Hardness tester

[SmithDoor]

Simple hardness for material hunting.
Leave no marks

This is Simple a stick 12inchs long or 300 mm like paint stick.
And a copy of page wrap around stick for marks. .

I have bag if 3/8 hardened balls. So if loss one anc more to use.

I have different one for shop use a 3/16" balls for thiner gauge.


Dave

 

[GreenTwin]

I have seen one backyard casting person obtain a ball-type hardness tester, and he seems to get accurate results with it, as far as testing his iron castings for chills and hard spots.

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[SmithDoor]

I have seen one backyard casting person obtain a ball-type hardness tester, and he seems to get accurate results with it, as far as testing his iron castings for chills and hard spots.

.

I had check class 45 cast iron and would not fit in Rockwell tester.
Rutland had a unit for none destruction testing I purchased and very simple . A 3/16 ball from ball bearings. And a clear tube . It work but easy to lose the small ball so I up size so easier to find the ball. Then used a paint stick good and bad marks . Now my crew could check the hardness too. They set wheel on floor and drop ball. In time a rug around the wheel stop ball from hiding . The pickup ball and check next wheel. We did not check every wheel just in in each batch.
Then when looking materials it came handy too.

Dave

FYI I still have the test disk from Rockwell hardness test I think last for ever

 

[stanstocker]

Do you have to use a 9.5 mm ball with the metric version ? <big evil grin> Thinking of the metric adjustable wrench cluster

Actually quite a neat way to get low cost hardness testing into our world, thanks for posting this! I'd seen the vacuum column ball drop style in the past but not the linear scales to make it so easy.

 

[SmithDoor]

Do you have to use a 9.5 mm ball with the metric version ? <big evil grin> Thinking of the metric adjustable wrench cluster

Actually quite a neat way to get low cost hardness testing into our world, thanks for posting this! I'd seen the vacuum column ball drop style in the past but not the linear scales to make it so easy.

The only time I found was a small ball work best on thin material.

The larger size is easier to find on floor.

3.5 mm will work great the only other requirement is ball bearing hard. A soft ball has smaller bound.
The ball bearing hard ball has a uniform bound.

For me it was surprising how accurate the boun is for hardness.

I no longer need a Rockwell hardness testerand a good machinist doing testing.
In most cases a welder or helper could use a paint stick with 2 marks and ball.

For me it is so simple and accurate tool in my chest. This something everyone can have in chest.

Dave

 

[SmithDoor]

FYI
The paint stick work best with a pisce of wood glue at 9½" so roll ball for drop. At that point only need a mark . If ball boun over the mark it is good .

Should made clearer one mark was for the release of ball. I did think about round bubble level as some hard hard time keeping stick plumb

Dave