Using LBT hardness tester.

[Dusty Miller]

After about 4 years of not casting bullets I've decided to jump back into into it but I've forgotten the procedure for using the LBT hardness tester.  Could you please post the procedure?

[MattC]

you don't need veral for this so here it goes.

1.) put bullet under screw.  Make sure that any burrs or lube on the base of the bullet is not interfering by rubbing or sliding the test specimen hard on the base of the tester.

2.)  Turn the screw down until the needle points at the set mark.  Press the pressure bar down until it touches, hold for a second or two.  If you test too near an edge you will get a soft reading.  You have to file a flat spot to test a spitzer.

3.)  Let the pressure bar up and read your hardness.  Generally I do a test several times on a bullet and take the average.  The thing should be real repeatable plus or minus 1 BHN.  


I think my unit is excellent, and it has read dead nuts on on every known alloy I tested and debunked a few myths on mystery alloys for me.

[Dusty Miller]

I've got bullets that I cast about three years ago that are still testing to 15 BHN.  I thought all cast bullets softened with age.  Is it possible that they are just as hard today as they were the day I cast them?

[Veral]

We get many requests on operationg procedure for the LBT hardness tester, mostly from purchasers of used units.  If you write and include $2 we'll send new instructions whether you bought the tester from LBT or one of our customers.  The above instructions are good enough if you've used the LBT tester before, but the instructions have much usable and very important information regarding the variables of lead hardness on the back.

Not all alloys age soften.  Some age harden up to about 15-17 max.  At hardness's over that all alloys I know of age soften, and soften most when stored in warm to very warm areas.