Phase II Hardness Tester - How to Opperate?

I need to try to check and maybe sort alum extrussions.

Taking what I could git my grubby's on post haste - I borrowed this Phase II unit that a chum got with sumptihng that he actually wanted at an auction.
Doesn't know how to run it. Didn't come with any manuals, or tooling kit.

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I got it in early enough today that I was still able to decipher that I need the 1/16" ball tip, and got it ordered in time for tomorrows delivery. (MSC)

I have watched a few youtube vids, but none on this particular unit.
The ones that I see say that they have a hydraulic piston that from what I can see - doesn't allow it to "drop" so quickly.

But this thing doesn't appear to have such (and the price reflects that I s'pose). But if I just throw the lever, it comes down with a bang!

Now, I have found that with two handed manipulation, that I can hold the one lever while I throw the other, and then let it down easy, but it seems quite awkward for that to be how it was intended to be used.

I git the part about running the needle up to red dot and zeroing the dial to my intended scale. And currently I have a 120* tip in it, so it is going to China in my alum, but ... it is going past one full rev, and I'm guessing that should not be the case - right?

Can anyone help me with a quick step by step tutorial on this particular unit?


On a second and related subject:

I know that Rb is NOT where I need to be as Brinell would be better for my app, and likely anything that I would be using it for. (I don't doo inhouse H/T)

Not only that, but I really can't be seen with a "Phase II" unit in my shop. It's just "unbecomming" in my Made in USA (or at the very least - not made in China) shop. SO - while searching E-bay, I found this thing, and it is close by, but I am very ??? about it.

Brinell Hardness Tester 10″ DIAMETER 12″ VERTICAL TRAVEL OF TABLE FOOT PEDAL 5 W | eBay

I don't understand what the electrics is all about? Obviously this is from just over the hill from the "Digital" era....
I asked the seller for more pics and why the electrics, but he seems to have sidestepped those questions.

Would anyone know if this would be a decent machine for my app?
And what the electrics is all about? (Kind'a big guns for a task light eh?)


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

Ain't exactly the same but might work about the same


https://www.travers.com/images/art/57-051-845_manual.pdf

Yeah, that one has different controls on it, and is more inline with the ones that I have seen in vids.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

Why not ask Phase II?

21 Industrial Ave.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Phone: 201-962-7373
Toll Free: 800-526-9087
Fax: 201-962-8353

Ox - at a previous employer, we had a hardness tester just like the one you picture. I'll see if I can remember how it works. The rotating knob on the side of the column is how you set your test load. The handles around the column allow you raise the test specimen and set the minor load. The rotating handle at the rear of the base sets the major load. Once the major load is set, release the load with the handle at the front of the base. When the load is released, the handle in the rear will rotate back, and when it stops, you read the value on the dial. This is a GREATLY SIMPLIFIED description of what happens.
Get the book "Hardness Testing" published by ASM International.ISBN: 0-87170-640-7

But did you set the major load via a "thump", or by letting it down easy via the two handed approach that I mentioned?

Or maybe this is s'posed to have an oil filled res?
Maybe I should look under the skirt and see if I can see anything like that.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

I found a cyl that looked sorta like the one in the sketch for the newer (upgrade?) model, but didn't have a way to fill it like the manual said, but it had a felt cover, so I lifted that skirt too and was hoping to find many holes below it, and - I DID!

So I filled it with oil and cycled it 'till I got the air out of it, and now I think it is right - as best that I can figger - as someone that hasn't ever ran one before.
I wonder if it had been set on it's side at one time and the oil leaked out?

So, once we git the new tip in, I think that I can prolly make some educated guesses at the rest.


Still very interested to know if anyone has any experience with the linked Brinell unit?


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

I have one of these for Brinell. https://www.ebay.com/i/123737767883?chn=ps
Uses shear pins to keep a constant load.
Its super portable and you can even smack it with a hammer to test on large parts.
Use a optical loupe with a scale to measure and reference that measurement to a chart.
I swear I have a "loan-a-tool" program for my portable brinell and rockwell hardness testers. I have more people calling me to identify material then I want to deal with lately

The one in the link looks way to complex for me

Send me a PM with your email address and I'll send you a copy of the manual. It's in Chinglish, but only 9 pages.

Ox, just saw this. I have one just like it with another name on it.
Let me know if you still need info. I can make a video if needed.
I don't remember where the manual is now, but as noted, it's lame.
There is an adjustment on the damping cylinder in the back to control how fast the penetrator moves. I hadn't used mine for a few years, so did a little adjustment there and it's fine now.
The dial on the right side about 2/3 up is the load adjustment.

Ox, I bought one of those from phase 2 about 20 yrs ago. As everyone else says, the manual ain't real good.

RT90-0330, HR 150A 3R TYPE ROCKWELL HARDNESS TESTER - Accusize Industrial Tools down near the bottom of the page is a manual in 4 parts that's written in pretty good English. Part 3 has instructions for adjusting the speed so the load application takes between 4 and 8 seconds. That's important for accurate readings.

Further down in the same section are tables for correction on round parts. Smaller the diameter the more you add to the measured number as the penetrator will go deeper than on a flat surface. Same would apply to your extrusions if measuring on a convex curved surface.