Cleaning RCBS 10/10 Scale

hobit

hobit

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Just purchased an older (mid 80's) rcbs 10/10 scale, it is dirty and is about a tenth off perfect zero. I'm hoping a good cleaning will cure this. I use mineral spirits a good bit in cleaning older, gunked up firearms and was considering it for this too. Any tips on cleaning would be appreciated. Thanks folks.
 
I'm guessing that it varies when returning to zero? 1/10 of a grain either high or low?
If that's the problem, I had the same issue with a 5-0-2. If I remember correctly, one of the damping magnets was out of place or loose, and there was a bit of rust on the knife edges on the beam.
 
hobit said:
Just purchased an older (mid 80's) rcbs 10/10 scale, it is dirty and is about a tenth off perfect zero. I'm hoping a good cleaning will cure this. I use mineral spirits a good bit in cleaning older, gunked up firearms and was considering it for this too. Any tips on cleaning would be appreciated. Thanks folks.
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Take the bearing blocks out and make sure they and where they sit is clean. Use isopropyl alcohol and toothbrush. Make sure blocks move freely after installing them. Same with the knife edges. Do not use any oil or lube of any kind on these. If you contact RCBS they will send you new bearing blocks free if they look bad.
 
Ok so I disassembled it completely and cleaned everything, it certainly needed it. It's now less than a tenth off when level but it's still off ... tomorrow I figure I'll tinker with the counter weight and get it perfectly on zero. Thanks all for the guidance, it looks brand new now.
 
hobit said:
Ok so I disassembled it completely and cleaned everything, it certainly needed it. It's now less than a tenth off when level but it's still off ... tomorrow I figure I'll tinker with the counter weight and get it perfectly on zero. Thanks all for the guidance, it looks brand new now.
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If you don't have a set get a set of check weights.
 
Sorry, perhaps I missed something here. You say its "a tenth off when level". There is a screw on the base that you use to adjust the scale so it "ZERO's" out the BEAM. When the beam reads '0' , you're ready to go.
 
big boar said:
Sorry, perhaps I missed something here. You say its "a tenth off when level". There is a screw on the base that you use to adjust the scale so it "ZERO's" out the BEAM. When the beam reads '0' , you're ready to go.
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+ 1
Although level is nice, it's not essential IMO. When I got it, the beam on my 5-0-5 wasn't perfectly level with the scale zeroed. That bothered the OCD in me.. so I weighed an item that was exactly 45 grains, then adjusted the amount of ballast in the pan holder so the beam was perfectly level with the scale zeroed. I then re-weighed the same item. Results were exactly the same.

I think as long as you're not running out of adjustment to zero your scale, it's fine to use. Mine is set so that on a reasonably level surface I can zero the scale using the threaded height adjuster in the middle of it's travel.

If you're going to use check weights to verify your scale, try to use a check weight similar to the powder charge you expect to drop. In other words, checking the scale at 150 grains doesn't tell you much about how accurate it is at 50 grains.

As usual, I could be wrong about this. If in doubt, contact RCBS. They are the subject matter experts. Internet forums are nothing better or worse than (hopefully) educated opinions.
 
I zero mine prior to loading to match whatever surface the scale is sitting on (it probably isn't level). Drop light and trickle up while ensuring the knives aren't binding on the sides of the slot (try to center the beam in the slot and don't disturb it). Works great and optimum loads have, on occasion, shot down to almost 1/4MOA. At this point in my loading career, I see no reason to upgrade.

Friend bought a scale on the EE with some mismatched parts (unbeknownst to him, unfortunate) that wouldn't zero. I'm sure it's to do with the ballast and the pan that were included but ultimately he just bought another scale. If it'll zero without issue I'd say you're good to go.
 
Ya see it's my OCD too ... I'll play around with the ballast a bit today and maybe sharpen up the knife blades. I had been under the impression that the base being level was important but it would seem not so or at least not perfectly. Again thanks too all for taking the time to help.
 
I bought a used RCBS 10-10 that was treated poorly and needed a bunch of work. The pivots needed cleaning ( I use rubbing alcohol ), the pan had most of the weights missing. Even after addressing all of that it's still sticky and wouldn't consistently measure to within 0.1gr. ( I think the pivot knife edges need to be sharpened ).

In the end I found another one and managed to cobble together one working unit. The second one was good but the pan was from a 5-0-5 so couldn't be zeroed :)

If you have one that's cobbled together like mine, you might need to add or remove weight from the pan.


Chris.
 
Ok, so I removed some of the led shot in the ballast pan, levelled the unit, added the powder pan etc and added weight until it zeroed. The new weight was added and then tested for zero and against test weights and it's working great and returning to zero each time. Again, thanks to all. Now to tune it right up ... but that's a new thread :)
 
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