Can't seem to zero my Lee scale

cereal83

cereal83

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Hey all,

Well I got a Lee scale with my kit and since I don't have my digital one yet, I wanted to try it out. However I cannot for the life of me zero it. It's always too high or too low by atleast half a cm. Even if I do get it close and then I take the powder tray off and put it back on, it goes somewhere else all together. Like if it was high, now it's way low.

I have read it sucks but it does work. How come I can't even zero mine and why does it seem to get stuck sometimes when moving up and down in a certain spot and then I gotta tap it so it can again move freely?
 
I found the razor blade fulcrum doesnt always hit the grove in the base exactly and makes the balance sticky. I bought a rcbs 505 and put the lee on the shelf. Eventually I will be getting a chargemaster combo.
 
IM_Lugger said:
I never had problems with mine. it works well and easy to use. when you adjust it screw it in/out just a tad at a time.
Click to expand...

I can move it from 0.1 gram to 0.2 gram and it will start at the very bottom and go right to the very top. Mine is worthless. Doesn't zero or come back to the same area twice just by taking the powder thingy off and putting it back on
 
Well - The scales are very sensitive - plus or minus 1/10 of a grain will push the balance arm off the scale. Make sure you're on the knife edge pivot properly - there are false positions. Also, the balance arm can drag within the left side frame, if the edge is not centered.
I've used mine for years, and it works fine. Do you know where the zeroing wheel is?
 
I don't know about Lee stuff but many "beam" balances will not finction correctly unless the are FLAT!! Check the level in both axis and try again. Must also be on a hard, flat surface. If that doesn't work, follow ben hunchak's procedure...
 
cosmic said:
Well - The scales are very sensitive - plus or minus 1/10 of a grain will push the balance arm off the scale. Make sure you're on the knife edge pivot properly - there are false positions. Also, the balance arm can drag within the left side frame, if the edge is not centered.
I've used mine for years, and it works fine. Do you know where the zeroing wheel is?
Click to expand...

This
 
cosmic said:
Well - The scales are very sensitive - plus or minus 1/10 of a grain will push the balance arm off the scale. Make sure you're on the knife edge pivot properly - there are false positions. Also, the balance arm can drag within the left side frame, if the edge is not centered.
I've used mine for years, and it works fine. Do you know where the zeroing wheel is?
Click to expand...

I have been using the wheel and moving it very very very slowly yet it doesn't zero. I have it on a flat and level surface an I think maybe its the way the razor sits in there. I see paint has came all off in there so I have used compressed air and blown it.

I have tried about 20 different times throughout the last 24 hours and I just can't even get close or when I get close and I take the powder tray off and put it back on, it goes somewhere totally different.

As per moving it 0.1g, I don't think it should go from the very bottom to the very top or vice versa moving the plastic slider 0.1g.
 
bring it to me and I'll chack it for you. :)

Are you locking the slider to the beam before playing with it? (By pressing the small nub at the bottom of the slider all the way in)
 
legi0n said:
bring it to me and I'll chack it for you. :)

Are you locking the slider to the beam before playing with it? (By pressing the small nub at the bottom of the slider all the way in)
Click to expand...

:redface: No it wasn't. I have pushed it in and now I can zero it but again when I take off the powder basket and put it back on, it goes elsewhere, usually up

The dampener keeps going off alignment and hitting the magnets that are inside the housing and then it stops at random places.
 
The pivot needs to be in the groove properly.
I find with mine I tend to wiggle it a bit so that the
pointer finds a center between the magnets.

I have mine on the lowest shelf of a wall cabinet, and have
the base tight to the wall, so it can't move. Any movement,
you have to start over.

Don't take the beam off the scale, adjust it on the scale.
Leave the pin pushed in, just pinch it forward with your
thumbnail.

Mine came with a very gentle, rounded bend for the hook
on the pan. I could place the pan on the hanger in
different parts of the curve, causing different
readings and much foul language. Mine now has a very
sharp bend and it goes back in the same place every time.

They are kind of finicky, but that is because they are very
sensitve. Mine has changed zero (on succesive days) because
of humidity. Whether it is from atmospheric pressure, or the wooden
cabinet swelling, I'm not sure. :p

Stick with it; it works well once you get the hang of it.
(pardon the pun)
 
If I can't move it without having to re-zero then it's a waste of my time. I was able to zero it but taking the pow tray off and putting it back on yet again made it unzero. Agh! I have a digital on order but this is gonna suck as it's gonna take a week to get here and I wanted to go shooting tomorrow.

p.s. case prep blows. I did only 25 cases and I was ready to give up and sell everything.
 
another thing that can cause your issues is the powder tray handle not being bent properly. The tray must return to the same pivoting spot when placed back on the scale. The handle should be rather sharply bent than gently curved.
You could also try to polish the inside of the handle hook to a mirror.

lee_tray_handle.jpg


As a side note, I just dropped my Lee Scale from about 5ft and it's still good.
 
Yes I did bend it and I noticed everytime I put the tray back it was in another spot so I figured that much out on my own. I just tried several times and I don't think its working. Something must be wrong with it. i will try to polish it and see what happens
 
Well - Before you jump off a bridge, you should attempt a realistic check of the repeatability of the scale. Measure a typical charge of powder and zero. Remove and replace the pan. See if it re-zeros. If it doesnt, add or remove powder with the pan in place, to establish zero. Notice how few kernels of powder are required to effect the change? These things are designed to be sensitive, because they need to be.
In the end, these cheap junky scales should be able to give repeatability of 1/10 of a grain, which is equal to or better than your digital scale on order!
Finally, do you intend to measure each charge? You'll be ranting about how time consuming that is shortly. All you need to do is to use the scale as a check against the volumetric dispenser. You calibrate the dispenser against the scale, then check the odd throw to see if the dispenser is repeating - they usually do.
Use your analog scale and go shooting tomorrow. Do the same with your digital scale - you wont notice any difference in group size.
 
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