Saeco hardness Tester - just an interest post FYI.

[P95Carry]

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.

 

[Gewehr98]

Neat!

Fitz, any more left in the inventory? (I used a bunch of linotype in my last batch, and they seem harder)

 

[Gatofeo]

I believe that Saeco still makes that bullet hardness tester. Bought mine two years ago from Cabela's. Cost me $100 but it's been worth it, takes a lot of mystery out of scrap lead and casting.
The downside is that you can't simply test a scrap of lead with it. You must take the scrap lead, melt it down, and cast a .30, .35 or .45 caliber bullet with it, to fit in the hardness tester.
This takes a little extra time. I use a small Lee electric melter for this task, which melts 4 pounds of lead. Then I cast a Lyman 457193 rifle bullet, which has a broad, flat nose.
I cast at least 20 of them, and average my findings.
The large cavity of the Lyman 457193 is easier to cast and is more forgiving than a .30-caliber bullet.
Using this hardness tester damages the bullet cosmetically, by leaving a needle-sized pit in the nose from the plunger. I usually throw the bullets back in the pot but they're not so damaged that they couldn't be used for plinkers.
Frankly, I wish someone would market a small, stepped steel disk that would fit inside the Saeco and give it a flat base. That way, you wouldn't HAVE to use .30, .35 or .45 caliber bullets for testing. Any bullet with a flat base and flat nose would work.
With such a device, I could take it to gun shows and test bullets of other diameters. Disks with hollows of .36, .45, .50, .54 and .58 could be inserted for checking the alloy of lead balls.
A year ago, I bought some .36 caliber bullets at a gun show. They seemed harder than usual but the price was right. Melted a few down in my ladle, with a torch, and tried the alloy.
Guess what? Wheelweights! And the package said, "Pure Lead."
Burned again!
I used them in my .36 revolver and they caused leading with even the lightest loads, as harder bullets will do with black powder.
Anyway, I take my Saeco Lead Hardness Tester with me to gun shows. Most reputable vendors will provide you with a sample to test, and other shoppers find the process of checking interesting. I expect more than a few have ordered a Saeco Hardness Tester after seeing me use one at the gun show.
It sure puts a qualifying measure to the term "Hard-cast." Hard, compared to what? The Saeco tells me precisely.
It's a handy little gadget, despite its strict appetite for .30, .35 and .44/.45 caliber bullets.

 

[444]

I have the LBT tester. It sounds a little more versitile than the Saeco for a couple reasons. It sounds like it is easier to get the metal into the tester itself. It doesn't have to be a bullet, but it does have to be flat on the top and bottom. It also reads out in BHN which is a more universal scale.
The saeco unit certainly appears to be of very high quality and I know they enjoy a great reputation.

 

[P95Carry]

Gatofeo ...... you mention what I had already thought of re the cal restrictions imposed by the rebated end of the threaded part.

I may well try and turn up a small disk of mild steel with steps to match that and make the other side flat .... as long as bullet is centered then all should be fine for useage. Just a fiddly job that's all. If successful with that then it could be located probably just be use of C/A adhesive.

Is yours 100% steel? This one is but had heard that newer versions were part aluminum.

 

[Paul "Fitz" Jones]

Time has created cheaper products

As the main distributor of the Ca-Saeco products along with Star, C-H and my Fitz Pistol Grips I was concerned at the death of the Saeco owner and the daughter was keeping the company going looking for a buyer. When one came in he started looking closely at every material and product and every movement of the machinists for a way to take advantage of the Saeco good name and selling cheaper quality tools in the materials and workmanship allowed.
Consequently I stocked up on all the original Blanchard Ground blocks and sprues and tools already made in inventory worth many thousands of dollars as I could see that the quality would be going drastically down hill. It did happen and HW shortly went out out of business because I refused to buy any of his cheaper material tools and the company sold to Redding Saeco who continued to make the cheaper made and materials molds and changed the Original Patent Steel tester to aluminum hardness testers.

I had made a thousand burnished Steel original patent lead hardness testers and supervised the use of all my Meehanite mold blocks being cut with the proper diameter bullet cherries and got the last of the fantastically accurate powder measures.

Most everything is sold now since I came on line in 2002 and mostly to Star owners and Bullseye list members. My Steel testers are gone unless I find some more and all I have left of the 965 4 cavity Meehanite Lifetime molds I had made and in inventory when I was injured is less than 175 now. There are very obvious differences that can be described by men that have the old and the current production and you are welcome to ask for a list of what I have left which is 11 out of 55 designs I sold.

Fitz

 

[college]

"...I wish someone would market a small, stepped steel disk that would fit inside the Saeco and give it a flat base. ...
I just made such an insert using just two steps. It appears to work just fine.
College

 

[college]

I read in some thread that someone wanted to be able to get a reading of LESS than zero or MORE than ten. You can do that on the Saeco hardness tester. When the index marks are aligned and there is a mark or more to the LEFT of the zero, ADD that to the 10 i.e. 13 would be the Saeco hardness. It has been a while since I have done this but I think I have it right. Please correct me if I am wrong.
College