do i need a new scale?

jcooper1389

Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2012
Messages
24
Location
Pennsylvania
it seems like i have to re-zero my scale every time i dump the powder from it and i believe its throwing my loads of by .5 gr..am i doing something wrong??or do i need a new one...no airdraft its level on a smooth surface...i dont know what else to do
 
I have been careful with my RCBS. I have weighed bullets close to powder charge,after zero,and have them at hand for random checks. I was throwing charges and trickle, for 87.5Had a 85 bt.that I would place on scale during course of 20 reloads,all OK.
 
The cheapo Lyman that came with my original kit way long ago had a lot of drift and it drove me nuts. I spent more time calibrating than loading/shooting.

I got an RCBS Chargemaster 1500 and it has the next load ready to go before I finish seating the bullet in the last one. I can usually charge 50-100 rounds without any drift.

It seems to be reasonably accurate as well. But, I have a more expensive scale for extra precision. Even then, I let the Chargemaster dump the initial load and then trickle the last few hundreths.

For the precision scale, I bought a glass lizzard terrarium and set it upside down over the scale. It's the perfect size with a glass door all of which aids in eliminating air drafts thus improving speed and repeatability.

-- richard
 
its a lyman x1000 or something like that...i got it replaced and it still does itevery so often but not near as much now...and lol cuz i was doing the same thing...hitting the **** CAL butting more than bullets seated in brass...ill just have to invest in a better scale i guess...thanks fellas
 
its a lyman x1000 or something like that...i got it replaced and it still does itevery so often but not near as much now...and lol cuz i was doing the same thing...hitting the **** CAL butting more than bullets seated in brass...ill just have to invest in a better scale i guess...thanks fellas

I went through 4 Lyman digital scales before I decided that they weren't worth the hassle and happily went back to a powder measure and a RCBS beam scale.
 
i don't trust digital scales... they can get screwed up by radio interference, and even the hum of my florescent lights in my shop seemed to make my RCBS digital scale crazy.

Get a good beam scale... pretty foolproof for the most part.

Dan
 
you are getting scale drfit - its normal for most electonic scales. Are you letting it warm up for teh recommended period? My brother has one and it needs to run for roughly an hour before it settles in. Even so, it will start to drift after an hour or so.

I tried one a few years back, but my garage has too much interference from nearby florescent lights and slight drafts.

My Ohaus 10-10 beam scale has never failed me.

JeffVN
 
i don't trust digital scales... they can get screwed up by radio interference, and even the hum of my florescent lights in my shop seemed to make my RCBS digital scale crazy.

Get a good beam scale... pretty foolproof for the most part.

Dan


Get rid of the hum! I hear lights doing that and it drives me totally crazy. Its the ballast in them doing it
 
warm up is important, but not all that much if the scale is used in an area that it was stored in. Vibration will screw up readings on any scale, so you might want to watch out for that stuff. The flouresent light thing is over rated. A long time ago yes, but you also could hear the hum thru your audio system as well. So if you hear a hum thru your speakers with no music then you may well have a problem, but it's probably a ground fault loop in your house (very common by the way) Also make sure the scale sets level with the earth. I set my scales on a piece of granit I bought at Menards for four dollars. Under that I have three hard foam pucks (came in bulk CD boxes).

The Lymans are not very good in quality. The dealer I deal with quit carrying them because many wouldn't work right out of the box. The RCBS 750 is a much better one, and built in Texas. I use nothing but electronic scales, and have not owned a beam scale in close to fifteen years. No problems here
gary
 
2 words, BEAM SCALE
the only way to go
get yourself a good beam scale. All of the reloading tool co. make them, RCBS, Lyman, LEE just to mention 3.
 
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