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Best way to calibrate beam scales?

ELR Harry

Cant afford $1000.00+ digital lab balances but my old Lyman m5 and Reading#1 scales are consistent enough to give low single digit SD and ES....but frankly i think my brass prep has a lot to do with those numbers too. I use a single bullet to calibrate with but i would bet lunch this is not a best practice. I have Pacific check weights but they are old and tarnished and how they are marked don't match what the scales say. What would be a better and economical way to calibrate so i really know what the powder charges weigh? i could buy a couple of good check weights but the hobby budget for rest of this year is low, very low.

Also sometimes the old lyman sticks...with light charges i can pour all the powder in the pan but the beam wont move until i tap it...this is really frustrating. Any help with this problem would also be greatly appreciated.
 
ELR Harry said:
Cant afford $1000.00+ digital lab balances but my old Lyman m5 and Reading#1 scales are consistent enough to give low single digit SD and ES....but frankly i think my brass prep has a lot to do with those numbers too. I use a single bullet to calibrate with but i would bet lunch this is not a best practice. I have Pacific check weights but they are old and tarnished and how they are marked don't match what the scales say. What would be a better and economical way to calibrate so i really know what the powder charges weigh? i could buy a couple of good check weights but the hobby budget for rest of this year is low, very low.

Also sometimes the old lyman sticks...with light charges i can pour all the powder in the pan but the beam wont move until i tap it...this is really frustrating. Any help with this problem would also be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Send it to me and I'll take care of it for you and tune it for repeatability and sensitivity
 
maybe can send it this winter...have 4 more matches this year, maybe 5 if i can afford the travel and its the only scale i have that i really trust. thanks
 
ELR Harry said:
maybe can send it this winter...have 4 more matches this year, maybe 5 if i can afford the travel and its the only scale i have that i really trust. thanks
Click to expand...
Youre going to chance 4 matches for the rest of the year on a glitchy scale you have to tap?
And its the only one you trust?
Something doesnt make sense here
----------------------------------------
My old Lyman ""tuned"" beam scale has a sensitivity of only 3 tiny kernels of W748 Ball
and repeates to the exact same -0-
every .....Single ....time you lift the powder pan off and set it back down 10 times in a row and zeroes in about 3 seconds
Thought that sort of consistency would appeal to a Match shooter
 
Last edited:
Admittedly I skimmed over the part about your scale being glitchy. None of mine are. I tuned them for sensitivity and repeatability. It is really not that hard. I have coached several shooters who were able to do the same thing, Some time back I picked up an old RCBS scale to see if I had lost my touch. It will show the addition of a single grain of Varget, as all my other beam sccales do. When it comes to reading very small differences, eliminating parallax and magnification are huge advantages. The cheapest way to do both is to make a little bracket to hold your cell phone so that you can view a magnified close up image on its screen.
 
I'd keep the one I currently trust and send the glitchy one off. Sounds like the 'knife edge' or bearing block is notched or has contaminants on it.

For your consistent use any weight will work. Your one bullet will do just fine since you know what it weighs based on old data. No, it isn't calibrated, but that mostly matters when people have to share data. I used to keep three "check weights" around. One in the 1-10gn range, one ~50gn and one ~100gn. I recorded their weights and used them to check the scale periodically. You do have to keep them clean. I handled them with soft nosed tweezers.
 
The knife edges are clean and there is no dust or any particles in the grooves( whatever they are called that the knife edges ride in) I make sure it is level in both axis. I weigh a little short on some decent digital scales and trickle up( always up) on the Lyman...and its ok to laugh, but i do it 1 or two kernels at a time with tweezers. have a magnifying glass mounted in front of the pointer since i am old and half blind.

6.5 creed with 41.7 grains of 4350 under a 140 hybrid here is my last 5 shot group load test at jam
SD 1.3 ES 3.0
SD 4.2 ES 9.1 had one really bad one out of this group and i think?? it was neck tension
SD 1.0 ES 1.7
Garmin Chrono Avg velocity for 15 shots 2832 / 26" Krieger

the scales work, they just stick sometimes...not sure why and cant figure it out. I guess it might not matter that i dont know precisely what the charges weigh as long as they are consistent...overthinking again probably.
 
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ELR Harry said:
The knife edges are clean and there is no dust or any particles in the grooves( whatever they are called that the knife edges ride in) I make sure it is level in both axis. I weigh a little short on some decent digital scales and trickle up( always up) on the Lyman...and its ok to laugh, but i do it 1 or two kernels at a time with tweezers. have a magnifying glass mounted in front of the pointer since i am old and half blind.

6.5 creed with 41.7 grains of 4350 under a 140 hybrid here is my last 5 shot group load test at jam
SD 1.3 ES 3.0
SD 4.2 ES 9.1 had one really bad one out of this group and i think?? it was neck tension
SD 1.0 ES 1.7
Garmin Chrono Avg velocity for 15 shots 2832 / 26" Krieger

the scales work, they just stick sometimes...not sure why and cant figure it out. I guess it might not matter that i dont know precisely what the charges weigh as long as they are consistent...overthinking again probably.
Click to expand...
If you put some soft self adhesive material on the beam stops, limiting the beams swing and eliminating impact, you will probably get rid of the stickiness.
 
ELR Harry said:
Cant afford $1000.00+ digital lab balances but my old Lyman m5 and Reading#1 scales are consistent enough to give low single digit SD and ES....but frankly i think my brass prep has a lot to do with those numbers too. I use a single bullet to calibrate with but i would bet lunch this is not a best practice. I have Pacific check weights but they are old and tarnished and how they are marked don't match what the scales say. What would be a better and economical way to calibrate so i really know what the powder charges weigh? i could buy a couple of good check weights but the hobby budget for rest of this year is low, very low.

Also sometimes the old lyman sticks...with light charges i can pour all the powder in the pan but the beam wont move until i tap it...this is really frustrating. Any help with this problem would also be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
I use a piece of SS steel as a standard. I weighed it out to 4 places at work and rounded it of to 1 decimal. You don't really need expensive standards. Before each loading session I put it on the scale. As long as it reads 33.1 grains, I'm OK. It doesn't matter if it calibrates at 33.1 gr and it’s actually 33.25. As long as it’s the same wt. each time you get the same powder charge. .1 gr accuracy is good enough for my GH hunting rifles. Both my rifles shoot under .400” or smaller.

I put a tiny amount of oil on the v groove that the knife edge sits in. I think it should reduce friction. I know how to keep it clean. It doesn't attract dust or dirt unless your careless.
 
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In the regular Youtube app. on my android phone at the bottom of the screen is a +. Tap it and select the video you want to upload. The video needs to be in your gallery.
 
BoydAllen said:
In the regular Youtube app. on my android phone at the bottom of the screen is a +. Tap it and select the video you want to upload. The video needs to be in your gallery.
Click to expand...
I’ll try that next time.
Thank you
 
ELR Harry said:
Cant afford $1000.00+ digital lab balances but my old Lyman m5 and Reading#1 scales are consistent enough to give low single digit SD and ES....but frankly i think my brass prep has a lot to do with those numbers too. I use a single bullet to calibrate with but i would bet lunch this is not a best practice. I have Pacific check weights but they are old and tarnished and how they are marked don't match what the scales say. What would be a better and economical way to calibrate so i really know what the powder charges weigh? i could buy a couple of good check weights but the hobby budget for rest of this year is low, very low.

Also sometimes the old lyman sticks...with light charges i can pour all the powder in the pan but the beam wont move until i tap it...this is really frustrating. Any help with this problem would also be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Send it to Scott Parker. Tommy Mc.
 
I just picked this up today for cheap, I can see the beam move with one kernel of H4350 and 2 kernels it's even easier to see.....how do you know if it's been tuned or not?

Also, I would try to clean the knifes and the pieces they rest on for the sticking issue
 

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