Powder scale help

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Pahonix

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I'm in a bit of a pickle.

I'll start this thread off with "I think I'm using both products correctly".

I have the lee safety powder scale and a generic scale off amazon.

I'm shooting for 3.8gr of powder.

Here is the lee scale
20210415_175605.jpg

When I pour the contents of the scale cup from the lee scale to the Amazon special, this is what I get....
20210415_175628.jpg

And to be clear, I've zeroed the Amazon special out and calibrated it as instructed.

20210415_175612.jpg

Do I have the scale on the right setting? I went through the different measurents and didn't seem to work.

Am I doing something wrong?
 
This is the old story of a man having three clocks never really knows what the real time is.
The Lee scale should have the .8 window show the widest white mark. The others on either side should be narrower while looking at the scale straight on. Hard to see it in your pix. Was the scale leveled and zero set. Also did you move the scale any since it was zeroed like while adjusting it? I used a Lee scale for a good many years and it was always accutate. I moved to an Ohaus 10-10 because I felt that turning a weight had less chance of moving than the sliding scale on the Lee. I gave the lee away and the reloader that has it still uses it to this day. The inexpensive digital makes me take pause. I have had two of this type and they both are "fiddley" to say the least. I now use them to sort bullets only. The only way to really know if your scale is OK is to get a set of check weights that are a known weight and test your scale. The trouble with weighing a bullet or something to test accuracy is it is not in the weight range you are trying to use and most are not the actual stated weight down to the grain anyway. Know another reloader you can check your scale accuracy with? Wish I was more help to you.
 
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I have to agree with Frogo. I've used a Lee scale, and while it wasn't the most convenient to set it was very accurate.

If I were to be looking askance at one or the other, I would be suspicious of the cheapo digital scale.

Perhaps I'm old school (okay, I am old school), but I don't use a digital scale for powder. Gravity never changes, but electronic sensors do.
 
I used to have a 505 Rcbs worked good but got a digital. I would never use a battery operated scale get a name brand digital power it up for 30 minutes before use. My 505 would match my rcbs digital scale but not within the first couple of minutes of power up, also try testing with test weights paying attention to placement of the weight.
 
It looks like are set between the 3 and the 4. If you want 3.8 set the large slide to "3" not in between 3 and 4, then adjust the odd window slider until you see the .8 centered within the white reveals.

Have you checked with a known weight? If you don't have check weights use a boolet of a known weight to see if the margin of error follows.

Keep us posted and good luck.
 
Welcome to THR!
Did your digital scale come with a calibration weight? Use it on both scales and see what it says. While beam balances are great, they’re not infallible, neither are digital scales but both need to be calibrated to work correctly. There are also check weight sets available on Amazon that are inexpensive (<20$) and fairly accurate. Good luck and let us know what you find.
 
Another one that would believe the Lee over the cheap Chinese digital. I would get some, or create a few “standards” no matter what scale you have. You would want them in the ranges you intend to measure accurately.
 
It looks like are set between the 3 and the 4. If you want 3.8 set the large slide to "3" not in between 3 and 4, then adjust the odd window slider until you see the .8 centered within the white reveals.

Have you checked with a known weight? If you don't have check weights use a boolet of a known weight to see if the margin of error follows.

Keep us posted and good luck.

There is only 1 slider. If you are at .8 on a Lee scale, the bottom window will be in between 3 and 4, and closer to 4
That pic of his Lee scale is showing exactly 3.8
I wouldn't trust the cheapo electronic. Your best bet is some check weights or compare with a couple more quality beam scales.
People give the Lee scale a hard time. It is finicky, but it is also very accurate. Just make sure to level, zero, keep clean, and not handle it roughly and it works just fine.
 
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I've never used a Lee scale, but is it switchable between grams and grains? Bing a retired bench chemist, the universal abbreviation for grams is gm. Tht's what's showing in your posted picture. Grains abbreviated is gr. Just my thought since they're different units of weight.
 
Yeah, I bought the cheapo scale thinking it would work but I think I'll return it and go with a name brand designed for reloading. Sportsman's has some frankford arsenal in stock.

The cheapo scale also likes to creep upwards with the check weight on it. Starts off at 50.00 then 20 seconds later it's at 50.08 then 20 seconds later 50.19 and so on.

I appreciate all the advice and thanks scott511 for confirming my lee scale setting. I will use that for now until I get to the store to upgrade scales.
 
There is only 1 slider. If you are at .8 on a Lee scale, the bottom window will be in between 3 and 4, and closer to 4
That pic of his Lee scale is showing exactly 3.8
I wouldn't trust the cheapo electronic. Your best bet is some check weights or compare with a couple more quality beam scales.
People give the Lee scale a hard time. It is finicky, but it is also very accurate. Just make sure to level, zero, keep clean, and not handle it roughly and it works just fine.


I see that now.......

Silly me:thumbdown:
 
I've zeroed the Amazon special out and calibrated it as instructed. Am I doing something wrong?
Some thoughts...
  • First of all, you need to understand that everything that affects the accuracy of a digital scale is stuff you can't see, feel or hear... It's not going to announce it's there, so you have to go looking for it. Things like: temperature differences, friction, stiction, power fluctuations, power spikes, magnetic fields, software glitches, drafts, etc, etc.
  • Then, regardless of what the book says, you must have "check weights" in the weight zone you intend to measure, because a digital scale can be "dead on" at the check weight and WAY off at the weight you are wanting to measure. So for instance, you cannot check at 50 grains and then go do work at 3.8 grains. No! You'll need to also check at 5.0 grains.
  • It helps to also understand that the Lee balance beam isn't exactly a paragon of accuracy. Lee offers basic equipment at a great price. No other vendor beats their entry level "value" for the novice. However, world class accuracy is not in their list of achievements. If you've been reloading for more than 1 year, then then you are no longer an "entry-level novice" and it's time to move on.
So in truth my friend, your issue is probably caught in the middle between the 2 scales. One an issue of repeatability, the other an issue of operator error. The good news is... both can be corrected.

Hope this helps.
 
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I've never used a Lee scale, but is it switchable between grams and grains? Bing a retired bench chemist, the universal abbreviation for grams is gm. Tht's what's showing in your posted picture. Grains abbreviated is gr. Just my thought since they're different units of weight.

The numbers don't add up to be confused with grams.
3.8 grains = 0.246236 grams
His digital shows 4.4 gn. Maybe the "gn" is Chinese for grain? Who knows
 
The numbers don't add up to be confused with grams.
3.8 grains = 0.246236 grams
His digital shows 4.4 gn. Maybe the "gn" is Chinese for grain? Who knows
I'm gonna look in the manual today at that. I'm curious what it is now.
 
I think your first error was buying from amazon, I'd have to be pretty desperate to find something to buy from them but that's me.
 
First of all did you zero your scale?
Try weighing something of known weight like a bullet to see if you get the same weight on both scales.
And if you are trying to get 3.8 shouldn't it be set between the 3 & 4 with the .8 line showing boldly then the 7 & 9 should be just partly showing. Also look to be sure there is no dirt or grit in the groove the top part of the scale sits in.
Like this
Cheap-scales.jpg
 
I use an RCBS digital scale for some loads. It comes with calibration weights and I calibrate the scale before using it. I also check the first two charges on my beam scale. And then check one of every 10-12 rounds on the beam scale. I personally would believe the Lee beam scale before the brand “x” digital scale.
 
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