is there an easy way to use a Lee Hardness Tester??????

[Marlin Hunter]

Is there a secret or easy way to use the Lee Hardness tester?

Trying to get the thing in focus and moving up to go down and left to go right is a pain in the orifice.

:killingpc:groner:

[helg]

Image in the scope is upside down. It may be tricky to position the scope over an imprint for the first time. This is like writing on paper when looking via a mirror.

[UweJ]

I taped it down in an empty sizing die case,screwed it in the press and by lowering or raising the arm focus it. Need some good lighting though.
Uwe

[randyrat]

I use an upside down funnel , open one side of the funnel a little for a light to shine in. The trick is finding a funnel opening just the right size for the microscope.
I may take a HAMMER to mine yet some day, never drink coffee before you try to use it.

[cajun shooter]

Try to find a childs microscope and put it in the place of the center piece. Holds it rocksteady and allows light to be on tested piece. The second option is to save your bucks and buy a tester from forum member Gussy. His are built like a tank, 100 times easier to use and see than the Lee and a pleasure to use. Buy the combo if you are a rifle reloader. Later David

[wallenba]

Pitch the microscope and get a jewelers loupe and a dial indicater caliper. Even a cheap plastic loupe from Harbor Freight will work. Then just measure the 'dot' with the caliper. No guessing, no wigglin' or backwards thinkin'. Check these out http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=loupe&Submit=Go

[Bret4207]

"is there an easy way to use a Lee Hardness Tester?????"

No.

[outdoorfan]

With a little practice using the long-thingy they give you is not that big of a deal, but like wallenba said, you can use the loupe and dial calipers much more quickly. Or, you can just use the dial calipers, and get pretty darn close. Make sure you have good light to see what you're doing.

[snaggdit]

This link was originally posted by Fire_Stick this spring. http://www.tacticoolproducts.com/brinell/ It describes how to use a scanner to measure the diameter of the dimple from the Lee tester and has a chart to find your hardness based on the results. I have done it and it works way easier than shaking with my caffiene hands and moving the wrong way each time.

[Zbench]

This is slightly off topic, but I have been researching accurate ways to test lead hardness using a real Brinell test. I have and use a Rockwell tester for testing hardened steel parts on the A-C scale as well as the superficial scales. I was researching a way that I could use this tester to get accurate Brinell readings.

If you visit: http://www.gordonengland.co.uk/hardness/brinell.htm you will find the formula for calculating a real Brinell value. As you can see, you divide the various products of the indentation diameter into the force used to make the indentation.

What the Lee kit is doing is using a spring to supply the force which is why it's inaccurate. Springs wear over time, and actual force varies with the temper of each spring. User operator also factors into the equation.

I'm away on vacation, but I think I can get a very accurate reading using the formula on the website above. A true Brinell test uses a 3000 KgF load and a 10 mm steel ball. Rockwell testers can only deliver a 150 KgF force, and do come with a .125" diameter ball. However, Since the formula appears to be independent of the ball diameter, it should be very accurate.

You would still have to use a loupe or microscope to read the value. But, for just a little bit of money, you can get a scope which is designed to do this. Probably more trouble than anyone would go to, but if you are weird like me and have a calibrated Rockwell tester in your basement, accurate readings should be very possible.

I'm looking forward to trying it out next week. Since the Rockwell tester uses weights to deliver the same force each time, it should be much more accurate than the method any of the spring test kits use.

Anyone try this?

Pete

[Marlinreloader]

I have one of these and they are cheaper in the store. If you go the web site they also have a liitle microscope for $29.

Hope one of these will help


http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2179604

Marlinreloader

[Farmall 1066]

Unwind about 12-18" of solder from a spool and wind it around the pen / microscope thingy.
Instant holder that can be bent into place, as needed!

Andy

[mpmarty]

I have no problem using the LEE as it is. All one has to do is believe that they are moving the dimple instead of the scope. That removes the "backwards" feeling.

[mrbill2]

Make yourself something like this.

[wallenba]

I have one of these and they are cheaper in the store. If you go the web site they also have a liitle microscope for $29.

Hope one of these will help


http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2179604

Marlinreloader Interesting item, but will it have the graduated markings for gaging the impression?

[Rick N Bama]

I found that the easiest way was to sell it & use the money to pay towards a Cabine Tree. I never did get 2 test on the sam boolit to read the same, when I was able to read it. Get the Cabine Tree & never look back!

rICK

[geargnasher]

Interesting item, but will it have the graduated markings for gaging the impression?

That's what your calipers are for.

Gear

[wallenba]

That's what your calipers are for.

Gear
Did'nt look like there was room to get the spreaders in between there. But I suppose you could remove some of the plastic at the bottom.

[cajun shooter]

As I stated before, the best is to buy from Gussy(Cabin Tree) You will wonder why you ever fooled with any loupe's, microscope, hammer and ball bearing or anything else that someone may come up with. You will be going around your casting area looking for other things to test. The plus is if you buy the combo tool you may test all your loaded rds for run out if you are so inclined . This tool has no equal!!

[truckmsl]

Seems easy to me. I place the boolit in a vice with the dimpled surface flush with the top of the jaws, set the optical piece right down on the jaws and read it. That way it's steady and in focus. You just get used to the reverse motion when moving it. Can't imagine anything simpler. Helps to shine some light in.

[Papa smurf]

Had 2 hardness testers for 71 years and they become more accurate as they get older.
"thumb nails' Good Shooting--------------------------Papa Smurf

[montana_charlie]

What the Lee kit is doing is using a spring to supply the force which is why it's inaccurate.
It's only inaccurate if the spring force is wrong. It's not hard to check that.

A test of testers...
http://www.lasc.us/Shay-BHN-Tester-Experiment.htm

Dan Theodore (a master experimentor with plenty of money) compared the Cabine Tree and the Lee, and found them to be about equal. He actually uses the Lee for his critical hardness testing.

The Cabine Tree needs to be 'adjusted' or 'calibrated' to each piece of alloy to be tested. The talent of the operator during this critical phase determines if the result will be 'accurate', 'close', or 'invalid'.
The only thing about the tool that is 'easier' is...it's easier to read the result.
If the result is affected by no-talent setup, the value of the 'easiness' is lost.

A chimp (with good eyesight) can use the Lee.

CM

[markinalpine]

Unwind about 12-18" of solder from a spool and wind it around the pen / microscope thingy.
Instant holder that can be bent into place, as needed!

Andy

:drinks: :smilie=w:

Another good recommendation is to use liquid paper/ white-out to paint the background, if that stuff is still available anymore, or to wipe the background with magic marker to provide contrast. I used a black marker, being careful to not fill the dimple, and it helped a lot. I also mounted the boolit holder in a Lee Reloader press, the open frame C press, and raised the boolit up to the micro-scope which is inserted down a .451 Lee push through resizing die. A little Tensor lamp mounted to the side provides plenty of light.

Mark :lovebooli

[Zbench]

Charlie,

Thanks for posting the link to the work that you describe. I read it with great interest, and I was happy to see that the test that the "lab" did to determine the true Brinell Hardness of 19.8 was exactly the method I thought should work. It appears that they used a superficial hardness tester which is designed for testing the hardness of sheet metal, but it is the same test that I mentioned above in this thread.

Having said that, I don't agree that the Lee or any of the testers are "accurate" The true BHN is 19.8, the one with the closest average to the real value is the LBT with an average of 21.6, but the precision, or the spread of the values is for crap.

The Lee tester is relatively precise, that is the results are close to each other, but the accuracy is pretty far off at 23.4

Of course, the readings are all relative to each other, but, none of the home DIY testers appear to be accurate, for the reasons I mentioned before.

Pete

[montana_charlie]

Having said that, I don't agree that the Lee or any of the testers are "accurate".
Which of them have you tried yourself?

The test at LASC was done by folks scattered all over the country. The only thing they had in common were the alloy samples sent to them to test.
I am certain that 'individual technique' has a lot to do with the actual values recorded.

How well did your technique work on the testers you have tried?

I have the Lee, but I have quit using the microscope to measure the indentations.
A dial caliper and strong magnifier works more intuitively...and (I believe) just as accurately.

What makes me think that? This...

The Lee table tells the owner what size 'dimple' should be produced by each hardness rating.
If he uses alloy with a known hardess, he only needs to find out if the tester will produce a dimple of the appropriate diameter in order to know if the tool is accurate.

It's a little more 'iffy' when testing an unknown alloy to discover it's hardness, but if the other test turned out well, he can probably trust the second result.

I can make a dimple in pure lead (doing it carefully and in strict accordance with the instructions) and the diameter is invariably .100". That is what it should be, so I am satisfied with the degree of accuracy.

But, when making a test and allowing a mistake to occur...like raising the ram a bit too high, or not waiting a full 30 seconds, or making the test on a lead slug that is too thin...I am not surprised when results don't track with the alloy being tested.


When you tried the Lee tool, did you ever surprise yourself by letting the internal pin get higher than the die cap? I did that fairly regularly when I first started using it...

CM

[Marlin Hunter]

Unwind about 12-18" of solder from a spool and wind it around the pen / microscope thingy.
Instant holder that can be bent into place, as needed!

Andy


I tried it and it works. much easier

I will use it until I can get something better