I know...it's about time....

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springmom

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We've only had the Lee Turret setup for a year. Or so. We looked at it, thought about it, got busy with other stuff, went and bought a ranch, you name it.

And this past weekend, finally started handloading.

We both own 1911's, so we started with .45acp. Bullseye, 5 grains, with a 230gr FMJ. I figure that's about as basic as we can get.

What I learned:

1) it takes time. I'm already wishing for a progressive press. :rolleyes:
2) I'm probably more OCD than I need to be, but then, I didn't screw anything up too badly either
3) when we did screw up, if we THINK before we ACT, we can still end up ok
4) when I don't think quite quickly enough, sometimes I get lucky (ended up decapping a live primer. Don't ask. But it didn't pop...)
5) my next purchase, my VERY next purchase, is something other than that irritating little Lee powder scale. You can actually sit there for 15 minutes and the bloody arm will not quit swinging. And once it does, if it's not quite right, and you move the slide, you can wait another 15 minutes. Did I mention I hate the Lee powder scale???? REALLY hate the Lee powder scale?
6) we should have done this a year ago. It's fun and even I'm rather unlikely to blow anything up.

I think.

Off to the doc, then hopefully off later to try out the handloads.

Springmom
 
Welcome back to the hobby of reloading and welcome to this forum.

It's a great place to ask questions and get advice.

I'm not familiar with the Lee scale, but my RCBS 502, and my Lyman/Ohaus D-5 take about six to eight seconds to zero. Both are magnetically dampened, but I thought almost all are.

This is not meant as a wise-ass comment, but are you sure there is no wind (like a ceiling fan, a/c vent, or open garage door) around your scale? Fifteen minutes to settle seems like an awfully long time.
 
Pay what it costs to get an electronic scale, as soon as you can. Like your first VCR or microwave oven, you'll wonder how you ever managed before without one.
 
Magnetic scales can be aggrevating, that is for sure, but I found the electronics more aggrevating. I settled on just using my RCBS 505. I finally knocked it off the bench :banghead: so I bought a Redding scale, (I know, my 505 worked great, but I am a curious soul.) I like it OK, but the tiny weight is tough for my bad eyes and big thumbs. Maybe I should have gone for the 10-10.

Both of those scales settle down pretty quickly.

Oh, my buddy The Bushmaster loves his digital scale. :)

And yes, we will be impatiently waiting for a range report.
 
Any brand of scale running around 50 bucks or so will give you a good manually operated scale. I personally prefer the Hornady, Dillon and RCBS scales.

Regards,

Dave
 
The A/C was on. It could be that. But even when it's not it imitates the Eveready Bunny. Going...and going...and going.....:banghead:

Electronic scales sound lovely.

It's 100 degrees out there. I'll go shoot tomorrow morning when it's only 85 ;)

Springmom
 
Have fun! I got my first bench-mounted press recently, a Lee single stage, and I'm already thinking about a progressive, too. (Probably the Hornady, but that's another topic.)

However, I also have that Lee safety scale, and while it's cheap and less than ideal, I find it completely usable. It will stop swinging within 15 seconds, tops, probably less. It is a magnetically dampened design. Check and see if yours might:
-not be assembled right (either by you or the factory)
-be missing the magnets to dampen it
-have something else that's just wrong
 
You're right it's about time.:neener: I'm glad you finally got started. Don't give up on the classic turret yet. I think once you get the hang of the press you will like it better. As far as the Lee scale, use that thing for target practice. I bought a Pact digital scale and am a lot happier. Welcome back to reloading.
Rusty
 
As far as the Lee scale, use that thing for target practice.
Click to expand...

ROTFL. Bet it would take awhile to zero after that....

Thanks to all for the encouragement. I may have to wait another day or two for range time. Went to the doctor yesterday for a pneumonia shot (last year's didn't TAKE :banghead::banghead::banghead:) and the very nice, very friendly, very pleasant and seemingly intelligent nurse put the bloody thing in the bursa of the shoulder. I can only reliably lift my left arm this morning by using my right to help. :uhoh:

I called her, and she did both apologize and give me a treatment regimen to follow to try and loosen it up. Meanwhile, I suppose I can always finish some more .45's.... :D

Springmom
 
Reloading is "my time". My wife will not bother me unless we are going somewhere and I lost track of time. It is relaxing. Welcome to a legal drug, it is addictive.
 
I haven't eyeballed one of the Lee scales, but doesn't it have any damper mechanism at all? Most reloading scales that aren't just plastic junk will have a magnetic damper. Usually it is a copper plate that rides freely between two magnets. The eddy current set up in the plate tends to slow the beam down and stop it after a few oscillations with no effect on the reading. Nothing like that on the Lee?

If my scale oscillated for 15 seconds, I would have tossed it long ago.

Anyway, welcome [back] to the hobby/way of life that is reloading. :)
 
OK. At the far end of the beam from the pan (the end with the pointer) there is a metal plate, about an inch by 3/4 of an inch or so, which I assumed worked as a counterweight. I took the beam off the scale and peered into the slot in the base where the beam swings as it (eventually) damps down. Inset into the base on either side of that slot, there is a piece of something that may be steel or iron, and that may be intended to be working as a magnetic damper.

Nothing is glued to the beam anywhere else, so that would be the only thing I could see that might function in that way. If it WERE functioning, that is :rolleyes:

The magnets, if magnets they are, are inset into the scale base and may just not be close enough to the counterweight (or whatever it is) to cause that effect.

Springmom
 
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Very odd, indeed. You do have a copper plate damper (it's not a counterweight), but it doesn't seem to be working. With a nail or any small piece of steel, see if the "magnets" have any magnetism. They are relatively weak magnets, but it should be easily detectable.
 
+ 1 for electronic scales, I found it getting harder and herder to read them little line. I bought the Dillon electronic scale and it has nice big number that are very easy to read
 
Curiouser and curiouser.

A nail smacks right up against those little magnets and STAYS THERE. The plate damper will work if I push it right smack up against one or the other magnet. Otherwise it does the Eveready Bunny until I got tired of watching it.

If this was weighing grams of salt for a recipe I'd have snatched the thing up and used the salt after about a minute, thinking I had a "good enough" reading. I'm really not inclined to go with a "good enough" reading when it's a matter of gunpowder, however. :)

I'll have much more peace of mind with an electronic scale, I think. That probably is the answer (plus the whole "easy to read" thing is very good.)

Springmom
 
If you're using a Lee turret, are you weighing each charge after the Lee powder measure dumps it? Personally, I check the first four or five for consistency, and then weigh random samples throughout my run...at least one check every 15-20 rounds, sometimes more.

One tip about the Turret...make sure you traverse the handle the full way through the up & down stroke. If you don't, you'll get the indexer out of alighment or worse, wear out the plastic bushing and have to order more. They're cheap, but you still gotta order the dizzy things...

But back to the original question about scale movement... Double check for wind currents in your reloading area. I've made an open-face windbreak for my scale using a copier-paper box, since I reload in my garage I need my fan on. The windbreak helps the scale not be effected by the breeze.

Also, I have no problems dropping my charge in the pan and then using my hand to stabilize the scale at or near the zero mark then gently move my hand away. This prevents the wild up & down movement and allows it to settle faster. I've not had any problems doing this.

I'm just a little east of you, Springmom...Lake Houston area. Where do you do most of your shooting - Carters' north?

Q
 
why wait for the Lee scale to stop?

if it oscillates 1/16" above and 1/16" below the index mark, call "bingo" and your done.

Such a small displacement of the pointer corresponds to < .1gr.

But really... 15 min???? maybe just a wee bit of an exageration...unless you have a wobbly table, a fan blowing or are breathing heavilly as you stare at the mark.

Any balance beam is going to take a while to stabilize. I'd expect the better, more precise ones, to take longer (unless they have some kind of damping mechanism). I hope you don't punt you Lee and spend 4X the $, only to have the same frustration.

To each his own.....wrap up you Lee scale and send it to "Low Budget Shooter", as he needs one.
 
Toss it and buy an RCBS or Lyman scale. The Lee scale is junk.
Click to expand...

Please read the rules for this forum system - especially the part about degrading remarks.
I have a Lee scale, and an RCBS, and use the Lee most of the time.
I just love a brand snob, always good for a laugh. Please note that we are not laughing with you, but at you instead.
 
Range report

We went to the range late this afternoon (I had jury duty and it didn't take all day! :) ) and pushed some of our first batch of roll-your-own .45 through my Springfield 1911-A1.

The rounds were 230 gr round-nose FMJ in front of 5 gr of Bullseye powder, and felt a little hotter than your basic WWB, but nothing uncomfortable to the hand. Fed well, no mis-fires.

As for consistency and accuracy, well, look at the attached photo of the target. 25 rounds at 7 yards.
 

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