Help needed getting my new (to me) Wilson Rockwell Tester working

Don Hanson III said:
Making an anvil is doable, but it Has to be truly square with the machine to get accurate readings.
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Good thing I got a surface grinder then. :8 Perfect time to get some practice on it. I wonder how hard I need to get that anvil? Since I don't have "hardenable" steels in that size in the shop, might look into superquench to start with and see how accurate and repeatable I can get.

As far as grinding the V one, I hate to do that cause you know that if I do, within a week I will need a V anvil.:(
 
Would grinding it almost all leaving a small, let's say 0.25 wide V in case I need to test round stock be a good idea? I cant' imagine that there would be that much deflection with that small of a V.
 
I have a V one with a little bit of the V flattened. Just did a check and readings are almost spot on for the flat block and the flattened V block.
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Patrice..I would do what Don Suggested and get a bit heavier oil to try to slow that down a touch. It me most of the day to figure mine out. I had instructions but it was all of one sentence for my Mishawa Seiki .
 
Az, I appreciate you taking the time to test this and take pics. I will flatten the flats on mine a little since they are a little banged up. I still need a completely flat one since the knives I will eventually be testing on this will be much thinner than the test piece and surely suffer from deflection.

Mark, I will go buy some heavier oil tomorrow. I would still like to know why this is happening so I'll take a look to see if I did not miss anything when emptying the pot to change the oil.

Thanks again guys.
 
I forgot about something. To fill the oil pot, they say to within 0.250 inch of the edge on one page and a little under the top relief hole on another page. How do I know the right oil level?
 
A little update

Changed the oil in the pot for a heavier one (75-85W if I remember correctly). Slowed it down but only by a second or so, nowhere near what I needed. So I figured I'd try adding more oil. Well what do you know, I was much too low. :o It is now taking about 8-9 seconds to apply the main load. The difference between that and the 5-6 seconds recommended is surely due to the heavier oil but I will leave it like that for the time being.

I then made a flat anvil out of mild steel. This will have to do until I can get a stock one or some steel I can harden.



Next step was to take apart the arm assembly and give it a good cleaning. Not that it did not move pretty well before but after cleaning and re-oiling everything, it is perfect and moves like it was new. No resistance at all.



And back to testing the RC37.1 test plate.



Woohoo! Can't ask for much better than that. I did a few more tests and I get between 36 and 38 which I guess is what the spread meant on the test block. Since I remember that you are suppose to take a few measurements and average it anyway, I think I am pretty good. Still lots of practicing testing actual blades, which I am sure is a little trickier, but with help from you guys, I now have a functioning hardness tester which I should have bought a long time ago.

Thanks again for all your help
 
Congrats on getting it all figured out. It is nice to be able to test your own blades..No more guessing.
 
Very good to hear, Pat! It is nice having one of these set up and working right...

Your shop made anvil looks good.
 
Patrice, I'm happy for you! A surface grinder and now a cool old hardness tester. Your shop is getting amazing, my friend! Now you just need one of them power hammer thingies...
 
Thanks guys!

Salem, I am getting pretty much to the end of my bigger tool buying list...until I get into hot work as you say. :( Still need (make that want :o) a leather stitching machine and a microscope. But before that I need to get back to making a bit before I forget how. ;)
 
Awesome Patrice !! Nothing like spending a couple hundred bucks and a little elbow grease and getting a functional hardness tested.
 
I just acquired what appears to be the same tester and was wondering if I could please get a copy of manual?
 
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