shooter]

Not true annealing, but I heat my homemade al. Checks for 1 hr. @ 500-550 ( that’s as hot as my oven goes)and let cool. True annealing takes much more heat, but they go on tight and stay there after my heat treating in the oven. Can’t get them off with my fingernails.... better groups too.

[Bookworm]

I regularly anneal copper checks - usually I just lay them out on a piece of thick ceramic tile and go over them with a propane torch. I can anneal several hundred in 10 minutes or so.

Annealing really makes a difference in seating/sizing the checked boolit. Since starting annealing, I haven't had a problem with checks falling off.

I've never tried annealing aluminum checks - I've just recently started using them.

[Bloodman14]

Long story short, I learned to throw a bunch of gaschecks that I made from aluminum flashing into a cast iron pot, throw in a handful of pine shavings (animal/pet bedding), and when the shavings auto-ignite, let it burn off. The checks have the paint (powdercoat?) burned off, and are nice and soft to work with. Groups improved as well.

[Bookworm]

Bloodman, thanks for the report. I'm going to try this myself.

When I read that the shavings/whatnot "auto ignite", it sounds like you have the pot on a burner?

[popper]

https://www.tinmantech.com/education/articles/aluminum-alloys-annealing.php
Looks like the Cu GC technique works with Al also, but heat for a short time. As pop can material is deep drawn, suspect it has been annealed pretty well, may not need more? Rolled sheet most likely hasn't. Like Cu, you don't want it too soft. Cu turns silvery when at the proper temp (short time) - Al doesn't change color. Both oxidize easily so the pipe in the pot method is probably the best - with tissue addded to use up O2.

[fcvan]

I take the strips of aluminum, cut to size with an HF Paper Cutter, about 10 at a time, and immerse them in my lead pot. They heat quickly and any lead that sticks really doesn't, you can just wipe them off. They get soft quickly. I never felt the need to anneal plain based check material, just the Amerimax flashing for regular checks.