Dissertation & Ideas On Annealing Cartridge Brass.

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  • Wolfhound

    Hired Goon
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    Apr 11, 2011
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    Wow, thanks for sharing all of that. It is a lot of information to try and absorb. Your knowledge of brass cartridges is certainly impressive.
     

    Hohn

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    Jul 5, 2012
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    Density has nothing to do with hardness. Lead is dense and soft. Ceramics are hard and light (low density).

    What determines hardness is the strength of the intermetallic bonds along the microstructure. The 2% Nital Etched micrographs in the OP show the structure and the indentation.

    Heat treat can change hardness because it affects the kind and number of the crystal structure bonds.


    Annealing isn't actually just making something softer. It's returning it to an un-heat-treated condition. It removes all hardness (both heat treat and work hardening) as well as tempering. The idea to annealing is to head to a sufficient temperature to "reset" all the microstructure bonds and let them re-form in their most natural (air cool) condition.

    Such is my understanding as a non-metallurgist Mech Engr.
     

    sloughfoot

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    Apr 17, 2008
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    Incredible detail that in the end, amounts to nothing. I been reloading 223 for years. I keep reloading them until a neck splits or a primer is loose. I have never annealed a single case. Never will. I have to get them reloaded for High Power matches out to 600 yards. I am processing about 3,000 cases at this moment. Many have been loaded 15 times at least. When the neck splits, they get an honorable burial into the 5 gallon recycling bucket.

    I guess you have a lot more time than I do.... I prefer to spend my time on the range.
     
    Last edited:
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    128   0   0
    Jan 28, 2009
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    Incredible detail that in the end, amounts to nothing. I been reloading 223 for years. I keep reloading them until a neck splits or a primer is loose. I have never annealed a single case. Never will. I have to get them reloaded for High Power matches out to 600 yards. I am processing about 3,000 cases at this moment. Many have been loaded 15 times at least. When the neck splits, they get an honorable burial into the 5 gallon recycling bucket.

    I guess you have a lot more time than I do.... I prefer to spend my time on the range.

    :+1::cheers:
     

    Hawkeye7br

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    Jul 9, 2015
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    Terre Haute
    I probably wouldn't anneal 223 either. Its plentiful and cheap. But I load 270 Maximum, 250 Savage Improved, 6 br, 6.5 br, 7 br, 6.5x47 Lapua and periodic annealing seems to improve longevity of expensive brass.
    Jeephammer- is proper annealing a service you provide for customer supplied brass?
     
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