Confused about these BNH readings!

[Gunslinger]

A fellow caster of mine has a SAECO tester that he lets me borrow from time to time! Anyway I use a 50/50 blend of range lead and WW stick-ons + 2% tin.

The range lead reads BNH 9
And I would assume the stick ons are about 12... haven't measured it though!
But my 50/50 blend comes out at BNH 14!! Isn't that a little high? They are air cooled and all test subjects were more than 1 month old.....?

[sheepdog]

Stick ons are 6, as seen on the sticky http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm. Clip ons 12, range scrap can be anything but 22 range scrap is pretty soft.

[Zbench]

I think the error of your readings is in the Saeco tester. I have one too, new infact, and it bears no relationship to what the real hardness is that I calculate with my Rockwell Hardness tester. Reads universally high...

If you want to send me an ingot of your alloy, I can tell you what the real reading is.

Pete

[yondering]

Lots of the stick-on ww's are close to pure lead, 5-7 BHN, although some are harder like clip-on WW's, and now some are steel, aluminum, or zinc.

Odd that your mix is so hard, air cooled. Do you have any clip-on WW alloy to compare to? The calibration of the hardness tester could be suspect, as could your measurement method.

[runfiverun]

the new stick-ons are i suspect somewhat harder than the older ones.
they seemed to get harder when the recycling started.
i have compared stick-ons to some pure i have and they are far/much harder.
closer to 7-8 bhn now, maybe it's just tin but harder.

[Jon K]

Gunslinger,

Not to rag on this thread.........but lets not confuse things.......it's BHN... not BNH.

[cajun shooter]

The Saeco has been known to give false readings. I agree with what has been posted. The stick ons at one time were pure but seem to be a little harder when tested now. WW's will vary in the BHN so there is no standard to go by but just general listings which will give you an about alloy. If you are trying to have an exact alloly then you have to start with known alloy. There is very little difference between shooting a bullet of 14 and one of 11 or 12. I would shoot what I have and go on.

[leadman]

Your range scrap could be just about anything, to include Linotype. Try melting some of your range scrap seperate without the tin and see what it measures.

[Jaybird62]

I had similar problems with my Saeco hardness tester. It always read lower than actual hardness.

[JIMinPHX]

I haven't used a Saeco tester myself, but I seem to remember reading somewhere that they read in Saeco hardness & not BNH. Aparently, there is a chart to convert the Saeco numbers to BNH, but I don't have one handy right now.

[Gunslinger]

I did measure the range lead without the tin!

Well if the Saeco tester reads lower than the actual hardness... you're saying that my alloy is harder than what the Saeco says??

And finally, yes there is a chart that comes with the Saeco, and i used that....

[runfiverun]

there is also a technique to reading the saeco.
it took me about 100 or more readings to get a consistent reading.
i now usually get a 7 with ww's and a 10 or 11 with lino but i have to use the same boolit everytime to do it.

[bearcove]

OK I'll bite. What are you on a big job?

Hopefully not a frog w/ a rifle.