Achieving Accuracy and Consistency in your scales

[jhelmuth]

Hey guys,

I've seen several posts which are all related to scales and which is best. I wanted to start a constructive thread here that kinda moves away from announcing "one best" scale and focus instead on how to get the best from your scale. I own many scales and at a wide variety of price-points and types. My feeling is that ALL scales can perform extremely well IF (big if here) you understand what makes them work well and how to use them. I know that may sound trivial, but I feel I've had a decent amount of experience here and I find that ALL of my scales can do a superperb job as long as I use them correctly. Granted, some are faster than others, and some may be more finiky to setup - but all will do a wonderful job when used and setup correctly.

Now... having said that, I'd like to share my observations and how to make "your" scales work best for you. Please share your observations and please make sure that you have put some effort into those observations so we don't junk up this thread with information that would otherwise keep the reader from benefiting from this thread.

[RCBS Charge Master 1500] - great scale and dispenser combo. Is very finiky (as are ALL digital scales) with level. You absolutly MUST make sure the thing is PERFECTLY LEVEL! Other than that, it pays to add the MikkeyD's straw trick (1/2" length max inserted into the dispenser tube) and fine tune the programming. Be sure to calibrate before each use, and I let mine "warm up" about 5 mins before I calibrate.

[OHAUS / Redding / Dillon / etc. 505 balance beam] - Great scale, just takes a little bit to use and be a bit patient. Best modification to this scale is to "solidify" the loose weights under the pan (right side) because as these move around the "zero" will change. You also want to make sure the beam is very level. Even though you can adjust the left-side zero moving the wheel foot up/down, the beam needs to be level first. Taking time to make the weights immobile (and perfectly balanced for level beam) is the key. That will require some time put in to figure out how you want to do that and to get it balanced. After that, I have found this to be the fastest and most useable balance beam out there. Make sure it is on a level surface for best accuracy.

[Lee Saftey Scale (Balance beam type)] - Nice, inexpensive balance beam scale, Very sensitive. The Lee is very consistent once set for a particular charge. It fails to be as accurate as others due to the unique nature of the right side setting for ones and tenths (uses a sliding window and you have to get it perfect). I like to use it as a secondary check for my charges by setting the balance to the "known" charge and not worry about it's reading accuracy. The Lee is EXCELLENT in it's sensativity and can do repeatable loads very well (once you set it). Make sure the knife edge and fulcrum V are perfectly clean for best performance.


That's it for now. I have a couple of other digital scales which I'll comment about later. One thing to add is that for ALL digital scales, PERFECT LEVEL MUST be a part of the setup. If you fail to perform this step, the scale will not be able to give you the best results it's capable of...


All the best,

Jim

[gotcha]

Hi Jim! guess you've seen allan 1066 videos @ fgw_in_fla post? Was toying w/ my rcbs 10-10 & noticed inconsistent readings when interchanging same powder charge. More than the 1/10th gr sensitivity gaurantee. I found that tapping on the base w/ a bp pen the scale indicator would come to perfect "zero" after a few taps. ??? I've long suspected the knife edge on the fulcrum which contacts the agate V-block to be causing the prob. Didn't want to mess w/ it lest I screw up the scale. Well, it needed fixin' anyway so I decided to polish the knife edges. Used a tiny Dremel felt polishing drum w/ a bit of metal polish. Much like you'd strop the edge of a knife blade. BINGO! No more problem & my 10-10 now matches my 505 for the 1st time ever...... Never considered the effect of movement of the counter wgt BB's in the pan support. I'll have to try that! BTW I didn't create a knife edge but left a little roundness so the beam could swing & find its own stopping point. (hope that makes sense) Dale

[jhelmuth]

Dale,

I solved mine the "cheapie" way using simple green painters masking tape (taped them down while evenly spacing them around the dish). I did have the idea to superglue them down, or even taking some lead and finding the right amount and then heating that until it melted to form an even ring. However you do it, think about using the green or blue maksing tape (painters tape) inside to final/finish balancing and distribute any small pieces as evenly around as practical...

All the best,

Jim


PS - yes... I "saw" the post. I need to watch the video posted there. I'm sure it has some good stuff there and maybe they can add to this post. I ended up sending fgw_in_fla my spare Lee Safety scale so he could use what he knew...

[gotcha]

Thanks for the tip! Ya gotta watch that guy in Florida. He'll con you out of your skivvies if you give him a chance ;D ::)

[fgw_in_fla]

Hey Jim...

I've been using my (our) Lee Scale to load up some of my known accurate loads. I believe my old scale may have been having trouble prior to its accident. When using the beam from the scale you sent & my base, my favorite round of .270 / 130gr Nosler BT's with 55.6gr. of H4831 have been devstatingly consistant. I made a box of 50 rounds & had NOT ONE SINGLE FLYER ;D ;D! I can't thank you enough.
I think I may have worn the old sclae out or it was not 100% consistant prior to its refurbishment.
Anyway, good info posted above.

Hey Gotcha.... Keep your hand on your wallet when you're in my neighborhood