[mlw332]

I am at a loss. I have tried every thing I know to get it to zero. Any suggestions would be great. thanks

[brickeyee]

Clean the bearings and knife edges?
They need to be free of oil and dirt.

Using the wrong pan? (from another scale)

Air blowing on it?
Vibration?

[tbtrout]

Is it within 3 feet of a flourescent light? I remmenber reading that the magnetic field of the light will wreak havoc on a scale.

[MutinousDoug]

Is the surface the scale is on level?

[mlw332]

i cleaned them both. the pan was just ordered for rcbs.
there was a fan blowing and no vibration.

the arm will not move the slightest bit when trying to zero

[mlw332]

yes it is under a light on my bench. i will go try it on another table

[brickeyee]

Check for burrs on the knife edges.
They should be sharp.
Even the slightest burr can prevent movement.

[mlw332]

i felt for a burr but nothing

[Ol` Joe]

It needs a level surface, free from drafts and magnetic interferance. Cell phones static from foam cartridge box tray ect will play games with scales at times.
Make sure the bearing are clean and the knife edge on the poise is clean and sharp.
If these don`t help give RCBS a call @ 800-533-5000 and see what they suggest.

[mlw332]

thanks for the replys guys

[Halo]

One thing you can be sure of, if there is indeed some sort of defect in the scale, RCBS will make it right. I called them about ordering a part that I broke myself, and next thing I know one shows up in the mail free of charge. Great customer service at RCBS.

[buttrap]

now this is a odd one here. defective scale?

[mlw332]

thats good to know they have good costumer relations

[rg1]

Did you say your pan was just ordered from RCBS? Sounds like the beam has too little weight on the pan end. Perhaps your pan is a different weight than the original? Perhaps plastic instead of metal? You can add more counterweight to the platten you sit your pan on. It already has weights inside that with the pan weight will cause the beam to rise and allow you to zero. If it doesn't move you don't have enough counterweight. Unscrew the screw at the bottom of the platten you sit your pan on. Careful not to spill the counterweight balls all over the floor! Add weight such as shotgun shot, or air rifle bb's until the beam will rise close enough to zero that you are able to zero the scale. I haven't seen what the counterweights inside are like myself but I assume they are round so something near the same size as the original weights would be best. Double check that the scale weighs correctly after getting it to zero.

[mlw332]

i put a 50gr lead in the pan because i was thinking the same thing but it still would not move

[buttrap]

They take a lot of lead shot in there to level out properly

[rg1]

My metal pan that came with a RCBS 5-10 balance beam scale weighs approx. 148 grains if that helps. Maybe the 50 grain weight still isn't enough? My pan is made out of some brass alloy and would be much heavier than a plastic pan. Is your pan plastic? Also just checking that you have your 2 poises set on zero?

[steve4102]

put a 50gr lead in the pan because i was thinking the same thing but it still would not move

50gr and the scale will not move??? Are you sure you have all three of the counter weights on "Zero".

Could you post a picture of this scale/pan set up?

[ZeSpectre]

And a tip that was passed along to me. Once you get your scale working right the plastic "Sterilite" shoeboxes are the perfect thing to store them in. Just the right size and seals up good to keep the scale clean between uses. (and just a dollar at the dollar store).

[The Bushmaster]

You ordered a new pan for your 5-0-5 scale? Make sure it's made of aluminum. If it's steel or any other material it will be too heavy or too light. I have a 5-0-5 with an aluminum pan and just tried the steel one I use on my Powder Pro electronic. You would play he!! trying to get it to 0 with the steel pan.

[ZeSpectre]

I would also think that an aftermarket steel pan would interact with the magnets and also mess up your readings. On my 5-0-5 the "display" marker was bent ever so slightly and brushing the other part of the "zero" marker. Noticed and bent it back and all was good.

[Ol` Joe]

Quote:
put a 50gr lead in the pan because i was thinking the same thing but it still would not move

50gr and the scale will not move??? Are you sure you have all three of the counter weights on "Zero".

Could you post a picture of this scale/pan set up?

I`m curious too.
It has to be something simple. There isn`t much to go wrong on a beam scale. The weights not in their notch at zero would be a good bet.

BTW I`ve zeroed mine with a plastic pan from my Pact digital and it worked just fine The original is brass. I don`t know how close to calibration it is though.

[kasTX]

Need some more information:

What is the position of the beam pointer with no weight in it?

Does the beam move freely if you put finger pressure in the pan?

Are the weights all in the zero notches?

I managed to knock mine off the counter a couple weeks ago, and could not get it to zero. I ran out of adjustment on the wheel with the pointer still off the zero mark by a quarter inch. After some head scratching, I realized the magnetic dampener (that brass colored thing that moves in the notch at the pointer end of the beam) had bent slightly, shifting the center of gravity of the beam far enough that I couldn't compensate for it with the wheel. A little tweak to the dampener fixed it right up.

[The Bushmaster]

Ol' Joe...Your pan was brass for your 5-0-5? Must be really old. Mine is over 20 year old and it came with an aluminum pan. If I wanted to get my 5-0-5 scale to 0 with the steel pan that came with my Powder Pro electronic I would have to remove some weight from the...Just pulled my 5-0-5 instruction sheet out...They are calling the pan with the lead weights in it's bottom the "pan" and the other one the "scoop". Sooo...I would have to remove a bunch of weights from the "pan" if I was using a steel "scoop"...:)

By The Way...My "pan" and "scoop" are both made of aluminum...

[mlw332]

took it back to where i bought it the guy there couldn figure it out either so he replaced it with a new one and sent the other back.

[The Bushmaster]

Rats...Now we'll never know what the problem was...

[mlw332]

i will try to find out when rcbs tells him something. then i can let yall know

[steve4102]

took it back to where i bought it the guy there couldn figure it out either

Where did you purchase it?

[mlw332]

from a local gun-pawn shop. really nice people.

[280shooter]

Mines the same way,, I emailed the company they said to mail it ,and they will fix it and not charge me.cant beat that.I tried moving it to any room dif tabels. all that, it wont work.Now i had this for 25 years and it just started going bad, not bad,But I can't trust it,, thats for sure.

[Ol` Joe]

Ol' Joe...Your pan was brass for your 5-0-5? Must be really old. Mine is over 20 year old and it came with an aluminum pan. If I wanted to get my 5-0-5 scale to 0 with the steel pan that came with my Powder Pro electronic I would have to remove some weight from the...Just pulled my 5-0-5 instruction sheet out...They are calling the pan with the lead weights in it's bottom the "pan" and the other one the "scoop". Sooo...I would have to remove a bunch of weights from the "pan" if I was using a steel "scoop"...

By The Way...My "pan" and "scoop" are both made of aluminum...

The scale was my dads, I think it dates from the early `60s, definatly pre 1970 by a couple years but, still works like new.
The "Pan" on it is aluminum. I am mistaken on the terminology. The "scoop" appears to brass but might be "washed"? brass. I`m not sure but, I believe it is the original.

[The Bushmaster]

Yup...Gold in color aluminum...

[pike hunter]

Does the new one work?