lead hardness tester

[rmcc]

Don't know if this is the right place to ask. What is the best lead hardness tester that you guys have found?

thanks,
rmcc

[imashooter2]

Only have experience with the Lee. It’s cheap, repeatable and a real pain to read the scale. Several threads on making it easier. It’s still a pain.

Should be some folks with experience using the direct read options along soon.

[Czech_too]

I use the drawing pencils myself.
Based upon what I have read though, the Cabin Tree seems to be the best.

[HWooldridge]

I use the Lee product; the trick to using the little magnifying scope is to mount it so you don’t have to fumble around with the focal length. I use a Pana-Vise with rubber covered jaws and set it up like a microscope.

[imashooter2]

I use the Lee product; the trick to using the little magnifying scope is to mount it so you don’t have to fumble around with the focal length. I use a Pana-Vise with rubber covered jaws and set it up like a microscope.

I use a cut off clear soda bottle with a hole drilled in the cap. Works the same, still a pain. :D

[Sasquatch-1]

I own an original Cabine Tree. A bit pricey for those on a budget, but easy to use. Also, I have seen the LBT used. Again, a bit pricey but is fairly easy to use.

The Cabine Tree is still available. Buffalo Arms sells them, https://www.buffaloarms.com/lead-hardness-tester-standard-ctlt1.html. Price was about $120.00 before shipping.

[ioon44]

I have always used the LBT lead hardness tester, easy to use.

[KenH]

I use a HR-150A hardness tester with a 1/2" diameter penetrator with 105 KG pressure, then measure the diameter of depression with calipers under a microscope, then calculate the hardness. Works pretty good. BUT - "IF" you don't already have the HR-150A it's a tad on the expensive side.

[GregLaROCHE]

I have the Lee tester. I always wished I had spent the money (about twice the price) for one of the other types. I cut a hole in a clear plastic cup. That helped, but I don’t have that much confidence in the readings I get. Over here, I haven’t been able to find a set of different pencil hardnesses. I wish I could, so I could compare my results with the Lee tester.

[shell70634]

I have the cabin tree and a Saeco. Cabin tree works great and tests all shapes, Saeco only works on bullet shapes. Cabin tree big and bulky, Saeco fits in the pocket. Both accurate.

[MSUICEMAN]

i have pencils and a saeco. saeco confirmed why i was getting leading with some 9mm commercial lead RN bullets i bought. they tested at around 7BHN. was supposed to be (advertised) as 18BHN. My guess is they totally forgot to alloy the batch i got and it was pure.

[Mk42gunner]

Had a SAECO, didn't like using it. Have the Lee, not real fond of it, but it is useable. Make sure you have a solid surface and a good light when using the microscope.

I have seen the LBT, (it went for more money than I had in my billfold at the auction), but I would like to have one.

In all actuality I don't think a hardness tester is really needed for the great majority of boolit casters. I haven't opened the box that my Lee tester is in for several years.

Robert

[Bent Ramrod]

I have a SAECO and an LBT. Both are accurate, but I use the SAECO more often. Sample preparation takes some doing with the LBT, but I always have a culled bullet or two from a casting session to put into the SAECO. It doesn’t read BHN directly; you need a chart, but the chart is there with mine.

I agree with Mk42gunner. The only time I find that boolit hardness isn’t TMI is with paper-patched black powder cartridges. From reading, it seems to be important to those who “shoot cast boolits HOT!” using smokeless. But otherwise, I find that most of my guns digest whatever I’ve managed to cast with a poised equanimity.

[uscra112]

I have the cabin tree and a Saeco. Cabin tree works great and tests all shapes, Saeco only works on bullet shapes. Cabin tree big and bulky, Saeco fits in the pocket. Both accurate.

Ditto. I think the SAECO is more accurate, but I need a jeweler's loupe to read it at my age. I don't like the way the Cabine Tree indenter rotates, but it can be used on ingots up to and beyond the size of a hockey puck before they go into the pot. Fussy to use on anything as small as a bullet, however.

[rcslotcar]

I like using a Saeco unit. I have a Saeco mold that I cast large 45LC bullets and test those bullets for all calibers being cast.

[metricmonkeywrench]

The Lee here as well, as it is not used on a regular basis it suits my needs to validate hardness of batches of smelted lead when I think about it.

More often than not i have slowly learned to read the pot with what materials i put in and go from there. Most of my lead has been scrounged keel weights and range scrap and a smattering of wheel weights.

[kevin c]

I have an LBT, and like it.

But I have to confess not using it much. Since I get all my batches of base alloy analyzed, I know exactly what I have and what I need to add to mix up a specific alloy mix with a known hardness.

[HWooldridge]

I was hot-rodding a 44-40 model 92 clone recently and found hardness to be very important to accuracy. I started around 11-12 BHN and was experiencing gas cutting and slightly leading with the load I was using, then started adding a bit of linotype and found the right combination to be 17-18 BHN. Leading disappeared and groups shrank to a fraction of what I had been seeing. That being said, I personally believe a lead hardness tester of some type is necessary for comparison purposes - especially if you are pushing limits. I mark my ingots with number stamps and have everything from pure lead to straight linotype. Makes it easier to blend in the pot for a final outcome.

[dannyd]

I use the Lee ball indenter with a Coin Microscope, laptop and digital calibers.

305272

305273

[rmcc]

Guys,

Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated!! Called the people at LBT today, they are super nice. I may order both a LBT and Saeco to see which one works best for me. I have such a conglomeration of lead that I have picked up over the years. Most of it is WW.

[deces]

This should make reading measurements with the Lee kit very easy.
https://www.thereloadersnetwork.com/product/microscope-and-light-stand-combo-for-the-lee-lead-hardness-test-kit/

[Rickf1985]

Here is a test done with all of the common testers and the surprisingly the Lee was closest to the scientific findings. It is a pain to use but that can be overcome. I plan on getting a Cabine tree for odd shaped finds.

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

[Sasquatch-1]

Anything recently melted should rest for a 2 to 3 weeks to get a good reading. Once you get your testers try casting a few bullets. Test some right away, wait a week test some more. Do this for a few weeks and you should figure out how long to wait before testing.

[lightman]

I have been happy with my Cabine Tree. With just a little practice its easy to get repeatable readings. I thought hard about the Saeco but the Cabine Tree will work with ingots and other odd shapes.

[hc18flyer]

Today I was at Goodwill trying to find a used toaster oven for my first attempt at powder coating. Didn't find that, but I came across a microscope from a kids science set, complete with 4x, 20x, and 40x magnifiers. The price was right, so it came home with me. Heck, even the 2 led lights still work. This winter I may see how close my alloys are from Bumpo's calculator. hc18flyer

[stubshaft]

I used a Cabine Tree for most of my hardness testing. I had a SAECO but ut would give erroneous readings at times.

[PhilC]

Buffalo Arms, aka Cabine Tree, works great for me.

[georgerkahn]

Don't know if this is the right place to ask. What is the best lead hardness tester that you guys have found?

thanks,
rmcc

Through the (~50?) years I've acquired many. The two "best" imho are the Cabine and the Saeco. That said, however, I -- and this may very well just be a "me, only" -- truly believe these are rather "subjective". Perhaps my ineptness (?) -- but I find pretty much all lead hardness testers as great tools for casters, checking hardness variations in MY melt alloys. E.g., if it comes out what may be a tad too soft, I drop on some RotoMetal 'hard'... and voila: hardness achieved. On the other hand, I've never had too much faith in just checking an alloy to get what I consider an accurate reading. Too many "hard" (commercial) bullet tests have kind of reinforced this.
But, again, for checking personal alloy harness -- both the Cabine and Saeco have functioned admirably.
geo

[HWooldridge]

One practice I have to reduce variability a bit is to use the same bullet mold to check any alloy I make. I have a 45 LC mold that throws a large meplat pill, so it provides a nice flat surface to place the indenter. Consistency is good in most any type of measurement practice, so this is just one small habit.

[deces]

This should make reading measurements with the Lee kit very easy.
https://www.thereloadersnetwork.com/product/microscope-and-light-stand-combo-for-the-lee-lead-hardness-test-kit/

After posting this I decided to pull the trigger on the kit. I got tired of holding my breath and turning blue trying to read the Lee scope by hand. The kit came in today and it in practice is amazing! Lee needs to offer an injection molded version.

[uscra112]

One practice I have to reduce variability a bit is to use the same bullet mold to check any alloy I make. I have a 45 LC mold that throws a large meplat pill, so it provides a nice flat surface to place the indenter. Consistency is good in most any type of measurement practice, so this is just one small habit.
I do that, too. Bored out an old mould to make a flat-ended cylinder that fits easily into the SAECO. Cast a few of those at the beginning and end of each session. They stay with each batch of bullets that I care about, for future reference.

In the aerospace business these are called "coupons". I've also required test samples to be poured into a 6" Sonotube when managing critical concrete projects. Keeps the contractors honest.

Also, I turned a couple of cups that hold smaller bullets, to keep them straight in the SAECO.

And I use a jewelers' loupe to read it, rather than the naked eyeball.