Wilson rockwell hardness tester repair options

I know this has been discussed before, I have read several of the old posts on it. But I was wondering if there would be any new options out there? With the import machines generally having a good reputation it seems that older units are not worth anyones time to repair.

Does anyone out there have any resources for repairs for these machines? Has anyone ever seen or heard of a repair manual?

A friend of mine has one that he suspects the oil pot is bad or sticking. I suggested taking it apart and cleaning it. But then we couldnt decide on what oil to use as a replacement or if there were any adjustments to make or check. For the record he just talked to me about it on the phone, I have not seen it yet myself.

It seems strange that with the price people want for these things there would be someone who could repair them. Or is the fact that no one fixes them the reason they cost so much?

Charles

Instron will come repair it. But after my experience buying a tester from Instron and then later having them come service it, I recommend staying as far away from Instron as possible.

There's little to go wrong in a Wilson, if you've ever worked on a feed scale you'll recognize most of what's inside them. Most problems are the result of sticky dried out grease or an empty dashpot. If they get tilted over, the oil runs out of the dashpot. Any SAE10 or similar light oil will work fine in the dashpot.

There is an adjustment procedure that's spelled out in a manual, there are manuals floating around on the web, that adjustment has to be done for it to read correctly, but it's not complicated. I don't have it at my immediate grasp unfortunately but I do know it's available online.

I have a 4JR and a 4JS. I took the 4JR all apart to redo the black wrinkle finish and put it back together and set it up according to those instructions and it's been fine for years according to the test blocks.. I'd encourage your friend to stay with the "old iron".

The Wilson, as are most other models and makes that are basically a copy of it, is relatively a simple device with not much to go wrong. When I got one, it was sitting unused for some 50 years and all it needed was cleaning, filling the oil and adjusting. The only little more demanding job was cleaning and lubricating the gauge mechanism, but even this is straightforward.

I havent looked at it but I did look inside one once and there wasnt much to it. I was asked to see if any parts were available and I have to admit I was shocked when I started looking and reading the old comments here in the forum.

Just isnt much around, not even a good reference for how to tell the different models of Wilson testers apart from one another.

Thanks for the comments, I will pass on the suggestions.

Charles

As the old timers die who used to work on these machines/calibrate them we get closer to the point to just obsolete them.

I wish this was not the case as many of the old weight style rockwell testers are/were bulletproof.

Some years back when our local place was "calibrating" our the "tech" who had no clue basically jacked our one machine up.

That sucked.

A couple years ago we bought a New Age unit, for odd/large parts this has worked out pretty nice for us.

The Kinetic Co., Inc. on Instagram: “Our custom built Newage hardness tester sure comes in handy on these large parts. @ameteksci #newage #versitron #rockwellcscale…”

I hope you have the time to answer a couple questions for me regarding a used 3R Rockwell Hardness Tester I purchased. First it is missing the test plate or part you lay the material on, it has the top piston piece. Also I laid it down on its side on a pile of clothes to haul home and when I stood it back up some small rod fell out threaded on one end and a hook bent on the other end, I am not even sure if it belongs to this tester, I don't see a place for it. Do you know where I can find the test plate I need? And what that rod is ? Thank you very much for your time. Sincerely Dennis

The piece you put the test piece on is the anvil. You can make them from properly hardened steel or buy them on eBay. The 3R's are common machines and there's lots of parts. If you moved the tester on it's side you'll need to refill the oil pot. Without a picture nobody can guess what the small part with the hook could be.