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Old 04-11-2008, 12:08 AM
noexcuses noexcuses is offline
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Default nickle case prep

found myself in possession of @ 100 pieces of nickle 17 remington "brass" and was curious how to prep it. Does it tumble ok and can it be annealed. I have started annealing my regular brass necks and am unsure what to do with this stuff. thx in advance for your help.
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Old 04-11-2008, 12:21 AM
larryinIA larryinIA is offline
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I have tumbles this brass, er, nickel before, it tumbles fine. I have notices that full length dies wear the nickel off. i am curious about annealing, haven't ever seen anyone do it, so I am uneducated. How do you do it,and how often do you do it, and what exactly does it do to the metal. I have noticed that all of the 17 rem brass seems to be done already.
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Old 04-11-2008, 12:28 AM
noexcuses noexcuses is offline
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i started annealing my necks a couple months ago, in an effort to soften them up a bit and get the tension more uniform from round to round. Admittedly. I'm only dangerously adequate when it comes to this, but have noticed a reduction in split necks and a slight increase in accuracy.
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Old 04-11-2008, 01:09 AM
larryinIA larryinIA is offline
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My question is this...how exactly is it properly done, and what does it exactly do? does it soften the metal as mentioned earlier? i assume you are using heat, doesn't that make the metal harder, less apt to stretch? Or am I wrong? i need to be educated on metallurgy. i am so far behind most mebers here, i am almost red-faced.

larry
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Old 04-11-2008, 01:18 AM
noexcuses noexcuses is offline
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truth is, I'm only a step ahead of you. heat actually softens brass and makes it pliable again. it become less soft with every shot and benefits fron this annealing.i do it with a torch and a tempilstck to ensure that only the neck is annealed. annealing any other part, other than the neck softens the case and makes it dangerous.
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Old 04-11-2008, 01:22 AM
TinMan TinMan is offline
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Annealing brass has been covered several times here in the last 12 - 18 months. You might start by doing a search for annealing. Cartridge brass can only be softened with the application of heat. It is not a heat treatable alloy.
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Old 04-11-2008, 01:36 AM
noexcuses noexcuses is offline
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my apologies TinMan. I researched the past threads and there were many good discussions regarding annealing, and I read those-learned a ton!. Was hoping to better understand the benefits of annealing nickle (if it is even possible). Sorry to have bothered you.
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Old 04-11-2008, 02:14 AM
larryinIA larryinIA is offline
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Me too, I have just gotten on to this site, and am learning fast, fut haven't had time to soak up everything. Please bear with me.

larry
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Old 04-11-2008, 12:17 PM
scootertrash scootertrash is offline
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Default If I may

Keep in mind that what I'm about to say, is strictly my opinion. In addition to nickle plated cases being harder on dies, I don't think they would be suitable for annealing.

Because the plating is much harder than the brass, any grit on the cases can cause minor damage to your dies. On a regular brass case, minute particles of grit are "pressed" into the soft brass instead of scratching the die walls.

Because the plating does not allow the brass to flow when fired as it normally would, as without, it has been my experience plated brass suffers more frequent split necks.

As for annealing, I have no idea how you'd be able to control the temperature with the plating. I also don't know how the plating would transfer heat to other areas of the case that you do not want it. It may even be a possibility that the annealing would cause the plating to seperate from the brass. That's just pure conjecture on my part, but at any rate, I'd not attempt annealing plated brass.

If I were you, and really wanted to use this stuff, I'd make sure it was good and clean before running it thru your dies. Then I'd get a firing or two thru it, then trash it. I think you will find split necks within a few firings anyway.

Nickle plated brass was originally intended for harsh envirionments, and not really for handloading. Yeah, it looks pretty, but...........

Mike
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Old 04-11-2008, 01:52 PM
noexcuses noexcuses is offline
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thx alot! I think I may have finally got an answer as to whether it was even possible. I fully understand the "normal" annealing process for brass cases but was lost when it came to nickle. Thx again for your help!
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