MidSouth has them in at about $33.

I'm gonna let someone else be the guinea pig.

Report back

I looked at the description and it is a method listed in either Lyman or NRA (back when they produced technical and use firearms information).
LouisB

I don't like the idea of using my press for testing. It is always busy and changing and setting up a tester doesn't appeal to me. For another $30-40 you can get a complete tester that reads directly while taking the test. Looks to me like it's more likely to be accurate than a magnifying glass with a scale in it.

I sent Lee an e-mail requesting they send me a complete set of directions on it. They complied at no charge.

I'd like to see how it works from the instruction sheet first.

Giv'em a shout and they'll send you one too.

I'll let you know what I think of it after seeing the directions and how it works.

With regard to not tying up your press to use it, grab one of their 20 dollar Reloader presses and just use it for that purpose. I have one mounted off to the side of my main press anyway for decapping, priming, etc.

Regards

If I'm going to spend $40.00 for a tester (cost + frt) and another $25.00 for a press, I'll just buy a castingstuff tester for $70.00. I don't have room for more "things" attached to my loading bench. I can take it with me when I'm casting and get instant readings. In fact, I plan on buying one in the next couple of months.

Any status report on the Lee Hardness Tester yet?

Inquiring minds what to know!

The lee system seems a lot like the bottle cap and ball bearing system I had copied and never tried. You filled one bottle cap with pure lead and the other with your alloy. you put a ball bearing between them in the jaws of your vise and gave it a few cranks. By measuring the diff in diameter of the impression you could compute the hardness in your alloy. Since I have been shooting WW I have never felt the need to work my brain to figure it out, but I have a handfull of bottle caps reserved for such a project. This should work. JB