Lead Hardness Tester on Ebay

BJung · May 11, 2020, 12:13 AM

Guys, There is an Ames Hardness Tester for $300 on Ebay. As you know, the tester is suppose to be good and is regularly priced around $1300. I can't afford it now but maybe one of you bullet casters would want it.

**Unclenick** · May 11, 2020, 09:43 AM

The photos don't show the indentation tips being present in the box or on the tool. That may be the reason for selling at that low price.

res45 · May 17, 2020, 12:37 PM

burbank_jung Get yourself a set of drafting pencils and use this chart below to test your ingots or bullet for hardness. I and others have tested the pencils against other lead hardness testers and found them to be very accurate.

You want the tip of your pencil to look like this, after sharpening I flatten my tip or touch them up on a piece of sandpaper. You should hold the pencil at a 45-degree angle when pushing it across a flat surface on our bullet or ingot. Starting with the softest pencil and you determine the hardness of your bullet or ingot by which pencil makes scratches on the surface that you can feel with your fingernail or that shaves the lead. This same process is used in industry to test the hardness of various types of coatings.

BJung · May 23, 2020, 08:12 AM

I've read an thread on the drafting pencils. Thanks for posting it. Now I know what the tip of the pencil should look like.

armoredman · May 24, 2020, 05:16 AM

I got into bullet casting because I'm cheap - I can't imagine spending $1300 for a lead hardness tester.

USSR · May 24, 2020, 08:18 AM

Really not necessary. If you use known alloys, then you know exactly what the BHN is.

Don

**Unclenick** · May 25, 2020, 08:43 AM

Unknown alloys is the trick. Before the switch to zinc, wheel weight alloy varied with the region of the country you lived in, with the antimony varying about 2:1. Having a way to check hardness has always been useful in case you needed to make adjustments. But the hardness testers made for hand loaders have never been wildly expensive. Current prices at LBT and Midway are:

LBT $125 - Reads in BHN directly.
Lee $69 - Makes indentation you measure and look up BHN on a table.
Saeco $193 - Makes and measures indentation on an arbitrary scale, for which reading you then look up BHN equivalence on a table.

May 11, 2020, 12:13 AM	#1
BJung Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2019 Posts: 773	Lead Hardness Tester on Ebay Guys, There is an Ames Hardness Tester for $300 on Ebay. As you know, the tester is suppose to be good and is regularly priced around $1300. I can't afford it now but maybe one of you bullet casters would want it.

May 11, 2020, 09:43 AM	#2
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,061	The photos don't show the indentation tips being present in the box or on the tool. That may be the reason for selling at that low price. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

May 17, 2020, 12:37 PM	#3
res45 Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2007 Location: NC Posts: 753	burbank_jung Get yourself a set of drafting pencils and use this chart below to test your ingots or bullet for hardness. I and others have tested the pencils against other lead hardness testers and found them to be very accurate. You want the tip of your pencil to look like this, after sharpening I flatten my tip or touch them up on a piece of sandpaper. You should hold the pencil at a 45-degree angle when pushing it across a flat surface on our bullet or ingot. Starting with the softest pencil and you determine the hardness of your bullet or ingot by which pencil makes scratches on the surface that you can feel with your fingernail or that shaves the lead. This same process is used in industry to test the hardness of various types of coatings. __________________ The Reloaders Network discord Channel https://discord.gg/Nafuzht

May 24, 2020, 08:18 AM	#6
USSR Senior Member Join Date: November 14, 2017 Location: Finger Lakes Region of NY Posts: 1,442	Really not necessary. If you use known alloys, then you know exactly what the BHN is. Don __________________ NRA Life Member NRA Certified Metallic Cartridge Reloading Instructor

May 25, 2020, 08:43 AM	#7
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,061	Unknown alloys is the trick. Before the switch to zinc, wheel weight alloy varied with the region of the country you lived in, with the antimony varying about 2:1. Having a way to check hardness has always been useful in case you needed to make adjustments. But the hardness testers made for hand loaders have never been wildly expensive. Current prices at LBT and Midway are: LBT $125 - Reads in BHN directly. Lee $69 - Makes indentation you measure and look up BHN on a table. Saeco $193 - Makes and measures indentation on an arbitrary scale, for which reading you then look up BHN equivalence on a table. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

May 23, 2020, 08:12 AM	#4
BJung Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2019 Posts: 773	I've read an thread on the drafting pencils. Thanks for posting it. Now I know what the tip of the pencil should look like.

May 24, 2020, 05:16 AM	#5
armoredman Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 5,297	I got into bullet casting because I'm cheap - I can't imagine spending $1300 for a lead hardness tester.