Scales

[odinohi]

What type of scales are you guys using to weigh your alloy mixes? Thanks, Tom the newbee

[ihmsakiwi]

Hello, I use a set of Rapala electronic fish scales with the hook dangling below. I put a plastic shopping bag onto the hook and add 8lb of Lead ingots, 8lb WW ingots and 2lb Lino. Sometimes the bag can handle it, sometimes not. Otherwise I weigh separately. I must admit that there is a bit of the old "unders & overs" with my ingots weights but this mix is all I shoot in everything from 7mmBR to 32 H&R mag and 357 Mag, not to mention 7mm Super Mag, Hornet..... Peter.

[armyrat1970]

I have a scale called a Relouze that I bought years ago to weigh packages I shipped by USPS or UPS. If I mix my alloys I simply zero the scale, set one ingot on top and weigh, then go to the next. So on and so on to get a 50/50 or 25/75 mix or whatever. Maybe a little crude but it's close enough.

[jhrosier]

I bought an inexpensive digital postal scale for about $12 on evilbay.
It weighs in 1/10 oz increments, up to 35 or 40lbs.

Jack

[mold maker]

Digital bathroom scales are close enough on big batches. (min. 40 + lb.) I alloy this in my smelting pot and stamp the poured ingots for later use. These are stored seperate from mass inventory.

[dale2242]

I cast my known metals into 1 lb. and 1/2 lb ingots and alloy by the ingot. That`s close enough for my shooting---dale

[Shiloh]

Garage sale postal scale for 50 cents. I have an Ohaus triple beam if I want to get real picky.
Pretty much standard WW and range lead for me.

Shiloh

[Firebricker]

I use an old Hanson kitchen scale. I think around $10 on fleabay. FB

[Hardcast416taylor]

I must be the real cheapskate of the posters here. I found an old food scale on the curb waiting to be picked up on trash day. I checked the scale with a known 1 lb. and 5 lb. weight. I can read the needle thru the rust spots and it works for me. Robert

[captaint]

I have an old baby (balance beam) scale that I got at a yard sale. Very accurate, max is 30 lbs. mike

[SciFiJim]

I have a digital scale that I got at a yard sale for $2. I weigh and label my ingots to the nearest 1/10 oz. When I mix an alloy I pick out the right weights to match the percentage.

[Trifocals]

I have an old hardware store balance beam scale used to weigh nails, nuts, bolts, etc.. I purchased it at auction when a lumber yard was being liquidated.

[fastgun]

I use a 25lb old baby scale. Its so old I may have been on it at one time. I think I was a little lighter than.

[Rooster]

I also picked up the postal/kitchen scale looking garage sale special--it ain't pretty. Bent to the dickens but it stills checks against knowns and if I'm sneaky enough, SWMBO doesn't even notice its missing! WIN/WIN!!

[Johnch]

I cast my known metals into 1 lb. and 1/2 lb ingots and alloy by the ingot. That`s close enough for my shooting---dale



Same here

I figure 1 ingot will be a little over and another a little light
So I hope it all evens out in the end

John

[montana_charlie]

I only use lead/tin mixes, but I decided I'm not willing to pay the costs for certified alloys.
So, I insisted on as much precision as is reasonable when choosing tools for mixing my own.

I always make up alloy in ~20-pound batches, so I have a particular pot used only for that...and it's cleaned after each use.
I bought a digital 'postal scale' that has an upper limit of 40 pounds because most scales are most accurate in the middle of their range. I use this for weighing the lead.

After selecting ingots that give me about twenty pounds, I do the math to figure exactly how much tin is needed for the alloy I am planning to make.
I weigh out the tin (or solder) on a 1 kilogram (max) digital scale which sees a pound as about the middle of it's range. When the tin gets within ten grains of the target weight, I call it good.

To get that precise with the tin, I pour a quantity of very thin ingots (half of a Lyman dipper) in a Lyman ingot mould, and use tin snips to cut off small pieces.

CM

[odinohi]

Man, you guys sure do come through with the responces. Thanks for all the info. This is a great site. Wish I would have started this years ago. Thanks everyone, Tom

[ph4570]

I use a digital postal scale I purhased for weighing packages to ship via USPS. It goes up to 75#, cost only $20 and is ammazinly accurate even for a few ounces.

[JohnH]

I quit weighing alloy and shoot straight GOK metal. Since I made the switch to Felix Lube, I've had no leading issues. I mean no leading issues. A friend loaded the Lee 357-158-RF a bevel base flat nose lubed with Felix in 357 magnum cases over 15 grains of 296. Shot them in a 6" Ruger Blackhawk. He got vey mild streaking, but nothing that affected accuracy even after 100 rounds, and the streaking cleaned right out. What more can you ask?

That boolit was from a batch of about 60 pounds of WW about 500 commercially cast 44-250's a couple of 1 pound bars of 50-50 and some plain lead and a few diving weights. I've cast plain base 30 caliber bullets of 115 grains and 150 grains, 25 and 30 caliber gas check designs, a pletora of a Saeco 357-180 plain base, the above mentioned Lee 357-158 and the Lyman 358430 (200 grain round nose). These boolits have been shot through everything from Ruger Blackhawks, Taurus Gaucho, S&W 66, Marlin lever actions, Savage 340's, a TC Contender and Encore and Remington 700's, a 357 and 38-55 NEF and a couple of NEF 44 Magnums with lousy bore dimensions.

I've never been able to prove to my satisfaction that the alloy was as much a factor in leading as are pressure and lube. I don't even bother checking for hardness anymore, and I certainly don't smelt with the intention of obtaining a given hardness.

I do not mean that hardness don't matter, it certainly has it's place, but for general run of the mill plinkin' and bangin' it is almost easier to get too hard than it is too soft, esspecially if your primary metal is WW. It is actually surprising how good a metal straight WW is.

Think about it. Straight WW generally runs about 12 BHN. You have to cut it 1 to 1 (50/50) with straight lead to get the metal down to 8 BHN. If we take straight linotype which runs at 21-22 BHN we have to cut it 1 to 1 with straight lead to get it down to 15 BHN. So if we start with 40 to 60 pounds of WW just how much of whatever else will have to be added to significantly shift the BHN by more than 3 points one way or the other? And how much difference does that actually make? I submit that it will make no difference that will matter.

[Echo]

For heavy stuff I use the bathroom digital scale - measures in tenths of a kilo.

For smaller stuff, I use a postal scale with only 5 lb capacity.

[IHMSA]

Personally, I use the following scales:

For Heavy Stuff: A 380 lb cap. Conair WW60. Measures to 1/10 lb.
For Medium Stuff: A 5lb. cap. Pelouze SP5 Postal Scale. Measures to 0.1 oz.
For Smaller Stuff: A 7 oz. cap. TANITA 1579D Measures to 1/100 gram.
For Smallest Stuff: A Lyman M5 and an RCBS 5-10. Measures to 1/10 grain. (1/50th of a grain if used properly.)

[10mmShooter]

normally only mix alloy in lots of 50-80lbs(my smelting pots max.... plain digital bathroom scale its accurate to +/- 2lbs at 200lbs...thats close enough for general mixing.