Salt bath annealing....

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golfindia
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Salt bath annealing....

Post by golfindia »

I've never seen a discussion of it here.

Seems like the AMP annealing write up back in May stirred the pot a little.....

https://www.ampannealing.com/articles/5 ... -it-work-/

I do it with a cheap DIY setup using a PID controller and it seems like it helps some brass last longer (35 whelen, 7mmTCU...). I've never done it to 300blk, too lazy. I've also never done a bigger sample accuracy test. Maybe I should Or maybe someone else already has....

So this thread is to discuss the merits of salt bath annealing. Or figure out if it's a useless waste of time.
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rebel
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Re: Salt bath annealing....

Post by rebel »

I've never tried it golf, but I've read pros and cons of the process. This would be a con - http://forum.accurateshooter.com/thread ... n.3805794/
Seems you really have to be careful with your barrel cleaning process.
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golfindia
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Re: Salt bath annealing....

Post by golfindia »

Not nitriding bbls.

Annealing the necks of brass cases in molten salt. Akin to the methodology outlined here:

https://forum.snipershide.com/threads/p ... s.6930925/
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dellet
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Re: Salt bath annealing....

Post by dellet »

Have never used the salt bath, never compared for accuracy.

What I have done is use the casting pot and lead. Generally I am annealing very old brass, forming extreme cases or cases that are considered basic. New “basic” cases are not formed to final shape and are not annealed at all. They tend to split forming shoulders, or on first firing if not annealed.

Using the lead I can control the temp, but as pointed out in the Amp article, trial and error for length of time at temp can be an issue. My method is a bit different in that I leave a spent primer in and flux the case to help keep the lead from sticking on the case, maybe it makes a difference.

My guess is that there have been a lot of people in the last few months checking the harness of there brass. I think what will most likely come out of this more sales for hardness checkers for reloaders to buy and more arguments over what hardness certain neck thickness needs.

I will say without a doubt that the method does work to a certain extent because a 20% failure on forming and first firing is reduced to 0. Whether I am reaching the perfect hardness is waiting for me to be able to shoot well enough to actually test and see the difference.
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rebel
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Re: Salt bath annealing....

Post by rebel »

golfindia wrote: Mon Jul 29, 2019 9:55 pm Not nitriding bbls.

Annealing the necks of brass cases in molten salt. Akin to the methodology outlined here:

https://forum.snipershide.com/threads/p ... s.6930925/
My bad, here is a better link -http://forum.accurateshooter.com/thread ... s.3957016/
Dang - 1000 degree salt vs. my clumsiness.... :cry:
You can't beat the mountain, pilgrim. Mountains got its own way.
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plant.one
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Re: Salt bath annealing....

Post by plant.one »

i'll stick with my annealeeze thanks.

it may sound like something that belongs on the night stand in some crusty trailer park, but it does make for easy crispy brass :mrgreen:
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SwampDog_13
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Re: Salt bath annealing....

Post by SwampDog_13 »

It's really hard to consider the study unbiased given the source, you know, having a dog in the fight and all.

But I believe I will stick to my flame annealing, mostly just because I'm a pyro at heart.
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Re: Salt bath annealing....

Post by Boolit_Head »

I've tried it but did not get near the visual marks that ampanealing shows. Jury is still out on my results.
golfindia
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Re: Salt bath annealing....

Post by golfindia »

What temperature and for how long?

I'm doing 900F for 5 seconds. I've never found conclusive information on what the right temperature I might drop it down to 850F. ....

I'm not even sure I buy the claim that VH correlates to annealing benefits. Lots of other factors involved.

https://ballisticrecreations.ca/wp-cont ... tation.pdf
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SwampDog_13
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Re: Salt bath annealing....

Post by SwampDog_13 »

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15arPG5 ... ckXwf_WsN4

Another study where salt bath annealing is compared to flame annealing.
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