Reloading aluminum casings.Tips and tricks or things to avoid/watch out for?

[DizzyJ]

I've got a few more you can have if you want them.

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Bro! I can't take you aluminum stash! That's just not right!

 

[CLT65]

Bro! I can't take you aluminum stash! That's just not right!

They've been sitting in the corner for several years. I can't bring myself to throw anything usable away, but to be honest I doubt I'd ever use them. You're welcome to them if you want them, though I'm not sure if they'd be worth the cost of shipping. If you're close enough to conveniently meet up at some point, I'd gladly give them away.

 

[P7M13]

Looks decent enough so far.

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Have you done a set-back force test to see how much force it takes to set the bullet back in the case?

 

[DizzyJ]

Have you done a set-back force test to see how much force it takes to set the bullet back in the case?

I did. At least by hand. I pressed hard into the bench with both hands and had zero setback. This was one of the things I was worried about (bullet tension). So far everything looks good.

 

[ageingstudent]

I like to experiment too, hopefully you will report your success / failures.
Here are some of my thoughts hopefully helpful;
Having forgotten more than I care to admit. Aluminum is a different critter than brass or steel. most of my aluminum forming experience comes from alloy 6061T6. I do not know how this fits in casings which I suspect may be closer to 3031 alloy wise and way more formable than the former. at any rate, 6061 @ T6, is a fairly hard aluminum and though not considered optimum for forming, can be bent to a right angle using a fairly generous radius. (about three or four times the metal thickness) Once done, efforts to reform this bend usually will result in work hardened stress fractures .
However, it can be gently annealed , but only one time. I don't remember the temperature but a splinter of fir about the size of a toothpick will leave a dark brown/black mark on the surface of the metal when you reach the right temperature with a torch, (even a quality heat gun). Such heat altered, gives a chance to fix things leaving little crystalline damage. Although firing a case is not the same physical sort of forming, the stretching stress applied may be similar .
Unbeknownst to me is whether this annealing band aid applies to 3031 and / or what ever alloy cartridges are formed from.

I offer this possibly dubious information when considering your results of of your reloaded aluminum cases.
If poor results, try annealing once fired cases before reloading to see if things are better. when annealing, unlike brass, I would include the entire case base to tip.
Even so, a third or forth time might be optimistic.
When examining case damage, (this is my opine) I never felt endangered by split cases since they are contained in the strongest part, the breach . Much trepidation is appropriate should anything remotely resembling the possibility of head separation appear, and should be avoided at all cost.

Seems like I had a set of dump truck boxes that were 6061 a few years back. Does 6061 sound right for a dump truck box? It seems like 6061 should be pretty hard.

 

[Nosferatu]

I used to throw them in the forge to melt down into a billet that I could machine into something that I'd end up throwing in the recycling bin.

Never thought to reload them. Everyone said I'd blow off my nose. Interesting.

 

[gmerkt]

I've taken my turn playing around with them. Just for the project value. I didn't fool with 9mm but I loaded up some softer loads in aluminum 10mm auto that I found. As said by others, they are good for a second time around only.

I bought some primed, unfired CCI .38 Special aluminum cases from Rocky Mountain Reloading. I load them once, then throw away. But they make loading .38 Special simple, no case prep plus they included the new primers.

 

[thorborg]

Seems like I had a set of dump truck boxes that were 6061 a few years back. Does 6061 sound right for a dump truck box? It seems like 6061 should be pretty hard.

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Drawing me way left of the OP's post with your single question mark, I'll go a little farther.
It would make sense for the dump truck box, but lack of interest meant I was never in the top of the class when it came to metallurgy. As far as "should be pretty hard" , if T6, yes.
6061 is an alloy, while the T6 is the hardness process. If I recall, 6061 is / was as tough as standard aluminum gets structurally. Sometimes loosely, or even falsely promoted as "mil grade", or " Aircraft grade".
Heat treat levels produced at the foundry range T3,T6, T8. All are heat treated in a solution, then, differences mainly stem from how they are cured and aged.
As an aside for the end user; A sort of case hardening can be had from the addition of any anodizing process making the surface (only) extra tough, (also the ability to add color), though unlikely dump truck boxes are anodized. I have made short run drill jigs and saved the expense of drill bushings, by drilling / reaming, then clear anodizing 6061. With care, I could get several dozen uses from it before the anodizing in the holes started to wear down moving the jig out of tolerance, usually lasting long enough for the project.
Way beyond school, most of my recent offering have been based on use and failing memory so not to be construed as the last word..

 

[DizzyJ]

I feel I like I'm back in physics and metallurgy class again

 

[Kyrsen]

I managed a factory which produced various metal parts, particularly aluminum and I'd suggest annealing it between each loading but only after resizing. Also, remember that while brass and steel tend to malform and stretch with high pressure, aluminum tends to separate and fracture. So very few reloadings could be accomplished before the loss of material from sizing and trimming may cause a rupture. My two cents. I'm not a scientist.

 

[ageingstudent]

I feel I like I'm back in physics and metallurgy class again

It's good for you keeps you sharp. Aluminum is so much lighter and resists corrosion better than steel or brass. It's too bad it work hardens so quickly. Less weight means lighter ammo. I remember when I got that truck in the picture I was amazed how much lighter it was. It was almost two tons lighter than a similar truck with steel boxes. I didn't mean to derail your thread brother. I'm really interested to see your results.

 

[quneur]

I wonder if trailboss would be better for this experiment. Yet, it also may not cycle your firearm correctly.

 

[red442joe]

I wonder if trailboss would be better for this experiment. Yet, it also may not cycle your firearm correctly.

For me, TrailBoss is always better for experiments!
Love the TrailBoss!

Joe

 

[DizzyJ]

It's good for you keeps you sharp. Aluminum is so much lighter and resists corrosion better than steel or brass. It's too bad it work hardens so quickly. Less weight means lighter ammo. I remember when I got that truck in the picture I was amazed how much lighter it was. It was almost two tons lighter than a similar truck with steel boxes. I didn't mean to derail your thread brother. I'm really interested to see your results.

It's all good info. Appreciate everyone's input, and I'm learning way more than I ever guessed I would. I used to work as a machinist and worked in many different departments within the company. Some of that was the weld shop, metal fabrication, laser, wire and conventional EDM, precision grind, jig bore, jig grind, etc etc.

Through my four year apprenticeship I was exposed to many different processes, techniques and applications. Some where I had to work down to 25 millionths of an inch creating my own tools which could not be bought.

I also worked with a lot of tool steels (some more exotic at the time) and had the fortune of working along side some of the brightest die makers out there. That was a long time ago, but much of what I learned has stuck with me throughout the years. Part of that experience was with aluminum though I hesitate to call it an exotic metal, I suppose some of it could have been deemed as such.

 

[P7M13]

"Annealing" aluminum is nothing like annealing brass. As @thorborg writes, it's a heat treating process, usually called "solution hardening" where the aluminum and strengthening alloy components are heated and the alloying compounds go into "solution" in the crystalline structure of the aluminum. The process typically takes many hours at temperatures >700°F before quench, and then many more hours to "age harden", where the crystalline structure changes even more. Typical alloying components would be Fe, Mg, Mn, Cu, Si, and Zn.

 

[RVTECH]

and I'd suggest annealing it between each loading but only after resizing.

This would not really be necessary as loading aluminum cases has typically been a one time only proposition by those who do it regularly.

A load of aluminum .45s (with some SPP brass mixed in) ready for some jack rabbit chasing soon!

 

[ma96782]

LOL......reminds me of that commercial.......

"Let's get Mikey to try it."

Aloha, Mark

PS....for LIABILITY REASONS and to be clear. I'm NOT suggesting that you do it.

 

[KayDee7]

that works, But Mikey Likes it

 

[ageingstudent]

LOL......reminds me of that commercial.......

"Let's get Mikey to try it."

Aloha, Mark

PS....for LIABILITY REASONS and to be clear. I'm NOT suggesting that you do it.

I got tired of being Mikey considering that's my name. I was always cashing checks my account couldn't cover. I'm going to let Dizzy take this one

 

[DizzyJ]

I got tired of being Mikey considering that's my name. I was always cashing checks my account couldn't cover. I'm going to let Dizzy take this one

I've gotcha covered!