Best hardness tester for the money

[RED BEAR]

I like my Lee but have up on microscope long ago. Now just scan bullet and use gimp ( free ) to measure the dent. Very easy to do and is more accurate than me trying to use the microscope well at least for me.

[Chad5005]

lee its cheap and easy

[Rcmaveric]

I like my Lee but have up on microscope long ago. Now just scan bullet and use gimp ( free ) to measure the dent. Very easy to do and is more accurate than me trying to use the microscope well at least for me.

That's actually kind of cool idea. Then you can lable the alloy batch number and keep a record.

[hermans]

I just wanted a tester that is easy to use and that I could use reliably for the rest of my casting years, did the research here and got the Cabine Tree.
Believe it is now made by Cowboy Bullets......worth every penny.

[EDG]

If you get reliable samples of WW , 20-1 , pure lead and any others you may use you do not need any gadget. You can easily make comparisons with your thumb nail.

The best test of all easily found testers is at the los angeles silhoutte site. I was person #19 in the LBT test results.

http://www.lasc.us/Shay-BHN-Tester-Experiment.htm

[mehavey]

Now just scan bullet and use gimp ( free ) to measure the dent.

Be darned if you aren't right....

Attachment 224670
Measurement Tool in Photoshop CS5

[ukrifleman]

I have the Lee hardness tester and am satisfied with its performance.

I solved the problem of keeping the microscope steady with this simple fix.

ukrifleman

[John Boy]

Accuracy of the Lee Hardness Tester compared to other brands ... http://www.lasc.us/Shay-BHN-Tester-Experiment.htm#Lee
The Lee gets my vote after years of service

[twidpa]

Saeco

[Texas by God]

This sounds stupid, but after decades of swinging a hammer I can get a good idea of the hardness by the feel and size of the dent in the metal with one swing of a ball peen hammer. I use pure pb as a baseline.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[W.R.Buchanan]

The Lee tester is by far the best bang for your buck. It is also the most accurate and easiest to get consistent results from.

The easiest way to get consistent results from it is to adjust the die so that when your press goes over center the plunger is flush with the top of the die. That way you get the same pressure on the plunger every time.

It even works well with my Hand Press.

I measure my boolits on an Optical Comparator and can literally split BNH#'s in half. Very accurate!

Randy

[BHuij]

I use the Lee. It's great and I got it for a really good price here from a generous member of this forum.

If I had the money, I'd love to upgrade to the Cabine Tree. The reason for that is speed of measurement. The Lee is just as accurate from everything I've read. But I've been on a kick doing lots of semi-scientific testing with various alloys, heat treating procedures, etc. and that means a lot of time spent counting to 30 and moving the Lee microscope fractions of mm to get a good reading. If you're only going to be testing the odd bullet or ingot here and there, I think the Lee is the best value for money.

[Tripplebeards]

I bought a Lee. Works great. Cheapest option that is going to give you accurate results. But once, cry once. It will last a lifetime.

[GregLaROCHE]

I wanted to post this here yesterday, but somehow it ended up in another thread. Don’t know what I did. So here it is again where it belongs.

Thank you all for your advice. I just ordered a Lee. I really liked the CabinTree model,but it is much more expensive. I was worried about using the microscope with the Lee, but then I heard about other ways to measure and I am sure I can get it working and saving a few bucks too.

Didn’t I once hear that casting your own boolits made the cost of shooting go way down. I am sure spending a lot getting set up. There’s a lot of stuff you need, if you want to get it figured out and working well! No turning back now.

[Tripplebeards]

It's just like reloading. Expensive to get started buying all the equipment then the cost factor goes down. If you charged for your time it would be cheaper buy loaded ammo.lol

Good thing we love what we do.

[OS OK]

I wanted to post this here yesterday, but somehow it ended up in another thread. Don’t know what I did. So here it is again where it belongs.

Thank you all for your advice. I just ordered a Lee. I really liked the CabinTree model,but it is much more expensive. I was worried about using the microscope with the Lee, but then I heard about other ways to measure and I am sure I can get it working and saving a few bucks too.

Didn’t I once hear that casting your own boolits made the cost of shooting go way down. I am sure spending a lot getting set up. There’s a lot of stuff you need, if you want to get it figured out and working well! No turning back now.

Just take the time and effort to learn how to use the scope as intended, it's a great little BH tester for the $'s. If you color the cast with a red Marks-A-Lot before you dimple, it makes it very easy to see the edges of the crater and align with the scope divisions on the lens...I use a little penlight to add some needed illumination...just lay it flat on the bench pointing at the end of the cast.

[Soundguy]

I’m considering buying a hardness tester. What are the best ones to consider, keeping cost in mind? Lee?
Thanks for all advice and opinions.

for the price, lee. But make a stand for the scope. once you have a stand, it works DARN well. also, follow the directions on where you make the marks. choose good flat areas, not rough mottled areas. for instance when I check my ingots, i use the part of the lead that was at the bottom of the ingot. I drag a flat file across to get a shiney spot and assure no ash or dross is there and then dimple and check.

[mehavey]

"Make a stand for the scope...."

Or if you have PhotoShop and a printer/scanner (like it now seems everyone does), just scan at Hi-Res and measure on the screen.
See http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...=1#post4420573 for the Stand
and http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...=1#post4421236 for the Scanner

[Soundguy]

If you are getting that technical, I'd use more than a 50$ tool at the center of it all

[RED BEAR]

This 50 dollar tool works on the same principle as the pro hardness tester we had at work.