Overview of Salt Bath Annealing

[Music] hello and welcome this video is an overview of the molten salt bath process of annealing and a demonstration of the products offered by ballistic recreations for annealing by this method annealing is a process where a metal is heat treated to lower hardness and reduce stresses when applied to brass cartridge cases annealing will help to reduce the stresses between connect cracking increasing case life annealing can also improve uniformity of case neck tension leading to better accuracy annealing is accomplished by raising the metal to an elevated temperature for a period of time heat can be applied in any number of ways this video focuses on dipping the neck of each case into a pot containing a molten salts direct contact with the hot salts quickly heats the brass to the temperature of the bath and since we can also easily measure and monitor the temperature of the bath it offers unmatched control precision and repeatability first there's a need to discuss safety with any annealing process for brass cartridge cases it is paramount that and they only be limited to the neck shoulder and upper body areas only the lower body case head and rim are subject to high stresses during firing and extracting and are intentionally left hard annealing means lower portions of the case will leave them too weak and they will fail possibly in devastating fashion there are also safety considerations unique to the salt bath process liquid salts at 500 degrees Celsius will cause instant third-degree burns for this reason the pot must be placed on a stable and secure bench if the cord routed so it is not a tripping or snagging hazards children and pets must be kept away from the area and the pot should not be left unattended well salt or liquid water and flammable materials must be kept away from the pot contact of hot salts with water will create a steam explosion that will propel hot salts in all directions contact with flammable materials such as wood paper oil or wax may cause immediate combustion finally the salt has a temperature limit of five hundred ninety degrees Celsius that must be observed above this temperature the salt begins through these hazardous fumes the salt will also at this point become a powerful oxidizer that can greatly accelerate combustion set up for salt baths annealing is generally simple the components offered by ballistic recreations are intended to work with a lean precision melter as a heat source the salt is a blend that is harmless to brass and melts for a 150 degrees Celsius salt is supplied as a white granular solid but melts to form a slightly yellowish liquid not much thicker than water the case holder is constructed of stainless steel and the standard design has two holes that fit most small to medium sized cases the digital thermometer features straightforward controls in a large easy to read display the thermocouple is a custom design that fits the ballistic recreations case holder securely and stays out of the way once the annealing pot is set up a container of water is set below the bench in such a way that no splashes of water can reach the pot hot cases will be placed in the water to dissolve any residual salt at 6:00 the case and to cool the cases quickly so that they can be handled immediately a pile of cases placed conveniently close to the pot is then all that is needed to begin each case is successively placed mouth down in the case holder the temperature of 500 to 550 degrees Celsius will fully annealed even the most heavily cold worked case in five seconds the case is removed from the bath and placed in the water buckets once rinsed and dried the cases will clearly show the heat tint of perfect annealing timing can be established by using a timer or metronome or simply by establishing a consistent rhythm the salt bath method is very error tolerant the modest differences in exposure time will have very little impact on the end results case is immersed for four seconds or seven seconds we'll both be adequately annealed so the longer time will result in heating a little further down the case so long as precautions are taken to ensure the case head is not affected by heat this does not pose a problem it is not necessary to stay with only one calibre at a time during an annealing session as shown here spacer made of a cut-down 223 case with the primer pocket drilled out can be used to adapt the case holder to cases of widely varying lengths in addition to the standard case holder ballistic recreations also offers a large case holder with a single hole that will accommodate calibers up to 50 BMG when finished with your annealing session first prepare a safe place to put the hot components are there remove from the pot remove the thermocouple from the case holder before it has a chance to cool otherwise it becomes extremely difficult to move next remove the case holder and shake off any excess salt from there either put it in a safe place to slow cool or toss it into the quench pail if you do choose to soak it remember it must be thoroughly dried before next use unplug the lis melting pot shut off the thermometer and allow the salt to cool until solid before leaving unattended after the pot has cooled thoroughly the puck of solidified salt will shrink away from the pot walls and can usually be dumped out without much trouble the salt box stores nicely in the jars the salt came in the salt is not aggressively corrosive towards the steel pot and trace amounts left on the pot are not overly harmful but they do tend to attract moisture to surfaces so if the pot is to be stored for long periods it is a good idea to wipe it clean with a wet cloth with just a little practice salt bath annealing lends itself to unbeatable temperature control high throughput and easy repeatability I hope this video has given you a good idea of the equipment supplies and knowledge required to do it safely and effectively thank you for watching

Channel: Ballistic Recreations

Views: 64,182

Rating: 4.8993711 out of 5

Keywords: Annealing brass cases, Ballistic Recreations, salt bath annealing, Reloading ammunition cartridges, Canada Guns

Id: vwdTaDLz56Q

Length: 6min 32sec (392 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 19 2017