Lee magnetic powder scale

TransAm1991

TransAm1991

Regular
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Location
Windsor, Ontario
Total piece of crap, or am I doing it wrong?

Came in a used 50th anniversary Lee reloading kit, only paid $100 shipped, got everything it came with.

The scale is a red metal stand, with a black plastic lever with a ball bearing.

I adjusted it with the metal tray on it, had it at zero, it would go back to zero as soon as you hit it, no problems there.

But the next morning, I come out, and it's way off compared to where it was before.

Should I just heave this thing and go buy a digital?
 
TransAm1991 said:
Total piece of crap, or am I doing it wrong?

Came in a used 50th anniversary Lee reloading kit, only paid $100 shipped, got everything it came with.

The scale is a red metal stand, with a black plastic lever with a ball bearing.

I adjusted it with the metal tray on it, had it at zero, it would go back to zero as soon as you hit it, no problems there.

But the next morning, I come out, and it's way off compared to where it was before.

Should I just heave this thing and go buy a digital?
Click to expand...

mine drove me nuts, and when i started reloading pistol cal i put mine in the trash, i don't trust it, mine was level etc.

Others have had good luck with it and good on them for me it was a no go and went in the trash asap.

I went for hornady lnl powder dispenser, it was expensive but i want to be safe.
 
Never had a problem with mine (after learning the following points listed). Some things to check when confirming the zero:
(1) The 10 grain increment ball is in it's 0 location. It can be bumped into the 10 gr spot easily.
(2) The 1/10 th grain slide is on it's 0 setting.
(3) The powder tray is hanging correctly.
(4) The fulcrum is in the slot on the base. If it slides off, so will your zero.
(5) The brass zeroing nut has enough tension from the friction spring. If nut friction is a little light, spin nut to the end and give the spring a little stretch.

In my use of this scale #s 1 and 2 are the most common for a false or incorrect zero. With a little practice setting up the scale....after you knock it over a few times you will set it back up in only a few seconds. It is a good scale, don't give up on it just yet.
 
The dipper gets you close and then use a trickler to finish off the load. What powder? What weight? What caliber? The dipper is usually .5 gr or more depending on the powder low of what you want.
 
If you use the dippers you should still confirm final weight with the scale. Depending on the powder shape the suggested dipper cc may not equal the correct grains.
 
The Lee scale and/or dippers are a sure way to ensure load consistency, just like the dipper in your coffee can where you get the same tasting coffee every time.
 
You know, at first I thought the Lee Scale that came in the 50th anniversary kit was crap.

This is because I compared and tested it against my father's older (15 years old) expensive Lymann scale which was quite high end at the time. The Lymann scale is much more solidly built and easier to adjust. Since the scales disagreed by 0.8 grains I naturally thought the Lee scale was at fault.

Here's the thing: I have since upgraded to a nice digital scale simply for ease of use and the ability to weigh random things without futzing around. The kicker? The digital scale agrees exactly with the Lee scale, not the expensive Lymann one.

So, while it's a little difficult to use, the Lee scale is actually quite accurate in my experience.
 
I have 4 scales, an older Lyman/Ohass, an RCBS an electronic scale from MTM and a Lee.

The Lee is the biggest pain in the ass to use; about the only time I unpack it is to check the other scales.
 
Didnt your Lee kit come with the powder thrower? It should... You can use it to throw charges, and use the scale as a check once and a while. It works for me.
 
I bought a Lee scale when it first came out. By rights, because the beam only weighed 100 grs it should have been more accurate than the competition's scales weighing 500 grs. To say the this thing was a disappointment does no justice to an instrument that weighed neither accurately or repeatedly. Put a charge of powder on the pan and bounce it 10 times, you'd get 10 different weights, none of which were an approximation of the true weight. IMHO, this thing id dangerous and should have been taken out of production.

Spend $100 on a good scale and get rid of that POS!
 
cosmic said:
Didnt your Lee kit come with the powder thrower? It should... You can use it to throw charges, and use the scale as a check once and a while. It works for me.
Click to expand...

It did, but after reading through the instructions on the way to use it, the bugger didn't work, something must be wrong with it.
Regardless, the press seems decent, and for what I paid, it wasn't too bad of a deal.
Now if I paid full price, I'd be a little.. upset, but since it was so cheap, I kind of just move what doesn't work from the bench to the box, and keep trucking.
 
^^^ That's a very odd experience. Absolutely everything in the kit worked 100% for me and I do not have any consistency issues with the scale. I would suggest reading the directions thoroughly. There are some videos on youtube which demonstrate exactly how to correctly use the 50th anniversary kit.

The powder thrower is really very, very simple. If it's not working, I'm guessing you haven't twisted the hopper. Twisting the hopper will open and close it.

The scale CAN have innacurate and different measurements if you don't have the razor blade which is on the beam correctly seated in its slot. Proper setup will obviously correct this.

All of which is covered in the manuals ;)

Failing all of that, maybe you have a defective item. It can happen to anything. Call Lee for a warranty replacement.
 
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