buying used scale

X

xcaribooer

Regular
Rating - 100%
405   0   0
Location
The fishing highway
I am looking at buying my first scale, a used rcbs 505 ,(pretty sure he said 505)
I there any danger in buying used? Is there a way to check its accuracy? The only thing I have to weigh are some 100gr speer leads. Does a 100gr lead actually weigh 100gr exactly? He said he has not used the scale as he has another one so therefore could not vouch for its accuracy?? price is $50.00 .I think I read on another site that a guy was having consistency problems with a 505 model.
 
RCBS makes a good product with a great guarantee.

As long as there was no visual damage, I wouldn't think you would have a problem.




.
 
xcaribooer,
Check weights are nice, but without that you can still weigh a bullet or whatever on the 505 and the other scale he has. That by itself should reveal any big problems.
 
Spend a little extra money and get the weight check set available from Lyman or RCBS. It has a variety of calibrated weights so that you can check your scale at any setting.
As long as the bearings on the scale allow the beam to swing freely you can adjust the "zero" on the scale and you will get an accurate reading.
Its not a bad idea to have the check weights anyways to periodically ensure that you your scale stays accurate or that you have the right setting when you are measuring close to maximum powder weights.

tbhupe
 
Check the knives to see that they are still sharp, and that the scale does not have a tendency to stick in one position. RCBS scales are good products, but are not immune from abuse or just wearing out.
 
1010.jpg
:)
 
ive got the 5-0-2 model........it works like a champ..the way i test mine..ive got a bunch of .224 bullets in 35 grain... i weighed each one seperate to be sure...
i,ll weigh 2@ 35..scale should read 70...then i add another...then another...then another...just keep adding them up and see how the scale reads them...
 
Scale

I agree with the other posts, you MUST, get or make a set of known wts (small cal bullets are great), and you must calibrate it with a wt, close to the powder wt you are going to weigh, I once purchased a used Hornady, triple beam scale, it looked great, still can't tell what was wrong but when I weighed powder it did not look right, finally checked with an borowed electronic scale and found that the Hornady scale would vary by 2-4 gns. I did check wts with bullets but at the time did not have any in the range I was weighing, I should have used multiples of .224 gn bullets as suggested by one of the others here....but I did not think of it. Anyway I choose to believe that the Hornady scale was correct. Thankfully I used common sense and stayed with low end loads, my chrono told me clearly that the Hornady scale was WRONG, it now sits on a shelf.

I always calibrate my scale before using it, but if I ever buy a new scale I would check it carefully thru a wide range of known wts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom