Improved View for Balance-Beam Scales

Even in today’s digital age, many reloaders prefer the simplicity and reliabilty of a balance scale for weighing powder charges. In this Bulletin, we reported that our own PACT digital scale suffers from fluctuating read-outs. The weight reading drifted up to 0.3 grains in less than an hour. (PACT Story). LTRDavid has come up with a clever upgrade to an O’Haus-type scale that makes the weighing process easier for those of us with old eyeballs. He simply mounts a magnifying glass in front of the balance marker, using two clamps.

Pretty ingenious wouldn’t you say? We wonder why the scale-makers didn’t offer a small magnifier as a factory option long ago. For more smart reloading tips, check out David’s website, LTRDavid.net.

When working with balance beam scales, be sure you have the device leveled. Even a small amount of tilt will throw off the measurement. We’ve seen folks who keep their scale on a shelf or storage area, and then take it out for use. That’s fine, but remember than your loading bench may not be uniformly level on all sections. Unless you put the scale in exactly the same place on the bench every time (at the same angle), you may have to re-set the level. Likewise, if you take the scale to a range, be sure to re-level it to your new working surface. And remember that is it just as important to level the scale front to back as left to right. Most scales have a leveling adjustment, but that will only level the scale left to right. If your bench has a bad front to back slant, you may have to build a corrective base for your scale.