Panda Posted February 21, 2016 Report Share Posted February 21, 2016 Hi fellow shooters. As the title says, I have a query on annealing. Specifically should the brass be quenched after going through the annealing procedure? I have seen several you tube videos and some seem to do it while others don't. I have no knowledge of metallurgy, however I did have a friend who worked with metal his whole life who told me that to soften brass it needed to be quenched after heating to finish the process unlike other metals which would be hardened by quenching. I only ask as I'm considering investing in an annealing machine and I'm confused to what I should do if I do purchase one. I look forward to hearing any views on this people may have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elwood Posted February 21, 2016 Report Share Posted February 21, 2016 Absolutely 100% does NOT need to be quenched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John MH Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FGYT Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Brass does not harden on Quench But it is a good way of stopping the heat traveling down the case to far I will be doing a small batch with my hand torch to will drop in water to stop the travel once the neck and shoulders are at temperature annealing machines i think you can set up to get the exact heat and time right to not need the quench Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That bald headed Geordie Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Quenching in water is not needed as when the neck reaches the required annealing temp of 750f or thereabouts, the base of the case usually will not exceed 450f and is not softened at all and maintains its original hardness. As soon as the case is annealed and removed from the flame the temperature immediately falls and annealing ceases. Therefore dropping the case into water is just another pointless step in the process and delays the next step of resizing and further case prep. If you put Tempilaq paint on the neck/inside the neck using 750f and put the 450f paint (pink) from half way down the brass to the headstamp you can check to see how far the heat travels. The headstamp does not heat up above the annealing temp of 650f or anywhere near it, so no need for quenching. But if it makes you feel good, then do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.T. Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 As above - no need whatsoever, and it would just seem to add to the work. In fact, I was annealing some 7-270WSM necks last night and they were cool enough to touch within no time (a minute or so). Takes a leap of faith mind you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyw Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Alan-i have one of Barrys [gunnery] annealers works spot on -i dont quench the cases just let them fall onto a towel.they can be handled within minutes. go on you know you want one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSC Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 I've seen discussions like this on other forums talking about annealing sheet brass used on vintage car panels or for other uses such as pipes, valves etc. Some swore quenching was necessary and others said it made no difference. I think the reason for the differing opinions is because there are many different types of brass being made. Cartridge case brass is usually composed of 70% copper and 30% zinc, which makes it the most ductile of this particular alloy, but there are other brasses for different application with all sorts of different proportions of Cu/Zn and additions of other metals like Tin, Aluminium, Lead etc., which will have differing properties and may need heating to a higher temperature and cooling faster to make it workable. It may be true that for certain types of brass quenching is recommended, but for cartridge case brass it doesn't seem to matter. That might explain why someone who works with metals in a different field will give you a different answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panda Posted February 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Many thanks to everyone that responded. It has answered a question that's been nagging me for some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panda Posted February 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Many thanks to everyone that responded. It has answered a question that's been nagging me for some time. I've seen discussions like this on other forums talking about annealing sheet brass used on vintage car panels or for other uses such as pipes, valves etc. Some swore quenching was necessary and others said it made no difference. I think the reason for the differing opinions is because there are many different types of brass being made. Cartridge case brass is usually composed of 70% copper and 30% zinc, which makes it the most ductile of this particular alloy, but there are other brasses for different application with all sorts of different proportions of Cu/Zn and additions of other metals like Tin, Aluminium, Lead etc., which will have differing properties and may need heating to a higher temperature and cooling faster to make it workable. It may be true that for certain types of brass quenching is recommended, but for cartridge case brass it doesn't seem to matter. That might explain why someone who works with metals in a different field will give you a different answer. Thanks for the comprehensive explanation JSC. It's much appreciated and, as you say that would explain what I had been told. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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