Hardness testers

[Reddot]

I read the attached article and came away with the conclusion that almost any brand of tester will be adequate as long as your tester gives you consistent results. It doesn't matter if the actual BHN number is off somewhat from laboratory grade testers as long as it gives consistent results over a range of alloys one might use to cast bullets.

The actual evidence that one has a good alloy is found in the observed accuracy of the bullet and whether or not the bullet leads the barrel or not. Am I correct in these assumptions?
http://www.lasc.us/Shay-BHN-Tester-Experiment.htm

[southpaw]

as long as it is consistent then yes. you then have a referance point at wich you can work with. i use a lee tester and it has been pretty good to me.

I think that if you were to make a die that had a round pin on the end you could then hang a set amount of weight from the handle of your press for a set amount of time then mic the indent. as long as you dont change the weight or the time i beleive this would work. I read an article about that some where but cant remenber what or where it was.

[pdawg_shooter]

I too use a Lee. Had a heck of a time till I got to putting the microscope in a 45ACP die in my press, running the bullet up with the ram and taking my readings. It is easy now, and very consistent.

[runfiverun]

leeann: you got it.
a consistent aloy and consistent readings are the key to having repeatable results.
you just need to be aware that 20-1 is really close to the same bhn as ww's are.
but since a tester wont tell you the alloy, just the bhn, you need to kinda know what you are getting.
but if you just wanna add some lino to some pure and have the same bhn everytime, that is where the testers come into play.