Neck splits in older 22-250 cases

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Neck splits in older 22-250 cases

Post by Paul » 25 Feb 2021, 7:03 pm

Evening all,

Ive got some older (very old), but not used a lot 22-250 cases and Ive noticed that some of them had small splits in the necks (2-3mm). They are originally Federal factory loads, and have probably only been reloaded perhaps 3 or 4 times.

Wondering at the cause, and if the often referred to 'annealing' is whats required. Not sure how I would go about that. They were only ever neck resized in a Lee hand loader.

Thanks in advance.

Paul
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Re: Neck splits in older 22-250 cases

Post by LawrenceA » 25 Feb 2021, 7:34 pm

The alloying components and %'s can cause brass to become brittle.
Yes annealing may fix the problem.
It is easy to do with an electric drill, a bucket of water and a cheapy blowtorch.
Put a socket extension and a socket big enough to fit the case head in the drill.
dim the lights
Light the torch.
start the drill up at slowish speed but not to slow.
Place a shell in the drill and put the flame on the neck.
when the neck glows red drop the case in the water.
It may take a little fiddling to get it right. Try not to get it too hot or you will burn out the zinc.

Or you can spend up to a grand on an annealing machine which does a better job. :allegedly:
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Re: Neck splits in older 22-250 cases

Post by Oldbloke » 25 Feb 2021, 9:00 pm

Yes, your cases need annealing.

I use the above system to anneal cases too. BUT, if they are heated to red its too HOT.
Heat until they turn bluish NO more. Once you get the timing right I usually count 1 2 3 4 5 dump if you get my meaning.
Aim to heat neck and a tad past the shoulder only. I put the flame tip on the shoulder.
And no need to dump in water I drop them on a damp cotton rag.

Dropping in water is for hardening various carbon steels. Does not matter when annealing.

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Re: Neck splits in older 22-250 cases

Post by on_one_wheel » 25 Feb 2021, 9:20 pm

Just as Oldbloke said...
Definitely don't over heat them.
When brass gets too hot the zink can burn out of it leaving you with copper, it'll become too ductile.

A general rule of thumb is that in a dark room with only the light from your butane flame the brass shouldn't get no hotter than a barely visible dull glow.

Do not heat more than the neck and just beyond the shoulder.
Heat evenly while slowly rotating.
Quench in water instantly when a very dull glow is present (only visible in a dark room) to stop the heat travelling any further down the case... some say quenching is unnecessary? I like to do it just to be sure.
I hold my brass in a deep 1/4" socket that leaves just the portion exposed that I want to heat sticking out, I rotate it slowly with a cordless drill.

Or you could go all out and buy a killer machine
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20210225_220321.jpg (86.24 KiB) Viewed 2168 times


There's a thread on annealing here :thumbsup:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9849
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Re: Neck splits in older 22-250 cases

Post by No1Mk3 » 25 Feb 2021, 11:19 pm

G'day Paul,
Oldbloke and on_one_wheel are correct regarding temperature, brass hardens with age and or use but cannot be hardened by heat. Annealing is the process of refining the internal chemical and physical structure of the metal by heating over time to cause softening of the metal thereby increasing ductility, typically temps under 254 C will have no affect at all, but structure will commence to change at 350 C over 15 minutes, this long a heat will transfer to the base and wreck the case completely, over 510 C (just starting orange) for even a couple of seconds will permanently damage the case. You want to anneal between 400 C for 10 to 15 seconds up to 420 C for 5 to 10 seconds. Quenching cannot do anything to brass at all, but has the benefit of preventing any overheat condition reaching the base of the case. I recommend using a temperature marking dye such a Tempilaq to set your times. A great article on annealing can be found on 6mmBR.com, Cheers.
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Re: Neck splits in older 22-250 cases

Post by No1_49er » 26 Feb 2021, 6:59 am

Exactly as No1Mk3 said.
The article should be a 'sticky', if there were such a thing on this forum.

This is the link https://www.accurateshooter.com/technic ... annealing/

Annealing is both a science and an art. Do not undertake it lightly else you can either achieve nothing or permanently destroy the brass. The article points out the shortcomings, sometimes gross, of incorrect "techniques".
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Re: Neck splits in older 22-250 cases

Post by SCJ429 » 27 Feb 2021, 7:32 pm

Federal cases were probably not well annealed to begin with and are not worth much in any case. Chuck them away and get some Lapua.
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Re: Neck splits in older 22-250 cases

Post by T.FOYE » 31 Mar 2021, 8:13 pm

SCJ429 wrote:Federal cases were probably not well annealed to begin with and are not worth much in any case. Chuck them away and get some Lapua.


Thats about right sadly. I went right into induction annealing and i seem to get good life out of any brass. That and good dies plus enough resizing wax
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