Beam scale recommendations?

[RIDE-RED 350r]

I am looking to upgrade from our wandering little digital scale that came with our Hornady press kit. I just can't bring myself to trust it the way the zero fluctuates..

So, I have been looking on Midway at beam scales. But what has me wondering now is that despite my hunch that I can get a better quality scale in a beam scale than the same money on a digital, I see more than a few bad reviews on them. I am not interested in $300 digital scales at this point, I just don't have the budget for that. But what I would like is to buy the RCBS or Hornady beam scale. Now I know some customers can be impossible to please. But what I am asking is, will I be satisfied that I have a better scale in a $75-$100 beam scale than I already have with the little $30 digital we are using now??

Or should I look for a vintage scale???

I was confident I would be doing better with a new beam scale...until I started reading some reviews....

Any advice is welcome and appreciated.

 

[Bugkiller99]

RCBS 505. Put it someplace dead level, off your work bench. Buy some check weights that are in the range of your powder throws. Then, you're....

Done.

 

[loc n load]

Beam scales

I have an Ohaus 1010 beam scale that I bought in 75.....it has weighed probably a zillion different charges for me over the ensuing years..... the RCBS 1010 scale appears to be a clone of the Ohaus....my 40 year old 1010 has served me well and continues to , I also have an RCBS 505 which was given to me a while back and it works fine - I also have several digital scales, a couple in the price range you mention, and frankly they are quite accurate too.

 

[arjay]

Ive been using the RCBS 505 for 30-35 years with no problems.I think the whole kit with press,etc was maybe $200 back then [emoji4]

 

[RIDE-RED 350r]

OK fellas, you have touched on something I was thinking about....

Would I be better off looking around for a vintage scale?? There are several on ebay right now. I guess what I am wondering is if there is something about the current scales that makes a vintage scale superior??

 

[arjay]

The 505 doesn't look any different from my old one.The two ending in 24 hrs @$20 look to be in good shape.

 

[muddocktor]

I prefer the RCBS 510 scale to the 505 myself. They are no longer made, but you can find them on eBay. They use the same basic beam as the RCBS/Ohaus 1010 scale, minus the little hangar tit for the extra weight the 1010 uses to weigh from 511-1010 grains. Both were/are designed by Ohaus and they used to be built by Ohaus in the US. I think the newer scales come from China, even the 1010 from reading on Midway. I have both Ohaus built 510 and 1010 scales myself that I bought in the 70's and 80's. I've never upgraded to a digital scale myself, but do have the Lyman check weight set to check my scales.

 

[RIDE-RED 350r]

How about a vintage Redding #1?

 

[dmar]

I got a used/like new Ohaus 510 off of EBay, and it works great. I like the dial micro adjustment on the 510s. Ohaus made the scales for RCBS. I bought an old one because it is made in USA goodness, compared to the current ones that are made in China.

BTW, I got the beam scale to double check the RCBS electronic scale that I've used for years, and I just wanted a backup. Guess what, the electronic scale is dead-on accurate, of course... It's also probably made in China!

 

[rwsmith]

rest assured.....

I spent $25 on a Lee balance scale and it works just fine. I've gotten good and fast at using it. I throw a close Lee scoop onto it and trickle up to what I want. Personally, I think you can get a lot better scale in a less expensive balance beam than in a medium priced digital. Over a few hundred dollars and the digital shows its stuff.

 

[RIDE-RED 350r]

But what get's me about the little digital we have is that you can zero it, then weigh a charge or 2, then when the scale is empty it will read +or- .2-.5gr. Particularly annoying, unsettling, and frustrating when I have to hand weigh and trickle up each charge like I do with my rifle loads. Mainly because I like IMR4350 and it doesn't meter for beans from the measure... I usually only load 20 or so at a time.. but I have had to dump out 10 or 12 charged shells after seeing that my scale drifted again and after recalibrating found my charges off by .5gr. (if i can count on it being correct after calibrating to begin with!) I just need consistency..even if it may be slightly off from 100% accurate to .1 gr. I always work up carefully.....

ANd you've hit the nail on the head to what Im looking for RWSMITH... I can't swing a $300 digital right now... I would be more than happy with a $100 beam as long as it's a step up from the GS 1500 in consistency.

 

[BuckeyeS&W]

I have the scale that Dillon sells ,bought it in the early 90's. I have had good luck with it and it is easy to read and use. I think it is made by Ohaus.

 

[rwsmith]

Digital doesn't mean......

Digital doesn't mean perfect just because often the first digital components outperform analog devices like crazy. There's more to a scale than the digital readout.

A case in point is how people said the first CDs were 'perfect'. Well they weren't and a lot of people wondered why their CDs sounded 'hard'. A digital wave is not smooth like an analog wave. It wasn't until they figured out to sample the rough parts ahead of time and smooth them out before sending to the amp and speakers.

A digital representation of a wave is made of vertical rectangles side by side. The tops of the rectangles create 'notched' waves instead of a smooth line. The more of these rectangles you have, the smaller the notches are and the smoother the wave. A perfectly smooth digital wave is impossible, so software 'sampling' reads the points and further smooths them further into a near analog form.

Reproducing music and weighing are two different things and have their own sets of problems and similarities but the point is digital doesn't automatically mean 'great' or even 'good' for that matter.

https://www.google.com/search?q=dig...cret.com%2Fforum%2Fthread936026%2Fpg1;189;266

PS The Redding trickler is an excellent piece of gear.

 

[Twoboxer]

Any of the "Brand Name" beam scales that are made by Ohaus, even though they are now made in Japan, is the right way to go with your budget. I checked the manuals for each (they tell you if made by Ohaus) and chose the RCBS 5-0-5 for myself. Add a set of RCBS checkweights too.

The beam scale WILL respond properly to trickling or tweezering or however you decide to work your way up to the target load.

The beam scale + checkweights has the advantage of allowing you to calibrate and adjust as necessary to match your checkweights directly at or in the range of your actual target load. In addition to their other issues, digital scales do a calibration at 50 and/or 100 grams, and give you nothing to do when they tell you your 10 gr checkweight weighs 10.2gr . . . and 9.9gr the next time.

Others here are probably tired of hearing this now, but I've gone through 7 scales (Lee beam, Hornady $30, Pact dispenser/scale, GemPro 250, RCBS 5-0-5, RCBS dispenser/scale, and A&D FX120i). The only two worth using for powder charging are the RCBS 5-0-5 and the FX120i, a $525 mag force restoration scale (and it is not perfect).

The digital scales in this price range are accurate enough for "Quickly now, what does this bullet weigh?" . . . most of the time . . . or being close enough for hand grenades lol. Not much else IMO.

 

[lebomm]

I have the RCBS-by-Ohaus 1010 and have used it well over 20 yrs now. I started with the old Lyman with paddle-in-oil damping and it was just plain messy. If it wasn't left in one spot, it would need to be rezeroed and nearly impossible not to spill the oil. The 1010 is accurate, consistent, uses magnetic damping and comes with its own dust cover for storage.
Highly recommended by this old toolmaker.

Larry

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I have the RCBS-by-Ohaus 1010 and have used it well over 20 yrs now. I started with the old Lyman with paddle-in-oil damping and it was just plain messy. If it wasn't left in one spot, it would need to be rezeroed and nearly impossible not to spill the oil. The 1010 is accurate, consistent, uses magnetic damping and comes with its own dust cover for storage.
Highly recommended by this old toolmaker.

Larry

re: RCBS 1010 for over 20 years.....Me too!

 

[Alk8944]

Other than a multi-beam analytical scale there is none better that the Ohaus/RCBS 10-10. It is the only scale (balance) I know of which has Agate bearings. All others I know of have bearings cut into the Iron frame or hardened steel. The Redding may have Tungsten Carbide bearings, but maybe hardened steel.

The Ohaus, and all other brands made by them for various companies, is a bit more expensive, but it is a once-in-a-lifetime investment. You will never regret buying one!

Note: Ohaus is one of the major manufacturers of laboratory quality analytical balances, they know what they are doing!

 

[John R]

I prefer the RCBS 510 scale to the 505 myself. They are no longer made, but you can find them on eBay. They use the same basic beam as the RCBS/Ohaus 1010 scale, minus the little hangar tit for the extra weight the 1010 uses to weigh from 511-1010 grains. Both were/are designed by Ohaus and they used to be built by Ohaus in the US. I think the newer scales come from China, even the 1010 from reading on Midway. I have both Ohaus built 510 and 1010 scales myself that I bought in the 70's and 80's. I've never upgraded to a digital scale myself, but do have the Lyman check weight set to check my scales.

If you can find an RCBS 510, or a 1010 buy it, they are great scales.
I started out with an RCBS 510 and wish I still had it.

 

[Skeet 028]

510 or 1010 off ebay. Either Ohaus or RCBS...just a different color. I buy 510s every time I see them at a reasonable price..1010 too..but what I usually use is a RCBS 304.. Expensive and maybe overkill..but they are just dead nuts perfect. Have two. I also just bought for 75 bucks a really nice Ohaus 3 beam Model 314 reloading scale. The true predessesor to the 304 kinda

 

[GB]

I have a Redding, that I bought in about 65 for $14.50,retail. And a RCBS bought out of a junk box at a pawn shop, a couple years ago for $5. Had to buy the hanger and pan so have about $30 in the thing. Use both of them on my bench and can't really tell a difference. Both work very well and suit my needs. I check powder weights and bullet weights. Does all that I ask up to 505 grains. I have a set of weights that I used to check the accuracy of both so I am confident in my results...As a plus..... I don't need no stinking batteries!