Looking for a good balance beam; new or used?

[scythefwd]

as long as your scale zero's out and is consistent wiht its measurements.. its a non issue. If you're really worried, take a bullet and weigh it, then send it off to someone to verify your reading on their scale. Find a couple that weigh the same and as long as the scale is consistent with that weight then dont worry about it.


As always, start out loading low in the recipe and work up, always searching for signs of pressure.. Know what YOUR scale says that charge is..

 

[LiveLife]

What check weights are other trusting to verify scale accuracy?

Many "reloading" check weights are made from aluminum. I got my Ohaus ASTM Class 6 stainless steel check weight set from Zoro/Grainger for $53 and free shipping (type "Ohaus check weight set at the link) - http://www.zoro.com/

You can get Ohaus ASTM Class 4 check weight set but it's more costly at $308.

More info on check weights on this thread - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=9593052#post9593052

 

[LiveLife]

take a bullet and weigh it, then send it off to someone to verify your reading on their scale.

Hopefully the person you are sending it to is a pharmacist or lab technician with access to a certified scale as jacketed bullets can vary by 1-2 gr+ and plated/lead bullets can vary by several grains from advertised weight depending on the brand.

 

[scythefwd]

bds.. yes and no..

You send to see if they get the same thing.. if the weight of the bullet changes, then you have something to worry about. If you want to know its true mass, then yes, a certified scale is a requirement. We actually dont really care about mass as much as consistency. If my scale reads 42.2 grs for my most accurate load, and I send you a loaded cartridge and you pull down the powder and weigh it at 42.3 gr.. no biggie. Thats why we do load workup and why we look for those signs of over pressure. If your scale reads 42.7.. then I'm going to go searching for a certified scale. If the two scales are drastically off (I'd say anything more than .3 gr).. then one of them is sufficiently off to be a danger to someone. Even then, as long as you are following safe reloading practices, and you work up.. it doesnt matter WHAT the scale reads as long as its consistent (to a point.. variations of any more than a few tenths and I'm gonna suspect the scale from the get go). If your scale is low, then you're starting at reduced loads vs. starting.. if its high.. then you might be midrange on most powders (excluding some of the most picky like h110) and you're safe. Work up a load like you normally would and annotate what your scale reads... as long as it can repeat that measurement consistently, day in and day out, you're gonna be all right.

My methodology isnt flawed.

you take a bullet.. weigh it at 167 gr (supposed to be 168, but ok, we know bullets vary in weight). I dig through and find a second bullet that weighs the same (also at 167 by my scale). Now I have two samples that measure the same.

Send one sample off to another person. If their scale is within .2 of your measurements.. I'd trust the scale.. if not.. I'd be looking for another scale. If their scale also weighs it at 167 (or 167.1), then you have another bullet that you know also weighs at 167.. use that to check and see if your scale is acting right. You think scale is off.. zero it, set it to 167, and plop bullet on there. If it reads anything different than 167 (your original weight), scale is drifting.. replace.

 

[steelerdude99]

Question on old balance beam scales, I have a 30 or so year old Ohaus 10-0-5 scale. Even if the magnetic dampening isn't what it once was, the scale should still be good, right? I only have the one check weight that it comes with to hang off the beam to read heavier amounts. All the other check weights I have are el cheepo crap from AWS off Amazon.

What check weights are other trusting to verify scale accuracy?

cwall64, Just my opinion; check weights are for calibrating digital scales. As long as your balance beam scale's bearings are not binding... it will be accurate. Balance beam scales compare two masses. Electronic and spring scales (e.g. cheap bathroom scales for humans) gauge stress on an object. That stress changes over time (i.e. the object wears out rather than time of day), gravity and temperature. Electronic scales' can also have their accuracy suffer from weak batteries.

Someone can reload on the moon with a balance beam and it will still be accurate "on balance" "i.e. zero'ed". I expect the +- 0.1 to be non-accurate if you were on the moon, but I don't expect to be re-loading there any time soon.

chuck

 

[Ex]

Buy cheap, buy twice in many cases. I bought a Dillon over 20 years ago. Good scale.

Ditto! My Dillon balance beam is impeccable. I believe it to be made by Ohaus.

I have not heard anything bad about any beam scale above $65 retail.

Keep the lever points clean and re-calibrate to zero if you change the location of anything
heavy on the bench and you almost can't go wrong.

 

[1066]

Ditto! My Dillon balance beam is impeccable. I believe it to be made by Ohaus.

I have not heard anything bad about any beam scale above $65 retail.

I think it would be a wise move to stick to your old Dillon and not think about replacing it with a recent model.

I've seen many mid/high end scales of recent manufacture of poor quality.

One regular fault I find is that the panhanger stirrup knife edge is not at a right angle to the beam, this causes zeroing and repeatability problems.

I see it so often that I have developed a mod to overcome this.

These are recent manufacture new scales.

You don't need fancy measuring equipment to detect it's off square:



or the knife edge not vertical:



Here's my mod:

 

[FROGO207]

I have the RCBS 1010 and the Ohaus model that is the same but it has a dust cover/storage cover for transport. Both work well and I purchased them at different times as is used, the most recent over 20 years ago. The new beam type scales are built with less "fit and finish" as we like to say around here to keep prices down. Just "good enough" seems to be the resounding problem with manufacture of goods from overseas these days sadly. But they are still reasonably accurate and repeatable for reloading purposes so far IMHO. I would not hesitate to take a chance on a used beam scale if I found one for a fair price.