Any tips on picking a powder scale?

[Idaho45guy]

I have a couple of Lee mechanical scales but my sister gave me an $80 gift card for Sportsman's Warehouse. Thought I might step up to an electronic scale. I think that is likely an essential piece of equipment for accurate reloading in regards to checking bullet weight and gnat's rear accuracy in powder measuring.


Anything I should know before I pick one out?

[Bzcraig]

I prefer a good mechanical scale, and though I like Lee products, not the scale. I got a good used Lyman M5 from a member here. Guy named Scott Parker tunes them, if you're interested, so it will actually register a change of one kernel.

[Kevin Rohrer]

Electronic powder scales are severely overpriced for what they do. A decent powder measure and trickler does just a good a job if not better.

[Randy C]

I love my digital scale, I've up graded to a Lyman auto scale, I got it on sale. I see they carry the Lyman Pocket Touch 1500 Digital Scale Set, they worked good for me. They have some nicer ones if you want to spend more money. I have several digital scales they are very consistent. I don't push the limits of my Reloads, you will be glade you upgraded to digital there faster.

[metricmonkeywrench]

Dont overlook the Frankford Digital, its not green or red with the associated price tag, but does everything I want it to do and is repeatedly accurate. I mostly use it to back up my beam scale, set up my powder dump, and weigh bullets for variation and so on. At the price point if it became unreliable or failed tomorrow I would have no issue with dumping it in the trash and getting another.

[ioon44]

I have both types of scales, I like the RCBS 505 to check small powder charges and the electronic scales for weighing bullets brass.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I find the Lee Mechanical Scale very annoying and difficult to use. Been very happy with my RCBS 505 Mechanical for very long time. I find the electronic scales seem to drift and slower for powder though useful for checking or sorting bullets and brass

[rda72927]

Use your gift card for something else and save some cash for an Evil-Bay purchase of a RCBS (Ohuas) 5-10 or a 10-10. You'll be much happier for a lifetime.

[poacherjo]

As stated above. Electric digital can and will malfunction where as the manual balance beam will last forever. I would also suggest that you go to Ebay and get an M-5 lyman or the rcbs 10/10. Both are made by Ohaus and are very reliable. Plus they take up less space on the reloading bench.

[mold maker]

Mechanical scales aren't affected by fluorescent lights and temp changes.
Both are sensitive to drafts.
Electronic scales have a mind (brain) that can confuse the user unless used often enough to remember the drift and timing of battery saving circuits.
I have several of each and always use mechanical for +/- .1 gr for powder and electronics for less demanding chores, as in +/- 1 gr for boolits.

[gpidaho]

I wouldn't be without an electronic scale. I weigh powder charges with a mechanical scale and use the digital as a second opinion. Mechanical beam scales are WAY too slow for weighing bullets and brass. Get yourself an electronic and enjoy it. Gp

[dverna]

I have an old Lyman mechanical and two digitals; and use digital scales almost exclusively. I believe both have a place on the bench depending on what you are doing.

[smokeywolf]

I have an old Redding oil damped and a old Ohaus 3100 "Dial-O-Grain" beam scale. Love both of them. Although I don't have an electronic, I won't dis them. I may someday see one that intrigues me and have to have it.

If you can find an old Ohaus "Dial-O-Grain" or a RCBS 304 that's in good shape and within your budget, grab it.

[country gent]

I use both mechanical and digital scales. My current digital scales is a gem pro 250 and is a good scales works well and is sensitive enough to trickle into if you are carefull. Trickling into a digital scales can be tricky due to the scales lag time. Mine reads to .02 grains increments another thing that needs adjustment to the extra decimal place. Some digitals are susceptible to outside electrical interference, florescent lights other electronics running near them. Some suffer from floating zeros at times. The better scales are more expensive My Gem Pro was $130.00 3 years ago.

[Soundguy]

I have a couple of Lee mechanical scales but my sister gave me an $80 gift card for Sportsman's Warehouse. Thought I might step up to an electronic scale. I think that is likely an essential piece of equipment for accurate reloading in regards to checking bullet weight and gnat's rear accuracy in powder measuring.


Anything I should know before I pick one out?

Uh.. I'd take a beam scale over an electronic one any day. Only reason I use an electronic scale at all is because it's part of a dispenser I have.

IMHO.. a 3 poise balance beam is hard to beat. 2 poise are fine as well.

[Snow ninja]

Dont overlook the Frankford Digital...
I agree, I love mine.
I keep a manual around just in case I run out of batteries or something, but I don't think I'll ever look back. It's a heck of a time saver for me.

[EDG]

Find a used but like new RCBS 505, 5-10 or 10-10. I have both 505 and 5-10s and like them a lot. They were made by Ohaus so an identical Ohaus scale is also good.

The older triple poise Bair, Pacific and Hornady scales often not very expensive even though they are excellent and are magnetically dampened.

Hornady labeled scale. Note "Pacific" letters cast into the red base.
The Bair version is painted blue.
192633

[country gent]

One thing to do before buying a new scales is measure and see how much room you have Width X Height X length for it to set. If digital make sure there is room for the power cord and a outlet in reach. Mechanicals are a little more forgiving as to with and height but require more length. A solid surface and anti vibration pad is a plus, Another nice touch that helps is a leveling pad so you can pre level the surface for the scales. also keep in mind any measures tricklers or dippers used. I make a simple leveling plate for scales from Flat stock ( brass, aluminum, steel, plastic or wood ). I make them up with 3 screws 1 centerline and 1/2 from edge on one end 2 screws 1/2" from each edge on other end. This give 3 "feet" that are adjustable to level the plate. I use 1/4 28 set screws for the feet. Drill and tap the holes thru the material. On wooden ones I use inserts glued in for the thread. I make these with enough extra length for the trickler also

[greenwart]

I have an old Pacific scale, lee scale and digital. I use the pacific scalealmost all the time. Rarely use the digital. Never use the Lee scale. If you can find a hornady/ pacific you will be in good shape.

[gwpercle]

Dillon also makes a good mechanical scale , not over priced.

[Rockzilla]

have both but use the ole 10-10 scales, Lyman D5, most are tuned by Scott, he
does great work and they work great as far as a Dial-O-Grain there was 2 for sale
recently on Flea-bay.

-Rock

[psweigle]

Digital are only good for weighing brass and boolits, imo. A beam scale is much more accurate as they do not have a tolerance of +/- 2 tenths as do digital.

[10-x]

Have several old RCBS beam type scales. Sent the original back to mfg. for inspection/ calibrating, has worked fine just like when new. Im not sure about the new china made RCBS equipment......

[str8wal]

gnat's rear accuracy in powder measuring

A good beam scale like the RCBS 5-10 and a set of check weights would be better for that than a digital, IMO. I just can't bring myself to trust 'em.

[ascast]

Digital are only good for weighing brass and boolits, imo. A beam scale is much more accurate as they do not have a tolerance of +/- 2 tenths as do digital.

All you need to know right there. 30-06 brass ( WWC 56) runs around 146 grains IIRC and boolits, 180 ? 200 ? 38-55 boolits 265 up to 360, 45-70 run 300-550grns. If you really need the +/- 2 tenths that psweigle speaks of, you use the balance the refine the group. If you go electronic, be careful if your pushing the red line 2 tenths might cause trouble.

[John Boy]

http://www.dx.com/p/1-7-lcd-high-precision-digital-jewelry-scale-50g-0-001g-4-x-aaa-101011#.WOa2z7i51F8 and free shipping

[gwpercle]

Have several old RCBS beam type scales. Sent the original back to mfg. for inspection/ calibrating, has worked fine just like when new. Im not sure about the new china made RCBS equipment......
RCBS is now made in CHINA !....that's pathetic !
I find it ironic that the best auto parts I can find for my 1968 Chevelle are those made in Mexico and Taiwan , the junk out of China usually does not function. They are going to destroy us by taking away our manufacturing abilities and flooding the market with things that don't work.
Sad , very sad....but RCBS will have more profit I'm sure.
Gary

[mortyg]

I use a Ohaus 10-10
lyman M5 redone by Scott Parker
Jennings JS-VG20 very accurate and sensitive to .05 of a grain and not expensive only 300 grain capacity.
For regular loading it is not as important but when you are loading to the maximum pressures with a lot of powder a tenth or two is too much to be off.

[Idaho45guy]

Dont overlook the Frankford Digital, its not green or red with the associated price tag, but does everything I want it to do and is repeatedly accurate. I mostly use it to back up my beam scale, set up my powder dump, and weigh bullets for variation and so on. At the price point if it became unreliable or failed tomorrow I would have no issue with dumping it in the trash and getting another.That's what I ended up buying and it showed up a couple of days ago. Think it was $30 or so...

The thing I hated about my Lee scale was reading the tenths was about impossible and it seemed every little thing threw off the measurement. Bump the table and it would move the little tenth slider. Take the tray off too fast and it moved again. Frustrating.

[1066]

I know the Lee scale can be a PITA to adjust but did you know you can lock the tenths slider by pushing in the little button?

[SARuger]

Sportsman's Warehouse sells the Redding #2 (RS2) for $65

Buy it! Its a great scale for the money. I have a couple.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

RCBS is now made in CHINA !....that's pathetic !
I find it ironic that the best auto parts I can find for my 1968 Chevelle are those made in Mexico and Taiwan , the junk out of China usually does not function. They are going to destroy us by taking away our manufacturing abilities and flooding the market with things that don't work.
Sad , very sad....but RCBS will have more profit I'm sure.
Gary

The buyers must have something to do with it. I have a single-beam Redding scale which I haven't used in a few years. I bought a digital scale from China on eBay - and a spare in case of malfunction, at £9.99 each delivered. It weights 20g. to a claimed accuracy of .001 grammes, which is about a fourteen thousandth of a grain. I also bought a 500 grain. Is it really delivering that accuracy? I don't know, but it change when you add a paper disc made by punching paper for binders, and it checks out as accurately as the Redding will go. I also bought an even cheaper 500g. one with .01 gramme accuracy, which is useful for finding out how many bullets are left in a box, and I have the use of a 2kg. kitchen one if I keep out of the way.

Mind you, I have several check weights and a carefully preserved used primer which I keep to check for changes. But I recently acquired the best lit room I ever worked in, bu installing four cheap LED ceiling lights. On, off or the whole house contact breaker tripped makes no difference. I do some work with chemicals and precious metals, and I find the ability to change instantly from grains to grammes or ounces very useful. People like RCBS can order attractively embossed green casings from China, but I very much doubt if they are ordering special higher quality internals. You can't expect more of it than working right.

[robg]

Don't like the Lee scale ,prefer the Lyman but I've got a small battery scale of amazon so I can check one against the other luckily they agree .

[Safeshot]

RCBS, Never look back.

[TNsailorman]

You guys that have used Scott Parker and willing to recommend him would be doing everyone else a favor if you shared his contact information with the community. There are more than a few scales out there which could do with a little TLC and owners who don't know how to provide it. james

[Rockzilla]

You guys that have used Scott Parker and willing to recommend him would be doing everyone else a favor if you shared his contact information with the community. There are more than a few scales out there which could do with a little TLC and owners who don't know how to provide it. james

here is an article on tuning balance beam scales and talks about Scott along with
contact nfo..

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2017/02/tuning-balance-beam-scales-for-precision-and-repeatability-2/

and another article...
Contact nfo at the bottom

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2016/02/more-beam-scale-tips-from-scott-parker/

-Rock

[1hole]

I once worked as a precision electronic instrument calibration and repair tech at the Cape. I have a small digital and and two old balance scales. I use the digital for bullets and cases because they won't get me killed, my powder goes across the mechanicals; they read exactly the same as they did when new in 1965.

IMHO, anyone who finds a digital to be "faster" than a mechanical scale is using it improperly. Digitals provide instant numbers but all I've seen require a couple of seconds to stabilize; my magnetic damped beam scales do just as well. I see no meaningful speed advantage in a digital Especially if you're weighing and trickling up every charge, few digitals follow a trickler very well.

It isn't 'lights' as such that bothers digitals, it's the magnetic fields in old florescent fixtures; ditto any other source of electromagnetic fields - motors and radios for instance. Digitals are also susceptible to line voltage variations and room temperature changes. Neither of my beams care about any of that. And, unlike digitals, beams don't drift and they aren't very sensitive to slight leveling differences. If it looks level, it is level; set it down and adjust the "zero", then use it.

I might like a digital dispenser IF I was a high volume rife shooter but I'm not and I only buy tools that actually serve my needs. I know for sure MY weighted charges are right! Most - if not all - digital dumpsters are only spec'ed about half the accuracy of most beams and beams will never wear out or lose calibration --- unless the user physically damages it.

I tell everyone if they want to weigh powder get a magnetic damped beam scale from Lyman, Hornady, Dillon, Redding or RCBS; there are no significant user differences between them. IF I had to buy a new one tomorrow it would be Redding because of its heavy base.

[TNsailorman]

I have found digitals to be highly sensitive to any air movement such as air conditioners, fans, opening as closing doors and even in some cases, ones own movement during the reloading process. I have learned to compensate for these things when I use digitals. I enjoy loading so I sometimes use methods that others would not want to take the time using, but it is my way. I have at times used Lee powder scoops or a powder measure that will drop a powder charge a little short, say a grain or two. Then drop it onto a digital scale and trickle the final few grains until weight is correct. Then check weigh on a beam set of scales. I know, its overkill but it makes me happy and I feel I get a really correct charge this way. I'm in no hurry anyway, I'm retarded--ur-make that retired. james

[jem102]

Sportsman's Warehouse sells the Redding #2 (RS2) for $65

Buy it! Its a great scale for the money. I have a couple.

Bingo!

[Idaho45guy]

I know the Lee scale can be a PITA to adjust but did you know you can lock the tenths slider by pushing in the little button?

LOL! Didn't realize that! Used that function my last reloading session and was ashamed I didn't know that...

[Idaho45guy]

Tried the new Franklin Arsenal electronic powder scale and it reads about .2-.4gr higher than what the Lee mechanical scale reads. Lee said I had 6.5gr and the electronic scale said 6.9. Loading the 180s, Lee said 5.9 and electronic said 6.1. I went off of the Lee since I've been using it all this time and haven't had any issues.

[troyboy]

Tried the new Franklin Arsenal electronic powder scale and it reads about .2-.4gr higher than what the Lee mechanical scale reads. Lee said I had 6.5gr and the electronic scale said 6.9. Loading the 180s, Lee said 5.9 and electronic said 6.1. I went off of the Lee since I've been using it all this time and haven't had any issues.
This is the conundrum isnt it.
In my opinion neither can be trusted now until verified by calibration weights.

[rda72927]

Just my thought, I tried the Franklin once. I believe that it is made to weight grams and then does a conversion to grains. That causes a rounding problem. It was more noticeable in Low weights of powder than say weighting a boolet.

[salpal48]

The Idea The an Electronic Digital is a Step Up . It is a step down from a Good beam scale. Getting the Beat Beam you can afford Is a Must.
The motto for Digitals. should Be SH** and Speed go hand In hand
Dillon, RCBS, Lyman are all Good. Then Theres the Best OHAUS

[6622729]

I have the old Redding #1 powder scale (the one with the brown base) and would not trade it for anything. It will last a lifetime but if I were to damage or drop it, I have a new in the box Redding #1 scale as a backup. No plastic in these scales. I use it for rifle loads and to spot check the Lee Auto Drum for handgun loads.




Use your gift card for something else and save some cash for an Evil-Bay purchase of a RCBS (Ohuas) 5-10 or a 10-10. You'll be much happier for a lifetime.