Thread: Cartridge case annealing

Not long ago I changed over the Wilson inline seating dies which use the hand arbor press, with this setup you can really feel any incosistencies in the pressure required to seat a projectile.
So I started looking at annealing my cases in the attempt to get the amount of effort to seat a projectile more consistent.
My reasoning is that more consistency here will lead to lower ES on the velocities. After looking at flame annealing vs Induction annealing and the options available for both, I decided that Induction annealing looked like a better option, i felt that induction gave a better control over the case annealing temperature.
I could go out and by and "Annealing made Perfect" unit for the grand price of around $2700, Or I could make my own. A bit of a cruise through youtube found a few videos on that exact subject. All the Bits were readily available on Amazon, With one tiny problem, the induction heater was 110 volt, so I found a 3000 watt step down transformer at Dick Smiths for around a $100 and we were in business.
The whole setup cost around $400. This included the 1000 watt induction heater, Delay relay timer module, Step down transformer, Sierra bullet box (free).
Putting it all together took around a ½ hour.
It just got its first try out and seems to work well. After Annealing a couple of cases I went ahead and sized them and seated projectiles. I can already feel the improvement, the bullets seat super smooth.
Not sure if this exercise will show and noticeable improvements in group sizes or Velocity ES. The next mission will be a trip to the range to test the Theory.

This is all new ground for me. I would be interested in any feedback on individual experiences with case annealing.