Is there any reason to break down your scale and box it each time you use it, or can you simply leave it set up and cover it?

Leave it setup and cover it. Should last virtually forever.

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USAF, 69-92
Vietnam, 72-73

Ive kept mine set up and covered for most of the last 30 years and it works just fine

I don't have a permanent place for it. And I gotta zero it each time, which might not be a bad idea anyway. I've gotten good at it. I'm looking for a permanent spot. Besides a cover, I'd like to have a box to put over it so dust doesn't get in. It's powerful dusty around here. Of course it doesn't hurt to dust it of every now and then, but if it were out in the garage, it would be worse than just dust.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I didn't keep mine covered when I had a loading room in my basements.I work in the garage now and have it on a shelf at eye level with a small box over it.I don't run any saws in there at all-no room

Care= don't drop it.

Mine has been sitting on the shelf for years, don't do a thing to it.

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Still Running Against the Wind

I have an "old style" Ohaus (RCBS) beam scale that works for me.

I put the beam in the secondary or 'storage' position when I'm through a
reloading session. The clear plastic cover slides on very easily and
is an effective storage/dust cover.

I recalibrate whenever I make 1/10 grain changes in the load,
and NEVER lubricate the knife edged balance points.

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Armed and Dangerous

years ago I used a plastic see thru bread box made to hold a loaf of sliced bread. Back then it was light bread. Anyway, it was the right size and worked out well for storage. Whatever happened to that thing ....


Charlie

I have an "old style" Ohaus (RCBS) beam scale that works for me.

I put the beam in the secondary or 'storage' position when I'm through a reloading session. The clear plastic cover slides on very easily and is an effective storage/dust cover.

I recalibrate whenever I make 1/10 grain changes in the load, and NEVER lubricate the knife edged balance points.

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Armed and Dangerous

the only thing I have ever heard is to make sure it is not stored with the pointer pointing at the zero but it should be weighted down, so set it to say ten grains with the pan empty.

I think this is to keep the knife edge from wearing as the balance teeters with air movement. Makes sense to me

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Some collect art; I shoot it!

I made one with some surplus Lexan. Used "hi-tec" duck tape or a hinge. This clear box is flipped back on the shelf when in use and flipped back over the 505 when not in use. Gotta love duck tape.

I made a leveling plate from 1/2"x12"x8" aluminum plate, my 10-10 sits on it 24-7, covered, when not in use.

I keep it right next to the ChargeMaster to cross check and I use check weights for both.

Every now and again I clean the pivots and blocks with q-tips and a little acetone and make sure there aren't any dings in the knife edges.

I did not mention before but I do take the pan and hook off when not in use. Not sure it does anything but it keeps in from moving or hovering at zero,

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Still Running Against the Wind

Thanks for the replies.

I am setting up a new and improved (is that daylight?!) loading space, and I can now leave it out rather than break everything down and hide it.

Years ago the balance beam on my Lyman scale slipped from my hand and chipped the agate cradle that the beam rides on. Fortunately, that chip wasn't at the point of contact. If you have a safe place to keep the scale, it's best to leave it set up.

A beam, like all balances, needs to be kept clean and free from aerosols/dust/dirt/oil/etc.
The beam should be stored OFF the base, unless in use.
Thus, when not in use, remove beam and keep covered.

Wipe two places periodically. The razor edged fulcrum and the notch on the beam that engages the razor edge fulcrum.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I will tell you this (from my experience). I have always dis-assembled and boxed up my RCBS 10-10 for 30+ years now and it's still good as new.

TWO of my friends left theirs set up and BOTH of the Nylon pivot points got distorted or worn to the point that repeatability was just not there. RCBS did replace the scales for them, but they SPECIFICALLY SAID NOT to leave Scale in set up position. That has been my experience.

I thought the whole point of a balance beam over a digital was the consistent most accurate readings. My RCBS is in its little nook on the loading bench, uncovered. Although a bread box sounds like a good idea. I leave the 5 grain check weight in the pan and have the scale set to 5 grains so I can see it is balanced before a loading session. Before I start dropping powder I remove the check weight and put the empty pan on and move the weights to zero to verify it is calibrated.

Something wrong with this system?

Both the Dillion and RCBS instructions/manual make no reference to the care or storage of the scales other than keep it clean and free of oil etc.

http://dillonhelp.com/Dillon%20Manua...l_may_2007.pdf

http://stevespages.com/pdf/rcbs-scales-model_5-0-5.pdf

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Still Running Against the Wind

I've had my RCBS 5-10 for about 45 years. I leave the beam on the scale and I've never bothered to cover it up. I brush the dust off from time to time with a small (clean) paintbrush, and that's about it. According to my laboratory-quality check weights, it continues to work just fine.

An old chemist that I worked with many years ago told me the following: On beam balances where you can lift the knife edge off the agate (RCBS 1010) do it. On those where you can't, keep a light weight on the pan to keep it from moving.
It probably doesn't make a lot of difference, but it doesn't hurt either. As I recall older precision balances had a lift to keep the knife edge off the agate when it was not in use.

I've forgotten how old my RCBS balance beam scale is, but north of 4 decades. About 10 years ago I didn't use the scale for a while (pesky work getting in the way of recreation). I always lifted the balance beam off the scale body to store it. In that long hiatus the bearings got full of dust and the knife edges got a little corroded. The scale still measured accurately. Gravity hadn't changed much in 10 years, but the "dead zone" that the beam hovered in had grown. It simply had too much friction on the bad bearing points to come to a repeatable and stable zero, whether measuring zero or 100 grains. A bit of judicious polishing and sharpening on the knife edges cured the problem. I check the scale every now and then to make sure the beam is swinging absolutely free and not getting stuck in a hysteresis zone around zero. I still lift the beam when storing. Those bearing blocks don't appear to be made of laboratory grade, hard material.