I started annealing by holding .17 Rem cases in my thumb and index finger, turning them in the flame from a propane torch until they were too hot to hold, then dropping them into a pan of water. It worked, but it beat the dog snot outta' my distal digits.
I've used the Woodchuck's Den annealer for over 10 years, now. It's stupid simple to use (perfect for me) and gives consistent results. Since you stand the cases up in a pan filled with 1/2" of water, the case heads are completely protected from damage. To get started, get some Templilac liquid of the heat range you want to work in, then anneal a case until the Tempilac flows and note the time. From then on, simply anneal each case the same amount of time. If you switch from propane to MAP gas, you'll need to recheck this as there is a bit of difference in gas temps.
You don't need to get up into the 650-700 degree range to achieve what we're looking for. I use 450-475 degrees because what I want to do is not so much 'anneal' in the truest sense of the word..... but rather stress relieve the neck, neck/shoulder and shoulder/body areas. There's a pretty wide latitude in temps that will do the job. As long as the case heads are insulated, lots of ways work to accomplish this.
I've used Stan Ware's Ken Light machine, saw a Bench Source unit in action as well as Hornady's slick little kit. Like steak dinners with all the trimmings...some have more trimmings than others.
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