Brinell Testing?

[kappy]

How do you find out the Brinell hardness number of your bullets/lead/etc? I should add... without paying hundreds or thousands for the machines I've seen?

[oneokie]

There are many tools for the home hobbyist to use for testing BHN. Lee makes one, Redding/Saeco makes one, and our own member Gussy makes one (Cabin Tree).

[runfiverun]

lee is like 55 bucks.
saeco is around 100
cabine tree is about 150 [airc] and the better one.
you can do the known and unknown ball bearing and vise measurement,
or guesstimate it from pencils to staplers.

[dlviolin]

Kappy,
Search this forum for "hardness ball bearing" and you'll find a whole bunch of rigs for measuring hardness that you can make for nothing. It involves pressing a specific size ball bearing into the lead for 60 seconds and measuring the dimple size. Compare to a chart and you've got the hardness. Works like a champ.

[Bassleg]

I use a lee and it works of me.

[Bret4207]

I'm pretty sure if you asked for someone to test a sample for you if you paid the postage both ways, you'd have offers out the wazoo. The larger question is- Why do you want to know? If you're curious and want to know, that's fine. If you think Bhn will solve all your problems with cast, you're in for a disappointment.

[captaint]

What Bret said - plus one. I have a Cabin Tree. It's great. Everybody that has a Lee says they work too.. I really got mine out of curiosity and wanting to keep my alloys consistent. That is easily doable. enjoy Mike

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I use the Lee set to measure BHN.
send me a sample or 2 or 3 or ??? and I'll measure them for you.
it's best to have recently melted and cast boolits for samples.
no need to return anything.
Jon

[Frank]

Bret4207:

I'm pretty sure if you asked for someone to test a sample for you if you paid the postage both ways, you'd have offers out the wazoo. The larger question is- Why do you want to know? If you're curious and want to know, that's fine. If you think Bhn will solve all your problems with cast, you're in for a disappointment.

Knowing hardness is important, unless you are just using pure lead, then you know what it is already.

[Bret4207]

Knowing the Bhn without knowing the alloy make up tells you what?

[kappy]

I figured it would be wise to figure out the BHN just to make sure that my casts are being made with a consistent alloy... but if folks genuinely believe that it is unimportant, I guess I don't need to bother...

On the other hand, I thank the folks who posted up kits (especially the free ones), and still intend to try them out. I think I can afford a $50 kit.

If nothing else, it is part of the learning process. Once you stop learning, you're dying.

Plus, a friend of mine tells me that he thinks my BHN is around 25. This is purely based upon him biting the bullet... so I'm curious as to how accurate he is.

[303Guy]

I still think two hardnesses should be measured; impact and slow. I do neither just yet but I want to know the values. I think knowing and manipulating the hardness values is a useful tool.

[JohnFM]

When I first got interested in casting my own and started looking around for some info on the subject I asked a similar question and received the same replies.
"Don't bother, no need, waste of time, save your money"

So, I got one. I find the information interesting.
I've been shooting for 60 years and reloading for 50 and have a lot of tools and toys I don't need or seldom use, but I can't think of any I'm really sorry I got.

As I cast some bullets and go through the process of developing loads I'm finding knowing the hardness of what I'm casting is some important information. Right now it may be raising more questions than answers, but I'm glad I can find out what it is.

[1Shirt]

Kinda hard to disagree with Bret on this! However, love my Cabin Tree tester, got it for Christmas 4-5 years ago. Another reloading toy that I just couldn't do withoout. Reloading tools beyond the basics is an addiction. Gotta love addictions, it keeps Lee, Lyman, RCBS and the likes in business.
1Shirt!

[Wolfer]

I bought a lee more for curiosity than a real need. A long time ago I had cast up some WW and took them to a buddy who had a saeco and they tested 16 bhn. I kept some of these boolits separate and when I wanted to know about some new alloy I would put them nose to nose in a vise and which one deformed the most. I also had some pure lead I would test against also. Then I would know if they were closer to 5 or 16. I found that in a 45 colt with correct dimensions anything in that range would work just fine.

If there was any money in it I could be a professional putterer. Just can't seem to make a living at it.

[Larry Gibson]

kappy

I also agree/disagree with bret. I got along fine for many years without knowing the BHN of my alloys. However, I've found that measuring the BHN of my cast bullets adds to my knowledge base and allows me to do things with certain alloys without a lot of the hap hazard guessing and testing that I had to do before. I've used several methods but setteled on the Lee tool as it is inexpensive, fairly simple to use and is as reliable in repeated performance as any of the other testors. I also found a small toy microscope at a 2nd hand store for $12 and easily adapted the Lee scope to it. That makes it very easy, quick and accurate to use.

Larry Gibson

[blackthorn]

I got an LBT tester several years ago and I am very happy with it. It is very straight forward and easy to use.

[Bret4207]

I'm not saying no one should get one. I'm saying simply knowing the Bhn isn't going to cure leading, male pattern baldness or acne. If someone wants one I say get the Cadillac and buy a Cabine Tree, you'll never be sorry. But on an unknown alloy that may be binary, tertiary, or made up of even more elements...Bhn only tells you so much.

[44man]

I have to agree with Bret. I have the LBT and find it the very easiest to use. But it does not cure anything.
I use it like I do a chronograph, just to see after accuracy is found first.
I can tell you my boolits BHN but that says nothing about the alloy itself and 100 alloys the same BHN can all do 100 things different in the gun.
Even taking measurements at different places on a boolit nose will give you different readings, I will be darned if I will poke a hole and use a magnifier and chart.
One time I made an alloy of WW's, tin and antimony that I like. I water dropped and aged the boolits and found them reading SOFTER then plain WW boolits. But I can tell you they are tough and hard and shoot great.

[btroj]

I dont own a tester. My guns don't seem to mind at all.

Like 44man and Bret said, the BHN tells you nothing about the alloy composition. I can have a 50-50 WW/pure bullet water dropped with a similar BHn to a straight Linotype bullet. Similar BHn yet very different results on impact.