Hardness tester score

[PixMan]

I wasn't actively looking but one came up locally. A fellow in coastal southeast Massachusetts had bought the contents of a small gunsmith shop and was selling off things he felt he wouldn't need. I spotted a hardness tester in the group of tiny photos he posted so I replied immediately. It's a Chinese import, copy of a Wilson.

When I arrived he showed it to me and we attempted getting a measurement on a piece of annealed condition D2 tool steel. Nether of us could get anything. No manual was to be found. Opening the top I found a piece of string tied onto some parts inside, so we both agreed something is wrong with it, despite most of the accessories still being coated with preservative Cosmolene type goop.

His asking price was $500. With barter involving a couple boring bars, some DNMG and CNMG inserts, a few insert milling cutters (1" end mills, 1" ball end mill) and $300, it was in my car. And it's HEAVY.

When I got home I Googled and downloaded the manual, printed out the 7 page document. My son Brian helped me get it from the car to a workbench, here it is:



We took off the top and rear covers, read through the manual and found the problem right away. It's brand new and had never been used. The original packing blocks between the weights, rail clamps and other shipping stuff was still in place! I followed the instructions for unpacking and setting it up, but ran out of time to set the calibration to one of the 5 standards it came with. Amazing.

Here's what they go for new:
http://[url=http://www.mscdirect.com/pro...s/06534051[/url]

I've needed one just now & then. I still want to add a profilometer and optical comparator for inspection equipment, this just gets me closer. I've been looking to find or build and affordable heat treat oven, this was a required piece of equipment should I get an oven soon.

[EdK]

You keep posting finds like this and I'm going to wear out the dude.

Nice score!

Ed

[dallen]

Won't be too long before your going to need a bigger basement

[Mayhem]

Nice score Ken. At first I thought you may have gotten that monster one from Jeff, given that he is closing down but I suspect that went some time ago. This is much more compact and having never been used is a real bonus.

Ed - I too am giving up on those emoticons when it comes to Ken. I'm actually having a t-shirt made up with "he sucks" and a directional arrow on it. I plan to wear it whenever I visit him and ensure to stand on the correct side of him at all times!

[Vinny]

You may be giving up the emoticon for Ken, but I think I still have a couple in me....

Ken:

Ooooh, I got three out for him!

[PixMan]

(05-30-2015, 09:54 PM)EdK Wrote: You keep posting finds like this and I'm going to wear out the    dude.

Nice score!  

Ed

That would be my goal, Ed.

He who dies with the most tools wins!

OK, not true at all because I'd fail miserably compared to a couple other guys I know around here.

I've actually fought many times with knowing the hardness of some materials. For instance, the tool holder blocks for our QCTP's that Jeff @ Tools4Cheap.net and others sell. With mine (CA/400 size) I have to mill 3mm off the bottom to get them to drop a 1" tool shank to center. I've been able to mill them without issue, despite people telling me they're too hard and I'll have to grind them. Now I can know just how hard they really are.

As I do anticipate moving my shop as I retire in 10-12 years, I'll have a bigger space here at my home. The shop I have now is 16x25 feet. If I clean out the JUNK in my cellar here at home (also a walk-in), I'd have at least double that as the footprint of my home is 25x50. The downside is that ceiling height is lower but for a small section of it that was also an add-on from around 1947. I'd move the shop tomorrow if I didn't face  having to upgrade electrical service first.

Being able to help others local to me by checking materials is another reason I got it. I won't get into it, but I can say there's a lot of times I wish I could verify what I'm being told about material hardness. Now I can.

[TomG]

I've been looking for one of those for years Ken, but have pretty much given up. That's probably the best score I've seen in a long time.



Tom

[PixMan]

Tom,

I understand where you're coming from. They seem to be scarce...in working order. I came close to buying one (a Wilson 3JR) for the same price from Jeff Beck of Tools4Cheap.net when Darren & I visited him. I thought the better of it because there were a LOT of missing parts and it wasn't in working order. This one was questionable too because we couldn't get it to work, but I rationalized that it looked a lot newer and I might be able to get a manual and make or buy parts for it...cheap.

Imagine my joy when I found out exactly why it wasn't working! I've attached the page from the manual I downloaded which shows just how much gagetry the maker added just to ship it. And it was ALL in there.

[Roadracer_Al]

As a sometimes knifemaker, I'm going to have to get on the band wagon.

Good thing is digital, and won't wear out. It might abruptly stop working for no apparent reason, however, and usually when you need it most.

[PixMan]

Well I got some time to work on it today and found a little problem. According to the manual the machine is shopped with the 1/16" ball tip in place and the 120º diamond penetrator in the accessories box.

The ball is gone missing from the penetrator tip that was on the machine and the 120º diamond penetrator tip is apparently the only thing missing from the accessories box. Oh well. I'll have to order a replacement for the 1/16" carbide ball and a new 120º penetrator. Those shouldn't be overwhelmingly expensive, and I have contacts at MSC who could get a big discount off their list price.

EDIT: Looks like it was a 1/16" steel ball. I may have one, but if not that's an easy thing to get from McMaster-Carr or other sources. I couldn't find any replacement part on MSC's website for the 120º penetrator so I'll call them in the morning. This should be an easy fix to have it 100% as new.