"No Hardness Tester"…try this method

[OS OK]

I used this method before I got my Lee Hardness Tester…it works very well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfsEDav4Sbg

[Yodogsandman]

Explained here, too!

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?75455-Testing-hardness-with-pencils

[Duckdog]

Thanks for posting that! I have a Lee tester, but this is still nice to know. Nice and clear in the video.

[Walter Laich]

Respectfully I got my Cabine Tree tester. For ME it's quick and easy to use...now if I just remember where I stored it :???:

[bangerjim]

This is the artist pencil test I tell people about all the time. If they do not have or cannot affort a Cabine tester, the pencil set + the chart is a pretty good SWAG.

bangerjim

[rsrocket1]

This should be a sticky, oh yeah, it is:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?75455-Testing-hardness-with-pencils
:bigsmyl2:
:kidding:

[mdi]

I, like a lot of folks, don't want to invest a lot of money right off the bat when starting a new "hobby" so this method would be very helpful to determine an approx. hardness. Wish I had known about this 10 years ago...

[Ballistics in Scotland]

The pencil test seems a useful one, but we have to remember that pencil lead and the real lead have different kinds of hardness. In the former pieces of graphite and a clay matrix break away, and in the latter it is quite different. I think it should be reliable as long as we are using a known brand, but others, which only have to act like HB etc. as far as paper is concerned, may behave differently.

About the most reliable comparison I know of is lead alloy. Sandwich a small ball bearing between two smooth slabs, your test alloy and one with which you are familiar, and squeeze them together with a vice or water-pump pliers. If they are of different hardnesses, one circular depression will be larger in diameter than the other, and from the side you will see the bearing sitting with its waistline above the metal in the harder of the two.

[6bg6ga]

The pencil test seems to work. With all respect I went with the Cabine tree tester simply because its fast and accurate.

[flyingrhino]

The pencil test seems to work. With all respect I went with the Cabine tree tester simply because its fast and accurate.

I just ordered the Tree tester from Buffalo Arms. It looks to be pretty nice. $120

[blikseme300]

I quit using a hardness tester and gifted it to another member as it does not measure or reflect the toughness or suitability of the alloy. When working with unknown alloys, such as wheel weights, the hardness measurement is only one of the characteristics of the alloy but this can lead one to the wrong conclusions. The Mechanical Properties of 2 different lead-based alloys tested at the same hardness will be different. Unless you are testing a known alloy the hardness test is not a true indication of the suitability for a cast bullet in it's intended application.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

I quit using a hardness tester and gifted it to another member as it does not measure or reflect the toughness or suitability of the alloy. When working with unknown alloys, such as wheel weights, the hardness measurement is only one of the characteristics of the alloy but this can lead one to the wrong conclusions. The Mechanical Properties of 2 different lead-based alloys tested at the same hardness will be different. Unless you are testing a known alloy the hardness test is not a true indication of the suitability for a cast bullet in it's intended application.

Yes, there is truth in this. With high-antimony alloys cheaper and easily available ready-made, there has to be some reason for so many shooters finding tin in the mix useful.

But it only means there is a limit to the usefulness of knowing how hard the alloy is. Knowing how soft it isn't is important though.

[philzilla]

Good info