Thanks a lot for the replies and advice. I have never heard of annealing brass until this thread, I learn more about reloading every day. I've been shooting my Krag a lot since I got it (50rds per month give or take) because I'm still enamored with it; eventually that will peter out. I don't have a torch although I'm guessing I could use one of those handheld ones. How long will the brass last if I don't anneal it, because in the longterm I don't see myself shooting my Krag very often.

Well, I cleaned, trimmed and annealed 250 cases today!  I used a case holder (for trimming), and chucked each case in my drill, and then slowly rotated to heat evenly.  As soon as the case neck changed color, I release and dropped them into a metal bowl to cool...  Worked like a charm!

I have been thinking on this, and for those of you who are quenching your cases, I think it's a mistake.  I'll explain:

Years ago, I worked for GM at the proving grounds.  I had the opportunity to machine parts, and I know a little about metallurgy.  When you anneal steel or any other metal (except aluminum), the object is to make the metal pliable, so that it is less brittle and susceptible to cracking.  A good example of this is a band saw blade - when welded, if the weld is not annealed, the weld will break.  In the machine shop... when annealing metal, the process is to heat metal slowly, and allow to air cool slowly.

Quenching, on the other hand, is normally how metal is hardened.  Bringing metal to glowing and then quickly quenching the metal in water, oil, or any other liquid will make the metal hard... and in the case of brass, (in my opinion) more brittle!

Of course, I'm no expert... especially when it comes to brass rifle cases, I can only speak from past experience working with metal.  I hope that this helps some people, or at least sparks some further discussions!

Paul

The quenching has to do with stopping the heat from migrating to the lower part of the case and nothing to do with annealing the brass.

I use a candle or a small alcohol one-wick burner.