Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Tempilaq and annealing

Been using the candle method for years but want to try using the torch / socket / drill method. I have 750 degree, green Tempilaq to get a baseline time.

Question: where should I paint the Tempilaq? Inside the neck? Outside the neck? Just below the shoulder on the case body?

What am I looking for, the Tempilaq to cook off?

Heres what I use. It does good for me. YMMV.
https://www.cartridgeanneal.com/

This is what I use as well. Works for me.

Inside the neck

Inside the neck and watch for it to change color/ melt.

How did you arrive at 750 for a temperature? -Al

a lot of the research I've done when I first started annealing indicated putting the 750 on the inside of the neck and leaving brass in the flame for about 1 second after the tempilaq disappeared.

👍 That has been my method also.

There's a big difference between 'annealing' at 750 with a slower method versus a method (like induction) that reaches 750 quickly.

Good shootin' -Al

That looks interesting. If the socket / drill method doesn't work out I may look into that. I am tired of the candle method when I have to do a bunch of cases.

I got an Anneal-Rite a number of years ago, for that reason. It works well, but of course takes a little longer to "set up" than lighting a candle....
"

But, but, but, the candle method is the Sacred Cow on this forum. Lol.

You'll get tired of messing with the tempilac in the drill and socket too. Ya gotta put it inside every case neck, you gotta wait for it to dry, and you probably should brush out the residue afterwards.

Just build one of these, cheap, and easy.



Much better uniformity and much easier to set up and use.

As far as the tempilac is concerned you don't really need it with something like that in the youtube. An orange flame starting off of the case neck is the zinc in the brass starting to burn off (easier seen in a darkened room). That's too hot. Back off your time in the flame by increasing the rotation speed and getting the case to drop a second or two before the orange flame first starts. That'll be around 740 or 750 degrees and it will be a good consistent anneal from case to case.

Actually after about 5 cases with the Tempilac you figure out the timing and it is relatively quick. Not for doing 500 cases at a time but for lots of 50-100 it works well enough.

My persective is from 100 to 120 cases a month for matches and 200 to 400 a month more for practice between matches. I'd rather get the boring jobs over quicker and easier. Besides I want the assurance of a mechanical aid for consistency.

And I can certainly understand that and if I was still competing that would be the way to go but for most of the rest of us a propane torch and some Tempilac gets the job done.👍

That's also the reason I've kept my Anneal-Rite, even after experimenting a lot with various annealing methods back when I was shooting around 8000 rounds a year for various purposes, including an AMP machine--which worked very well once the timing was down right for the particular batch of brass.

But after starting my semi-retirement process five years ago the Anneal-Rite soon became sufficient.

JB, do you Tempilaq a couple of cases and time them and just go by time fir the rest of the batch? Anneal Rite instructions indicate marking all the cases, I think.

Yep, that's exactly what I do--despite the directions, and the results are very good.

propane torch and my fingers. i'll know when the case is hot enuff from my fingers.

It's the method I have been using. It's damned slow and not very accurate. But, it does anneal cases. If I were doing 8000 cases a year I'd want a better method.

kwg