Beam scales accuracy

[greenjoytj]

These are easy to read

This looks like a baby weighing scale. Weight the baby before and after feeding to see how many Onces it drank. Love my Chargemaster 1500. Keep squinting at those lines and dials boys.

[RED BEAR]

I use a cheap lee balance beam and you can definitely tell .1 grain i also just love my gemani digital. I have other scales lyman and rcbs and a couple of other digital but always go back to the lee or gemani they are just easier to use. And the gemini is graduated to .01 grain. I have double checked these scales with weights and against other scales and they are always on the money.

[Mal Paso]

This looks like a baby weighing scale. Weight the baby before and after feeding to see how many Onces it drank. Love my Chargemaster 1500. Keep squinting at those lines and dials boys.

But You said you need 2 Chargemaster 1500s to do the job and it took some fussing to get them to match.

[greenjoytj]

The twin scale system started as just to get a second 1500 scale, in case the one mounted to the dispenser quit working. I had noticed that RCBS stopped selling the 1500 scale as a separately available item. The replacement didn’t look like it would plug and play with the dispenser and they brought out a new dispenser “lite” version. I interpret that as, the days are numbered for the whole Chargemaster 1500 system being repairable in the not too distant future.
Once I had the 2 scales it was natural to fire them both up and test them against each other.
I was surprised that dispensed powder charges did not weigh exactly to the same tenth on both scales. I suspect that in the digital scales computer program there is a grey area where the scale must decide when or where to round the measurement up or down to the nearest whole tenth digit which is the scales max resolution. I don’t need to add 2 or 3 granules of powder in order to make the charge weight the same every time, sometimes they match as dispensed. As initially dispensed would be good enough at my shooting skill level and range distance. Some days I feel real anal about charge weights and fiddling to match weights makes me think the load will be a little more precise. I don’t read any posts about reloaders testing 2 reloader grade scales of any kind against each other. I suspect if they did, they would see a tiny difference in weights measured by reading between the scale lines.

[Mal Paso]

The twin scale system started as just to get a second 1500 scale, in case the one mounted to the dispenser quit working. I had noticed that RCBS stopped selling the 1500 scale as a separately available item. The replacement didn’t look like it would plug and play with the dispenser and they brought out a new dispenser “lite” version. I interpret that as, the days are numbered for the whole Chargemaster 1500 system being repairable in the not too distant future.
Once I had the 2 scales it was natural to fire them both up and test them against each other.
I was surprised that dispensed powder charges did not weigh exactly to the same tenth on both scales. I suspect that in the digit scale computer program there is a grey area where the scale must decide when or where to round the measurement up or down to the nearest whole tenth digit which is the scales max resolution. I don’t need to add 2 or 3 granules of powder in order to make the charge weight the same every time, sometimes they match as dispensed. As initially dispensed would be good enough at my shooting skill level and range distance. Some days I feel real anal about charge weights and fiddling to match weights makes me think the load will be a little more precise. I don’t read any posts about reloaders testing 2 reloader grade scales of any kind against each other. I suspect if they did, they would see a tiny difference in weights measured by reading between the scale lines.

Thanks for your insight. I still think the Dial-O-Grain was cool though, accurate to 610 grains. LOL I'll bet you could get accessory weights for really large calibers.

[Bent Ramrod]

Back when I was doing lab work, some of the better pre-electronic dual-pan balances had the pointer index marks on a mirror surface. You could see the reflection of the pointer on the index. If you lined up the pointer so it overlapped the reflection and both were on (or oscillating evenly around) the zero mark, you could get exact readings and weights; at least as exact as the balance could deliver.

Of course, you couldn’t be looking down on the index on a bench; it had to be more or less at eye level. The pointer of the single pan Ohaus shown is closer to eye level than the more easily stored balances used now. But I wonder why the mirror trick hasn’t been used in any of these.

[trapper9260]

I have a Lyman 500 and had the pin to balance it had come undone and sent it to Lyman and they fix it and check how close it is and it is with in 1/10 .I use that more then the digital one I have.I had got the Lyman when I got a kit back in the mid to late 80's when I got my T-Press of Lyman by mail order catalog from Gander Mountain when they where a company.

[nicholst55]

Some folks buy an inexpensive fiber-optic camera for a laptop, and set it up to display the balance pointer on their scales. Set the laptop in a convenient location, and you can even have a magnified view of your scale's balance pointer.

And FWIW, the Lyman also sold a rebranded Ohaus M5 scale.

[OFFSHORE]

I run two scales when reloading. I shoot a lot of long range rifles (800 to 1200 yds.) and I need to be precise on everything I do. . .I weight sort brass, bullets and even dole out powder to a couple kernels at a time. I first spoon out a charge on a Dillon D-Terminator scale then I check it against my Ohaus 10-10 beam scale. I had the Ohaus scale calibrated/tuned and it will swing with a single kernel of VhitaVouri N560! Loading cast boolit stuff for handguns I'm not as anal, but I'll still check charges with the beam scale. I had a similar problem as you with reading the alignment marks (turned 43 yrs. old and things went to ****) so I epoxied a sewing needle to the frame, NOT THE BEAM, to where it just over lapped the beam pointer mark and it helped me a great deal. After seeing that nifty way of mounting a magnifying glass in front of the scale in the above post, I'm gonna be setting myself up with one of those. Very good idea, Sir! Thank you for posting that.

[smokeywolf]

Thanks for your insight. I still think the Dial-O-Grain was cool though, accurate to 610 grains. LOL I'll bet you could get accessory weights for really large calibers.

You don't need to add weights. Just look for a Ohaus 3100 Dial-O-Grain. Of course they're harder to find than hen's teeth. Good to 3100 grains.

[LeadHead72]

Ohaus M-5? A Google image search shows me that the Ohaus M-5 is the RCBS 1010 beam scale.
I knew that Ohaus made the 1010 for RCBS, but I did not known Ohaus sold it under their own name. The RCBS 1010/ Ohaus M-5 was a great scale and being such a nice all in one package/case design sold me on it many years ago. The current RCBS M1000 mechanical scale looks ungainly and I doubt it has a nice hard shell cover to enclose it for protection of its delicate parts.

Actually the M5 is a different animal from the 10-10. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the M5 was only marketed under Lyman's name while being manufactured by Ohaus. You can easily tell the difference between the models because the M5 does not have the micrometer adjustment for the secondary poise that the 10-10 is known for. Ohaus did indeed sell the 10-10 model under their own name using the same 10-10 model number, however, and it is identical to the RCBS branded unit except for the fact Ohaus typically painted their own model beige instead of RCBS green. The only other difference that I am aware of is the included check weight on at least some of them were slightly different diameter than the check weight on the RCBS branded unit.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

[Dieselhorses]

I use a Hornady beam scale. Before I weigh on it, I gently rock beam back and forth a few times, set the weight and match against 2 digital scales. It's always right on.

[Catshooter]

Offshore,

Who tuned your scale? I'd like to do that to mine.

Thanks.


Cat

[OFFSHORE]

Offshore,

Who tuned your scale? I'd like to do that to mine.

Thanks.


Cat

It has been a while ago, and I can't remember his name. I have "heard" he is no longer doing them or if he is. it could be some time before you get it back. I believe he started a new job or there wasn't the demand for his niche. I will try and look that up for you. . .I just can't remember at this moment.

[OFFSHORE]

Offshore,

Who tuned your scale? I'd like to do that to mine.

Thanks.


Cat

Cat,

I want to say I was given his info off of the Accurate Shooters Forum. . .this is popping into my head at the moment. I'll see if I can dig up his info for you.

[Catshooter]

Thanks Offshore, I appreciate it.


Cat

[Lloyd Smale]

my opinion too. I chuckle at some so called experts that will bad mouth a digital scale but don't think twice about using some 15 dollar lee beam scale made out of plastic. Ive got two digital pact scales and a lyman. Havent used a beam scale in over 15 years. Still have a couple of those dust collectors in the drawer though in case the power goes out the same day my battery pack goes dead and im out of gas and cant go buy new batterys. Im about as apt to use a beam scale again as I am to convert my sliverado to crank start or trade the color tv in on an old tube black and white model. Or give up my Dillon press and load 9mms single stage or toss the star out and go back to an old lyman. Were talking .1s here not .00001. Unless your a bench rest competitor your not going to gain a thing worrying about it. You can take a 9mm 44 mag ect and grab your brass and load it using a powder drop and get a 1.5 inch group. or you can spend hours trimming brass, informing flash holes, trimming brass, weight separating you bullets, using a high dollar micrometer seating die and weighing each charge on your 300 dollar laboratory beam scale right down to the .001 of a grain and maybe you will get that group down to 1.3 inch.

Used beam scales for years. I then worked in the digital scale industry. Buy a decent digital scale, leave it powered up, find a good place to store it(safe, no drafts, interference issues) calibrate/zero it before use, you’ll never use a slow, difficulty beam scale ever again....... technology is your friend.

[Echo]

Chev,

The leveling screw of your 10-10 has a hollow top. That is there to hold a small weight that came with the scale when it was new. At the very end of the beam you'll notice a funny little stud poking out about 3/16ths. That's there to hang the weight off of. When you do your scale now weighs to 1,000 grains by doubling all the values.

Just FYI.


Cat

Wrong. You get the value by ADDING 500 to the shown weight. I have one I've used for decades, but prefer the 5-10, as it is handier, and is my recommendation to the OP. Check on eBay - they show up often for $40-50 delivered.

[LeadHead72]

Wrong. You get the value by ADDING 500 to the shown weight. I have one I've used for decades, but prefer the 5-10, as it is handier, and is my recommendation to the OP. Check on eBay - they show up often for $40-50 delivered.

I have the 5-10 and the 10-10. Gotta say the 5-10 rarely gets any action, but it is indeed a nice scale.

[Mike W1]

On the Lyman M-5 made by Ohaus you hang the extra weight on the pointer end and add 500 also