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45 Colt case anealing


Jailhouse Jim, SASS #13104

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Big thank you to Colorado Coffinmaker for suggesting anealing 45 Colt cases to limit blow-by in a rifle. 

 

Finally got off my butt and did 120 cases for a test today at the Lazy Arrow.  There was hardly any blow-by into the action so I deem this a complete success.

 

Thanks again.

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The AMP annealing unit from Australia  (available here in the US from Brownells and Graffs) has a case insert for 45 Colt.  I have one but haven't done any 45 Colt yet with it.  Amazing piece of equipment.  Sold my Bench Source annealer to help buy this one.

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Wow! That Amp unit is $1400!!! I'm sure it's great, but probably wouldn't put that money into one. Kinda looks like Bench Source when it comes time to pull the trigger.

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18 minutes ago, Max Payne said:

Wow! That Amp unit is $1400!!! I'm sure it's great, but probably wouldn't put that money into one. Kinda looks like Bench Source when it comes time to pull the trigger.

 

FOr that money I could make 10.

 

Couple of inexpensive DIY case annealing machines that work well.

 

 

I built this one

 

 

 

 

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The difference between the AMP and the others is ABSOLUTE temperature and time control determined for the exact case you are using. I had good luck with my Bench Source for years but it wasn't really perfect. The AMP annealing is done by induction, not by a variable flame. It just depends on how particular you are about your reloading procedures. For precision long range like I shoot everything matters. 

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19 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

I just don't see what the point to it all is.

My point is to reduce BP fouling in my rifle's action so I don't have to strip it down after each event.  The cases seal way better with my action being at least 90% cleaner after six stages.  

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Seems like everyone is building their own annealing mashine.  

 

 

This guy says around $100 in parts.   I think I've found the link to the post on the AR15 forum for the details but thereare so many I'm not sure. 

 

https://www.ar15.com/forums/armory/-/42-434088/&r=4313939&qte=1

 

Looks good but I've not seen one that is demonstrated using it on rimmed pistol cases.  I don't know how well say a 44WCF case would feed.

 

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The whole idea for us is to have Straight Wall Pistol Cases that will seal the chamber in Rifles.  A fellow shooter Suggested (Brow Beat) me into trying it for 45 Colt cases.  It works so well I jumped on the bandwagon.  I shoot 6 different .45 Rifles (4 Henry) and since I started annealing my cases (45 Colt, 45 Schofield and C45S, those rifles have gone 5 or 6 matches, shooting BP and APP without the need to pull the Carrier Block.  Wet Patch through the bore only.  Really well worth the effort.  Rifles run as clean if not cleaner than a 44-40

 

Hope this helps H. K.

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Yup, I've seen Coffinmakers rifles after 6 stages of shooting APP.

They look cleaner than a rifle shooting only a few rounds of smokeless.

I shoot a 44-40 & a 38 with real black powder.

I'm going to anneal some 357s over Winter, and use them next year in my 73.

Looking forward to using real black in my 38 rifles

--Dawg

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3 hours ago, Warden Callaway said:

Looks good but I've not seen one that is demonstrated using it on rimmed pistol cases.  I don't know how well say a 44WCF case would feed.

 

 

Rimmed rifle cartridges work well with no modifications. I haven't done pistol cases yet but I am planning to do about a thousand 44 WCF over Christmas break. If I run into any issues, I plan to insert a spacer inside the drum that will support the case body and allow it to roll with less tilt.  

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I built the one Elfster has on youtube. Works pretty well. 

 

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On the Elfster annealing machine, you do need to cut the rotating pan's sides to a depth that works with the case you are annealing. You also need to space the case stop away from the bottom of the rotating pan so that it makes space for the rim. Elfster used it for .223 brass I think so there was no rim to deal with.  I also found I needed to shim the front of the case about 1/4 inch to tip it back a bit so the shorter cases would fall and orient properly.  I do get an occasional (1/50) that won't align and falls out without being annealed, so you need to catch them and re run them. 

 

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On 9/28/2019 at 8:48 PM, Jailhouse Jim, SASS #13104 said:

Big thank you to Colorado Coffinmaker for suggesting anealing 45 Colt cases to limit blow-by in a rifle. 

 

Finally got off my butt and did 120 cases for a test today at the Lazy Arrow.  There was hardly any blow-by into the action so I deem this a complete success.

 

Thanks again.

Jim, did you do them by hand or did you build a contraption like in the above photos and videos. I'm seriously considering this. 

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5 hours ago, Dust'N Bottles said:

Jim, did you do them by hand or did you build a contraption like in the above photos and videos. I'm seriously considering this. 

I did it poor boy style with a cordless drill and a socket like CC does.  

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Looks like with all the DIY builds going on,  some entrepreneur would perfect a design and have them built in Asia at a price that they could be sold for say $100.00 retail.  Most people wouldn't build one if they could buy one built for about the same cost as components. 

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On 9/29/2019 at 5:10 PM, Sedalia Dave said:

 

FOr that money I could make 10.

 

Couple of inexpensive DIY case annealing machines that work well.

 

 

I built this one

 

 

 

 

Nice!!

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Many decades ago, a buddy (RIP) showed me how to anneal .308 brass and neck it down to .243. (I couldn't get .243 brass at the time)

He de-primed the brass, set it in a metal tray with about 1/2' of water, heated the necks with a propane torch and tipped the cases over once they got red, to quench the brass.

Seemed to work OK, but I wonder how it would work with .45 Colt brass.

Any ideas?

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2 hours ago, Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 said:

Many decades ago, a buddy (RIP) showed me how to anneal .308 brass and neck it down to .243. (I couldn't get .243 brass at the time)

He de-primed the brass, set it in a metal tray with about 1/2' of water, heated the necks with a propane torch and tipped the cases over once they got red, to quench the brass.

Seemed to work OK, but I wonder how it would work with .45 Colt brass.

Any ideas?

 

If the brass gets red hot it is ruined.  Also brass doesn't quench like steel. All the water does is keep the case head from heating up becoming too soft. If it does the case will fail.

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OK, thanks Pards. 

As I mentioned, it was decades ago and I have never done it myself, so I guess it wasn't heated to red, but rather to the colour change you mentioned and I failed to notice or remember.

I wonder why Bill heated them standing in water though?

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7 hours ago, Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 said:

OK, thanks Pards. 

As I mentioned, it was decades ago and I have never done it myself, so I guess it wasn't heated to red, but rather to the colour change you mentioned and I failed to notice or remember.

I wonder why Bill heated them standing in water though?

 

Remember you only want to anneal the neck area. The water acts like a heat sink and prevents the heat from the torch reaching the lower half of the case.

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AH!

Heat sink!

Now old memory cells are re-activating!!!

Will the treated cases go back to the same colour thoughout if they get a dry media tumble?

Bill and I didn't have a tumbler, in those days, so it was whatever it was, it was, but I'm becoming a bit of a Magpie and like my brass shiny.:ph34r:

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