The Story Behind the KRATE Annealer
There’s a question I ask often: “Can I build it myself?”
It’s not just a reflection of curiosity — it’s a tradition. My family’s journey from Europe to South Africa began with wheelwrights and blacksmiths. They were makers out of necessity, forging tools and solutions from raw ingenuity. My grandfather once built a ride-on lawnmower from scratch and famously raced it around a traffic circle, beating the neighbour’s store-bought John Deere. My father inherited that spirit, and I did too.
That legacy lives on in the JME brand — not a company, but a statement. A hexagonal mark I put on every project, not to sell something, but to honor those who came before me. It’s a badge of self-reliance, a quiet rebellion against mass consumerism, and a reminder that great things can be built by hand, at home, and for less.
The Krate Annealer is the latest expression of that belief. It’s a tool built for reloaders like myself — designed to precisely anneal brass cases using induction heating. While there are commercial options out there, I wanted something tailored, efficient, and grounded in the kind of engineering and craftsmanship that defines everything I do.
This isn’t just about building a machine. It’s about proving that you can — and that the legacy of making, when carried with purpose, still burns bright.
Why Annealing Matters
If you reload your own ammunition, you already understand the value of precision. But precision doesn’t stop at powder charges and seating depth — it extends to the brass itself.
Every time a case is fired, it work-hardens. Over time, this leads to neck splits, inconsistent neck tension, and reduced brass life. Annealing — the process of restoring ductility to the case neck through heat — is a solution. Done properly, it improves consistency, extends case longevity, and protects your investment in brass.
But doing it properly is the hard part. Too cold and it’s pointless. Too hot and you ruin the metallurgy. The sweet spot is narrow, and time-based methods can be wildly inaccurate without precise control.
The Options — and the Gap
There are commercial annealers on the market. Some are basic torch-based devices. Others are high-end induction machines with digital controls and proprietary algorithms — great if you’ve got a generous budget.
But for many reloaders, these options come with tradeoffs. The cheaper units can be fiddly and imprecise. The top-end machines cost more than an entire rifle setup. And most of them are designed with assumptions about workflow and use that don’t always fit every reloader’s bench.
That’s where Krate comes in.
A Different Philosophy
There are some excellent DIY annealer designs out there — well-documented, open-source projects that have helped many reloaders build capable induction systems. I gained a lot from exploring them, especially when it came to understanding the inner workings of induction circuits.
But when it came time to build my own, I wanted something different. A system with a smaller footprint. Tighter, more deliberate control. Designed not for high-volume automation, but for one-at-a-time precision where every detail is under my command.
Those alternatives are excellent at what they’re built for — Krate just takes a different path.
Why I Built the Krate
I wanted the precision and repeatability of a high-end induction annealer — without the high-end price tag. But more than that, I wanted control. The ability to tailor the annealing process to my own brass, my own workflow, and my own standards.
None of the commercial options quite fit. The budget-friendly ones lacked consistency. The premium models felt like black boxes — powerful, but rigid, with little room for customization or transparency.
So I built my own.
Krate is a purpose-built induction annealer designed to deliver consistent, repeatable case neck annealing with the accuracy of systems many times its cost. But what makes it truly different is that it’s mine — designed around the way I work, with the features I actually need, and the flexibility to evolve.
From custom timing control to real-time feedback and safety features tailored to my specific rig, Krate isn’t just an annealer. It’s a reflection of what happens when craftsmanship meets engineering — and when the question “Can I build it myself?” gets a definitive yes.
What Krate Delivers
Krate is a precision induction annealer built around control, consistency, and safety. Every feature exists for a reason — tuned not just for brass, but for the reloader behind the bench.
- Precision Timing – Adjustable in fine increments, stored between sessions, and displayed with clarity so every cycle is repeatable.
- Current Monitoring – Real-time feedback ensures the system is working as intended. It’s not just a timer — it’s aware of what’s actually happening.
- Thermal Insight – With a temperature probe onboard, Krate can track heat trends and offer another layer of consistency.
- Safety First – Intelligent fault detection, dedicated failsafes, and visual indicators keep things under control — even when something unexpected happens.
- Compact by Design – Built to fit a thoughtful workspace, not dominate it. Small enough to travel, robust enough to last.
- Built for One – One case at a time. One standard of precision. One reloader’s vision brought to life.
Krate isn’t trying to be everything to everyone. It’s built to be exactly what I needed — and nothing I didn’t.
What Comes Next
Krate is more than just a tool — it’s a chapter in a much larger story. One built on generations of craftsmanship, carried forward through engineering, curiosity, and the refusal to settle for “good enough.”
There’s more to come.
The current version of Krate is already a workhorse on my bench — precise, dependable, and purpose-built. But I’m not done. New features are in development. A Pro version is already taking shape. Ideas are being tested, refined, and iterated — as they always are under the JME banner.
If you’re curious about where this goes next, you’ll find updates and future projects on my blog. Not because I’m trying to sell something — but because I believe in sharing the why behind what I build.
And who knows? Maybe it’ll inspire you to ask that same question:
“Can I build it myself?”
