Beam scale

[Beekeeper]

I asked in a post about electronic scales.
Today a neighbor gave me a redding balance beam scale.
Don't know how old it is and neither does he.
Said brother used it to weigh precesious metals.
Is it possible to add a magnetic damper to it?
Ask as it takes quiete a while for it to settle out..
Dopes a great job of weighing just likes to oscilate a lot


survivalists Dad

[jhrosier]

If it oscillates more than three or four times, it probably isn't magnetically damped.
I recall seeing some of the older scales with a small reservoir under the beam with a 'paddle' extending into same. It was intended that the user would fill the container with some light oil to serve as a damper.

Jack

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Hi, Back in the day, Redding, depending on the color of the crinkle finish which was either reddish-brown or greenish, made some good quality scales. There was no magnetic dampening around...either nothing to slow the beam down in its swinging or else there was the little reservoir with a paddle in it. The reservoir was indeed filled with some light oil that helped stabilize the beam, ( if you didn't miind cleaning up the oil afterward) Watching a beam swing and waiting for it to finally stop was and still is boring. But these scales are very accurate and served well for a long time. They are easy to calibrate and you can make a set of weights to do that if you can con your local pharmacist into weighing a nickel, dime, penny and a quarter for you on his scale. Smaller weights can also be made by snipping some lengths of copper wire to whatever exact weights you want. To stop the beam from swinging or at least to slow it down, I keep an ordinary pencil sharpened to a point. When the beam starts to swing place the point of the pencil just over or under the "0" line and let the beam pointer actually hit it while swinging up or down. That will solw the process down considerably, won't hurt anything and save you a lot of time. I have been doing this successfuly now for 3-4 decades and both of my Reddings have always run true and reliably. LLS

[Bret4207]

I use an older Redding scale. Learn to stick your finger between the pan and surface the scale is sitting on. Let the pan bump your finger a bit. This stops the wild swaying and the beam will still give an accurate reading if you pull your finger out when it settles down to being with the pointers range. After a while you also get the hang of seeing where the pointer is going to stop within .2-.3 grains. Lets you know you're still a little light or heavy without waiting it out.

[monadnock#5]

I use an older Redding scale. Learn to stick your finger between the pan and surface the scale is sitting on. Let the pan bump your finger a bit. This stops the wild swaying and the beam will still give an accurate reading if you pull your finger out when it settles down to being with the pointers range. After a while you also get the hang of seeing where the pointer is going to stop within .2-.3 grains. Lets you know you're still a little light or heavy without waiting it out.

+1. With my first Lyman scale I would dump a scoop of powder into the pan to get me close, then slide the trickler into the pan to stop the wild gyrations, then back the trickler off and trickle powder to the desired weight. At some point it seemed that I was trickling more powder at times than at others. It was then that I discovered that my Lyman isn't accurate at all weighing a dead, motionless pan. With just a little swaying of the pan however, the charges don't vary at all.

[Beekeeper]

Thanks everyone!
I like the little scale and as old as it is it's a keeper anyway.
It is the green redding and he said it is at least 1970's vintage so of I never use it it will be a little bit of history.
Thought I would make a case like to ond assey office had for it and use it when I need a scale

[Bret4207]

+1. With my first Lyman scale I would dump a scoop of powder into the pan to get me close, then slide the trickler into the pan to stop the wild gyrations, then back the trickler off and trickle powder to the desired weight. At some point it seemed that I was trickling more powder at times than at others. It was then that I discovered that my Lyman isn't accurate at all weighing a dead, motionless pan. With just a little swaying of the pan however, the charges don't vary at all.


Bingo! That's part of the reason I was never crazy about the dampened scales. I use one now, but learning they can be inaccurate is important. If I think my scale may be sticking a bit I breath on it slightly or tap the bench top and that lets it rock a bit. Makes me feel better about it anyway.

Oh yeah, a little Motor Mica or graphite on the scale beam balance points is a good thing now and then.

[AZ Pete]

If your balance beam scale is varying in reading, clean the pivot knife edges, and thier seats on the scale frame with alcohol. It doesn't take much dust to effect the scale reading. Other than that, balance beam scales are very accurate and consistent.

[dromia]

Like all tools beam scales need to have their use and how they operate before they can be used effectively.

The slowing down the swing a tad with your finger works really well.

I have three RCBS and two Redding scales around my benches and I've just acquired a Hornady as I find this is the easiest to read as my eyes are getting old.

They all work well and are consistent and accurate if set up and maintained, I use check weights.

My favourite is the Redding with the oil bath, but don't knock it as you will have a mess to clean up.

With the magnetically dampened scale I find it important that the metal fin from the beam that goes between the magnets is centred, it can bent slightly to ensure proper alignment over its tarvel. If it isn't aligned properly then it can stick.

I've tried the Lee scale but could never get it to be as consistent as the others, a good scale can be your main external line of defence against a duff load. My experience of the Lee is that its too risky to trust it. No doubt others will swear by it, I can only speak as I find.

I have a Pact eletronic scale that I use with their dispenser, this is a fine piece of kit especially for load development where you are putting up loads in powder increments. The electronic scale is just great for weighing bollits, thats a real pain on a beam scale if you have a few hundred to do.

[NoDakJak]

I mainly use a magnetically dampned RCBS scale for most of my loading now but also have my old, trusty Redding scale on one of the benchs with a Herters scale in rreserve. My procedure with the Redding is similar to Bretts but I find that I have a bit better contro if I place my forefinger on the end of the scale and my thumb against the scale, letting it bump against my thumbnail. With a bit of practice this is almost as fast as using the magnetic scale. I reserve my electronic scale for weighing bullets. My favorite scale was a Webster that I bought new in 1962. It used a small glass jar for an oil reservoir. When your were done load you simply lifted the beam off and wiped the oil from the paddle. Removed the little jar and screwed a lid on it. Worked well! Unfortunately, my reloading gear went into storage when I did an overseas tour. When I returned i found that it had been smashed during storage and somehow the movers had even broken the handle off my big old Herters #3 press. Ah well! Neil