Post by davet on Jul 10, 2016 14:16:44 GMT -5
So, don't let someone who doesn't pay attention to the details anneal your brass. A fellow shooter recently acquired a new annealing machine and was telling me how well and how fast it worked. He invited me to bring over my (most precious to me) benchrest Lapua 6.5x55 brass that I load and shoot to 1,000 yards. I usually anneal these one at a time with my small battery charged screw driver, but I knew the machine he had and I figured I would be there. Then.....circumstances were that my brass got there without me and he "did me a favor" and annealed all 100 pcs of my brass for me. 
Yeah, I wasn't there to oversee this....and I know this guy isn't the best at paying attention to details.
So, here is what 6.5 brass looks like after being shot, and sized with a Lee Collet die and not annealed
And here is what 6.5 brass looks like after being "over-annealed" and Lee Collet sized. Scrap marks on the neck...and "rough" to size.
And finally.....here is what more than 50% of the pcs did when attempting to be sized by the Lee Collet. Yes, I did clean the die. Yes, I did dab grease on the die. Yes, the die was in perfect working order. How do I know this? Because I sized 25 pcs of my 6.5 brass that I use for my 100 year old Mauser and not one problem with those pcs. Plus I did the "crush test" & all annealed pcs failed. So, now I'm "out" essentially $90 plus shipping. But....here's what happens to the brass
As you can see when the neck just begins to enter the Lee Collet die the brass is so soft it "pushes" down and then becomes so thick that the brass can no longer enter the die. Then the rest of the neck and shoulder is so soft it just collapse's inward. There is really no "feel" or hard push to this, except you can "feel" something is not right when this occurs.
So.....careful when you anneal. And never let someone else do this "for you."
Yeah, I wasn't there to oversee this....and I know this guy isn't the best at paying attention to details. So, here is what 6.5 brass looks like after being shot, and sized with a Lee Collet die and not annealed
And here is what 6.5 brass looks like after being "over-annealed" and Lee Collet sized. Scrap marks on the neck...and "rough" to size.
And finally.....here is what more than 50% of the pcs did when attempting to be sized by the Lee Collet. Yes, I did clean the die. Yes, I did dab grease on the die. Yes, the die was in perfect working order. How do I know this? Because I sized 25 pcs of my 6.5 brass that I use for my 100 year old Mauser and not one problem with those pcs. Plus I did the "crush test" & all annealed pcs failed. So, now I'm "out" essentially $90 plus shipping. But....here's what happens to the brass
As you can see when the neck just begins to enter the Lee Collet die the brass is so soft it "pushes" down and then becomes so thick that the brass can no longer enter the die. Then the rest of the neck and shoulder is so soft it just collapse's inward. There is really no "feel" or hard push to this, except you can "feel" something is not right when this occurs.
So.....careful when you anneal. And never let someone else do this "for you."
