Thread: Cooked my brass, Whoops

Originally Posted by Wirehunt

So are none of you quenching? Critical part of annealing....

For steels, not for brass according to the literature.

Originally Posted by Shearer

Where do people think they would fail? They are encased by a solid metal chamber and can only expand as far as that allows. After all it is not the brass itself that contains the pressure is it. It is the bolt face at the rear and the barrel surrounding the case????? Will it split at the neck? Be extracted in two pieces?

Not completely unfortunately. The head around the perimeter for the few millimetres where it emerges from the chamber - from the upper edge of the extraction groove back - is not supported. I have brass from this part of a case embedded in various parts of me so would encourage everyone here to err on the side of caution when it comes to things that might affect case heads.