Beam Scale Mistakes

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  • Last Post 30 January 2018
OU812 posted this 24 January 2018

Have you ever set the setting on the beam scale incorrectly. The older I get, the more I have to constipate and be sure I set correctly. I recently had to pull bullets because I caught my mistake depressed. Bullets were easy to pull without Gator gas checks coming off because necks had been brushed clean before loading. I gripped long bullet with a tack cloth and simply pulled bullet by hand to remove.

My new RCBS Mini electronic powder dispenser helps prevent these mistakes and allows easy dispensing of longer stick powders such as 4198.

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OU812 posted this 24 January 2018

I worked nightshift last night and have to work it again tonight...I be tired. I have seven more years to work when I reach age 65 so I may retire then.

I once mentioned to an older retired fellow " I wish I were old enough to retire now".  His response was " Son...do not wish your life away". 

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RicinYakima posted this 24 January 2018

That is correct! You want to wish for enough money to work at a job you like, until you want to retire. As a person who has retired three times, it takes a lot longer than 7 years to get the planning done. Best of luck, it will go quickly.  Ric

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David Reiss posted this 24 January 2018

I have an old redding oil dampening scale that I started with. After about 5-6 years of use, I purchased a RCBS magnetic dampening scale and have used it ever since. Since then I have added a Hornady electronic I use with the RCBS. I always has a fear that the oil dampening method was not accurate, but every once in a while I will pull it out just because. It still measures just as accurately as the others I have. I think we all have experienced doubts when using any scale and find a way to verify. But for me that fear, or maybe caution is a better word to describe how I have avoided mistakes. Knock on wood.

David Reiss - NRA Life Member & PSC Range Member Retired Police Firearms Instructor/Armorer
-Services: Wars Fought, Uprisings Quelled, Bars Emptied, Revolutions Started, Tigers Tamed, Assassinations Plotted, Women Seduced, Governments Run, Gun Appraisals, Lost Treasure Found.
- Also deal in: Land, Banjos, Nails, Firearms, Manure, Fly Swatters, Used Cars, Whisky, Racing Forms, Rare Antiquities, Lead, Used Keyboard Keys, Good Dogs, Pith Helmets & Zulu Headdresses. .

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Ross Smith posted this 25 January 2018

I tried an off brand electronic jewelers scale. When weighing a single bullet, I couldn't get the same reading twice. I tossed it and am a firm believer in my balance beam. It is repeatable. Any mistakes are my own.

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David Reiss posted this 25 January 2018

I have to say my Hornady electronic scale have been very accurate and repeatable. I was reluctant to spend a lot of money on one, so I bought the lock-n-load bench scale and have been thoroughly pleased. It is not sensitive to its environment, but I do load in a room inside my home and not in the direct path of HVAC vents. I have been using it for a couple years and do check it against my RCBS traditional scale. 

David Reiss - NRA Life Member & PSC Range Member Retired Police Firearms Instructor/Armorer
-Services: Wars Fought, Uprisings Quelled, Bars Emptied, Revolutions Started, Tigers Tamed, Assassinations Plotted, Women Seduced, Governments Run, Gun Appraisals, Lost Treasure Found.
- Also deal in: Land, Banjos, Nails, Firearms, Manure, Fly Swatters, Used Cars, Whisky, Racing Forms, Rare Antiquities, Lead, Used Keyboard Keys, Good Dogs, Pith Helmets & Zulu Headdresses. .

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Dale53 posted this 25 January 2018

I went to a digital scale many years ago. I have loved it. I learned the key to repeatable accuracy is to run the scale on 110 volts and leave it on 24/7. Digital scales need to warm up before they are repeatable.

Remember the old saying, “Trust, but verify”. I regularly check mine with check weights.

FWIW

Dale53

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RicinYakima posted this 25 January 2018

I researched what the drug dealers were using. Better scales for less than half what a "reloading" scale costs. FWIW, Ric

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BigMan54 posted this 25 January 2018

What David said, except I got a LYMAN Electric Powder Measure/Scale. I have the LYMAN, the RCBS Electronic Scale and A RCBS/OHAUS 10/10 beam scale. I cross check all the time, guess I'm anal about it. I even have an old eye-dropper bottle full of 30wht to fill my reservoir scale.

In the "olden days" here in LA, the drug dealers used to go downtown to BOWERS WHOLESALE to buy their big RCBS/OHAUS model 304 beam scales. 

BOWERS moved out to Orange county in about 1991, then went out of business a few years later. When I was a kid my Dad would call old Ham Bower with an order for ammo, primers, brass, powder etc. Then send whatever son was old enough to drive in with a check to pick it up. Imagine sending your 16yr old son to the Gun Store to pick up 5000rds of TRAP Loads and a 20lb keg of 700x today.

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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Brodie posted this 27 January 2018

I have used about every kind of scale there is.  From the old balance beam scales (double pan) to modern electronic models.  The old double pan jobs were a real pain.  you had to count the oscillations of the beam after you reached the approximate weight of  the sample.  You counted the links of the chain as well besides adding up the weights in the pan.  I still reload with my old RCBS balance beam scale, magnetically dampened, and a piece of wire crimped onto the end of the bar to balance the weight of the epoxy I used to glue the pan holder back together after it fell off the bench and broke apart.  Works just fine.

 

B.E.Brickey

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RicinYakima posted this 27 January 2018

Believe me I understand. I am still using the dial caliper and micrometer my father gave me 58 years ago.

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David Reiss posted this 27 January 2018

Ric,

You have been at it so long, I kinda expected you could just dip some powder with a spoon and know what weight it is by sight or just heft a bullet in your hand and know the weight. Can't you hold a bullet between your fingers and know the diameter to within +/- .00001"? I know it must be true, I've cause I have heard of others that can on the internet. bowsmilie

David Reiss - NRA Life Member & PSC Range Member Retired Police Firearms Instructor/Armorer
-Services: Wars Fought, Uprisings Quelled, Bars Emptied, Revolutions Started, Tigers Tamed, Assassinations Plotted, Women Seduced, Governments Run, Gun Appraisals, Lost Treasure Found.
- Also deal in: Land, Banjos, Nails, Firearms, Manure, Fly Swatters, Used Cars, Whisky, Racing Forms, Rare Antiquities, Lead, Used Keyboard Keys, Good Dogs, Pith Helmets & Zulu Headdresses. .

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RicinYakima posted this 27 January 2018

Nope I am really bad at guessing! Too anal for information, I guess. That is why I take my dial caliper with me to gun shows, don't trust labels.

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BigMan54 posted this 27 January 2018

WE DON'T TALK ABOUT SCALES ENOUGH. it's the most IMPORTANT TOOL we have. Without a scale we'd never load a round.

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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John Alexander posted this 28 January 2018

OK here's some talk about scales.  Our high school chem teachers told us not to wait until the beam stops oscillating but the correct reading was when small oscillations were equal distances from zero. Dampened scales were all right if the bearing was near perfect and had no dirt or dust which could cause the beam to stop before reaching 

My scale has an oil reservoir but I have never filled it.  Readings are fast and repeatable.

John

 

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Ross Smith posted this 28 January 2018

I had an rcbs 505? from the seventies but it started sticking a little  and cleaning the knives and fulcrum did not help so I bought a new 505. I'm sold on balance beams. In fact I wish there was a triple beam powder scale like I used in grad school 40 decades ago

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David Reiss posted this 28 January 2018

John,

That is interesting. When I used my Redding oil dampening scale, I keep it cover when not in use to keep dust from getting in the oil and making it gummy. I did change it about every 6 months or so, don't know if it made much difference or not. But never thought of using it without the oil. I know the oil does not help with accuracy, but with speed. I will get my Redding out and compare it with my RCBS to see which is faster. 

As a side note, I thought when you were in high school chemistry was invented yet!

David Reiss - NRA Life Member & PSC Range Member Retired Police Firearms Instructor/Armorer
-Services: Wars Fought, Uprisings Quelled, Bars Emptied, Revolutions Started, Tigers Tamed, Assassinations Plotted, Women Seduced, Governments Run, Gun Appraisals, Lost Treasure Found.
- Also deal in: Land, Banjos, Nails, Firearms, Manure, Fly Swatters, Used Cars, Whisky, Racing Forms, Rare Antiquities, Lead, Used Keyboard Keys, Good Dogs, Pith Helmets & Zulu Headdresses. .

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RicinYakima posted this 28 January 2018

My German Nazi transplant Analytical Chemistry professor would agree John. You kept your lab book open and recorded the swings above and below the center line. This with the dust cabinet closed and never touching anything inside without white gloves and tweezers. Then you calculate the average of seven swings to find out how many "lines", micro grams, you are from center. In the 1960's the professor would whack you on the back of the head with a book if you did something wrong. Makes for good habits.

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David Reiss posted this 28 January 2018

Ric,

Boy I bet you got a knotty head!

David Reiss - NRA Life Member & PSC Range Member Retired Police Firearms Instructor/Armorer
-Services: Wars Fought, Uprisings Quelled, Bars Emptied, Revolutions Started, Tigers Tamed, Assassinations Plotted, Women Seduced, Governments Run, Gun Appraisals, Lost Treasure Found.
- Also deal in: Land, Banjos, Nails, Firearms, Manure, Fly Swatters, Used Cars, Whisky, Racing Forms, Rare Antiquities, Lead, Used Keyboard Keys, Good Dogs, Pith Helmets & Zulu Headdresses. .

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John Alexander posted this 28 January 2018

 

"As a side note, I thought when you were in high school chemistry was invented yet!"

I am ancient but not 400 as Ross is.

John

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BigMan54 posted this 28 January 2018

Ric,

You had a NICE DAD. The only reloading stuff my DAD ever gave me were that old REDDING scale & 2-3 1cav molds that nobody had used since I was in Jr H. S. I had to but my own Micrometer(Craftsman) & Calipers(Starret).

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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