My brass got baked...

[natdscott]

My favorite is to ball peen them against the anvil of the vice. Makes them impossible to miss-sort or resuse as a casing, but I can recycle them.

 

[bwframe]

FYI - For less than $100;

Frankford Arsenal makes a very sweet media separator that quickly spills all the water from your wet brass.
They also make a brass dryer that works well. 165 degrees.

I use these and would recommend them as efficient time savers.


https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Ar...331&sr=8-1&keywords=frankford+media+separator
https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Ar...8017311&sr=8-1&keywords=frankford+brass+dryer

 

[t-squared]

I've used this one since I started reloading......Stainless Tumbling Media | STM Media Separator

It looks and feels to be the exact same one as the RCBS except for the color. I've never had any media left in the brass and it lets the cases dump out almost all of the remaining water making drying go quicker.

 

[Tactically Fat]

I saw a FB video not too long ago where a guy took a bunch of brass casings, melted them down, and made a Batman-logo "fidget spinner" out of it.

So - melt it down and make something out of it!

 

[two70]

If it makes you feel better, my rifle brass costs more than that per hundred.

I think you are doing the right thing by starting over.

-Nate

Heck, I load a few cartridges that cost that much or more per 20.

Definitely no reason to take the risk.

 

[Goodcat]

I saw a FB video not too long ago where a guy took a bunch of brass casings, melted them down, and made a Batman-logo "fidget spinner" out of it.

So - melt it down and make something out of it!

i was actually looking to get something to melt them down after deprime and make ingots for fun. But I can't justify the cost because I'm not interested in casting. Any redneck solutions to cast a few brass ingots?

 

[russc2542]

i was actually looking to get something to melt them down after deprime and make ingots for fun. But I can't justify the cost because I'm not interested in casting. Any redneck solutions to cast a few brass ingots?

give em to me. I have a waste-oil burner under construction for garage heat, melting scrap, and eventually casting.

 

[lrdudley]

give em to me. I have a waste-oil burner under construction for garage heat, melting scrap, and eventually casting.

Will your waste-oil burner burn used turkey frying oil? If so, I have about six gallons you can have, and I will even bring it to Columbus.

 

[russc2542]

Will your waste-oil burner burn used turkey frying oil? If so, I have about six gallons you can have, and I will even bring it to Columbus.

Dunno, probably. how nasty is it? I'm running waste motor oil (with filters and preheat) but need to get back to it as it's been sitting for months since the first good test-fire.

 

[bobjones223]

Dunno, probably. how nasty is it? I'm running waste motor oil (with filters and preheat) but need to get back to it as it's been sitting for months since the first good test-fire.

Ours runs cooking oil just fine...

 

[lrdudley]

russc2542
It's not bad. Used and filtered probably four times. Kept it in the freezer until I needed more space in the freezer. Let me know what day you can pick it up at Menards and I will put it in the car.

 

[Dinny]

Could the brass be heated again and dropped into cool water?

Thanks, Dinny

 

[oldpink]

Listen to Aaron and goodcat on this one.
Soft case heads spell disaster, and that discoloration indicates a very real likelihood that the brass has been compromised.
It's too bad, but you're far better off by scrapping that brass and using some that hasn't gotten that kind of unintentional heat treatment.
Questionable brass < safety and your gun.

 

[AmmoManAaron]

Could the brass be heated again and dropped into cool water?

Thanks, Dinny

Sadly, that will not work. Brass only hardens through working. To make any brass harder, the only answer is to rework it. Just as an example, the only way to fix case necks that have been over-annealed, is to size, expand, and resize them over and over again. Case heads cannot be reworked by the home hobbyist...but melting, casting, rolling out, punching, and drawing into a new case in an industrial setting works. The working of the brass changes the crystalline structure of the metal and will make it harder up until the point that it cracks. Reannealing the brass resets the crystalline structure and can save a case neck it hasn't cracked yet. The key is to know when to anneal, how much (what temperature) to anneal, and to only anneal the neck/shoulder area. Temperature indicating compounds such as Tempilaq are available, but the old timers did it by eye sight in a darkened area. FWIW, the hardening and tempering of steel was also done by eye sight in the old days so obviously the quality largely depended on the skill of the craftsman, including his recipe for the quench bath. Metallurgy is an interesting science and still evolving to this day. Each kind of metal and even alloy will react differently in some fashion or another, lots to study for the hobbyist and there is still more being learned by experimental scientists. Some of the most closely guarded industrial and national secrets involve metallurgical processes.