The 6.5 Guys Review Bench-Source Annealing Machine
The 6.5 Guys, a dedicated duo of Pacific NW rifle shooters, have created an interesting series of shooting-related videos on their 6.5 Guys YouTube Channel. In a pair of YouTube videos, The 6.5 Guys set up and demonstrate the Bench-Source cartridge brass annealing machine. The videos offer valuable tips on setting up the machine, attaching and adjusting the torches, and fine tuning the flame and dwell time to achieve best results.
To complement their videos, the 6.5 Guys (aka Ed and Steve) have published an Annealing Tech Talk article on 65guys.com. If you own an annealing machine, or are getting started with cartridge annealing, you should read that article. It covers basic annealing principles, and gives useful tips on temp control, dwell time, and frequency of annealing. After the video, we feature highlights from this article.
Read Full Annealing Article on 65Guys.com.
Temperature Control
We use 750° Tempilaq applied inside the case neck to indicate that the proper temperature has been achieved. If you turn off the lights, you will notice that the brass just barely starts to turn color. As you go beyond the 750° mark we observed that the case mouth will start to flare orange — you can see this with the lights on. From our research, we understand that this is the result of zinc burning off. We adjust the time on our machine between the point that the Tempilaq turns liquid and the flame starts to turn orange. In other words, if the flame is starting to turn orange reduce the time. We let the cases air cool — we don’t quench them in water.
The case starts to flare orange here, during a set-up test. Dwell time was then reduced slightly.
Flame Orientation
We aim the flame at the neck-shoulder junction. Some folks like to aim it at the neck and others the shoulder. When you see how the two flames meet and spread out vertically, it probably doesn’t make that much of a difference.
Here you can see the flame points aimed at the neck-shoulder junction.
Case Coloration
Cases will turn color after annealing, but the degree of color change is not a reliable indicator. We have noticed that the appearance of cases will vary depending on brass manufacturer, brass lot, light source, and how long ago the case was annealed.
How Often Should You Anneal?
Some shooters anneal every time while others choose a specific interval. We noticed work hardening around five firings that resulted in inconsistency in shoulder setback and neck tension, so we choose to anneal every three firings. Your mileage will vary depending on how hot your loads are and how aggressively you resize.
Who are the 6.5 Guys? They are Ed (right) and Steve (left), a pair of avid shooters based in the Pacific Northwest. They have released 22 Videos on the 6.5 Guys YouTube Channel.
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Hi , I’m looking for a bench source annealing machine. Do you ship to Canada? Thanks
I just purchased a bench source machine. The manual can be confusing as when stating set up the machine as pictured when two pictures are different when it comes to setting up the clamps .The front page picture has one nozzle clamp up and oncve nozzle clamp in the down position’with the clamo in the up position on the inside of the post while the clamp in the down position is on the outside fo the post . That will cause a diffrence in the nozzle distance from the neck adn a difference in the posy clamp height . On page 11 of the instructions both nozzle clamps look to be in the down position and its hard to tell if the enearesst zoxel is on the outside or inside . NOt much dicussion on optimal distance of the flame from the neck shoulder and you do mention that it can be aimed wher you feel best aiming , I guess the same follows with the clamp position although I will go with both being inside or outside . Teh manual does not really get into any kind of flame adjustment level or angled and just how far away the flame should be from the neck . Tej flams does have a certian amount of adjustment but ther guy wh makes the annealer sells it with minor instructions on areas I look at as dam important. As to adjusting the height for each cartridge a person will set up ,…instead of using washers why not use metal tubing cut to a height with the correct inside diameter for each cartridge. Just slide the tube onto the pole, aim ,tighten and anneal …..or what ever steps you go thru.