Of Brass and Men

[Blue Elephant]

I've got an Airwaves etc set for the old Revell Bleneim Mark I..................I'm secretly a masochist. I know I'll need to use CA to hold it all together, but I'm also aware I need to anneal it before using, so the things won't spring apart under pressure--esp.the "curved" bits. I am curious to know about this annealing process......how much do I heat the fret and , am I able to use my wife's butane Brule torch to do the job?

[AndrewR]

You might find this discussion thread useful.

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/inde ... hoto-etch/;

I use a candle to anneal bits that might need curling up, like perforated gun barrel sleeves. Gentle heat is enough for thin brass. Straight folds don't really need annealing.

Cheers

Andrew

[rob_van_riel]

No idea if it's really necessary, but basically, as long as you don't melt the brass or heat it to the point where it become malleable, you should be OK.

You might find this discussion thread useful.

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/inde ... hoto-etch/;

The thread implies you could temper brass, but that is nonsense. However, not all metals used for photo etch are brass, and if there iron or something similar in there, heating and force cooling will make the metal brittle, as stated in the thread. With brass, it's quite OK to dunk it after heating.

If you want lots of details on annealing of brass, look at the various rifle shooters websites; rifle shells get treated like this all the time.

[Blue Elephant]

good point AndrewR..........I used to be a firearms user/owner but never got around to "rolling my own" cartridges so I'll take a look-see