P95Carry

Ok - this is a post made 2 years ago on THR - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=871540

And the device I bought from Paul ''Fitz'' Jones (he used to reload professionally and, was an agent for Star and Seico products I seem to remember) is not available any more IIRC but - it might be of interest folks as a method of comparing hardness ... the basic principle.

I reproduce the post content ''as was'' - in case some interest to bullet folks. I may have posted before but hey - here it is again!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I bought this from Paul ''Fitz'' Jones .. knowing he had one or two left. It is branded Saeco and all steel. It is just what I need. No requirement for any Rockwell or Brinell ratings, just a simple ''relative'' measure, and this it does real well. I believe it went out of production some while ago ... he may correct me on that.

Some pics ........ elegantly simple design and function here. First, the device ready to accept a bullet. The screw thread section on the right, has a machined and stepped set of rebates, which will accept the bases of std cals .. .45, 38 and 30.

The idea is .. open up the gap by unscrewing, place bullet in rebate whilst holding device vertically. Then screw it closed until bullet touches a spike (just visible on first pic - look hard!). After which it can be closed further in horizontal position. The first pic and close-up show starting situation .. and note the vernier scale, which is in two parts, upper and lower.. the upper registering the spike indentation, relative to a collar on the lower scale (can't see that in pic)






Now with bullet in place (a 230 grn Lee SWC .429) ... notice the witness mark is lined up (well, nearly!) with mark on lower vernier scale. Now all that's needed is to find a matching pair of lines with upper scale and lower ... and read off the ''relative hardness factor''... here it is about 5.







If used with LRN bullets, it is suggested that the bullet is first deformed in a vice with a piece of smooth steel over the nose .. to produce a flat area . this enables a better result.

The calibration is based on 0 - 1 being pure lead and the 9 -10 region something like pure linotype.

So, this bullet ... well it is a mix I use which is IIRC about 11:1 lead - tin .. maybe a small amount of antimony because some old recovered bullets mixed in. The benefit I anticipate with this device is at least knowing what a batch of alloy is like .. and try and balance it to previous, so gaining more consistency.

__________________
Chris - P95
NRA Certified Instructor & NRA Life Member.

"To own a gun and assume that you are armed
is like owning a piano and assuming that you are a musician!."

If a BG dies as the result of pointing a gun at me, then he has merely succumbed to an occupational hazard of being a thug

Tubby45

I use a Cabine Tree tester. Works off a dial caliper. The depth of impression in the bullet or ingot is measured on a dial caliper and the number is then applied to the supplied chart for the BHN measurement. This can test from pure lead (5BHN) to heat treated alloys at 32+ BHN.

Here it is all set up.


Here the dial indicator is centered on this screw.


The bullet is put in between the pointed screw and flat screw and the screw tightened just enough to hold the bullet in place. To get consistent readings your starting tension needs to be consistent, so I tighten the hold to .002" and then reset the dial face to 0.


The brass pin marks the starting point. Once the bullet is suspended by the screws, turn the pointed screw one full turn, then read the change in depth from 0 to full turn.


After a full turn, we can see the change is .094".


Applying that to the included chart (probably can't read it here) it indicates an approximate BHN of 27. This is some hard stuff.


You can also test ingots.


This one measures a .091" change or a 23-25 BHN.

HotGuns

I like that. Tubby.. I think Ill make one.

Could you send me a copy of the chart?

__________________
AR. CHL Instr.

To achieve world government, it is necessary to remove from the minds of men, their individualism, loyalty to family traditions, national patriotism, and religious dogmas.'
Dr. G. Brock Chisolm

P95Carry

Tubby - more wonderful stuff from you. Oh my we are accruing info at an impressive rate. That set up looks a very handy way to do the testing.

Excellent and thanks.

__________________
Chris - P95
NRA Certified Instructor & NRA Life Member.

"To own a gun and assume that you are armed
is like owning a piano and assuming that you are a musician!."

If a BG dies as the result of pointing a gun at me, then he has merely succumbed to an occupational hazard of being a thug

Tubby45

PM me your info and I'll get a copy in the mail.

HotGuns

Its definatley better than the old "fingernail" trick that I've been using.

__________________
AR. CHL Instr.

To achieve world government, it is necessary to remove from the minds of men, their individualism, loyalty to family traditions, national patriotism, and religious dogmas.'
Dr. G. Brock Chisolm

Tubby45

I live, breathe, and sleep reloading. It's my passion.

I have 19 load manuals, 5 presses, load for 10 cartridges plus 20ga, and have stockpiles of brass. I have enough brass and hulls right now I can stop acquiring brass and shoot for the rest of my life and not run out. I also cast for all but two cartridges I load-223 and 20ga, although I'm going to cast slugs this year for S&G. Cast bullets don't work well in AR15s. I also swage primer pockets for military brass for the locals for extra cash.

Not too shabby for only loading for a year.