Powder Scale

[bananaman]

I use a Lee Safety Powder Scale. It is slow, and has to be re-adjusted to zero each time I use it. Are these considered to be accurate? Is this normal?
Are there any reasonably priced digital scales out there that are good?
Any help would be appreciated! Thanks, Bob

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

A lot of us consider the Lee scale....junk...... and would never use it. Due to the problems you encountered. I use an RCBS(ohaus) 10-10 scale.........For over 30 years this scale has never been a problem.......My $0.02. Lee makes some good stuff and some stuff that is not up to par.

 

[old&slow]

I have an old Ohaus 505 balance beam scale that I use. I zero it everytime I use it. And yes it is a bit slow to use.

I also have a inexpensive MTM digital scale. It is much faster to use. I use it mostly to check bullet and brass weight when I'm checking several and want to do it in a hurry.
But, mine doesn't work right when the temps. drop below about 60 - 65 degrees. Plus sometimes I get a bit of difference between the digital and the balance beam. So, I just don't trust the digital that much.

I also have a small set of calibration weights that I use to check both..

 

[LMWIS]

A friend has a digital scale from Dillon. When you start it up and verify it against the check weights, it's accurate enough. But then - without fail - the zero starts to shift around and the readings change.

He wound up getting a Hornandy powder scale/measure combo and checks the two against each other.

I know it's old school, but I still like my RCBS 5-10.

 

[arjay]

Spend the money on a good balance beam scale,the electronics at that same price aren't that good.Ebay should have some deals.

 

[Collo Rosso]

I've been using a Hornady L&L digital bench scale for about 2 or 3 years. Works great! Spot on with test weights and has never wandered off zero. They list for $129 now. I think I paid $75 on sale. Have a little MTM digital I think I paid $20 for. It too is spot on with test weights, but starts to wonder if you let the batteries get to low. Evidently cheap stain gauges for digital scales have gotten quite good over time. Also have a new in the box Lyman M5 beam. Hardly use it.

 

[bananaman]

Thanks, for the responses! I never had a set of test weights. Maybe that is the first thing to do. The digital scales I have used (not reloading) can weigh the same item, different when placed on the tray multiple times. Bob

 

[BC38]

I have a Hornady GS 1500 digital scale. Seems plenty accurate to me. The same charge will repeatedly weigh within 1-2 hundredths of a grain. You can throw it off by breathing on it - but the same thing can also be said for a good beam scale too.
Works for me, but as always YMMV...

 

[Peak53]

Another vote for the RCBS 10-10. I also started with the Lee, which was accurate enough, just difficult to adjust. Since the charging operation is the most critical part of reloading, at least in terms of safety, this is no place to skimp. The RCBS was a major upgrade.

 

[Vulcan Bob]

A few years ago I happened to come across a state "weights and measures" man and struck up a conversation with him. Part of his job is to ensure that the scales used by merchants are accurate. He told me that as long as a balance beam scale will zero properly it will be accurate. I don't know that for a fact but my old RCBS balance beam scale still works just fine.

 

[OKFC05]

A part of the problem with scales is cheap quality or damage, and the rest is improper use.
I learned to use triple balance beam precision scales in chemistry lab (scales enclosed in a glass case). A medium-quality balance beam with a good clean knife edge that will zero is generally accurate enough for gunpowder charges.
Set one under the heating or ac vent and it will blow all over the place. Chip the knife edge, and it should be thrown away.

I use the PACT electronic dead weight scale now, and it too requires some care in use. Dead weight pressure scales vary with both pressure and temperature, so they should be kept at constant temp if you want them to hold zero in use. Again, a breeze will blow them way off.

 

[Wee Hooker]

I too started with the Lee Safety balance scale that came in my first reloading kit. It was slow and sometimes temperamental but accurate enough to keep me out of trouble unless I went looking for it. A few years later I snagged a used RCBS 5-10 balance scale for $40 off Ebay. It was a significant step up and inspired confidence when I was getting close to max loads. Then just a few years ago, I purchased a Frankfort Armory (DS750) electronic scale from Midway on sale for $30. I'm still in awe each time I use it on how instantaneous , accurate and repeatable the darn thing is. It also came with a test weight so I can check calibration. Best $30 I ever spent in reloading. I still use that RCBS scale now and then but mostly to verify what the electronic scale is telling me when I need to split hairs.

 

[MichiganScott]

A part of the problem with scales is cheap quality or damage, and the rest is improper use.
I learned to use triple balance beam precision scales in chemistry lab (scales enclosed in a glass case). A medium-quality balance beam with a good clean knife edge that will zero is generally accurate enough for gunpowder charges.
Set one under the heating or ac vent and it will blow all over the place. Chip the knife edge, and it should be thrown away.

I learned on a Mettler beam balance scale in a chem lab. Mettler was, and probably still is, the gold standard of scales. You still had to zero it each and every time you used it. They are accurate enough that you can measure water evaporating.

 

[LostintheOzone]

Beam scale and digital here. I hardly ever use my beam scale as it is slower. I think it is more reliable though. I have weights I can check them both with and do on occasion. They always match each other within a few grains so I'm sure they both function pretty well.

I have an old RCBS beam scale and a PACT digital. Their DPP is a nice one for the bucks. I'm not sure what else is out there as I haven't looked in awhile.

 

[Mad_Charlie]

Beam scale and digital here. I hardly ever use my beam scale as it is slower. I think it is more reliable though. I have weights I can check them both with and do on occasion. They always match each other within a few grains so I'm sure they both function pretty well.

I have an old RCBS beam scale and a PACT digital. Their DPP is a nice one for the bucks. I'm not sure what else is out there as I haven't looked in awhile.

A few grains is way too much off for me

 

[daniel lawecki]

What's wrong with 1-2 tenths of a grain.

 

[scooter123]

The Lee Safety Scale was my first scale and it is accurate. It is also the most inconvenient scale on the planet to use and that brass zeroing wheel will shift position if you have the scale on the same bench you have your press mounted to. Ever have to dump the powder in 45 cases because you found the reason your powder measure seemed to be drifting was because it was the zero on you Lee "safety" scale? I have and I am still surprised I didn't drop kick the darned thing.

After that incident I purchased a cheap Frankfort Arsenal digital scale. It works well for about a minute when you first turn it one then the zero starts to drift in a behavior that seems to be sinusoidal. Turn it on and after about two minutes it will be reading -0.2 when it should read zero and in another 2 more minutes it will read +0.2. I now only use it to check bullet weights and to confirm I've set my RCBS 502 up correctly. Because it is accurate when you first turn it on.

Yeah, my primary scale is an RCBS branded Ohaus scale, similar to that recommended by so many of the previous posts. However the 502 is a two Poise scale so it's ?? 33% ?? simpler to set up than a 3 poise scale. IIRC the cost for one of these scales is about 60-70 dollars so they won't break the bank and they do hold zero and do work very well. However, the notches for the heavy poise are wide enough and gentle enough that it is possible to get that poise set a bit off center in the notch. Do that and your weight can be off as much as 2 or 3 grains. The solution is to tap on the poise lightly with a wooden pencil to settle it into the notch on center and to use a cheap digital scale to confirm your setting.

Finally, take note that I ALWAYS use a secondary scale to confirm I have my primary scale set correctly. IMO anyone who does this is "flying without a net or parachute". Because I've learned that if you do a routine task often enough you WILL misread a setting at some point and if you misread heavy on a powder charge the result may be a bit beyond "uncomfortable".

 

[rwsmith]

It works......

You ALWAYS have to check the the balance beam is moving freely because it hangs up a lot. Get better if you can afford it. I use it because I pride myself on running a minimalist operation.

 

[Alk8944]

He told me that as long as a balance beam scale will zero properly it will be accurate. I don't know that for a fact but my old RCBS balance beam scale still works just fine.

To clarify what he meant: As long as the scale will return to Zero exactly if you manually move it off zero, both + and -, it will weigh accurately.

If it does not perfectly return to zero then the beam knives are dull or damaged and need to be serviced or the beam replaced. The knives can be sharpened if you are capable.

 

[jculloden]

Get a RCBS 10-10 calibrated by Scott Parker........