here is an interesting discussion of annealing brass for handloaders.
http://www.6mmbr.com/annealing.html
also do a search here in our cba forum; as usual, the more opinions, the " better ".
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a few basic things are repeated in these articles ::
making case necks turn red means you have gone too far for ideal results. 650 degrees for a few seconds is desired. this gives a mild anneal . for safety, less annealing is better.
DO NOT anneal much below the neck, the brass has to be springy below the neck.
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ric's idea of an aluminum plate with snug fitting holes for the necks ... floating in lead at 650 F. really seems to me a very fine idea.
ken