Potter lead bullet hardness tester.

[circle141]

Lookin for some one who can tell me how to use a Potter lead hardness tester
I got in a trade. It all there but did not come with a owners book.



Mike Circle
circle141@msn.com
727-544-1295

[Antietamgw]

Me too!

[Pepe Ray]

I do NOT have the instructions but, I do have an advertising picture of one with a boolet in place.
Would that be enough?
Pepe Ray

[Bret4207]

Could you post a pic of the ad here Ray?

[Pepe Ray]

I'll try it first with my camera.
Stand by.
Pepe Ray

[Pepe Ray]

Here's hopin'

[Pepe Ray]

The bar that the weight hangs from is invisable in the pic but you can see the joints and other points of contact.

[rusty marlin]

looking at it wtih the eye of a Mechanical Engineer I would hazard this guess.

Remove the wieght. Set sample bullet on plunger and bring tip of threaded anvil down to contact bullet with enough load to raise the weight holding bar to Zero.
Then hang the weight to drive the bullet up into the anvil which will lower the weight bar to a hardness value.
let me know if this works.

[circle141]

My thanks to every one who helped me with an answer to my question
about my Potter lead hardness tester.



Mike Circle

[Toobroke]

Philip Sharpe talks about it in the Third Edition, Second Revision (1953) Complete Guide to Handloading on page 102 of the supplement:

"...An ingot of the metal to be tested--even a sample bullet--is placed on the anvil and the clamping screw tightened to bring the measuring arm to the zero point on the upright scale. If the bullet is a round nose, it should be filed to a small flat for better reading. A ball point on the clamping screw rests lightly on the metal to be tested, with the pointer at zero. A one-pound lead weight, supplied with the unit, is then hung on the beam. This forces the ball into the metal, bringing the beam down on the scale. In from 10-20 seconds, the beam comes to rest and the reading should be taken immediately. The 2 1/2 scale reading indicates approximately 10 to 1. The 4 reading equals 15 to 1, the 5 reading is 18 to 1, and the 6 mark equals about 25 to 1. One caution in the use of this unit. It should be borne in mind that all cast lead alloys are inclined to slightlly surface harden, and this sometimes increases with age. It is best to file a smooth spot at the point of test, and since many metal alloys are not perfectly blended, three or four readings at different points should be taken on each piece of metal tested."

Hope this helps...

[rusty marlin]

Very interesting.
Referaces are all Lead:Tin alloys, and not direct Brinnel either.
That would require a couple of known samples to calibrate the unit for other alloys.