# Need a manual for a vintage Wilson Rockwell Hardness Tester



## preeber (Feb 25, 2017)

I purchased the below Wilson Rockwell Hardness tester and all the information I find online is for a different model. The tag says it is 3R. Does anyone have a manual that they can please share?


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## Holescreek (Feb 25, 2017)

It's pretty old but should work the same way as all the others.  I don't have a manual (not even for mine) but might be able to answer questions you may have.  
Please post a good photo of the dial.


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## preeber (Feb 25, 2017)

Thanks, below are a couple of additional pictures. Everything that I could find said to pre-load till the small dial was on the dot and then hit the release lever. However, there is no dot on the small dial and there is no release lever that I can find.


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## Holescreek (Feb 25, 2017)

I can see your dilemma. 
First, rotate the outer dial so the SET line is at 12 o'clock.
Pull the silver handle on the right back towards you, it should lock in place.
Place your sample on the table and raise the table until both the small and large hands are vertical. You can rotate the outer dial a little each way so the needle is pointing at the SET line.  See the line above the Wilson name? The large hand should be aligned with it. and the needle tip should point at the SET position on the outer dial.
Now push the silver handle towards the rear far enough that it drops the weights on it's own.  The movement will be dampened by the hydraulic cylinder on the left.
Once the needle has stopped moving pull the silver handle back towards you and read the hardness by the number the large needle is pointing at.

Hopefully you got some calibration blocks and tips with the unit.  You need a diamond tip and 150kg weight stack for Rockwell C scale.   The chart on the front of the column gives you the weight loading for each tip.  B scale uses a 1/16" hardened ball and less weight.


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## preeber (Feb 25, 2017)

Thank you, it seems to work. I didn't get any calibration blocks and only one tip, diamond tipped. I need to get some "C" blocks. Do you know what the adjustment knob on the hydraulic cylinder it does? Also, if it is out of calibration, what do I adjust to bring it back into calibration?


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## Holescreek (Feb 25, 2017)

I've never had to mess with calibration on mine as it's always been in spec on A, B, and C scales since the day I bought it from my old high school machine shop before they tore the building down.  The hydraulic cylinder adjustment should regulate the speed but probably affects penetration too to some degree.  It's been a long time since I had one apart.

This guy has a great deal on a set of blocks because he doesn't know what they are, unfortunately he also doesn't show what the hardness value is for each block so there's no way to know if they are in the range you want.  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wilson-Inst...922878?hash=item1c79b3fbfe:g:69oAAOSwZQRYb~Vh


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