lee safety scale, man it's tough to read

[RoscoeT]

I just got my Lee kit last night and I'm a pretty happy camper.

But I have to agree that the scale is very hard to read when dealing with 0.1 grain increments.

Are there any on here that use this scale successfully? Have tips?

I'm about to try and sell it to buy a digital one. Even with zero drift, I can at least read what it's telling me.

 

[Winnipeg Toymaker]

Digital is the way to go. the "mechanical" ones are not in great demand. I have found them to be as much as 3/10 of a grain out. A decent digital is worth the extra moola.

 

[warrenb]

I actually found once I got used to mine that it was easy to set and because I had to think about it a little I was always confident it was set at the correct value. A few practives and you will be fine.

Mine used to stick sometimes so I would always give it a little flick after it settled and let it settle again. I switched it out for a RCBS 10-10 because the double set made it too slow.

 

[RoscoeT]

I actually found once I got used to mine that it was easy to set and because I had to think about it a little I was always confident it was set at the correct value. A few practives and you will be fine.

It's not that I find it tricky, or have to think about it. That type of balance beam scale is no problem for me.

It's the fact that the 0.1 grain area is hard to see. And very hard to judge. Even using a "close" known weight it's hard to get the scale right. It does not give me a very warm fuzzy feeling.

There are 3 bars in the .1 area and you need to kind of guess where they are... ?

Does that make sense?

 

[Cerdan]

Think of it as am "I" in parentheses: (I). The solid "I" tells you the mass while the more blurry lines on either side need to be of equal size.

It's a bit like getting a proper sight picture with iron sights. You want the amount of light on either side of the front sight to be the same.

Digital is the way to go. the "mechanical" ones are not in great demand. I have found them to be as much as 3/10 of a grain out. A decent digital is worth the extra moola.

I would think it's the other way around. When used correctly, a beam scale is never wrong, even a cheap one like Lee.

 

[saskgunowner101]

Just tinker with it until you see all three lines centered on your charge weight and lock it. Once it is zeroed, the only thing that matters is having the pointer line up to the mark.

 

[volks_r_us]

I loved my $25 Lee safety scale until I Tried a used $50 5.0.5 no way I'm goin back to Lee.

for the price nobody can complain

 

[chemo]

I loved my $25 Lee safety scale until I Tried a used $50 5.0.5 no way I'm goin back to Lee.

for the price nobody can complain

loved my 100$ cabelas digital scale, until i tried a 300$+ chargemaster combo
Still cant afford it though, maybe soon

 

[Edward Teach]

I bought a RCBS Rangemaster 750 and wish I'd held out for the Chargemaster. After using a digital scale I can't see how anyone could tolerate fiddling around with a balance beam scale.
I also bought a bunch of those Lee dipper thingys. What I usually do is use one that will get me close to the weight I'm looking to throw, then scoop a small amount of powder and tap the scoop so a couple of granules fall into the pan with each tap. With practice you can throw charges fairly quickly.

Well looky what I found here:

http://www.rightonscales.ca/home.htm

Maybe we're getting hosed by the reloading companies what with what they're charging us for their scales?

 

[RoscoeT]

I bought a RCBS Rangemaster 750 and wish I'd held out for the Chargemaster. After using a digital scale I can't see how anyone could tolerate fiddling around with a balance beam scale....

Well looky what I found here:

http://www.rightonscales.ca/home.htm

Maybe we're getting hosed by the reloading companies what with what they're charging us for their scales?

Yeah, looks at the accuracy on this one. 0.02 grains... ?

http://www.rightonscales.com/web/mack20.htm

 

[Overland]

Yes, the Lee scale is hard to read, worst is that it is slow and the balance poise is hard to adust and can move.
But it is still the most precise.

 

[daroccot]

Yeah, looks at the accuracy on this one. 0.02 grains... ?

http://www.rightonscales.com/web/mack20.htm

not quite...

.1 gr = 0.006479 g

or that little scale is claiming ~0.031 grains with a 308 grain capacity

I really want to try one of these guys out but I'm torn because I'd like to just save the 100 bucks and put it towards a chargemaster or similar combo setup...

 

[warrenb]

It's not that I find it tricky, or have to think about it. That type of balance beam scale is no problem for me.

It's the fact that the 0.1 grain area is hard to see. And very hard to judge. Even using a "close" known weight it's hard to get the scale right. It does not give me a very warm fuzzy feeling.

There are 3 bars in the .1 area and you need to kind of guess where they are... ?

Does that make sense?

Total Sense. We are talking about exactly the same thing. I'm just talking with a gob full of marbles, thats all.

 

[john777]

I actually found once I got used to mine that it was easy to set and because I had to think about it a little I was always confident it was set at the correct value. A few practives and you will be fine.

Mine used to stick sometimes so I would always give it a little flick after it settled and let it settle again. I switched it out for a RCBS 10-10 because the double set made it too slow.

I bought a RCBS RC-130. Cheapest one they sell. At first, I thought it was amazing. After zeroing in it worked great. But later, I found that even if I accidentally (meaning, even the slightlest of all movements) making it hit the bootm and I hear the slightest 'ping' sound, accuracy usually goes way off. Maybe 0.3 grains. I cringe every time I do it by accident and it's hard to avoid. I have move the weights back to zero and jiggle the bar at the pivot point to zero back in again. Lucky I have a digital scale. Yet another cheapo and it goes out of wack when I leave it on longer than 10 seconds. LOL

 

[corney]

Yes, the Lee scale is hard to read, worst is that it is slow and the balance poise is hard to adust and can move.
But it is still the most precise.

Most precise! How so? Its not according to Richard Lee's reloading manual is it?

I have a Lee and a RCBS 5-0-5 and a 10-0-10 and I also use know weights and I wouldn't brag up the Lee.

Not saying it doesn't work and I do believe it is consistant.

 

[SuperCub]

I just got my Lee kit last night and I'm a pretty happy camper.

I started with the Lee kit. I ditched the scale right off the bat and bought a Hornady scale. I've had nothing but good luck with this scale and have never considered replacing it.

For the average shooter a mechanical scale works just fine. If you're the type that needs more bells and whistles, you'll have to spend alot more on a digital scale.

.

 

[downwindtracker2]

I had used scales in the lab where I had worked,so a glance at the swing told you everything.Yes the Lee is more precise,it swings easier, than the Ohaus 5-0-5 I'm using now.And I found it quicker to use because of the swing was easier to read. But for a Lee to exact,it has to be on a level surface,I used a machist's level.A Vernier scale is hard to read,I don't use my vernier calipers any more.The most important draw back to me,was the capacity,I'm always checking brass for ##### cross or volume. It doesn't do to use a load developed in brass weighing 235 in a 255 case. Seen that.

 

[looch]

My Lee scale is very hard to read, especially since I went nuts and sliced it into little pieces.

 

[mmilne]

I also started out with the scale from the Lee kit, but I knocked the balance beam off the bench onto the concrete floor and the poise slide popped off. I could never get it properly calibrated again.

I can't speak as to its accuracy as I never tested it with check weights, but things I found helpful were;

1. I agree with Cerdan, you need to have the "main line" on the poise centered on the .1gr increment you want, and an "equal amount" of white showing on the .1gr increment above and below what you want. This gets a bit harder if you're trying to weigh a charge ending in .9, .0, or .1 due to the "wrap-around".

2. It's sometimes hard to get the poise centered where you want with the light available. I have a gooseneck lamp with a 100W bulb on my bench, and would shine the light directly on the poise to help the process.

3. As you remove the pan after weighing a charge, the beam bouncing around would result in the poise wandering off your setting value. If you read the manual, there is a little push-in tab on the back of the poise that locks the poise in place. If you lock the poise in place this won't happen and you'll get a consistent charge weight every time.

This may be opening a can of worms, but what are thoughts about how level the scale is impacting accuracy or consistency. My bench is very stable but not exactly level.

 

[downwindtracker2]

With mine, I used a check weight,and a Lee is royal pain to weigh things. I found it had to be level to read correctly. My scale sat on a unused 8"drill press so I just shimed the drill press base. A stick with 3 wood screws for feet would have been easier.