check your scale

[Tamitch]

Do any of you reloaders have a weight gage set to check your scale and powder measure?

[dragonrider]

Yes I have, anyone who uses a scale should have a way to check it's accuarcy. Whithout it you are just guessing.

[williamwaco]

You can use coins or jacketed bullets if you don't have a set of weights.

See:

http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/?action=coin_specifications


I find .22 cal match bullets to be exactly as labeled.

[Kevin Rohrer]

I have one and found out my scale registers .4gr high.

[km101]

I have and use an RCBS check weight set that I bought in the early '80's. Without some way to check your scale you could be making some serious mistakes. Cheap insurance!

[koehlerrk]

I've always found Berger bullets to be a good check wThe only downside to this is I have no way of knowing if my 0-1 and 0-10 sliders are accurate, but I figure they're pretty close given how well this scale tracks.

[John Boy]

Mine comes with a set of calibration weights

[Racenviper]

Electronic scales are nice and need to be calibrated often. Cheaper electronic scales can fluctuates due to a change in line voltage. I use a line conditioner for my scale and calibrate it the beginning of the day and it is good till I turn it off.


Weight gauge sets are good and most break the first rule with these, they touch the weights with bare skin. Skin oils will change accuracy of the weights.

[mdi]

I have a set of check weights (some brand new coins). I used to use them often, but I found out that my scales don't vary enough to bother once they are leveled/zeroed. Haven't checked them for quite a while. I have a good digital scale that I check against my beam scales and it will vary much more than the beam scales!

[Kull]

I don't have any check weights. I've been using various Berger bullets as check weights.

[Beagle333]

Yes. I check it when I start, and any time I have left it unattended. (It's a beam scale and I have cats who like to re-adjust my zero for me.);)

[roots911]

I have the calibration set and check both of my scales a couple of times a year. I have picked up used scales to pass on to other reloaders and seldom are they right on. Not off by a lot but not on the money and if someone is pushing the upper end it could be a problem in some older surplus weapons.

[Vindicated]

I verify my scale with check weights before every reloading session. It only takes a few seconds and makes me feel good. A coin is a cheap and dirty way to verify and they can be off because of dents, defects, oils, and a number of other things. Check weights can also change weights if dropped or soiled. I went with the RCBS Check Weight Set and I love it. It came with small plastic containers with padded bottoms. I also like to use tweezers to pick up and move the weights.

[WILCO]

I have a LEE Safety Scale. I zero it everytime I use it. It has a special parking spot that's marked as so on the reloading bench. I've never used a check weight, never had an issue. [smilie=s:

[Bwana]

My 40+ year old OHAUS 10-0-5 scale has always been correct. I haven't checked it in a long time. Of course it is treated very well and has its own snap on cover.

[daboone]

American science and surplus (http://www.sciplus.com/p/BRASS-WEIGHTS_3097 has a set of gram scale weights for 19 bucks.

[Wayne Smith]

I just weigh some Sierra bullets periodically.

[Doc Highwall]

I have both the regular and deluxe RCBS check weight sets.
I have even made some that weigh the same as what my most used powder charge weighs and place it on the scale during reloading.

When I make it, I will zero the scale and add the RCBS scale weights to the weight I want say 18.5 grains, and make sure the scale reads 18.5 grains. Now I will use a piece of scrap metal and make it weigh 18.5 grains and compare it to the known scale weights.

The next time I am reloading the 18.5 grain load all I have to do is place the 18.5 grain weight on the scale to confirm that the scale is reading correctly, with out having to take out the whole set.

[Ben]

That is a GREAT idea ! ! !

Ben

[montana_charlie]

I see no need for check weights with a beam scale. The various parts of the scale weigh a certain amount, and they can't change if they stay free of dirt/dust. I like the Ohaus (and RCBS) 10-10 because it gets dismounted and covered when not in use. Protects everything from dust, and protects the beam knives from premature wear.
When I hang the pan and the pan support on my Ohaus 10-10 scale ... and it reads 'zero' ... the scale is ready to go.

Electronic scales are a different story. Checking them (or recalibrating them) on a regular basis is only logical.

CM

[lovedogs]

I used regular balance beam scales for over 40 years. Then for weighing my cast bullets I got an electronic scale for the sake of speed. It lasted a couple years then started giving trouble so it took forever to get an accurate reading. I finally got online and discovered an outfit that sold jeweler's scales that have a lifetime guarantee, not the short term guarantees you usually see with the firearms industry scales. I ordered one and it's great. It's accurate to the hundredths of a grain. It does require calibration frequently but is incredibly accurate. I made a comparison between my old firearms industry (Cabela's) electronic scale and my good ol' RCBS balance beam scale. There's no comparison! The jeweler's scale will at times vary by .02 gr. if it's needing calibrated but that's still more accurate than the other two types when they're working at their best. If you're loading for a large caliber with large charges of slow powder it wouldn't make much difference but I've found when trying to fine tune a .22 Hornet it makes a lot of difference.

[EDG]

When loading large batches of ammo I check my scale at zero and then set it for the exact weight of the powder charge. Then I add up the weight standards for that weight and place them in the pan. The scale should balance. This protects against incorrect poise settings.

[johnh57]

I don't have checkweights - but I'm thinking I want some.

I use a Lyman 500 Balance Beam. For my rifle loads I usually check it out with a bullet. It's always been fine.

Now I'm working on loads for a .45 acp. I loaded up several shells with charges ranging from 4.0 to 4.3 grains. The gun seemed to really like the 4.2 gr. charge. Setting up to run a 50 or so to test, I balanced the scale - fine, ran several individual charges - fine. Ran 10 charges into a pan total weight 43.5 gr. hmm. So am I dropping 4.2 or 4.35?

I want to make a weight that is 4.2 (or at least closer to 4.2 than 4.1 or 4.3) to use to balance the scale.

[Doc Highwall]

This protects against incorrect poise settings. I second that EDG.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I have 2 different Ohaus sets from a Bio class and a chemistry class waaaay back when I was in college and we used chalk and wrote on slate tablets.Robert

[RP]

I have a few scales and I check weights between them to check them more or less. Something else to keep in mind things around your scales will effect them like plastics with static charges so keep in mind what is around your scales when weighing or checking them

[bb07]

I verify my scale with check weights before every reloading session. I also like to use tweezers to pick up and move the weights.

Same goes for me. I'm a bit paranoid:-?

[plumbob]

Check and double check. Better save than sorry.

[Rio Grande]

You can use coins or jacketed bullets if you don't have a set of weights.

See:

http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/?action=coin_specifications


I find .22 cal match bullets to be exactly as labeled.

A nickel is listed as 5.000 grams. But plus or minus what? There is nothing made that is always right on the mark. There is always an allowable tolerance.

[John Boy]

Calibratin and check a scale weight are 2 different operations. Digital scales are programed to calibrate using 50gram or 100gram weight.

[Mike W1]

Have checked my scales with test weights and if I can get pictures up here my scale support boxes with about 12 pounds of lead ingot and adjustments for level. The one for the Pact is also grounded.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u310/Mike4245/HPIM1078.jpg (http://s171.photobucket.com/user/Mike4245/media/HPIM1078.jpg.html)

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u310/Mike4245/HPIM1079.jpg (http://s171.photobucket.com/user/Mike4245/media/HPIM1079.jpg.html)

[1hole]

I've been using the same beam scale for some 47 years without check weights other than an occasional test with a Sierra bullet. As long as we keep them clean and undamaged we can safely use the same beam scale to develop and reload our charges forever, the absolute/precision accuracy of a reloading scale is a moot issue. (That observation does NOT include ANY electric scale, God alone knows what one of them may do at any moment.)

MikeW1, your box for the old M5 elevates it enough for easier reading and that's very helpful. (I'd bet it still reads that brass extension/test weight exactly the same as it did in the 60s too!) The only worse place to sit a beam scale than ON the bench top is UNDER the bench! I suggest you cut another 3/4" ply top board and make it maybe 7-8" longer so you can sit a good powder trickler (Redding or Hornady) to the right of the pan.

[Bwana]

That is the scale I've had for 40 years. I hang my pan the other direction.

[Mike W1]

The beam scale actually sits on a shelf above the bench right at eye height. The trickler sits in a lead weighted box so I can trickle right into the pan. The BBK sits on the left hand side of the bench and is only used for things like weighing a batch of bullets or maybe setting a measure with 10 charge/averages and then final checked with the beam. I have run extensive tests on my BBK and don't trust it to the tenth! And I'd never trickle into the BBK either.

[gray wolf]

I have both the regular and deluxe RCBS check weight sets.
I have even made some that weigh the same as what my most used powder charge weighs and place it on the scale during reloading.

When I make it, I will zero the scale and add the RCBS scale weights to the weight I want say 18.5 grains, and make sure the scale reads 18.5 grains. Now I will use a piece of scrap metal and make it weigh 18.5 grains and compare it to the known scale weights.

The next time I am reloading the 18.5 grain load all I have to do is place the 18.5 grain weight on the scale to confirm that the scale is reading correctly, with out having to take out the whole set. This for me, have done it this way for years and it works great. Just take care of your little test weight. I must have 50 of them that ive made over the years.
Yes I have some factory test weight also, but the meatod outlined above works just fine.

[sirgknight]

I use a Lee Safety Scale and a Digiweigh DW100AS digital scale. The safety scale gets recalibrated before each use. It isn't often that it doesn't need a minor adjustment. I firmly believe that humidity, heat, dust particles or any number of other intangibles can play a big part in the scales sensitivity. The digital scale gets checked with a bullet. Both scales are used during each reloading session simply to cross check the powder weight. This ritual has saved me on more than one occasion.