What type scale do most use to weigh alloy components?

[Tallbald]

I have an old food scale I can use that has accuracy good enough for carrots and green beans I suppose (if I use it for lead it WON"T be used again for food though), but I don't know what most are finding best for weighing their alloy components. Harbor Freight has a few digital scales, but I'd rather keep my eyes open at Goodwill and thrift stores for something better. I'd prefer an old mechanical postal scale. Thoughts? Thanks. Don

[Echo]

I use an HF scale that cost about $40 a couple of years ago. Weighs up to 70 lbs, by ounces (I think), and I also use a postal scale for light (>5lbs) weighing.

[runfiverun]

I'm cheaper than that.
10$ food scale from walmart it does 12 pounds.
if I'm doing big batches I just use the bathroom scale.

[C. Latch]

My SOWW ingots are roughly the same length and width but maybe 1.6x the height of my average COWW ingot.

I guesstimate that my average COWW ingot is one pound (if I grab a larger one from the pile, I'll offset it by also grabbing a smaller one) and my average SOWW ingot is 1.6 pounds.

My pewter ingots are marked to the nearest 0.1 ounce, by the guy I bought them from here in the S&S forum. I will probably never fire a cast bullet at a target more than 200 yards distant, and in light of that, my very rough estimates seem to work quite well.

[txsnowman2k2]

Digital 360# capacity eBay scale $55.

[MaLar]

I lucked into an old 70# postage scale years ago. It was being tossed on a remodel we were doing. Got it just for asking.

[imashooter2]

Cheap 30 pound postal scale here, with large melts on a bathroom scale. I think the common thread in all of these is going to be "cheap."

[Bigslug]

Digital kitchen scale that goes to about 10 pounds. I think it's a Good Grips one, but it reads in fractions of ounces.

[btroj]

I have a kitchen scale that does up to 5 pounds, bathroom scale for over that. I tend to do large batches so the bathroom scale gets the most use.

[Ed_Shot]

Just looked on ebay.....there's lots of 50# digital postal scales for @ $20 with free shipping. I've had one like that for a few years.

[alamogunr]

I used an industrial scale that went up to 300 lbs for weighing buckets of WW. I use a cheap digital scale, that I got on Ebay, for alloying and mixing lube. It just takes a little longer if i need to weigh over 10 lbs of alloying metal. For the lead(or WW), I just go back to the industrial scale.

[ShooterAZ]

I just use a regular old bathroom scale, non-digital. I'm usually weighing less than 50 pounds at a time, so it gets it close enough for my needs.

[Pilgrim]

All of the weights need to proportional whether you're going for 10# mix or more. I don't think exact weights are all that important as long as you are consistent in how you mix/make alloys. I pour my cleaned up WW metal into either RCBS or Lyman ingot moulds. I "call" the RCBS and larger Lyman ingots 1#, and the small Lyman ingots 1/2#. I've also got some small cast iron molds that are about 2# when filled with WW. My sweeteners are either 95-5 solder or pure tin. The solder was from a scrap yard and was in chunks about the size of a large pea. I weighed a bunch of those and 8 of 'em weigh an ounce, or close enuf to an ounce for my purposes. My pots are either 20# or 10#. I nearly always refill my pots when they are down by about 1/2 of their volume. That's either 10# or 5#. By using the same casting method and process I can check the BHN of my finished boolits. If they are at BHN 14 or 15, my alloy is nearly (but not exactly) the same every time and that is close enuf for my purposes. If you can't tell yet, I like to keep my process as simple and uncomplicated as I can. If I have to sweat the exact ratios of my alloys to get repeated success, I need a different gun not a different process. FWIW Pilgrim

[mdi]

I use my Cabelas digital fish scale. I made up a pan with light chain to hang from the scale (I can "tare" the scale) and it's plenty close enough for alloying up to 50 lbs....

[Tallbald]

Thanks everyone. I will keep my eyes open on line and at the thrift stores here in town. I didn't think it had to be a pharmaceutical grade accuracy scale, but then it has to be able to at least guestimate in ounces too. Those parameters do give me an idea what to look for. Don

[Yodogsandman]

I've never used a scale but, I can see using one for alloying metals of various compositions.

I have a 10# Lee casting pot. I fill it about half way with COWW ingots, add half of a one pound bar/stick of 50/50 lead/tin plumbers solder and finish filling the pot to the rim with the COWW's. I measure the 50/50 with a tape measure to find the half way point, mark it and cut it. Sometimes I just melt the 50/50 into the pot up to the mark. Recently, I tried using just 1/4 stick of 50/50 and it worked just as well. This is very easy for me to duplicate each time for consistency.

[RugerFan]

When mixing up my own #2 (per LASC instructions) I use a digital postal scale. I want to get good batch-to-batch consistancey, especially for rifle boolits.

[ipijohn]

I use my Cabelas digital fish scale. I made up a pan with light chain to hang from the scale (I can "tare" the scale) and it's plenty close enough for alloying up to 50 lbs....

I use the same setup. It also comes in handy for counting boolits or cases.

[bangerjim]

HF 11# digital scale (95364) works great! Especially when on sale and - the 20% coupon.

I mark each ingot with the weight in ounces with a black sharpie.

For (rare) heavy loads I use an accurate UPS scale that goes up to 100#.

bangerjim

[dtknowles]

I use a Pelouze 5 pound postal scale. I usually only weigh the things I add to my range scrap to make new alloys. Fill my pot partly or mostly full by melting ingots of range scrap then add COWW's or lino, or solder or a mix of them to make harder alloy.

Tim

[Blackwater]

I use a beam balance for anything I want to be SURE to get right. Gravity is always more reliable than electronics! For weighing bullets, though, I use an electronic scale because it's so much faster - no waiting for the beam to stop swinging.

[JSnover]

I don't use a scale for alloy components. All of mine are cast into 1lb or 1/2lb ingots and marked (PB, WW, Lino, SN, etc.). In my shed is a cheat sheet for the alloy ratios that work best for me. It's simple but I'm not a high-volume caster.

[bangerjim]

I don't use a scale for alloy components. All of mine are cast into 1lb or 1/2lb ingots and marked (PB, WW, Lino, SN, etc.). In my shed is a cheat sheet for the alloy ratios that work best for me. It's simple but I'm not a high-volume caster.

You certainly must have much better luck getting exactly 1# ingots out of 1# mold cavities! I sure do not.

Depending on the alloy and the accuracy of my pour/fill, weights can vary from 14.7 to 16.8 oz. That is why I weigh & mark every ingot and do not trust a 1# ingot to be 1#. They are rarely EVER one pound! Sn is around 12 oz in a 1# filled mold.

I use only commercial Lee, Lyman, and RCBS ingot molds.

banger

[dtknowles]

You certainly must have much better luck getting exactly 1# ingots out of 1# mold cavities! I sure do not.

Depending on the alloy and the accuracy of my pour/fill, weights can vary from 14.7 to 16.8 oz. That is why I weigh & mark every ingot and do not trust a 1# ingot to be 1#. They are rarely EVER one pound! Sn is around 12 oz in a 1# filled mold.

I use only commercial Lee, Lyman, and RCBS ingot molds.

banger

I can you and I are in different leagues. I would have to cut up a pound of tin or even a pound of 50/50 solder.

Tim

[Mk42gunner]

I don't worry what my ingots weigh, it would be a big surprise to have any within eight ounces.

When I want to combine WW and tin out comes Grandpa's old Hanson 25# kitchen scale from the 1930's or 40's.

Dad was born in 1940 and he said Grandpa used it to weigh butter for as long as he could remember. When we had milk cows while I was growing up we used it and the old dovetailed wooden butter mold to make one pound blocks of butter.

Robert

[jwber]

I have the inexpensive one HF sells...weighs up to 11lbs

[John Boy]

Digital kitchen scale that weighs in pounds & ounces

[JSnover]

You certainly must have much better luck getting exactly 1# ingots out of 1# mold cavities! I sure do not.

Depending on the alloy and the accuracy of my pour/fill, weights can vary from 14.7 to 16.8 oz. That is why I weigh & mark every ingot and do not trust a 1# ingot to be 1#. They are rarely EVER one pound! Sn is around 12 oz in a 1# filled mold.

I use only commercial Lee, Lyman, and RCBS ingot molds.

banger
Maybe I do. My molds are dropping within .5% of their intended weight (500 grain boolits for my 45-70 weigh in at 498-501.5 grains). Since the half pound tin ingots are a little light I have a coffee can full of tin minies that weigh just under an ounce in case I need to sweeten the pot.

[jsizemore]

MyWeigh 55 digital postal scale. Tenth of an ounce accuracy less then 15lbs and ounce accuracy up to 55lbs. I checked it against certified scales for the PO and grocery store. It did great. Used it for years to check firearm weight at Silhouette matches. I'm on my third set of batteries (4 C's) in 12 years. Front panel detaches to read oversize stuff. Great scale. My buddy and I each got one on model closeout for $24 shipped. That was the price for both of them

[GLL]

I use an old Ohaus field scale for alloy work. I will measure up to 35 pounds at 1/100th of a pound.

http://www.fototime.com/3D9E4C790723581/xlarge.jpg

Jerry

[41mag]

I don't think exact weights are all that important as long as you are consistent in how you mix/make alloys. Personally having worked up a few different alloys, I believe that this is somewhat like measureing for BHN, as long as the tool your using gives you repeatable numbers on the lead or alloy your measuring or weighing, that is the importent part. I use a bathroom scale which is close enough for things over 3# and it corresponds to the 5# digital postal scale I use for lighter weights. After blending up several alloys they all test out the with the same numbers from my Cabine Tree tester, and they all shoot good from my revolvers. If I get leading I make them harder, or if pouring HP's I make them softer. Other than that I don't get overly caught up in the exact tenth of an ounce with anything othe than my tin, usually I use that simply to balance out the antimony from my base alloy in batches I blend up for my HP's,

[JSnover]

Personally having worked up a few different alloys, I believe that this is somewhat like measureing for BHN, as long as the tool your using gives you repeatable numbers on the lead or alloy your measuring or weighing, that is the importent part.
I don't want to hijack the thread into hardness testing but I agree. Each tester gives different results, some use different metrics, even the best conventional ones will give different readings for different users. I have a Lee hardness tester for ballpark calculations but The best way to use it IMO is to compare a new batch with a known good alloy.
I used a scale to weigh my alloy components when I first started casting. An antique hospital scale they used to weigh newborns. It was lost in a move. I didn't bother replacing it, but I do use a much smaller scale to weigh lube ingredients.

[dragon813gt]

I use my refrigerant scale. Already paid for it so I might as well use it.

[bruce381]

me I put 7 soft lead bars with 2 lino bars, each casting session works fine. I smelt all my alloys into the same size bar easy for me.

[Tallbald]

Wante to folow up on my scae question. I did run across a nice Salter brand food scale that I got for $6. It's missing whatever factory matching bowl it had, but a Cool Whip tub suits my needs fine. Weighing several bags of dried beans, rice and pasta it's within an ounce at the 7 pound mark. It'll be great to be able to be more precise with my lead alloy component weights from here on out. It shined up nice too. Don121101