Time in the flame is not critical and you don't need an indicator.
Fred

I get the room so dark that i can not see till my eyes adjust.  Spin the case by cordless drill in the flame till i see the first color change and the case will hold the color only a short time ( less than a second) when pulled from the flame.
Annealing machines still have to have flame and time correct so they have no advantage for me. LB

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A  popular method is to anneal cases individually by rotating them through a flame. This is probably the most common method used by novice annealers. The case is either held with fingertips, or some kind of clamping device that allows rotation. This method is described by Earl Naramore in his 1954 book, "Principles and Practices of Loading Ammunition":
"[C]ases are polished and then placed on a small block of wood or metal. The case is placed on the platform and a flame from a suitable torch is played over the neck as the block is turned. This continues until the brass has a slight color change, and then the flame is removed. The flame must be hot enough so that the neck is heated sufficiently fast enough to prevent the base from heating to a critical point."


Needless to say, this procedure will work fairly well, but requires a high degree of skill, particularly if you are relying on your fingertips to judge the correct max temperature. This method is also very S-L-O-W! Can you imagine having to anneal several hundred cases this way? Another drawback to this method is that you will have a decided lack of uniformity on the periphery of the case neck, and the case-to-case results will be even less uniform.


KAF,
PS IF you allow the brass to become RED you have over softened the case.  It burns some of the contents out of the brass.

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Harbor Freight sells a 3 piece set that has a male 1/4" hex for a electric drill and 1/4, 3/8 & 1/2" square drive on the other end.

Frank

I was a hand spinner for years until A fellow on cast boolits had a adjustable aluminum sleeve that fits a drill. I had him make up one 5/8 ID for a 45/70 case , works real well I can adjust it for about 20 different cases. I do it in the dark also and air cool.

I do mine just like john boy...except the finger spinning part.
I use a cordless drill with a part I made on the lathe...similar to a spark plug socket.....I used a socket before I had a lathe to make a more specialized part....The spark Plug sockets I've owned have had a rubber insert inside which I believe would melt at some point.....

Terry

I like the idea of the decapping pin thru the flash hole approach. I already have a few of those, so it should be easy enough to get it to work.

Thanks fellas.