Shuz
12-11-2006, 05:53 PM
Guys...I've been using a Saeco hardness tester for many years and have been very pleased with it's repeatabilty and ease of use. Perhaps 10 years ago or more, wheelweights always gave me a reading of Saeco 6 or between 6 and 7. Recently I've been noticing a lot more of the "stick-on" type weights in the pails I scrounge from the various tire shops. I decided to see what the hardness difference,if any, was between the two types. On Oct 19th 2006 I smelted a hunnert pounds of clip only type weights and separately smelted about 20 pounds of "stick-on" weights. That day I cast several Lee 44 cal 200g RNFP boolits from each melt and today I decided to test their repective hardnesses approx 7 weeks later. Here's my findings:
Stick-on boolit weight was 217g with an air cooled hardness of Saeco5(Bhn 8) and quench cast hardness of Saeco7-8(Bhn 11 to 14)
Clip on boolit weight was 212g with an air cooled hardness of Saeco8-9(Bhn 14 to 18) and a quench cast hardness of Saeco11(Bhn 27to 28).
Many of us have suspected all along that the stick-ons had a higher lead percentage, now we have a little more info that would indicate this is true. Hope this helps.--Shuz
Stick-on boolit weight was 217g with an air cooled hardness of Saeco5(Bhn 8) and quench cast hardness of Saeco7-8(Bhn 11 to 14)
Clip on boolit weight was 212g with an air cooled hardness of Saeco8-9(Bhn 14 to 18) and a quench cast hardness of Saeco11(Bhn 27to 28).
Many of us have suspected all along that the stick-ons had a higher lead percentage, now we have a little more info that would indicate this is true. Hope this helps.--Shuz