Are portable units actually good for heavy tool steel dies?

[HenrikHenrik]

Hello pros! We are looking for a quick way to verify the hardness of our heavy stamping dies right after they cool down from heat treatment. These are solid, heavy blocks of tool steel, and moving them to our stationary machine is a massive pain and a safety hazard. I’ve seen portable rebound testers, but some guys in the shop complain about them being inaccurate on very hard materials like 60+ HRC. Does anyone actually use these for thick tool steel in a busy production environment? I need to know if I can trust the numbers for QC.

[Den]

If your dies are thick and heavy, a rebound tester is actually incredibly accurate. The guys complaining are probably trying to test thin parts without backing them up properly. For solid tool steel blocks, it’s the perfect method. Most professional-grade units, like the ones at https://teqto.pro/portable-hardness-testers/leeb-hardness-testers are calibrated specifically to handle those high HRC ranges without skipping a beat. I work in a machine shop and we use a portable unit for all our large dies. Just make sure the spot you test is ground smooth—if it’s too rough, the numbers will jump around.

[HenrikHenrik]

We always grind the test spots anyway, so that shouldn’t be an issue. I’ll look into those units.

[Author]

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