Annealing Brass Sheet Metal

Take your piece of brass and mark it with tempilaq.

Annealing brass sheet metal.

Basically copper alloys don t work like iron alloys when it comes to annealing. What you are looking for as you apply the flame of your blow lamp torch onto the part to be annealed is the tell tale colors again. When the brass starts to show a blackened color then is the time to quench it quickly before cleaning it up. The term anneal is the scientific term used to describe the softening of metal.

Work hardened materials such as sheet metal that has undergone a stamping process or cold drawn bar stock. Annealing is a heat treatment process in which the sheet metal is altered on a molecular level altering its strength and hardness. The metal is heated above its recrystallization temperature maintained at this temperature and then cooled in a controlled environment. Annealing brass is very similar to copper although the temperature should be a little cooler.

Then drop the metal quickly into the alcohol so it s totally immersed. Also i use 400 f on the lower half that will tell me if i have over annealed the brass. That avoids any ignition of the alcohol. 450f a soft pine stick will smoke and slide like a grease pencil when applied to the piece of metal.

Annealing is the process of reducing stress within metal by heating it to a prescribed temperature. Whether you re shooting black powder cartridge o. That can take a surprising amount of time though usually. Over time and after repeated usage the neck on a rifle cartridge will get hard and brittle making it more apt to fail either during the loading process or during shooting.

How to anneal cartridge brass for accuracy and longevity. Let the metal cool enough so it s no longer glowing meaning down around 900f or less but not much cooler than that. I prefer using the 650 f on the shoulder and halfway down the body. Machining operations that create high amounts of heat or material displacement may also warrant an annealing process afterward.

Then wait till you hear it actually quench. Take your butane torch and start the flame out slowly. Industrially this is done in a furnace where the temperatures can be monitored mechanically. In the studio it is more common to anneal with a torch.