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Scott Parker's scale tuning method

krprice84

Ha there been a thread created by Scott Parker on how exactly he tunes up scales and what a person can do to get similar results to him?

I've searched all over, and all I've found is a couple of references to him planning on making a post "soon" on how to do it, but I can not find any such post
 
The scales are just a hobby for him. I believe he is a chemical engineer, but he is a shooter, so the money probably goes to feed his hobby. I find my Redding scale from him amazingly accurate, more repeatable than my Prometheus I. yep, I said it.
 
You will not be disappointed with the results. Had him tune an older Redding from his inventory and it has enhanced my loading processes by several degrees. Used to think my Redding BR30 was spot on with 8208 till I started measuring thrown charges, which were actually varying by several 10ths across a range of 50 rounds. No more. Trickling up does take time, but the improvement in SD/ES and accuracy has been well worth the effort. Have been the GemPro path, never to return to warm up, magnetic chokes and phases of the moon to depend on it's occasional consistency. Go with Scott, with full confidence. It's his process, he's obviously refined it, let him own it.
 
Scott told me the newer scales don't "measure up" to the older ones. Made in Mexico and China, and well, you know how that goes...

The one he sold me is an Ohaus 10-10-5 that came in a box that literally looks like it was made in the 1960s. It even had the warranty card and owner's "manual" in the box, and there was an ad for a powder trickler for $3.50. The scale itself looks brand new, like it sat on a back shelf, unsold, for 50 years.

It is super sensitive, and measured just as accurately as my Driftmaster 250 on a good day.
 
Ok, this isn't a Scott Parker tuned scale, but it might give a flavour of how a tuned scale responds.

This is an old RCBS 502 weighing 5 individual kernels of Varget.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8VMBJXfYDE
 
rminut said:
The scales are just a hobby for him. I believe he is a chemical engineer, but he is a shooter, so the money probably goes to feed his hobby. I find my Redding scale from him amazingly accurate, more repeatable than my Prometheus I. yep, I said it.
Click to expand...

I studied chemistry and I totally understand why he fiddles with scales :)
When I was buying a scale for reloading I couldn't settle on anything above 1mg accuracy, I was acctually thinking of buying analytical scale but couldn't justify the costs at thet time :-[
 
I think you'de be better off letting him sell you one of his already tuned scales. He's not a magician. Don't expect him to be able to transform everything and anything you send him into the likes of that super sensative scale you see on youtube. (where a single powder kernal decisevely moves the beam.) But if from the onset you offer to buy a scale from him for which you are seeking those kinds of results, I'm sure he will make an effort to meet your expectations and have something to sell you.
 
I understand the work he does, I just was wondering if anyone knows what he does or if he would post maybe.

I have tried contacting him twice and got no response, not even a "I don't share my secrets bit I have an ohaus m5 for sale if your want) kind of thing. I'm sure he's just busy, but I'd love to give it a go on a scale I've got here and see what i can do.
 
Im not an engineer but Ive learned a bunch from my mistakes over the years. I do have an analytic balance but have rarely used it, then only to verify or equilibrate a weight. Its dreadfully tedious. The knife edge on balances is one of the KEYS to the balances function. A balance like the Lee Safety Scale is probably one of the most sensitive balances you can find due to it razor edge, literally razor, and its low mass. I wouldn't recommend it to any one unless they were never going to have the funds to buy a more functional balance, because its an utter pain to change settings on. Checking your knife edges periodically for dirt oil or corrosion is important, the edges should always be very clean and very sharp, a CAREFUL touch with an Arkansas stone if needed can do wonders for the sensivity of the balance. Next the beam and all surfaces should be dust free, including the rider notches. Also see if the equivalence of the notches is the same, in other words does the 10gr on the long beam equal 10 gr on the short beam. Don't be surprised if they don't. Gently pressing the notches with an appropriate burnishing tool might help here. And don't get sticy fingerprints on the beam or pan, they can both affect both accuracy and precision. I have an Ohaus 505 which is >40 years old and it can still react to a single kernel of N110 or IMR 4895. The one thing I wish were different would be a longer finer pointer on the beam to help reduce the parallax doe to the gap between pointer and scale. I plan to do that but Ive been too lazy and too distracted, but this would help with resolution of v small differences.
 
You can epoxy a piece of a sewing needle to the end of your beam to act as a pointer, and adjust the pan holder weights to compensate. Also, I have rigged an inexpensive manual focusing web cam to show a greatly magnified image of the beam pointer and scale on my computer's monitor, it has the added benefit of totally eliminating any parallax issues.
 
I understand the importance of throwing a perfect powder charge for the best accuracy. But I go to the supershoot and watch these old shooters throw from a thrower like a harrels, or a sinclair, and go out and produce some of the tightest groups imaginable. I think their shooting ability goes far beyond being able to throw the "perfect" charge. I am sure that his scales are great, but if I am to become a good shooter, I think this is not the place to start. I think I would make sure my setup is good, my shells are consistant, my breathing and tension in my body is at a low. These guys I see shoot amaze me by their accuracy. But they throw directly from a thrower, and I know that the throwers can't be as accurate as a highly tuned scale..
 
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