honestly useful electric scales

[crankycalico]

Im abandoning my lee beam scale. It is GREAT for checking to see if a charge is "on" but not for getting to that charge weight.. to much movement.

As I cant seem to find small beam scales under 100 dollars, id like to look at a decent electric scale that actually CAN work.

[john.k]

Its pretty hard to find an electronic scale that doesnt work.....if you spend over $20...........just check the accuracy before using,as they all tell you in the manual that comes with them.......and unlike an old balance,the battery will run down and need replacement.

[country gent]

I have been using a Gem pro 250 for several years now and very satisfied has a great range. can be ran off outlet or batteries, coms with an anti vibration pad and calibration weight weighs in 5 different scales IE grains grams troy. Built in cover. and reads to .02 grains. Mine was around $125.00 3-4 years ago

[MyFlatline]

My cheap Frankford Arsenal is still going strong. Have had no complaints.

[Finster101]

I have gotten good service out of my Pact scale and dispenser.

[georgerkahn]

In the market for a fairly inexpensive "check" scale, I ended up with a Dillon D-terminator. Dillon site has it in the $130 price range, (https://www.dillonprecision.com/d-terminator-electronic-scale_8_7_25213.html), but I found mine for a few dollars lower priced -- $99.99 with free shipping on an auction site. As much is it come with weight check weights, I have the small RCBS weight collection -- resembles sections of cut paper clips ;) -- and regularly double check it with these. (In loading, say, .32 Auto, a couple tenths of a grain is significant!) I'm most happy with the one I purchased. Coming with a wall-wart for power, nothing else is needed, although I have and use AA batteries in mine.
Good luck!
geo

[EddieZoom]

My cheap Frankford Arsenal is still going strong. Have had no complaints.

Same here. I have the ~$20 one and the bigger more expensive one...both work well and are accurate to one tenth a grain.

[Rcmaveric]

I have MTM scale. I dont really use it that much because I use the Lee scale mostly. Last year I have gotten a deeper liking to analogue. I noticed my digital scales and calipers get wonky when the batteries get low. Then indicate off for a little bit with new batteries. Atleast the scale i could calibrate and fix but the calipers i packed away and havent touched since.

If you are talking about the movement while it balances, then just let it bounce off your finger once. By the time you seat a bullet and get the next case ready to charge it will be ballances.

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[Ateam]

My cheap Frankford Arsenal is still going strong. Have had no complaints.

Same here, I bought mine on sale at midway years ago, and it is very consistent.

[jmort]

PACT is out of the scale business and will not do warranty repairs. The Gem Pro 250 is a good choice. I got a scale from Ballistic Products that works well. My PACT still works. Dillion has done right by me. I will probably try the D-Terminator next.

[retread]

Same here, I bought mine on sale at midway years ago, and it is very consistent.

I too have a FA. For the price I paid I was shocked at how consistently accurate it is. Much better than my PACT which I paid a lot more for! I still verify my Digitals with a balance when I start up. I don't trust "self tests".

[str8wal]

to much movement

Get a scale that has dampening, my 5-10 works great and is pretty fast.


electric scale that actually CAN work

They all work until they don't and how do you know when they aren't?

[Rcmaveric]

The Lee scales are magnet dampened.

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[crankycalico]

I know the magnetic dampening is the main crutch of the lee scale. So many you tube complaint videos on it. That ill simply say, its a major safety nuisance when your weighing every charge.

Now when you simply toss it to 5 grains, and weigh every 4th or 5th charge to check consistency, its FINE. but when you have the need to weigh EVERY charge it gets to be a bad thing.

If they would redesign the beam so that the magnets CANT stop the beam it would be nice.

[Land Owner]

My PACT still works.

+1

If you manually stop MOST of the "bounce" in a balance beam scale it should settle down fairly quickly. Do this with a plastic spoon that is grounded on the bench and then pivoted into the balance pan to stop it from fluxuating. Slowly pivot the spoon away and the damper should do the rest to stop the bounce of the beam.

Keep your electronic scale plugged in or at least give it 10 minutes to warm up and come to its own equilibrium. Check it periodically too and remember, it is also calibrated within +/-0.1 grain.

Remember, there are many who do not even use a scale for their reloading, and instead use VOLUME. Whichever way you choose BE CONSISTENT.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Redding, RCBS both have balance beam scales under $100. DO NOT judge balance beam scales by the Lee. I have a Lee and it is tiresome and difficult to use, though very accurate. I am using an RCBS 505 I have had a very long time. Of the electronic scales, the Gemtech is the only one I would use for measuring powder. I have tried a couple of the less expensive electronic scales and don't care for the 'drift' I seem to encounter, fine for brass and bullets. I seldom weigh all my charges. I use the Lee Perfect Powder measure checking with the RCBS 505 every 5 to 10 charges, never a reason to weigh individual charges with most modern powders. If it a ball powder and I am loading more than 20 my powder checks get farther and farther apart. Of course, the guys using progressive loaders seldom check charge weights once the press is setup.

[kungfustyle]

+1 on a beam scale RCBS/Lyman etc.
I have a RCBS chargemaster light and love it, but I check it with my RCBS 505 scale.
I also have a Frankford arsenal digital scale, but use it to weigh brass and bullets. It's good but trust my other two for powder.

[RedlegEd]

Hi all. In addition to the FA scale, I also got one of these from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06W5VXN53/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1). It's got a resolution of 0.01gn and accuracy of 0.001g/0.0154gn, so it's plenty precise to measure what you'd like if you need to go beyond the 0.1gn resolution of the FA scale. The other benefit is it's ~$7.00 less expensive than the FA scale. Also, like @Land_Owner said, make sure you let your scale warm up and make sure it's calibrated using the check weight that should have come with it. Ed

232503

[str8wal]

The Lee scales are magnet dampened.

Not the one I had, or it sure didn't act like it. Got the RCBS and couldn't be happier. I don't weigh every charge though, throw and check every once in a while. Some powders don't flow well though and those I trickle up. I avoid powders that won't flow, although I do use Varget and 4895, etc, for some hunting loads that I don't need a lot of.

[country gent]

Several things help the balance beam scales slow and settle faster. One keep it out of drafts from heat vents windows, How you pour the charge in, just a quick dump gets the pan swinging and moving faster and more. A slow trickle type pour doesn't disturb the pan as much. A solid vibration free setting, if press movements bumps or other vibrations are transferred it may never completely settle. move as much static electricity from the area as possible.

Another thing that should be done and actually proves the set up, scale, and its settings is to purchase a set of check weights ( lyman RCBS) and use them like gage blocks. When you setup and set the scales to a charge weight. Use the weights that add up to the charge and check the scales there. IE for a 18 grn charge a 10 grn a 5 grn a 2 grn and a 1 grn weight used together makes the 18 grn setting. This tells you the set up is good the scales are set accurately and working properly.

The older oil dampened scales ran "dry" can be very accurate but take a long time to settle. Light oil helps here and playing with the viscosity can help also.

[EDG]

You are mistaken because you are using a junk scale.
I inherited 2 Lee balance beam scales and they both had poor dampening characteristics because Lee used cheap weak magnets.

If you buy the equivalent junky electronic scale you will be even worse off. For the most part a used RCBS 502, 505, 5-10 and 10-10 scales are all much better than the Lee and are more reliable than any digital scale under $500. Many long range accuracy shooters use digital scales but they run in the range of $800 to $1000.
You are right the Lee scale is not so hot but cheap digitals can be worse.
BTW I was given a new Dillon Dterminator digital scale about 15 years ago and it was worthless. After 8 years passed it was still new sitting in my closet. Dillion brought out a next generation scale and I sent mine back. The replacement works fine but I had to wait 8 years for the state of the art to be useful.
I also have the RCBS 750 made by Pact. It works ok but I do not trust either for one pass weighing. You need to pick up and reweigh many times to verify the scale did not stick. So my digitals are confined to weighing brass and bullets. Powder is weighed with 6 or 7 scales that I have that were made by Ohaus for Lyman and RCBS. I broke one Lee scale experimenting on it. The other is stored because it is not worth the postage to give it away.


Im abandoning my lee beam scale. It is GREAT for checking to see if a charge is "on" but not for getting to that charge weight.. to much movement.

As I cant seem to find small beam scales under 100 dollars, id like to look at a decent electric scale that actually CAN work.

[Land Owner]

There are recommendation herein for using "check weights" to verify your scale is reading "true". We're lead casters here. Making check weights from lead is simple. Use YOUR OWN scale to make the check weights. CONSISTENCY is the KEY. If your scale is consistently zeroed and checked against the same set of "check weights" that you made and found to be reading true, then you have met the consistency requirement. Should you desire to weigh your check weights on another scale and the check weights do not "measure up" WHO CARES? Another scale MAY be off. Using the same check weights over and over will give you the consistency you are looking for.

[mdi]

I still occasionally use a Lee scale and it's just a matter of learning how or modifying your methods to make it a reliable scale (nothing wrong with a Lee scale just some can't/won't learn how to use a vernier scale or need to hurry through powder weighing). I saw a video of "improvements" for the Lee SS and I can put a strong magnet under the aluminum pan and this slows the "swing" appreciably. When adjusting my powder measure I set the vernier poise on my scale to the target weight, lock the poise in place and adjust to that, not the other way around. I set my powder measure to my beam scale (RCBS 5-10, Lyman D5 or Lee) and check that weight on my Frankfort Arsenal (Gem Pro?) digital. Then I'll use the digital for faster weighing (using the beam scale's weight. If my beam scale says 8.5 g. and my digital scale says 8.3, I'll continue to use the 8.3 readout on my digital, knowing in fact the beam is more accurate for me.). I also "tare" my digital often, I once charged 11 cases .4 gr over target weight because the "tare" jumped .4 grains...

[robg]

I've got an amazon jewellery scale ,saves time when weighing boolits but rely on my Lyman 500 for powder charges .use it to cross check now and then but my lee and Lyman measures seem to throw pretty constant weights of powder .

[sniper]

I used an OHAUS balance beam scale since the '6os...same as the RCBS 505, only a different color, till it didn't work accurately any more, then, about 25 (iirc) years ago, I bought a Dillon beam scale. :cool: I use the same set of Lyman check weights, which only go to 21.5 gr., to zero and confirm charge weights. That's for pistol rounds. I also have a verified 52 gr. varmint boolit that I use to zero for rifle charges. I figure if it is accurately zeroed at "perzakly" 52gr, it will weigh plenty accurately for loads of ~ +-10% if I'm not hot-rodding to max and beyond.

The other day, I noticed the beam was very gently sticking at the bottom end of its travel. That was strange, because it is kept in a tupperware box. I cleaned the bearings and knife points with alcohol, and noticed the magnetic dampening paddle was contacting the scale body. I gently torqued it away from the offending piece, and it works with no problems. I think electronic scales are nice, but personally, don't see a need.

[John Boy]

https://www.dx.com/p/1-7-lcd-high-precision-digital-jewelry-scale-50g-0-001g-4-x-aaa-2011430#.XB8M2ix7l2E ...plus free shipping

[crankycalico]

Im weighing each charge because of my latest hand injury makes it hard to get a consistent throw using my lee dippers.

Im finding that the set I have is not exactly "on par" with the lee measure chart of Red Dot. And right now im trying to find the sweet spot for red dot.

Is there at least a useful way to make sure the stupid magnets don't stick?