[Hiaboo]

I'm wondering about a BHN tester?

I have a pile of unknown quality of lead (50 lbs)-- I was planning on chucking them all in a pot and mix em up and see what they turn out to then go from there.

I THINK they are a mix of WW, Range Lead, foundry lead and VERY pure lead.

Feels pretty hard, doesn't score easily but.. Who knows?

[Iheartguns]

Lee Precision makes a pretty good one from what I hear.

It fits in a standard press and presses a ball at a pre-measured weight. You then measure the ball with an included microscope and compare the diameter to a chart which gives you a BHN.

Andy

[RustyFN]

I use the Lee hardness tester. I put the die that makes the dent in a turret for my classic turret press and the microscope in the die hole across from the die. Works very well.
Rusty

[snuffy]

The lee tester works quite well, but it only works if you can get the sample in a press. You also have to file a flat somewhere on the sample to get below the surface of the lead. The surface most always has lead oxide on it, it's harder than the lead underneath. The flat also gives you a better field to view the indentation against. If you have 1# ingots to work with, they can be tested.

It really shines when it comes to testing hardness of boolits after they've been cast. It usually means the boolit being tested is wrecked for loading because the flat should be filed on one of the driving bands, not the nose or base. I simply test on rejected boolits, that would otherwise be re-melted.

You'd better be sure ALL that scrap is LEAD. Zinc can appear to be lead, if you melt ANY zinc in with that lead, it'll ruin it for boolit casting. Keeping the lead in a pot BELOW 700 degrees will allow you to identify the zinc, it melts at 787 degrees F. Because it's way lighter than lead, it'll float to the top and refuse to melt. Just scoop it out and save it to be recycled. A lead thermometer is essential for boolit casting, so get one before you melt that lead.

[Hiaboo]

The lead has already been cast in 5 pound muffins.. I got them from someone else, not by me.. So I really don't know if there's any zinc in there, probably not but who knows. How badly will zinc ruin the lead anyways.

[Iheartguns]

The lee tester works quite well, but it only works if you can get the sample in a press. You also have to file a flat somewhere on the sample to get below the surface of the lead. The surface most always has lead oxide on it, it's harder than the lead underneath. The flat also gives you a better field to view the indentation against. If you have 1# ingots to work with, they can be tested.

Seems to me you could cut a small piece from an ingot or a muffin cast and use that rather than a cast bullet, right?

[snuffy]

Seems to me you could cut a small piece from an ingot or a muffin cast and use that rather than a cast bullet, right?

The lead being tested is held in a "V" block that takes the place of a shell holder in the top of the ram. It's made to hold round objects. Anything that you could sit on top of that OR the top of the ram could be tested. The ball in the tester has a 60# spring that is compressed by the ram. The back of the spring has a pin that sticks out of the top of the die, that has to be kept level with the top for IIRC 30 seconds. Then the dent made by that ball is measured, then compared to the chart to convert it to BHN.

So if you could get the "muffin" into the press, you could test it.

[GP100man]

i made a fixture where i could slide in a larger peice & apply the 60# indentor.
a few bolts , a little angle iron , 1 nut 14x7/8 threaded nut & a little weld .
my problem is holding the scope !!

GP100man

[ReloaderFred]

I have the Saeco Lead Hardness Tester, and it works well, but it's designed to only test bullets. You have to set the bullet inside and tighten the knob until the calibration lines are equal. The reading gives you the hardness in Saeco scale, but they provide a graph for converting to BHN that works quite well.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[fecmech]

There is a fairly easy way to measure lead hardness if you can get some pure lead to start with. Take your sample of pure lead, a small ball bearing and the unknown lead sample. Place the ball bearing between the 2 samples and squeeze this sandwich in a vise.
Remove the sandwich and measure the diameter of the 2 dents with a caliper and write down the readings. Square each reading (multiply times themselves). Divide the square of the unknown sample into the square of the pure lead sample and you will get a number larger than 1. (If you don't you went the wrong way). When you get a number larger than 1 multiply it times 5 and that will give you the Brinnell hardness of your sample.
The reason you use the number 5 is because that is the Brinnell hardness of lead. The key is the pure sample and your ability to measure the dents but it is not difficult to do and is accurate.

[tlen]

+1 for the Saeco Lead Hardness Tester. It is much easier to use than the Lee and reading are repeatable. However, the Saeco is much more expensive.

[Hiaboo]

interesting method fec.. I'll have to try that. I do have plenty of very soft/pure lead.

[jmabbott888@aol.com]

Hiaboo, if you want send a small piece to me in the mail & I'll put it under the lee tester & email you the results. If your interested email me at jmabbott888@yahoo.com & I'll give you my address. BTW I'm in Kalifornistan.

[ReloaderFred]

Right in the middle, in Korn Kounty...... I retired from there.

Fred

[Slip Shooter]

I Use the LBT Bullet Hardness Tester. It gives a direct reading of BHN.

http://www.lbtmoulds.com/hardtester.shtml

[scrat]

I use the lee kit seems to work very good for what i need. shooting both black powder and smokeless the tester is very important

[qajaq59]

Fecmech, I'll have to try that today.