Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Sweetest Annealing Setup EVER

CAUTION: This is a lot like melting lead for casting bullets. Any splashes on your glasses will craze the surface. Any contact with the molten liquid will result in instant 3rd degree burns. Any water introduced into the melting pot will explode. Wear leather gloves, long sleeves, face/eye protection, and maybe a lab apron.

I've tried the candle method, I've tried induction heating, and I've done rifle cases in the flame of my wife's gas range. This is by far the slickest annealing setup I've ever tried. The basic idea is that 60% sodium nitrate and 40% potassium nitrate (by weight) form a eutectic (melts easy) salt with a working range of 500 to 1022 degrees F. Hmmmmm.... the temperature for annealing brass falls right in that range. How convenient!

Equipment and materials used (much of which I already had):

Laboratory "ring stand", $20
Right angle clamp, $5
Burette clamp, $5
Lee lead melter, $35
1 pound each sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate, $20 total.
Thermocouple meter, $20
High temperature thermocouple probe, $20
You can probably substitute a bimetallic grill thermometer, less than $10, for the thermocouple and meter.

Mix 120 grams sodium nitrate with 80 grams potassium nitrate. Put enough in the Lee melter to get the depth you want. Turn on the melter and adjust it so that its on/off range is about 785-825 F, according to the thermocouple meter. The salt mixture will melt to a clear liquid. Don't let it get too close to the 1022 F upper limit.

Dip the mouths of cases for 3 seconds, then drop the case in a pan of water that is safely isolated from the melter. If you drop a case in the molten salt, discard it. Remove cases from the water, shake out, and let dry on a paper towel. Let the brass sit for 24-48 hours. You'd be surprised how long little water bubbles can persist inside a bottleneck case.

I did a batch of 5.56 in very short order, and then tried it on a few 9mm. It was slick and fast. I had been getting a few 9mm case splits, even on factory ammo, and getting a system that would anneal such small cases frustrated me for a long time.

When you put the mouth of the case in the molten salt, you'll see a white crust form for just a second, as the brass warms. That will disappear when the brass reaches 500 F. Another couple of seconds past that, and the immersed brass is annealed. From the literature, 3 seconds at 800 F seems about right.

You'll sometimes see small drops of clear molten salt hitching a ride on the brass after annealing. It's easy to forget that it's not water. Be careful!



Left: Meter
Center: Melter and business end of the thermocouple probe
Right: Water bath, moved in close for photo

Are you holding the cases in your fingers so that you can still get that nice burn that comes with the candle method?

Not again.

That is a sweet set up, thanks for sharing.
Would you mind explaining the water dunk vs air cool?

That is my answer for many things.

tag

tag

You got a lotta nerve starting a thread on the "hunters campfire" about a hunting/shooting related topic.

The mouth of the case is brought to 800 F, but you have to take care that the head doesn't get anywhere near that hot. The head has to remain work hardened, else cases will stick and primers will fall out.

This method transfers so much heat, so fast, to the mouth that the head might not be in any danger of being annealed. But it's traditional to water quench brass.

Unlike steel, brass does not harden on quenching. It just stops the annealing.

tag

Appreciated.

tag

I know right???!!

God forbid have to step away from sean hannity's mug for 5 seconds. Or worse, might miss a stupid ass hummingbird visiting the feeder.

A man's answer.