Annealing?

[Hound]

I just got a Girard Annealer. I have been reading/researching to come up with the best process. Some say to just let the hot brass fall and cool normally others use water to keep the heat from going to the end. I am new to this and wanted to tap into the great knowledge base here. Any other tip/tricks are appreciated. I do already have the temperature paint. And hey, this seemed like a great 1000th post.

[King]

I think Hoser has some pretty good insight on this

[Tim K]

If your paint shows the head is not getting overheated, there's no reason to water quench. That said, when I anneal my own brass (I usually have a friend with a Giraud do it) I dump them in water just to be extra safe. It's dumb, but it doesn't hurt anything, and since the next step for me is wet cleaning the brass getting it wet causes no delay.

Enjoy your new tool. I'm jealous.

[Hoser]

Just let the brass fall. No need to drop in water. Then you have to dry them. Brass, unlike steel, does not respond to quenching.

I set my Giraud on a 20mm ammo can and drop the brass in a 50 caliber can.

Get a long set of hemostats to handle brass with.

I run 750 Tempilaq in the inside and outside of the neck and the 450 down the whole case. When you get the neck to the right temp you wont get much change on the 450 zone below about 1/3 of the way down. The big calibers like 338 and 50 take more time. 243-308 sized cases work good about 6-8 seconds in the flame. Below is a pic of 338 brass in my reloader and 243 CM compared to a virgin factory 308 Lapua. While pretty colors are nice and look cool, dont use color as a gauge.

I aim the tip of the flame about mid shoulder to the shoulder/body junction. That gets me an annealed shoulder and neck.

I dont load the hopper up more than about 1/2 way. Other wise the pressure slows down the motor and your times will change over the course of a batch. Below is a pic of about the max I load it up to. Have 3-4 sacrificial pieces of brass to play with. Adjust times while the hopper is loaded up.

[Zombie Steve]

To me, far prettier than shiny brass. I use a friend's Giraud... really nice setup.

I don't water quench.

[Hound]

Thanks for the input, I knew it would be good.

[SamuraiCO]

Reshape and trim cases first then anneal?

[C Ward]

No , annealing changes the neck dimensions , sizing needs to be done after annealing

[SamuraiCO]

Thought it may. Just wanted to make sure before I start my .308 test loads. On to Home Depot for.a torch.