Legionnaire
Contributing Member
I like that Ohaus 10-10 scale. I've been keeping my eyes open for one to go along with my RCBS/Ohaus 5-0-5 and 5-0-2.
Beam Scale 101, a look at the tried and true
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JFrank
Member
I keep all of the styles’ I really like having them all in perfect harmony 
Well here's one you probably don't have - an RCBS 304 also known as an Ohaus Dial-A-Grain. The gram versions are what I've seen most often but the grain versions pop up every so often. A combination of balance beam and spring features, I've read reloaders with arthritic hands find these particularly useful. Features like the platform for a trickler that can be raised or lowered really show the thought process involved in this vintage product.
Not mine and I have no affiliation with the seller.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/RCBS-POWDER-MEASURE-OHAUS-304/184475423435
Not mine and I have no affiliation with the seller.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/RCBS-POWDER-MEASURE-OHAUS-304/184475423435
JFrank
Member
That may be the crown Jewell
JFrank
Member
I decided to post a couple pictures as I work through this 10-10 a bit, after the first wipe down I’ll remove the Agates for additional cleaning with Alcohol, these knife edges look pretty darn good although I’m certainly not as knowledgeable as some , it does stick just a occasionally I’ll touch them up with the fine stone making smooth even passes counting as I go along I like 6 light passes on each side. Yeah that looks a tad improved. wipe down the edges again. Well give it a trial run with a single kernel. So far So good
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LiveLife
Member
Wow.
Ole Joe Clark
Member
Great thread, many thanks to the OP and the contributors. Each of you should get a gold star by your name.
I purchased a RCBS 1010 scale a few years ago. It was missing a few parts, one of which was the stick on scale that works with the "tenths" drum on the right end of the beam. After I got the sticky mounted I was fooling with the drum and discovered that the lines on the sticky are not spaced correctly. On some of the older RCBS beam scales the sticky lines are visibly more precise and look to be located properly. I compensate on my scale by using the lines on the sticky for reference only and counting and double counting the impressed lines and numbers on the drum.
Have you guys noticed this on your beam scales and what do you do to correct or compensate for the problem.
Have a blessed day,
Leon
I purchased a RCBS 1010 scale a few years ago. It was missing a few parts, one of which was the stick on scale that works with the "tenths" drum on the right end of the beam. After I got the sticky mounted I was fooling with the drum and discovered that the lines on the sticky are not spaced correctly. On some of the older RCBS beam scales the sticky lines are visibly more precise and look to be located properly. I compensate on my scale by using the lines on the sticky for reference only and counting and double counting the impressed lines and numbers on the drum.
Have you guys noticed this on your beam scales and what do you do to correct or compensate for the problem.
Have a blessed day,
Leon
JFrank
Member
I believe you are referring to the the micro poise as the drum, if the stick on scale doesn’t seem to correlate with the micro poise you may need to do a bit of research as a few changes or updates were made through years and you may be caught in one.
J
J
Great thread, many thanks to the OP and the contributors. Each of you should get a gold star by your name.
I purchased a RCBS 1010 scale a few years ago. It was missing a few parts, one of which was the stick on scale that works with the "tenths" drum on the right end of the beam. After I got the sticky mounted I was fooling with the drum and discovered that the lines on the sticky are not spaced correctly. On some of the older RCBS beam scales the sticky lines are visibly more precise and look to be located properly. I compensate on my scale by using the lines on the sticky for reference only and counting and double counting the impressed lines and numbers on the drum.
Have you guys noticed this on your beam scales and what do you do to correct or compensate for the problem.
Have a blessed day,
Leon
Oooh. Getting into the dark arts here Leon. The threaded rod for the barrel poise can be moved for calibration - it has a screw driver slot at the pan hanger end. And the stick on scale is a little smaller than the rebated housing allowing for adjustment either way. BUT - there are no "how to do it" guides or instructions and each adjustment has a counter effect further down the line.
I've found that the stick-on scale can sometimes be removed by applying a little naptha lighter fuel to the glue.
JFrank
Member
The rotating micro poise adds an additional layer of complexity over the conventional blade poise.Please report back as you work through your scale.
I’m always eager to learn
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LiveLife
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Engineer1911
member
You are hereby awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Scale Ology. Go and Proudly continue to Weigh and Maintain.
Pat Riot
Contributing Member
@Project355
Thank you!
I decided to follow your advice on cleaning and tuning my RCBS M500 scale.
I gave it a thorough cleaning overall, especially the beam weight indent notches on the top of the beam.
I dressed up the knife edges on the beam fulcrum.
I cleaned the ceramic slots where the fulcrum is set in the base. That was really dirty, even though I keep a cover on it.
I chased the threads in the base and on the foot of the “Zeroing” adjuster.
After all that I put everything together and very easily zeroed my scale just to try it out.
It turned out wonderfully.
I put the cover back on it to keep the dust off.
Tomorrow I will check zero again and do some .38 Special loads I have been wanting to try.
Thank you!
I decided to follow your advice on cleaning and tuning my RCBS M500 scale.
I gave it a thorough cleaning overall, especially the beam weight indent notches on the top of the beam.
I dressed up the knife edges on the beam fulcrum.
I cleaned the ceramic slots where the fulcrum is set in the base. That was really dirty, even though I keep a cover on it.
I chased the threads in the base and on the foot of the “Zeroing” adjuster.
After all that I put everything together and very easily zeroed my scale just to try it out.
It turned out wonderfully.
I put the cover back on it to keep the dust off.
Tomorrow I will check zero again and do some .38 Special loads I have been wanting to try.
OP
OP
Project355
Member
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Hey a success story!
@Project355
Thank you!
I decided to follow your advice on cleaning and tuning my RCBS M500 scale.
I gave it a thorough cleaning overall, especially the beam weight indent notches on the top of the beam.
I dressed up the knife edges on the beam fulcrum.
I cleaned the ceramic slots where the fulcrum is set in the base. That was really dirty, even though I keep a cover on it.
I chased the threads in the base and on the foot of the “Zeroing” adjuster.
After all that I put everything together and very easily zeroed my scale just to try it out.
It turned out wonderfully.
I put the cover back on it to keep the dust off.
Tomorrow I will check zero again and do some .38 Special loads I have been wanting to try.
View attachment 947789 View attachment 947790 View attachment 947791 View attachment 947792 View attachment 947793 View attachment 947794 View attachment 947795 View attachment 947796 View attachment 947797 View attachment 947798
Excellent job - looks like that one certainly felt the benefit of a deep clean.
My vintage Ohaus 10-10 scale arrived. I was able to zero it easily with the single point leveling foot on our kitchen island which shows level using a bubble level. It wasn't anywhere near the far point of travel when I achieved zero. Tapping on the pan & pan holder it returned to zero each time.
I checked calibration at 50 grains, 10 grains, and 2 grains, a reasonable set of points for the rough neighborhood of powder charges for rifle and handgun cartridges I plan to reload, using a previously owned set of Lyman check weights and it was spot on. I have another set of check weights I recently snagged that ranges from 100 grams to 1 milligram with many weights in between but I haven't checked it with those yet. Those are more for use when I have a specific load weight value to set the scale at.
The rotary smaller poise of my 10-10 is honestly easier for me than the smaller hanging poise of my Lyman D5 as far as ease of adjustment and confidence I have it set correctly. The D5's smaller hanging poise can settle a bit cockeyed from vertical in those small indentations of the D5 beam requiring me to double & triple check, and use forceps to move in small increments along the beam.
Next I'll give it a minor cleaning but since it zeros easily and repeatedly and checks calibration I don't plan on doing any honing of the beam knives. Odds are far higher I'll reduce its usefulness vs improve it IMO if I try that, and kudos to those who can improve that when called for!
I checked calibration at 50 grains, 10 grains, and 2 grains, a reasonable set of points for the rough neighborhood of powder charges for rifle and handgun cartridges I plan to reload, using a previously owned set of Lyman check weights and it was spot on. I have another set of check weights I recently snagged that ranges from 100 grams to 1 milligram with many weights in between but I haven't checked it with those yet. Those are more for use when I have a specific load weight value to set the scale at.
The rotary smaller poise of my 10-10 is honestly easier for me than the smaller hanging poise of my Lyman D5 as far as ease of adjustment and confidence I have it set correctly. The D5's smaller hanging poise can settle a bit cockeyed from vertical in those small indentations of the D5 beam requiring me to double & triple check, and use forceps to move in small increments along the beam.
Next I'll give it a minor cleaning but since it zeros easily and repeatedly and checks calibration I don't plan on doing any honing of the beam knives. Odds are far higher I'll reduce its usefulness vs improve it IMO if I try that, and kudos to those who can improve that when called for!
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FROGO207
Member
I have the Ohaus 10-10 on my main bench. I have the RCBS 10-10 on my bench at the farm. I am a fan of the rolling barrel weight rather than a weight you have to lift. It seems less prone to mistakes IMHO. I am all about no mistakes when reloading.
NMexJim
Member
I have a Lyman 1010 (same, same Ohaus and RCBS), and I've been using it since 1972 (yep, got my money's worth). I started having some weirdness with the magnetic dampening. I've been through cleaning, touching up knife edges, and opening the pan, and playing with the weights.
Balancing the beam and getting a calibration is not the problem, I think. I suspect magnetic dampening because I get wonky readings when I gently blow on the pan to check the level, but that stops when I go on to the calibration weights. I'm dead level in all directions - I have a rather large marble slab that I've precision leveled as a base. Do you have any additional info on dampening that might help?
Balancing the beam and getting a calibration is not the problem, I think. I suspect magnetic dampening because I get wonky readings when I gently blow on the pan to check the level, but that stops when I go on to the calibration weights. I'm dead level in all directions - I have a rather large marble slab that I've precision leveled as a base. Do you have any additional info on dampening that might help?
OP
OP
Project355
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Not much to it. Copper or aluminum plate moving through a magnetic field. Its in part 2
JFrank
Member
Yeeeaah..
I missed that day in class where the magnetic field was discussed.
Although I have taken the time to clean the copper vane and between the mags with Alcohol and q tips then ensure the vane runs centered through the magnets by way of agate adjustments.
You say it’s a Lyman 10-10?
I’ve not seen that one
I missed that day in class where the magnetic field was discussed.
Although I have taken the time to clean the copper vane and between the mags with Alcohol and q tips then ensure the vane runs centered through the magnets by way of agate adjustments.
You say it’s a Lyman 10-10?
I’ve not seen that one
I suppose you could remove the magnets and check the operation afterwards to settle that question.
Have you tried blowing on the pan while you only have check weights in the pan, or when the pan is emptied and scale is zeroed - that might shed some light?
Have you tried blowing on the pan while you only have check weights in the pan, or when the pan is emptied and scale is zeroed - that might shed some light?
OP
OP
Project355
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The copper vane needn't be centered, just not rub. Clean is good for weighing, doesn't effect damping.
NMexJim
Member
Evidently the Lyman made by Ohaus became the 1010 RCBS - what year I don't know. I'll take a pic and post.Yeeeaah..
I missed that day in class where the magnetic field was discussed.
Although I have taken the time to clean the copper vane and between the mags with Alcohol and q tips then ensure the vane runs centered through the magnets by way of agate adjustments.
You say it’s a Lyman 10-10?
I’ve not seen that one
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