easy to make wind break for your scale.

[MBTcustom]

Hey there folks, I got tired of not being able to trust my scale readings at the range due to wind giving me false readings. I decided that the best thing would be a frame of some kind with a plexiglass window to look through with holes for a powder funnel and a poker to push the buttons with.
I was going through the shop looking for materials, and found an old cigar box that I was keeping antique coins in. I had an idea to cut a recess for the window so the lid could still be used. It worked out better than expected so I thought I would pass on some pictures, (even though I'm sure I'm the last guy on Castboolits to do something like this.) Oh well, for what its worth.




Hope this helps somebody!

[crabo]

That is pretty slick!

[nanuk]

GS

I'm still standing by my comments.

Great thinking outside the box.

one thing I have read, is to dip the plastic in a mix of water and dish detergent to help remove any static that may affect the reading.

will work for your funnel also

[MBTcustom]

I hadn't thought of static affecting the readings! Thanks for the tip.
Unfortunately, as I understand it, static and plexiglass are joined at the hip. I work in aerospace and electro-static-discharge is a serious problem. No matter how hard they tried, they could not ground plexiglass items like safety glasses and picture frames, unless they were placed directly in the path of a deionizer, and when you take the piece out of that environment, it becomes charged again in a very short period of time.
Of course, I wish I had thought of all this before, but realy, I cant see that I would do anything different. I couldn't very well have used real glass. At any rate, nobody at the company tried dipping in soapy water solution so I will definitely give it a try.
Not only that, but the glass in my box has quite a bit of clearance above the pan, so I think it will be OK. I tried it out last night and I saw no adverse effects.
Thanks again!

[3006guns]

I saw a similar setup for beam type scales, using a rectangular Rubbermaid container set upside down over the scale with an opening provided for a trickler. Worked very well. Yours shows pride of craftsmanship though!

I have to ask........where do you find "Big Butt" cigars?

[Three44s]

That's one FINE IDEA!!! Congrats!

Personally, on plastic funnels and powder measure reservoir tubes ......... I use the strong liquid dish soap trick and let it dry without substantially wiping it off.

I have read many use a dryer sheet and it works perhaps better for static "cling".


I saw you mentioned glass was not an option .......... I would think a glass shop could work with a bit of auto safety glass that was removed and cut it down but it would cost more.

The other thing would be to have a small trailer or camper along for a "dog house" with your load set up in there.

Best regards

Three 44s

[MBTcustom]

BigButt cigars were the preferred choice of my bosses husband back in college. She brought me a cigar in a box once. I loved the cigar, and the box was even better, so I asked her if he had any more boxes. She brought me three. This is the only one I have left, But I have seen this same box in a tobacco store in the humidor. Go by the tobacco stores and see if they will sell you the boxes. They are usually extremely rugged and they can be used for 1000 things around the house.

[XWrench3]

i did not know that a breeze would effect a digital scale. a beam style, yes, i have seen that with my own half dead eyes. but never thought about a digital because everything was flat, =ing no surface area to push against.

[polara426sh]

I saw you mentioned glass was not an option .......... I would think a glass shop could work with a bit of auto safety glass that was removed and cut it down but it would cost more.

If you try to cut tempered glass the entire piece normally shatters. It's cut to size before it's tempered and laminated. The process of tempering glass induces a uniform stress throughout the piece, and when you try to cut it this relieves the stress at one point. That causes cracks to form rapidly, and usually the whole piece "de-stresses" itself in a rapid fashion.

[jhalcott]

XWrench, just wave your hand back and forth above your digital scale to see the effects. I get a tenth or two from the air conditioner coming on. This is a temporary jump and settles right down, but it does happen.

[Bullwolf]

i did not know that a breeze would effect a digital scale. a beam style, yes, i have seen that with my own half dead eyes. but never thought about a digital because everything was flat, =ing no surface area to push against.

I have and use the exact same brand of digital scale as goodsteel.



I notice that if I breathe on it heavily, (a good exhale) the measurement will jump up and down quite a bit, so I can see where a breeze would mess with it. It really surprised me, as I had not expected something as minor as my breath to affect it so much.

I use the digital scale to spot check my old faithful balance beam scale. I am impressed at just how much the price on digital scales has come down over the years. They used to cost a small fortune!

Great work and excellent innovation on the wind protector goodsteel.

- Bullwolf

[Artful]

Wonder if acrylic sheet plastic would be better?

[blikseme300]

i did not know that a breeze would effect a digital scale. a beam style, yes, i have seen that with my own half dead eyes. but never thought about a digital because everything was flat, =ing no surface area to push against.

We have a gift shipping business and we were puzzled by the weirdness of the higher readings we were getting from our shipping scales at times. The area where the scales are located is in a warehouse where there are 24' fans mounted to the roof beams above. We found that when these are running at their highest speed the pressure from them caused the higher weight readings.

See these fans here: http://www.bigassfans.com/powerfoil_x

Also scales used in the pharmaceutical business are often inside of a glass enclosure or covered with a glass jar before reading the weights. You can see these on a number of high precision scale sites.

The solution by the OP is a good one and is typical of the ingenuity of many members on this board.

Bliksem

[geargnasher]

If you try to cut tempered glass the entire piece normally shatters. It's cut to size before it's tempered and laminated. The process of tempering glass induces a uniform stress throughout the piece, and when you try to cut it this relieves the stress at one point. That causes cracks to form rapidly, and usually the whole piece "de-stresses" itself in a rapid fashion.

Bingo. The piece must be cut, drilled, edges and corners beveled etc. before being tempered. The cost of having a piece like that made wouldn't be prohibitive, but certainly more than any of us would want to spend on an issue that probably really isn't one with smokeless powder.

Goodsteel, I remember well my ESDS training, and the yellow stripes on the floor, the ESDS stickers on the badges, the wrist and ankle cuffs, grounded smocks, ground umbilicals, mats, worktables, etc. It's amazing what normal body voltage will do to a MOSFET.

Gear

[leftiye]

My scale doesn't seem to be affected when I or someone else breaks wind.

[MBTcustom]

You should visit the south more often. We put jalapeno peppers in our ice cream. You've never had armadillo have you? Ever been to real, cajun, make-your-fillings-burn, craw-fish boil? How about fried bananas? Fried ice cream? Fried squirrel? Opossum? How about homemade sausage?
No lie, I ate 5 raw chili peppers yesterday, 3 with lunch and two with dinner.
The point is that just because your digital scale is not effected by your undernourished brand of flatulence, that realy does not have any bearing on the fact that although my wind box provided sufficient protection for the scale from wind, I still ended up having to put a bunch of boolits in the box just to keep it on the table
Wooooo pig sooey!

[leftiye]

I retire! Undernourished or non-poisoned.