Uploaded June 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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I bought this 50 years old Rockwell hardness tester for cheap and in this video I present you the months long process of getting it back to working order.
This machine is awesome. It weights like an anvil, over 80kg (176lbs) and the way it works is fascinating, with mirrors, translucent scales and old style light bulbs to amplify the distance the diamond cone is pushed into the material and enable down to 0.1 HRC measurements.
This being a well known tool I was able to find manuals:
drive.google.com/file/d/1kSXLpUsvzPXV5V55Sdk_KDlcdHBtJZZ5/view?usp=sharing
And useful guides about the calibration process:
capodieciivo.blogspot.com/2015/02/riparazione-e-taratura-di-verificatore.html
Special tanks to Ivo, who wrote the blog above and suggested where to find replacement parts.

Although this restoration wasn't cheap considering all parts and tools I had to order at the end it still was way cheaper than buying a new one. Less than half the price of a modern Grizzly hardness tester.

Find some stuff I use for my projects in this amazon storefront:
amazon.com/shop/blackbeardprojects
It's affiliate marketing, so if you order something from here you'll help the channel for free! Thank you!

Thanks a lot for watching, I hope you liked the video!
Suggestions and comments are welcome.
Leave a like and share to anyone who might be interested!

0:00 Disassembly
1:10 Missing weights
3:14 More disassembly
4:00 Paint
5:02 Weight knob
5:45 Load lever
6:24 Lead screw
7:04 Preload wheel
8:24 Lead screw cover
9:09 Final assembly
9:57 Stand
12:21 Restoration complete
12:39 Weights calibration
14:11 Rockwell scale calibration

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