Scales (bet this is a common topic)

[Mikecr]

So true

 

[Mike6158]

Being that I'm a gadget guy I bought the RCBS Chargemaster AND an Acculab VIC-123. I like them both... and since I like my beam scale I guess that makes me a fence sitter

All bs aside I just loaded 30 rounds of RE15 in some .308 cases. I varied the charge weight in groups of 6 cartridges. I dumped the RCBS into the Acculab. If it needed adjusting I tweaked it and dumped it in the case. Charge weights were:

39gr
41gr
42gr
42.5gr
43gr

The last two (43gr) were over by by .1 gr. The rest were either dead on (to the nearest 100th of a grain) or .04 grain light when compared to the Acculab. So just how much is .04 grains? Two little sticks of RE15 was about .04 grains on the Acculab. I had to be careful because things like breathing made the Acculab "move around".

I think that I can load faster and almost as accurately with the beam scale... but that might just be my pride talking.

So who here thinks that .04 grains is going to affect accuracy significantly, if at all. I think that I make enough mistakes, never mind all of the other variables, when I shoot that the difference .04 grains might make gets lost in the statistics.

 

[hjorst]

I think that at this point I want to ask Mike and others just which beam scales they use in combination with the Harrel's powder dispenser. I have used RCBS, Redding, Hornady, Lee, and various digital scales. They are all useless in about 4 months time. I have had others check the scales for me ( after I give up on them ) and they are all in agreement that something has made the scales useless. Even the balance beams don't weigh accurately anymore. So..... what do you guys use. And no, the chargemaster is not really an option.
thanks

 

[Winchester 69]

I have used RCBS, Redding, Hornady, Lee, and various digital scales. They are all useless in about 4 months time. I have had others check the scales for me ( after I give up on them ) and they are all in agreement that something has made the scales useless. Even the balance beams don't weigh accurately anymore.

How clean is the environment? The typical problem with beam scales is dirty pivots/bearings. Are the scales kept covered? The bearings/pivots can be cleaned with alcohol on a Q-tip. Wipe the copper damping vane with an alcohol-saturated cotton ball to remove static build-up. Grounding the scale's metal base may help if the scale has conductive (metal) bearings (Redding).

 

[Mike6158]

My beam scale is an RCBS 5-0-2. It's ? maybe 10 years old and has always worked well. I would second what Winchester 69 said. I've had so-so luck with electronic scales

 

[hjorst]

Scales are kept covered. Most recent scale is the RCBS 5-0-2 and it is starting to show signs of being out of sync. In re-zeroing the scale, it shows lighter and lighter weights. I will try cleaning the copper damping vane, although I don't keep any form of alcohol in the place (bad allergy) so will have to see what else I could use. In any case, it is time to start looking for a new scale.
take care people

 

[camille2785]

I use the MyWeigh Dura Scale for reloading. I am satisfied with it. Try it out? I bought mine from digitalscalesaz.com. They have good pricing! Hope this helps!

 

[Fitch]

They are all useless in about 4 months time. I have had others check the scales for me ( after I give up on them ) and they are all in agreement that something has made the scales useless. Even the balance beams don't weigh accurately anymore. So..... what do you guys use. And no, the chargemaster is not really an option.
thanks

I use an RCBS ChargeMaster set to throw charges 0.3g short. I dump from the ChargeMaster into the pan of a 25 year old tan colored Ohaus 10-10 (which became the green RCBS 10-10) set with check weights at the nearest 1/2 grain and trickel to weight. I find I don't need to trickel at all way more often that I'd have thought.

The RCBS CM is fast to set and ideal for pre-weighing load tests where there are just a few shots of each charge.

I also have a Redding balance beam scale. When I was trying to find some of the causes for more extreme spread than I wanted I discovered the Redding scale had stopped working right. I weighed each charge on all three scales, RCBS 1500, Ohaus 10-10, and Redding. The Redding was always the odd man out so it was retired.

I found out the ChargeMaster, my ChargeMaster anyway, can throw charges that are always within 0.3g but definitely not always within 0.1g - so I dump them into the 10-10 to check.

It turns out using the second scale has caught a wrong setting now and then on the CM as well.

Some folks won't use anything but an Ohler 35 because it makes two measurements, and pay 3X as much for the privilige. I use a CED Chronograph that measures velocity once but I measure every powder charge for my rifles on two scales one of which is set with check weights. Different stroks for different folks I guess.

If I used ball powders I'd get a Harrel but none of my mechanical measures work well for stick powders and AA2460 is the only ball powder I use (and that in only one rifle) so the measure is set for that and left alone.

Fitch

 

[Kevin Thomas]

Seems to be a common thread to the issues here; scale quality. I've had similar problems with SOME electronic scales, and excellent results with others, some with over 15 years of heavy (daily) use. There's a pretty big gap between the scales being marketed forthe reloading applications, and those being used for more "serious" uses. It appears that many manufacturers see handloading as a hobbyist activity, and we get a lower grade of scale as a result. Anytime you can buy an electronic scale for $50-$75, you know you're not buying a high quality lab-grade scale. I've been using an Acculab scale for about the past three-four years, and have been pretty pleased with it. Fast, accurate (thus far) and not too tempermental. By the same token, I also have an RCBS 10-10, and an Ohaus 304 lab grade balance that have both been giving outstanding service for over 30 years now. There's something to be said for these, even if they're a bit slower to use.

I finally broke down and ordered a true, lab-grade scale for my own reloading use maybe five or six years back. An Ohaus (a good American company), to the tune of about $1,500. When it arrived, I pruodly opened it up and began checking it out. As soon as I found the markings on the base saying "Made in China," it went straight back in the box without weighing so much as a single charge. Sometime after that, I got the Acculab, and have been satisfied with it ever since. Personal prejudice, I guess, but I can't think of a single piece of true precison equipment that includes the "Made in China" label in the mix. Bottom line here is, just do some digging and know what you're getting into.

Kevin Thomas
Lapua USA