Paging Scott Parker
- Thread starter Howfar
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shoot4fun
Gold $$ Contributor
Knowing the facts about how Scott does business is why these threads keep popping up. Facts are he is very slow and often unresponsive.
But the fact is that he is the best we know of that offers this type of work on beam scales and, in fact, does a fantastic job at it.
Oh, and the facts are that, as long as he does a fantastic job, we will keep sending our scales there no matter how slow and unresponsive he gets.
If you go to Savageshooters.com you will find similar threads about another company that specializes on Savage rifles. There have been some threads here about them as well. Same issue, payment up front, slow getting work out, unresponsive to inquiries. They still seem to get all the work they want. It is up to the individual to decide if the result is worth the frustration. I may use people like this company or Scott, but when I do it is for work that I have no sense of urgency for.
I have a scale sitting here, but the turn around time issue and lack of communication are a bit of a concern...
sparker
Silver $$ Contributor
Yes, Alan over in the U.K.
drags
Silver $$ Contributor
I find it incredible that only two people in the world tune scales.
dcali
Bullet Maker
Most people just buy a better scale - the market for people buying cheap scales and wanting to make them better is minuscule - basically a subset of a subset of accuracy enthusiasts. I'm surprised there are two.
drags
Silver $$ Contributor
Because of the long wait time there must be a market for scale tuning, I'm surprised there are only two people doing it. For our mechanically inclined shooters this could be a good small business to start up.
drags
I think I've seen videos online on how to tune a rcbs scale . I'm thinking bearings and a file may do it , but I'm no expert
sparker
Silver $$ Contributor
Yes! Spending more money is the answer! No one could possibly be competitive without spending the maximum amount possible for a digital scale.
dcali
Bullet Maker
I'm talking about the overall market for scales, not just reloaders. Nobody who needs an accurate scale for whatever purpose is going to buy a cheap scale and then pay someone to make it better. They're just going to buy a scale that meets their needs, which there are plenty of.
A tuned quality beam scale will accurately measure powders to a precision that the powder weight variance is undetectable in actual shooting. A beam scale is not going to drift or just die one day like an electronic scale surely will. I have an electronic scale that I use for sorting brass and it’s one of many that I’ve owned and had die or develop issues that made them useless. My tuned M5 is consistently repeatable and is older than me. If it has an issue it is fixed by cleaning. If it weren’t for dust it would never need any attention at all. I don’t think you can buy a better scale for our (accurate shooting) use than a tuned quality beam scale. An electronic machine like a Chargemaster is more convenient at times but they need to be watched closely for drift and die at the most inconvenient times. A super high quality electronic scale is just the equal in useable performance to a tuned beam scale just much less reliable.
drags
Silver $$ Contributor
There are people that already have scale that they want tuned maybe as a back up or other reasons, no one has suggested to buy a cheap scale and improve it, and spending more money is not the answer if it were the people with the big bucks would win all the matches. I shoot over 1000 rounds per year in competition and have not seen that spending more money will guarantee a win. But we got off topic of the long wait time I believe if there was some competition for tuning scales the wait time would decrease. To give an example I took a barrel to have it chambered the gunsmith talked to me for almost two hours but it took him six months to chamber my barrel, instead of talking to me he could have chambered it right there. I have had 5 barrels chambered since then and did not have him do the work. Competition is a good thing!
drags
SteveOak
Gold $$ Contributor
A sparker tuned beam scale can be acquired for $200 or less. I don't know of an 'off the shelf' scale in that price range that is even as accurate. I am pretty sure that there is not a scale as accurate as a sparker tuned beam scale unless you spend at least $600.
I have not collected extensive data or made actual comparisons. A strain gauge scale that is considered suitable for accurate reloading runs $200 - $300 however they are quite susceptible to variations of temperature and electromagnetic and electrostatic interference. Even if you ignore those problems I do not know if they are as accurate as sparker tuned beam scales. Strain gauge scales have a lot of resolution but resolution is neither accuracy nor repeatability. Strain gauge scales have error rate of 1:5,000, and for double accuracy scales, the ratio is 1:10,000.
My opinion, based on what I know from my day job about strain gauges, is that regardless of their potential measurement accuracy they are inferior to sparker tuned beam scales because of the susceptibility issues. You can add circuitry to mitigate the effects of EMI and Temp but in doing so you reduce the actual sensitivity of the measuring device. Been there, done that. It is like wearing gloves when your hands are cold. You hands are less affected by the cold but you lose dexterity.
I think that force restoration scales may be superior to either strain gauge or beam scales. They have accuracy ratios of 1:150,000 or more but they cost 3 times as much as a sparker tuned 10-10 or M5.
To get as good as (and probably better than) a sparker tuned beam scale you need a force restoration scale and you will need to spend $600. For some it is money well spent. For others it would not be.
To the original topic. I look at people like sparker as hobbyists and I do not have the same expectations of them as I would from a brick and mortar incorporated operation. I am glad that they provide the service that they do because usually they are providing a service that I can't get elsewhere because no one else will do it. Because they are a 'one man' operation they are considerably more susceptible to 'life happens' type of things and I make allowance for that.
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What's your projected turnaround time now?
Scott has a full time job, a big family, and children to raise and spend quality time with. He too, enjoys competitive shooting when time allows. He provides a service that few perform, and if he has to stop to answer phone calls and email, it takes time away from the work he performs on the scales.
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