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Balance beam powder scale


Mark II

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I have an RCBS 10-10 beam scale in perfect condition if you would be interested in it?  I think £85 +p&p is fair.  I use a laboratory scale now.

I have the original box and instructions etc.

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14 hours ago, Mark II said:

Thank you for the offer I will do some research on it and let you know.

 

Cheers Mark  

I think it depends to a certain extent on how much you want to spend, what sort of volume you intend to load and just what sort of accuracy you are looking for. A good beam scale, costing maybe £100 should work very well, certainly as accurate (and often better) than any of the electronic auto dispensers (RCBS, Lyman, Hornady), costing £200-400. A good beam scale will still be working just well in 10, 20 or 50 years but most of the electronic scales/dispensers will be in the bin within 10 years, and often half that,  in fact I believe most are only under warranty for 12 months

If time is of the essence, and you are not too concerned about a few kernels either way with your charges, then something like a Chargemaster might be just the thing for you. 

If you're looking for speed with even more accuracy (at a cost £6-900) then the Auto-trickler, which combines an automated powder measure, a powered trickler and a high quality lab grade digital scale into one package is the way to go.

What ever system you use, you need to bear in mind that a single kernel of something like Varget weighs around .02 of a grain, about 5 kernels to 10th grain (and many powders are considerably more chunky) so having a scale, as used in some atomic research lab that resolves to x figures, unless you intend to cut kernels in half, is a bit pointless.

If you do decide to go for an electronic set up it's always nice to have good beam scale to fall back and as a cross reference. You won't load better ammunition than you can with a good beam scale.

 

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40 minutes ago, 1066 said:

I think it depends to a certain extent on how much you want to spend, what sort of volume you intend to load and just what sort of accuracy you are looking for. A good beam scale, costing maybe £100 should work very well, certainly as accurate (and often better) than any of the electronic auto dispensers (RCBS, Lyman, Hornady), costing £200-400. A good beam scale will still be working just well in 10, 20 or 50 years but most of the electronic scales/dispensers will be in the bin within 10 years, and often half that,  in fact I believe most are only under warranty for 12 months

If time is of the essence, and you are not too concerned about a few kernels either way with your charges, then something like a Chargemaster might be just the thing for you. 

If you're looking for speed with even more accuracy (at a cost £6-900) then the Auto-trickler, which combines an automated powder measure, a powered trickler and a high quality lab grade digital scale into one package is the way to go.

What ever system you use, you need to bear in mind that a single kernel of something like Varget weighs around .02 of a grain, about 5 kernels to 10th grain (and many powders are considerably more chunky) so having a scale, as used in some atomic research lab that resolves to x figures, unless you intend to cut kernels in half, is a bit pointless.

If you do decide to go for an electronic set up it's always nice to have good beam scale to fall back and as a cross reference. You won't load better ammunition than you can with a good beam scale.

 

Generally agree however it's not just accuracy it's also precision and stability.  I can't see the benefit of auto trickles etc unless you're frequently doing hundreds of rounds.  They are certainly no more (or less) accurate or precise.

I have a special super fine grater to reduce kernels down to micro grain readings 😂.  Seriously, I do agree with 1066, one kernel resolution is the sensible limit.

All scales are affected by temperature change hence why metrology standards labs are temperature and humidity controlled.  Beam and electronic scales need stable temperature and calibration checks to ensure repeatability.  Don't underestimate the effect of draughts too

My move from a beam scale to a lab electronic scale was as much to do with easy reading as any intrinsic "accuracy" or resolution.  Plus it's another gadget -which is always good!

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A simple, cheap and easy mod for a beam scale is to a small USB camera - this greatly enlarges the pointer, eliminates all parallax errors and mean the scale can be placed in a more convenient place, not necessarily where it can be seen easily..

ce5yX2xm.jpg

And if you're tempted by an electronic dispenser :

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, Popsbengo said:

Generally agree however it's not just accuracy it's also precision and stability.  I can't see the benefit of auto trickles etc unless you're frequently doing hundreds of rounds.  They are certainly no more (or less) accurate or precise.

I have a special super fine grater to reduce kernels down to micro grain readings 😂.  Seriously, I do agree with 1066, one kernel resolution is the sensible limit.

All scales are affected by temperature change hence why metrology standards labs are temperature and humidity controlled.  Beam and electronic scales need stable temperature and calibration checks to ensure repeatability.  Don't underestimate the effect of draughts too

My move from a beam scale to a lab electronic scale was as much to do with easy reading as any intrinsic "accuracy" or resolution.  Plus it's another gadget -which is always good!

I have gone back to and A+D as I find auto throwers tend to be a little “ drifty “ at times which really bugs me . The A+D has what I would call a sensible resolution and will weigh half a grain .That’s more than enough for any mortal. Coupled with the V3  auto trickler it becomes a very easy to live with balance and very accurate. 
I had the satorious  entries but that was just OTT ! 
 

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2 hours ago, Popsbengo said:

I agree and I can supply the very webcam I used!  Extra £5 😁

Can I ask what the camera is please I have tried a couple with my samsung pad and cant get them to work its an old unit which has not got a seperate USB port thanks 

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48 minutes ago, blueheckle said:

Can I ask what the camera is please I have tried a couple with my samsung pad and cant get them to work its an old unit which has not got a seperate USB port thanks 

God knows.  It was from eBay.  I used it with my Dell laptop with Windows 7.0

I've adjusted it to work as a macro lens camera

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4 hours ago, 1066 said:

A simple, cheap and easy mod for a beam scale is to a small USB camera - this greatly enlarges the pointer, eliminates all parallax errors and mean the scale can be placed in a more convenient place, not necessarily where it can be seen easily..

ce5yX2xm.jpg


 

Now that is a good idea especially as my eyesight is getting a bit old these days.

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12 hours ago, Mark II said:

The trouble is you have mentioned an electronic Scales now which has thrown me off track and I will get carried away,  so although I still leaning towards a beam type is something like the Lyman gen 6 worth a look at. 

My electronic scales whilst slightly quicker to use have an occasional error of +0.2 tenths of a grain, using them this morning I was checking them against my RCBS 10-10 and wondered why on earth I had gone electronic in the first place! 

 

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1 hour ago, Strangely Brown said:

My electronic scales whilst slightly quicker to use have an occasional error of +0.2 tenths of a grain, using them this morning I was checking them against my RCBS 10-10 and wondered why on earth I had gone electronic in the first place! 

 

Just out of interest what type are they ? 

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I’ve had a Targetmaster and a set of RCBS 5-10’s for 6 or 7 years now and wouldn’t go back to electronics... there’s been a recent thread on the Stalking Directory and it prompted me to time the Targetmaster whilst I was reloading batch of .243’s during last weeks crap weather....

Dropping a nearly charge from my Harrel .... the Targetmaster was finalising the load to the count of 5 or 6 whilst I seated the bullet in the previous case. When I’m doing the .20Prac or the .17Rem, I simply use a Lee scoop for the nearly charge.

With the camera in place, I’m at 90degrees to the scales and just look at the computer screen to give me an instant visual check. If any are fraction low...ie with the pointer not quite covering the scale, just a touch on the go button is enough to drop a couple of kernels to bring it up.

My set-up.... on a couple of Argos marble chopping boards with hi-fi equipment adjustable feet in the corners to get it dead level across the pivot.... that’s a super accurate ex-Air Ministry spirit level in there to check that.....

Bite Pop’s hand off for the 10-10’s and get a Targetmaster....mine’s still running on the original batteries too, well impressed!

 

cheers

fizz

 

3D57DE6D-9BA6-4DA4-A020-E58D9D10D4C8.jpeg

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I'm pleased to see your TM is still giving good service Fizz, and you've certainly got your moneys worth out of the batteries. I've now sold TM's to 30 different countries over the years. Currently they're nearly all going to Germany/Austria, mainly because a German chap with a slick youtube channel recently posted a couple of reviews.

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