Lee hardness tester - thumbs up!

[Cosmic_Charlie]

I put off getting one of these longer than I should have. If you are scrounging lead you should have one. I tested boolits and got results from 8 bhn to 15 bhn. The 8 bhn was a 9mm boolit that I had cast from what I thought was wheel weight alloy with pure, 50/50. So the erratic results I had been getting with that caliber makes sense to me now. The #2 alloy I mixed with pure, lino type and tin came out spot on at 15. Now I will test some ingots from the stockpile in the garage. No more flying blind.

The Lee tester exceeds the precision we need in practical terms by a comfortable margin imho. I use a bore light to illuminate the dimple while I train the scope on it.

[1hole]

.... The Lee tester exceeds the precision we need in practical terms by a comfortable margin imho.

IMHO, THAT line is the operative reality for reloaders. We hardly need to be specifically accurate for good cast bullets.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

One interesting issue that surfaces when you look at the recommended bhn for a given chamber pressure is that the bhn looks higher than is practical. At around 25,000 psi a bhn of 20 is recommended. That is straight lino type. That would have your average pistol boolit costing about ten cents. Medium loads for 9mm, .357 and .44 mag hit 25,000. And I consider the practical limit for bhn at about 15 which is straight coww or Lyman #2.

Roto metals has lino type on sale along with free shipping for orders over $99.

[Rcmaveric]

Honestly, when I first started I followed those BHN and PSI ideas.... then my guns and bullets said they do what they want and ignored those rules.

Yes I love my Lee Hardness test... that should be the next 3D printed collaboration. A darn holder for that little scope. Hahaha right now I use a plastic cup upside down with a hole it to keep thay scope steady.

Use that hardness tester all the time. Then use a mixing cross to figure put the mix for a targeted BHN.

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[Gunslinger1911]

I've had mine for 5 or 6 years. Comes in handy. And yes a "ball park" number is usually fine for our purposes.

Things like a stand is why a 3D printer is on my short list.

Till then, try this link, $30 may seem pricey, but it looks good to me.
Only reason I haven't ordered one is I keep thinking I'll get that 3D soon.

https://www.thereloadersnetwork.com/...ness-test-kit/

[Rcmaveric]

That thing is so 3D printed....

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[Cosmic_Charlie]

I'm going to make a riser out of wood and a clothes pin to hold the scope. I can use the shell holder boolit cradle and just move it around under the scope. Might have to shorten the leg on the scope a smidge so it just clears the flat on the boolit.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Works like a charm. Had all the materials on hand too.

[Conditor22]

The scope works soooooo much better when in a stand. I don't use the grove cut in the base anymore, I file and smooth the boolit nose, stick it to a 3x5 card for easy alignment and grab a secondary light source. occasionally I will "paint the lead" with a marker to help the dent show better (before denting)
Made from materials on hand too.




the simplest design I've seen is a paper cup with a hole poked in the top for the scope and a side cut out for light to get in.

[slim1836]

I put mine in a funnel (cut funnel for scope to fit) and an O-ring on the top of the tester to allow movement for focus. Drilled a hole in the side of the funnel to put a bore scope in the side.

I'm sure I will try other methods as I think of them.

Slim