I am complete....

yomomma

yomomma

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Looks like my Lee hardness tester is out for delivery.

I am now no longer dependant on any bullet manufacturer.

Think about it, for the $40/100 I can buy a lee mold, make a 100 bullets, throw away the mold and still have coffee change in my pocket.
 
Not yet you're not .. but you're almost complete .... you need powder, primers, brass, lead, lube, and a lubrisizer for what ever finished size you want your bullets, melting pot, flux, dipper (maybe ..) something to scoop the dross off the top.. temp gauge (again .. maybe..) .

Got my Lee hardness tester a couple of weeks back along with a 6 cavity mold for my new .45ACP but am hooped for finding any win231 powder.
 
TPK said:
Not yet you're not .. but you're almost complete .... you need powder, primers, brass, lead, lube, and a lubrisizer for what ever finished size you want your bullets, melting pot, flux, dipper (maybe ..) something to scoop the dross off the top.. temp gauge (again .. maybe..) .

Got my Lee hardness tester a couple of weeks back along with a 6 cavity mold for my new .45ACP but am hooped for finding any win231 powder.
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He said bullet manufacturer.

Powder you can make and primers you can make as well, albeit not very fast.
 
That's what I started with. Plus some 5000 rounds of loaded ammo and 1000 pieces of brass. Got 10 pounds of powder and about 3000 primers.

TPK said:
Not yet you're not .. but you're almost complete .... you need powder, primers, brass, lead, lube, and a lubrisizer for what ever finished size you want your bullets, melting pot, flux, dipper (maybe ..) something to scoop the dross off the top.. temp gauge (again .. maybe..) .

Got my Lee hardness tester a couple of weeks back along with a 6 cavity mold for my new .45ACP but am hooped for finding any win231 powder.
Click to expand...
 
It was a tongue in cheek comment pointing out some more of the things required for making ammunition, not that yomamma was in the dark and required enlightenment in that regard.

Making bullets is definitely fun and cost effective but if you don't have the rest of the stuff you're going to have a hard time shooting them, which I assume is the end goal ....
 
TPK I know where you are coming from.

Mr. Spawn has seen me around and knows what I have been up to. Many of my posts on this site and others have documented my move from reloading to casting.

The hardness tester is indeed the last luxury item needed to make my reloading/casting set up complete.
 
Can't find the link at the moment but I was looking at an online comparison for hardness testers and the Lee was ranked quite high, which was why I went with it. I purchased mine from Lee directly, along with a mold and some mold handles. Cool little device, very simple to use.
 
Take a ball-peen hammer and give a pure lead ingot a smack,take a wheel weight ingot and give it a smack,take a ingot of lyman #2 and do the same.Turn them over and repeat,do this a few times and you do not need to rely on a hardness tester.
 
mr.e moose said:
Take a ball-peen hammer and give a pure lead ingot a smack,take a wheel weight ingot and give it a smack,take a ingot of lyman #2 and do the same.Turn them over and repeat,do this a few times and you do not need to rely on a hardness tester.
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Problem with that is keeping a consistent force with the hammer, a better way is a pointed heavy object and a 5' length of pipe you can drop the pointed object with.
 
Spawn-Inc said:
Problem with that is keeping a consistent force with the hammer, a better way is a pointed heavy object and a 5' length of pipe you can drop the pointed object with.
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I also heard or read somewhere to do this but with a large ball bearing. I have one that is over an inch in dia. and weighs 8 oz. I might have to give it a go sometime on some ingots.
 
I have the cabine tree tester, and it works well, way better than the fingernail test, or the pencil test. I don't think any of them are intended to be precise, just close enough for our purposes. I test about 10 bullets, and go with the average. With this tester, ingots will read harder than bullets too, just something to keep in mind.
 
Seagull said:
I also heard or read somewhere to do this but with a large ball bearing. I have one that is over an inch in dia. and weighs 8 oz. I might have to give it a go sometime on some ingots.
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My thinking behind the pointed tester is that it would be easier to see the debt in the lead. But a 1" ball bearing would work good to
I. You could measure the diameter of the dent to compare. The bigger it is the softer it is.

Lots of ways to get a rough idea on hardness. I mainly shoot pistol call stuff so I don't really care about hardness.
 
TPK said:
It was a tongue in cheek comment pointing out some more of the things required for making ammunition, not that yomamma was in the dark and required enlightenment in that regard.

Making bullets is definitely fun and cost effective but if you don't have the rest of the stuff you're going to have a hard time shooting them, which I assume is the end goal ....
Click to expand...

Not true! Not true! Uh uh! You could always launch your bullets with a wrist-rocket! Or spit-ball 'em with an extra large straw and A LOT of hot air!
 
Home made weights dropping in freefall can give relative hardness. The trick is to calibrate this over time with known samples. Science #####es! Its for everyone :D
 
Here is a great form that has the typical Brinell hardness values for various lead alloy's. It also allows you to calculate custom alloys using lead alloyed with Tin, Antimony, Arsenic, Copper and Silver. Its a great reference if you don't have a hardness tester and is fairly accurate.

Hardness Calculator
 
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