bob4
Well-Known Member
Geez didn't know this.
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Beam scale /real eye opener.
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Laelkhunter
Well-Known Member
Win.308Stealth, what is "dome oil" in a beam scale? Or is it a typo and you meant "some oil" ? What exactly is it that is in a beam scale? Not sure that my Ohaus 1010 has anything like that in it.
Oddbod
Well-Known Member
There shouldn't be any oil on a beam scale.
I have an RCBS 5-0-5 scale & a Chargemaster 1500 dispenser & use the former to keep check on the latter.
As temperature & humidity are pretty much constant where I reload (+/- 6ºF & +/-10%) I don't see any noticeable effect from them & the Chargemaster has yet to show any wandering from its calibration during a loading session.
I also have a small MTM digital scale, that is about as much use as a chocolate teapot, as it is inconsistent & wanders all over the place - certainly not something to use for critical measurements.
I have an RCBS 5-0-5 scale & a Chargemaster 1500 dispenser & use the former to keep check on the latter.
As temperature & humidity are pretty much constant where I reload (+/- 6ºF & +/-10%) I don't see any noticeable effect from them & the Chargemaster has yet to show any wandering from its calibration during a loading session.
I also have a small MTM digital scale, that is about as much use as a chocolate teapot, as it is inconsistent & wanders all over the place - certainly not something to use for critical measurements.
Laelkhunter
Well-Known Member
I didn't think so. I have an Ohaus 1010 which is now called the RCBS 1010. It is an excellent scale, and I baby it because I know it can't be replaced if anything happens to it.
Oddbod
Well-Known Member
I have one of those too - the red one & I love it.
It's 5,000 miles away in NM though, as I use it for my reloading whilst on visits to the US.
Laelkhunter
Well-Known Member
Mine is about 40 years old, but it is tan or beige in color. It has a clear front cover that slides over the front of the scale. I haven't seen them for sale in years, but I think similar ones are sold by RCBS now, and probably green.
Still can't find where the "dome oil" goes ; )
Still can't find where the "dome oil" goes ; )
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Got one too, but mine is almost 50 years old...still working like a champ!
Win.308Stealth
Well-Known Member
I might have misunderstood something when I was reading about my problem with my scale. There was an article I read about oil damped beam scales, something about them being able to balance out quickly. But I think my scale might be a magnetic balance scale. But do know for sure that the light messed it up for awhile, it has gone back to measuring properly.
To check accuracy and reputability get check weights. RCBS and Lyman maybe others sell these. My Lyman weights are from 0.05 gn to 100 gn. I believe these are class F weights which have standard tolerance.
Reputability checking is tedious taking maybe 100 times weighing each weight and then using statistics to see haw repeatable the scale is at each weight. This works for either type of scale.
Reputability checking is tedious taking maybe 100 times weighing each weight and then using statistics to see haw repeatable the scale is at each weight. This works for either type of scale.
Laelkhunter
Well-Known Member
I do remember that some scales had oil dampening. Mine has magnetic dampening.
I have an older RCBS 10-10 which I used exclusively for several years but decided to go digital a few years ago. I purchased a GemPro 250 which lasted about a year or so before it became unreliable and went back to the 10-10. Since, my GemPro has been replaced under warranty and I now have an RCBS Chargemaster Lite as well as an RCBS Rangemaster 2000 as a backup.
I'm now set for a while but, if I had to pare it down to two, I'd keep the RCBS 10-10 and the Chargemaster Lite. The Chargemaster Lite has proven to be really accurate; more so than the published 0.1 grain. Depending on the powder, it is averaging somewhere between .02 to .06 of a grain when measured on the new GemPro 250. It has really improved my reloading process. Also, I use a full set of Lyman check weights to verify accuracy on all my scales, both beam and digital.
I'm now set for a while but, if I had to pare it down to two, I'd keep the RCBS 10-10 and the Chargemaster Lite. The Chargemaster Lite has proven to be really accurate; more so than the published 0.1 grain. Depending on the powder, it is averaging somewhere between .02 to .06 of a grain when measured on the new GemPro 250. It has really improved my reloading process. Also, I use a full set of Lyman check weights to verify accuracy on all my scales, both beam and digital.
I have a Chargemaster, FX120/trickler and a Scott Parker tuned Lyman M5. I haven't used the Chargemaster since getting the FX120. I use the Lyman in a home-made enclosure at the range. There's no wind affect and I can trickle to the charge I want. I use the FX120 for loading in bulk at home. I found this past weekend that the Lyman consistently weighs .1 gn heavier than the FX120. That doesn't really matter because it's consistent and I account for it.
I don't think I'd be without either scale given how I use them. I can reload much faster with the FX and it's incredibly consistent.
I don't think I'd be without either scale given how I use them. I can reload much faster with the FX and it's incredibly consistent.
LoneTraveler
Well-Known Member
When I started loading rifle ammo with a friends set up about 1958. The first balance scales were not dampened. They set and bounced up and down and it took a long time to settle down. An expert touch of the pan with your finger was the only dampening on them.
There was a company or two that made a scale with a rod hooked to the beam at the pivot point. On the end of the bent rod that went into a small container on the scale stand. You filled it with about 10 weight oil to dampen the scale beam. It helped a lot. When I came back from the Army in 1965 and started to putting my first reloading set up together LYMAN had the D-5 with the magnetic damper. I bought it and it served me well till about 2005 when I replaced it with a RCBS 10-10 scale.
I worked in the floresecent light bulb industry for 6 years. The ballast on a florescent light makes a electro-magnetic field. If we got a mechanical wrist watch around the light up section it would magnetize the hair spring and the watch stopped. 15 Bucks for a Jeweler to demagnatize it. Some early scales had an oil resivoye. Just a reloading history lesson from an old man who was there.
There was a company or two that made a scale with a rod hooked to the beam at the pivot point. On the end of the bent rod that went into a small container on the scale stand. You filled it with about 10 weight oil to dampen the scale beam. It helped a lot. When I came back from the Army in 1965 and started to putting my first reloading set up together LYMAN had the D-5 with the magnetic damper. I bought it and it served me well till about 2005 when I replaced it with a RCBS 10-10 scale.
I worked in the floresecent light bulb industry for 6 years. The ballast on a florescent light makes a electro-magnetic field. If we got a mechanical wrist watch around the light up section it would magnetize the hair spring and the watch stopped. 15 Bucks for a Jeweler to demagnatize it. Some early scales had an oil resivoye. Just a reloading history lesson from an old man who was there.
