Found hardness tester, opinions before I buy?

Self Made Knives

Self Made Knives

Well-Known Member
Hey, guys found this on craigslist. Guy says it works and comes with a heavy stand, he'll take $300 for it. I asked if he had any test blocks and he said he did. Going to look at it tomorrow. Wilson brand, any advice? Deal? Not worth it?
00Z0Z_eQ45NpOJVp1_600x450.jpg 00O0O_5zDNOJvXZwa_600x450.jpg
 
Looks like an awesome deal. Check it consistency. Check penetrator if you can. Replacement can be as much as you are paying for the whole machine. (Maybe still a good deal) If it's not quite accurate, that can be adjusted. It should however be fairly consistent on a test block. The price seems quite low. Either a great deal or caveat emptor
 
That's short money and it looks pretty clean.
You might want to ask about the calibration history on it. If it was done by a tech there may be a history on the inside of the pendulum/spring door. Good luck.


Rudy
 
Guy says its a machine shop, doesn't use it anymore. He was asking $375, but was willing to go down to $300 minimum. Its in a small town, looks like a small shop. I have seem some similar on ebay in the $250-$350 range, but they always have a huge shipping price. This one's close by, so I'm hoping its a good deal.
 
Calvin, I've never had one of these, so not sure what weights your talking about. Something internal? Guy said he thinks it weighs around 150 lbs and the stand is about the same.
 
Yes there are weights inside that make it work. You need to remove them before you load or transport it in order to prevent damage to the machine. There should be an access plate in the back or side so you can get to the internal parts.
 
Self, if it works its a great deal. Calvin's advise is important. The weights should be accessible through the back or side of the machine. easy to remove and re install. But if you move it with them in place you can do harm to the guts of the thing that is near impossible to fix. Based on the info you have shared. Its a steal of a deal..
 
Thanks for the heads up guys, I had no idea. The knowledge and advice on this forum is worth every penny! Errr... Immeasurable.
 
Self, I have a similar Rockwell, model 3-JS. the weights sit on a hanger on the back of it on the outside. besides removing them for transport, baby that thing, keep it up-right, there's a small tank inside that holds oil. depending where your located if it's real cold it may take quite a few test to check for consistency.
even though I'm in Florida when it's cold I usually run three or four test on a homemade test block before I check a blade, I think the viscosity of the oil changes when it's cold, I can tell by the speed of the return handle when it's hot or cold out. personally, if that machine test good I think it's a steal. good luck I hope you found a keeper. one more thing, my dial reads in the 45-N scale. if yours doesn't read in the C scale you can find the conversion chart on the internet or what I did was called Rockwell and they sent me a nice color wall chart for converting reads for free. mine works great !
 
It's funny, this must be some kind of a secret or something. Go to google and try and find any info on the weights or transporting one of these. Nothing. I found a couple of old manuals that kind of show some drawings, but I know enough now to figure it out. I have a bad habit of buying things only to find when I get home with them they don't work or have issues. Anybody need a hot tub? :sad:

I'm going to do my best to prove it works correctly before getting it. I've watched about an hours worth of Wilson testing videos tonight, I think I'm ready.
 
There's not a whole lot to them, Rockwell is still in business they just don't make machines that look like that any more. you may be able to call them to ask questions, just ask if they have anyone that was working there back in the 50s Ha Ha. here's a pic of mine.
SN851189_zps3feb9a24.jpg
 
Update and monolog after. Went by during my lunch break to check it out. It had a very heavy duty table under it and a shop built counter spring cover to keep it clean. It had a box with a few test plates, some anvils, an old manual, and some extra weights. Turns out the guy who had it, wasn't all that familiar with it either, but we managed to measure a test plate several times and it was very consistent. I couldn't find anything wrong with it, so I paid the man. Went back after work to pick it up, man that thing was heavier than I expected, but guy had an overhead crane, so loading was easy. Just got home, I'll unload tonight and give a better report tomorrow on what I got.

Now, monolog. Or explanation of why I wanted this. I had a conversation with a pro maker about purchasing this before I went out there and he just wanted to make sure I understood how or if this was even necessary for me as a newb. I say it absolutely is not! It will not make my knives better, I know that. I don't "need" this. I "want" this though, and thought I should share more about why I want it. I also really want a surface grinder, but....

My employment background started mainly around construction and factory work when I was first out on my own. But at about 22 years old, went in the military and ended up in an avionics technician job where I spent everyday documenting, repairing, testing, etc. After the military, I ended in an R&D lab for a few years where I spent every day documenting, testing, destructive testing etc. Now in the electric company, I'm a meter technician, I spend everyday documenting, testing, repairing, etc. See where this is going?

Why did I tell you all that? I guess I just have a thing for knowing and proving the details of everything. I hate not knowing something and I guess its just my personality, but I like seeing things for myself. I like experimenting with different things and techniques, I'm an amateur machinist, hot rodder, welder, etc. So, I can see myself using this for other things too. I'm the kind of guy that uses 4 decimal points when everybody else uses 2. Wife says I'm weird.

Anyway, I was sort of looking for an Ames portable tester when I saw this one listed locally, so I figured why not. May not even use it that much, but when I have those moments when I'm not sure about something, it will be nice to have the option of checking it for myself. The other plus is I'm buying it with other peoples money too! The money for last 4 knives I've sold was still in my wallet, burning a hole in it! More tomorrow maybe.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top