Cheap Powder Scale Recommendations
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39,105 Posts
Any simple balance beam scale should work fine, and last with reasonable care... BUT .... no matter what you get, a set of check weights would be prudent. Make sure the scale is reading accurately with something in the correct range at the start of each loading session (takes but a minute).
Example, you are going to weigh out charges in the range of 38 to 40 grains of powder for some load workup, make sure it reads dead on with the 40 grain check weight (or two 20s which is what I have, etc.).
Example, you are going to weigh out charges in the range of 38 to 40 grains of powder for some load workup, make sure it reads dead on with the 40 grain check weight (or two 20s which is what I have, etc.).
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4,735 Posts
They wouldn't do that . . .
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928 Posts
I've got the RCBS charge master, Lyman sacle, Pact BBK, and a 40 year old Redding. When double checking, I go to the Redding.
It's simple balance beam setup is easy to work and is accurate. Setup on the bench all the time right there when I need it.
Go on ebay you may find one cheap as many people are going to the electronic stuff now.
It's simple balance beam setup is easy to work and is accurate. Setup on the bench all the time right there when I need it.
Go on ebay you may find one cheap as many people are going to the electronic stuff now.
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5,435 Posts
I have a digital, and a balance beam, and a set of RCBS calibration weights. Calibration weights are essential. It's not so much the actual weight, but that you can get to the same weight over any period of time. Sorta, I don't care about a couple tenths over/under, as long as I'm always the same either way.
My RCBS balance beam, maybe 25 years old, get's checked from time to time, and the scale has never changed in all those years. My RCBS digital needs to be checked /adjusted from month to month.
I think the difference might be that I use the beam balance to set up my measure, and check charge weights through a series, but I tend to use the digital to weigh bullets, brass, and lead shot. Even though the digital is much newer, it's weighed far more items, over a broader range of weights.
Consider this. How long will you reload? Divide that by the cost of the scale. Both of mine are running about $2-$20/yr at this point, cheap by any price.
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6,251 Posts
Did you have something against facts?
Just kidding of course, I'm sure the Lee is fine, never used one though. I have the PACT PPS and its a great scale, its a little over a hundred bucks though.
http://pact.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=13&Itemid=31
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1,063 Posts
I started out with a Lee Safety Scale, and now I have 2 others. Lee works great. Major complaint on reloading forums is the vernier "poise" system. Some find it difficult to use (see?). When I weighed every round for working up a load, I would use the Lee. I could set the poise, lock it and it would stay the same even if I bumped the scale. My Lyman/Ohause gets used a lot more now, for no real reason other than I like the "looks" of it! Don't like the reports of digital scales, yet. Mebee later...
I've used a Pacific Tool scale since I started reloading. Think it was about 15 bucks when purchased new. I've set my kids up in reloading and have gotten some deals on Ebay. The old Redding scales are consistantly going for under $20. Bought one at the minimum bid of .99 and it worked like a champ.
yea 10 gr is 10 gr but what determines what 10 gr is??
If you have a buddy, or two, check your check weights on their scales (beam/electronic) for a check!! Get a new nickle, quarter and dollar coins and weigh on a couple scales and make your own check weights.
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6,251 Posts
Check weights are important things to not make yourself. When they are sold as check weights, they are certified to be that weight. I believe the maximum variation is in the ten thousandths range.
I happen to know the best labs in the world use digital scales, not beam scales.
Digital scales use transducers to measure the weight, and comparatively, balance beams are like the old copper crusher equipment. It worked, it was mostly reliable, but look at all the information we learned when we went to transducer equipment to measure pressure.
Yes, I have a balance beam RCBS 505, its a great scale, but its not as accurate as the PACT I now use all the time.
I happen to know the best labs in the world use digital scales, not beam scales.
Digital scales use transducers to measure the weight, and comparatively, balance beams are like the old copper crusher equipment. It worked, it was mostly reliable, but look at all the information we learned when we went to transducer equipment to measure pressure.
Yes, I have a balance beam RCBS 505, its a great scale, but its not as accurate as the PACT I now use all the time.
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106 Posts
Look on ebay,you can find a used RCBS scale or other brand for a cheap price if you look.
I have a couple beam scale and a couple digitals,they all work good.
I have a couple beam scale and a couple digitals,they all work good.
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2,947 Posts
Transducers are primarily cheaper and more poor-operator-proof, but not better per se in terms of performance.
I have had 2 Lee scales, and I have a very inexpensive digital. The digital needs to be re-calibrated pretty regularly (I do it every month or two, or more often during my reloading 'season.' The Lees I haven't had to adjust at any time EXCEPT when I accidentally switched the powder pans from the one to the other. They didn't weigh the same, so my calibration was thrown off.
In some ways, I think I might like the (nearly?) all-metal construction of some of the other balance beam scales, but limited resources are better spent in other areas, for me.
I have had 2 Lee scales, and I have a very inexpensive digital. The digital needs to be re-calibrated pretty regularly (I do it every month or two, or more often during my reloading 'season.' The Lees I haven't had to adjust at any time EXCEPT when I accidentally switched the powder pans from the one to the other. They didn't weigh the same, so my calibration was thrown off.
In some ways, I think I might like the (nearly?) all-metal construction of some of the other balance beam scales, but limited resources are better spent in other areas, for me.
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14,541 Posts
A balance, as long as the knife edge is kept in good condition is kept calibrated by the fact the physics of a balancing masses doesn't change or drift over time. You often do have to clean the knife edges periodically. Keeping an inverted Baggie or other dust cover over the scale pays big dividends in lowering maintenance.
Either capacitive or strain gauge load cells can and do drift off zero and lose accuracy over time, and some are just better designed and made than others. I have heard of folks getting the $30 scales and having them work great and others having them work very poorly and ultimately returning them. My copy of the PACT scale that's worked so well for Matt drifts badly, and when I got a lab grade scale with ten times higher resolution, I found one of its check weights was off by almost a full 0.1 grains, which wasn't helping the calibration. I wound up having to keep mine on a small granite surface plate to keep its temperature even and to put a grounded Faraday shield around it and to run it off an isolation transformer with grounded shield to get it to settle down. So, despite its price, it's another scale for which it seems that either you get a good one or you don't.
I also paid over $100 for a CED pocket scale a few years ago to have something truly portable and with a wind screen for my range box. It works perfectly. Very stable. Never loses calibration. Then I noticed one day the guy I bought it from (RSI) had stopped carrying them. I called and asked why? Same problem. If you got a good one, they were great, but if you didn't, they weren't, and he got tired of dealing with returns and returning his returns to the factory. I got lucky that time, it seems.
So, whatever you get, be prepared to hold the maker's feet to the fire until you have a good copy in your hands. Digitals are faster settling and easier to read. Some, like the PACT, interface with dispensers that make dispensing weighed charges very fast, but you do have to have one that holds its zero for that to work well.
Probably the best deal on a digital scale today is the one Brian Enos sells for $75 on his web site. It has the only 20 year warranty I've ever seen on an electronic scale. They must have a lot of confidence in whatever they are using for a load cell? In any case, it gives you plenty of time to discover problems and get it replaced if need be? There is a less expensive version available with half the weight capacity in the same housing from different suppliers, but I would not go for that one. The lower capacity suggests it has a different load cell (transducer).
Home made check weights don't give you absolute calibration, but after calibrated check weights have got the scale's absolute accuracy reasonably close, trimming a coil of stainless wire to match a particular load is something that offers a real convenience at times. It lets you make a quick check for drift without putting a heavier check weight on the scale that could lose the zero in load cell hysteresis until several regular charges have been weighed.
Either capacitive or strain gauge load cells can and do drift off zero and lose accuracy over time, and some are just better designed and made than others. I have heard of folks getting the $30 scales and having them work great and others having them work very poorly and ultimately returning them. My copy of the PACT scale that's worked so well for Matt drifts badly, and when I got a lab grade scale with ten times higher resolution, I found one of its check weights was off by almost a full 0.1 grains, which wasn't helping the calibration. I wound up having to keep mine on a small granite surface plate to keep its temperature even and to put a grounded Faraday shield around it and to run it off an isolation transformer with grounded shield to get it to settle down. So, despite its price, it's another scale for which it seems that either you get a good one or you don't.
I also paid over $100 for a CED pocket scale a few years ago to have something truly portable and with a wind screen for my range box. It works perfectly. Very stable. Never loses calibration. Then I noticed one day the guy I bought it from (RSI) had stopped carrying them. I called and asked why? Same problem. If you got a good one, they were great, but if you didn't, they weren't, and he got tired of dealing with returns and returning his returns to the factory. I got lucky that time, it seems.
So, whatever you get, be prepared to hold the maker's feet to the fire until you have a good copy in your hands. Digitals are faster settling and easier to read. Some, like the PACT, interface with dispensers that make dispensing weighed charges very fast, but you do have to have one that holds its zero for that to work well.
Probably the best deal on a digital scale today is the one Brian Enos sells for $75 on his web site. It has the only 20 year warranty I've ever seen on an electronic scale. They must have a lot of confidence in whatever they are using for a load cell? In any case, it gives you plenty of time to discover problems and get it replaced if need be? There is a less expensive version available with half the weight capacity in the same housing from different suppliers, but I would not go for that one. The lower capacity suggests it has a different load cell (transducer).
Home made check weights don't give you absolute calibration, but after calibrated check weights have got the scale's absolute accuracy reasonably close, trimming a coil of stainless wire to match a particular load is something that offers a real convenience at times. It lets you make a quick check for drift without putting a heavier check weight on the scale that could lose the zero in load cell hysteresis until several regular charges have been weighed.
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930 Posts
I spent $75 for th eLee Anniversary kit about 20 years ago, which included just about everything except dies. The balance beam Safety Scale has done just fine for me.
I only shoot for pleasure and hunting, not for competition, but I get MOA with this equipment.
I only shoot for pleasure and hunting, not for competition, but I get MOA with this equipment.
I have Redding, Herders, act. scales that run $20.00, they are old and slow and can not be used in a wind tunnel, some have oil wells that dampened the swing effect, I have no ideal what cheap is, new-cheap could be junk, the old scales are not junk, I am not sure the technology is old and obsolete, I am not so vain I will not use one, but I do have the RCBS electronic type scale that helps speed things up.
F. Guffey
F. Guffey
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332 Posts
I use a beam scale exclusively for powder measurements and I use an electronic (RCBS currently) scale for sorting bullets and brass. The reason for this is that when weighing powder I am trying to hit a specific weight, which is a process that fits better with the beam, and when I am sorting it fits better with the digital scale.
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3,656 Posts
Inexpensive and accurate, get the Lee Safety Scale.
The little electronic available for about $30 at MidwayUSA is accurate but wants resetting at the beginning of each reloading session.
Check weights are your friend. And aren't expensive.
My Lee has been great for the last 10 years.
The little electronic available for about $30 at MidwayUSA is accurate but wants resetting at the beginning of each reloading session.
Check weights are your friend. And aren't expensive.
My Lee has been great for the last 10 years.
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380 Posts
I have a Smart Reloader SR750 digital scale that I bought from Grafs. First time I saw this model on the internet was on a British website for reloading supplies and it sold for a heck of a lot more in Europe. Inexpensive, sensitive to a tenth of a grain, costing from Grafs about $24 by itself and in a kit that includes a powder trickler, funnel, a couple of Lee type dippers it sells for a little more than $29. Both includes a calibration weight. Uses AAA batteries, which is why I bought it to replace the Frankford digital scale that used the watch type batteries. I've no complaints about the Smart Reloader SR750.
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