How Do I Anneal A Batch Of .40 S&W to 750-Degrees Reliably?

[Liberty1776]

take an empty lead pot, fill it half full of brass, turn it on and when the brass is glowing turn it off and dump it out. does about 20 or so big calibers and a crap ton of 22's, its not as fast as a dedicated kiln but it works.

This, I can do. I have two lead pots. Thanks.

[notenoughguns]

I use a hot plate or an old electric stove burner ( flat element style ) and heat till glowing red . I make 45 and .458 with the same case but I put the core in first and fuse it to the jacket ( of course my cases don't glow red ) . I swag my up and you sage yours down only difference .

[Wayne Smith]

I bought a 6" section of pipe threaded on each end, ends to screw on, and filled it with 40 S&W brass and dropped it in my firepit when the fire was going. Worked fine. BTW - trim to length prior to annealing - they are way too soft to cut well after.

[para45lda]

I used an old coffee can. Put it on my grill and shut the lid. I would also suggest a thermometer and a timer as well.

Mine came out dead soft. Cleaned up with lemi-shine and dawn

Good luck!!

Wes

[444ttd]

i don't make jacketed bullets, but here's a suggestion.....

https://www.marlinowners.com/threads...reloads.85261/

[wilecoyote]

...thanks!
go figure if F.M.hadn't already taken care of it ...

[rbuck351]

I just put them into a lead melting pot and put them in the wood stove for a while and they come out dead soft. You could put the pot full of brass in a camp fire and when they glow a light red in low light they are done.

[Liberty1776]

I just put them into a lead melting pot and put them in the wood stove for a while and they come out dead soft. You could put the pot full of brass in a camp fire and when they glow a light red in low light they are done.

Sounds like the perfect project for an evening. I have a nice fire pit I could get going. And I have a selection of cast iron pots for lead melting.

So what if it's 108 at 9:45 PM in Arizona? I could float in the pool with an appropriate beverage, and watch the fire. Good idea.

[Intel6]

Just to add to this thread. I anneal my cases to make bullets by setting them mouth down on a paving brick (I use the 50 rd plastic trays) and then hit them with a weed burning torch until they start to glow red. They can end up scaly but since I wet clean with pins it doesn't matter. This way I can get lots of cases done quickly and I know they are nice and soft.

Some pictures since they are always good.


I make .40 bullets out of 9mm cases mainly for my 10mm's and .44 Mag bullets out of .40 cases.

In the pic below L to R:

300 gr. JHP for the .44 mag made out of a 10mm case with dual cannelures for loading long in my Redhawk.

250 gr. JHP for .44 Mag made from .40 case with cannelure for loading long.

210 gr. softpoint with cannelure for loading long in my 10mm revolver.

195 gr. JHP with dual cannelures.





I also make .458" bullets for my .458 SOCOM from .45 ACP cases and cut down .308 cases.

Below is a 350 gr. JHP made from a .45 ACP case with cannelure and the same loaded in a SOCOM case.





Here is a 405 gr. JHP with cannelure made from a cut down .308 case and the loaded round.





I have also made lighter weight .458" bullets using the same .40 case and bullet I use for the 250 gr. .44 mag bullets but swaging them in the .458" dies resulting in .458" 250 gr. JHP bullets (using a large HP pin). I then size them down in Lee push through dies and cannelure them for loading in .45 ACP/AR and .45 Colt.

You can see a moon clip of the .250 gr. JHP's with my 1955 Target.

[1hole]

Case heads are the weak point of our ammo. Cases are factory made/tempered to have hard, strong heads that can be expected to safely resist and support the immense pressures of firing.

ONLY the case mouth should be annealed, and that not to exceed about 1/8" or less. Heating brass to any visible red glow is overheating. Overheating makes the metal dead soft and destroys "spring back" so all meaningful bullet grip is lost.

Dead soft cases cannot be re-hardened; they should be discarded or used for swagged bullet jackets.

[Mk42gunner]

I've been kind of interested in using cases for bullet jackets since I read about it; in a "Gee that's neat, but I'll probably never do it" mindset.

Just what kind of accuracy are these home swaged projectiles capable of? Comparable to run of the mill factory, or match grade?

Robert

[Liberty1776]

I've been kind of interested in using cases for bullet jackets since I read about it; in a "Gee that's neat, but I'll probably never do it" mindset.

Just what kind of accuracy are these home swaged projectiles capable of? Comparable to run of the mill factory, or match grade?

Robert

No idea of accuracy yet. I freaked myself out by not knowing if I had annealed the cases enough not to harm my Marlin's rifling. I only shot a few.

I intend, just to be safe, to melt my supply down and start over.


This time, I want really soft, fully annealed brass cases for sure this time, which is why I asked the question.

[Mk42gunner]

Thanks for the in progress answer.

I like the detailed info on your storage jar.

My thoughts on the jacket hardness are that I would compare the home swaged brass hardness against a store bought gilding metal jacket, before I made a lot of maybe unnecessary work for myself. Almost any way you look at it, a brass compound is going to be softer than steel.

Robert

[a.squibload]

I read in Castboolits somewhere about the zinc in the brass giving it a lubricity with steel,
probably slides better than copper down the bore.
Propane torch method is easy and cheap, just don't overheat the brass or it can melt!
Barely glowing makes 'em soft for swaging.

PS: Intel6, looks like you have this down to an art form! Very nice.

[OldBearHair]

Blacksmith tricks::: 1. put a small shiny piece of steel in with the brass and begin to heat. The steel begins to turn different colors. When it starts turning purple and reaches deep purple, the temperature is approximately 650 degrees. 2. In a dark room heat the brass until you can barely see it becoming red and that is approximately 900 degrees. Google it to make sure I am giving it to you straight up and not marred by brain fog. LOL

[OldBearHair]

https://www.anvilfire.com/21st-centu...temper-colors/ Bill

[Liberty1776]

Just to show a method I actually tried, based on suggestions by a.squibload and Sasquatch-1 at https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...=1#post5218008

25 framing nails shot through a piece of plywood.
Set the shells on the nails.
Turn off lights.
Heat with torch to glowing. (I'm probably overheating them in the picture, but you get the idea)
Allow to air cool.




Post-anneal

[a.squibload]

Looks good, now u can make em purty in a short citric acid soak and
a ride in the tumbler.

[Liberty1776]

Looks good, now u can make em purty in a short citric acid soak and
a ride in the tumbler.

Yep. Wet tumbled with Dawn and Lemi Shine.

Finished product:



Will load them up soon.