Powder scale - digital or beam???

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artist

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OK - when I first started reloading, I simply took it for granted that a digital scale would be far more accurate than a balance-beam scale. Lately, I've heard differently.

A balance-beam is probably much slower to operate, but if time is not an issue, which beam-scale would you recommend as the most accurate?

Thanks reloaders!
 
If time isn't an issue, then, it will be just as soon as you try a good digital scale.

Accuracy of any scale is a matter of making it work for you. I used to have a beam scale that I had to polish the ginbals in order to get it to be consistent. It was a pain, and was usually only found after mis-weighing charges. Does that sound familiar? Maybe like the stories of folks with digital scales.

I can't for the life of me imagine using a beam scale with todays scales out there. Sorry. Which one? None of the above.
 
good points...

OK you make some good points - having never used a balance beam scale I don't know of their weaknesses. So, maybe you can help me a bit with my digital issues!

I have a Dillon Precision D-Terminator digital scale that I find very sentimental. I know this sounds crazy but it seems that once the scale warms up a bit (after about an hour of use), it seems to work better. The problem is that the scale will suddenly measure a charge differently that I KNOW is not different! After hitting the zero button and re-setting the whole thing back to zero, then, sure enough, it continues on great for a while again and then it goes wonky again.

If money and time were not issues, which Digital scale would you recommend?
 
OK - one more factor...

Ok - here's another question.

If shooting a 257WBY using charges in the range of 73.0 grains, what amount of powder variation is to be expected and/or accepted before the variations will cause one to question the potentially effects on accuracy?

I know the 257WBY is not a BR round, however, the one I'm shooting is a custom barrel and chambering with very tight tolerances for a hunting style rifle.
 
It can & does depend on your loading environment.

Hereabouts, I find that my RCBS 1010 is very much subject to the level of humidity about at the time, as interestingly are my powder throwers. They also tend to get wayward with stray zephyrs of breeze. Lastly, until I modified the pointer so it aligned with a straitedge coming off the frame in fromnt of it, it was darned difficult to get the precision I needed. The line etched on the pointer is equivalent to .2 grain weight thick & unless I hold my head in perfect alignment, I could error half that amount.

I had even less precision from my RCBS/Pact, which irrespective of how long it was run for prior to starting & how often it was retared, it wandered more than I wanted.

The well-respected Denver isn't offered here in Australia (must be something to do with our 240V power).

These days, I use a tiny battery powered Asian unit, branded Diamond, that works fine for me, as long as I comply with the rules of use for electronic scales. It cycles over to the next miligram weight with one kernel of VV N550 every time - I use the miligram scale because for some arcane reason, it displays with greater precision there than the grain scale. As I do with the balance, I make up a check weight for all my standard loads & I toss it on the scale regularly to confirm that all is going OK.
 
artist said:
OK - when I first started reloading, I simply took it for granted that a digital scale would be far more accurate than a balance-beam scale. Lately, I've heard differently.

A balance-beam is probably much slower to operate, but if time is not an issue, which beam-scale would you recommend as the most accurate?

Thanks reloaders!
Click to expand...

A beam is a pain in the back side. Go get an RCBS ChargeMaster Combo and you'll have fun.
 
Weighing powder is only as good as all the rest of the reloading work. If something else isn't consistent, then weighing powder aint gonna help. With that said, weigh as close as you can and weigh everything. Use your scale to it's strengths. Only you can answer the question of to what length to go when weighing.

Weigh totals, not tares. Work off charts. Weigh in grams or carats, not grains. Searches here will give you plenty of peoples good ideas on how to make a digital scale give you proper service.
 
I have an 30-40 yr old Lyman Ohaus, I think the model is M55 but could be wrong. I mainly use a Dillon digital but every now and then I get nostalgic and use the the beam scale. I still enjoy using it.
 
The 1010 scale I bought in the 70's still has to be the best of any scale beam I have ever used. I have check it against pharmaceutical beam scales many times and yet to find a fault.

Little is ever said about errors from RFI when using the electronic scales. If you try one use a cell phone as you check it out or get it near some fluorescent lights. A dimmer switch in a buddies loading room played heck with his.

I would much rather have a consistent load than a load that was weight down to a gnats A$$ and had variances through out the run. How do you know when your surroundings with RFI are not throwing you a curve?

To each his own. Maybe I'm just to old to give up on something that has proven to work for me all these years.
 
A few tips for balance scale users...

I have a small mirror (about 2 1/2 x 2 3/4) that I hold in my left hand when reading my scale pointer alignment. With the scale on my desk top, and me in normal sitting position, I position the mirror so that its center is on the same level as the centered position of the pointer and the face of the mirror facing the scale. By tilting the top of the mirror back, I can adjust its angle so that my line of sight runs from my eye (while sitting in an erect position) to the center of the mirror (held in my left hand) to the scale zero index line. This gives me a zero parallax reading in a very relaxed position.

Another thing that I have done is to slightly bend the aluminum plate that has the zero reference opposite the beam pointer so that its front surface is in the same plane as the front of the pointer. This just required a slight bend, and luckily, there was clearance.

Beyond this, I have learned to tune up my scale (a RCBS 10-10). I removed the agate pieces that the beam knife edges rest on and cleaned them and the metal that touches them with alcohol and Q tips. After replacing them, I leveled the base of the scale, removed the pan holder, disassembled it, removed one of the spherical weights, reassembled it, and assembled the scale, with the weight and adjustment set to 0 and the pan in place. I then started adding small pieces of plastic (snipped from a spare shirt collar stay) to the scale pan, until an exact zero was reached (using the mirror technique explained above). I then took the pan holder apart and added the plastic pieces to the collection of spherical weights, and reassembled the pan holder and the scale. It was right back on zero. Next I checked it against some check weights, and it came out right on the money. I keep the dust cover on the scale, except when it is being used, and store it in its original cardboard box, in a drawer. I might add that I have tuned up three scales of the same make and model that had previously had to have their left ends jacked up well past level to zero the scale. I think that this puts the Vs in the agates in misalignment with the beam knife edges, resulting is poor performance. They all worked much better after the tune-up.

One of the problems associated with balance beam scales is that they do not move much when set a tenth of a grain off of the point where they indicate a perfect 0. The mirror helps to see this small difference. It would get lost in any amount of parallax, leading to inaccuracy that is not so much the fault of the scale, but rather how it is read. In order to further help the situation, I devised a way to use both the mirror and a magnifying glass on a mount that is hands free. It is a tad "prototype ugly", but it works as designed. Maybe one of you with access to a proper set of machine tools could come up with something more elegant.

scale%20reading%20lashup%20007.jpg
 
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Darn fine ideas there Mr. Allen! That is the only ideas I have ever read of improvements for this fine old product. Sure beats the Rube Goldburg stand I made to get the scales up to line of sight.

Now just to find room on the bench for the scales again (among the clutter). :D
 
Big Al,
Looks like you got snow this year! Do they still run cars on the street during Fur Rondezvous? Sorry for the off topic.
Butch
 
No Butch, they don't run them down town during rondy. It's the only way to keep the drunks from behind the wheel.

My bird feeder out back is my snow gage. Looks to be close to three feet on it so far this season. That's three feet on a flat surface. Can't wait till spring when we usually get the big snow dumps.

Did you ever get to Valdez in the winter? Nothing beats their 20+ feet.
 
I was hired in Valdez to work at the terminal in 1979. We flew in on a twin Otter. Driving down the road to the terminal, the snow was way above the vehicle on both sides. I decided not to go to work for Alyeska as they wanted us initially to move our families there and buy condos made from the old military barracks. They had a real drug problem in town also. I decided that it wasn't worth it to us. I understand they later changed their minds and flew the guys in and out weekly. I did enter a car in the rondy for the first 3 years that they had them.
Butch
 
both have a place on the bench, sorry! :)

artist said:
OK - when I first started reloading, I simply took it for granted that a digital scale would be far more accurate than a balance-beam scale. Lately, I've heard differently.

A balance-beam is probably much slower to operate, but if time is not an issue, which beam-scale would you recommend as the most accurate?

Thanks reloaders!
Click to expand...

For weighing powder charges, I throw them a couple of tenths light, and then trickle up to weight using a beam scale. Very efficient and relatively quick.

For weighing cases and bullets, nothing beats the speed of a digital scale.

In general, for reloading, I've found the beam scale to be good for spot checking weight of stuff. But not for actually weighing lots of items, because it's WAY too slow.
 
I've been using an Ohaus 1005 (good up to 1005 grains) beam scale since I bought it in the early 1970s. It's still extremely accurate each and every time I set it up. I use a set of standard weights to assure it is calibrated and consisent, and it hasn't let me down yet. As for speed, it might not be as fast as a modern digital, but it's faster than I am and rock-solid dependable.

To eliminate any beam-reading problem, I set the scale up to eye level. Works great!
 
Try Both and "see"

I use both, I set up the digital and drop a load in the pan and weight it- trickle in any to get it right on - and then pour it into the balance beam scale to double check it. Do this a few times and you may see why the balance beam is the better of the two systems. I shoot the 1000 yard matches and use the balance beam to get the weight to a single grain of powder. Smallest group to date is a 5.125" 10 shot group at 1000 yards @ Williamsport. GOOD LUCK
 
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