Lee Safety Scale Precision

[CortJestir]

I don't have a second scale (yet) to verify my Lee Safety Scale's measurements so I was wondering what the variance is, in general, of a charge if the indicators are not exactly level with each other but are just the tiniest bit uneven.

I think I read somewhere that the scale will go completely out of whack if a charge is under or over 1/10 of a grain. But I don't see how this scale can be that precise...

Any insight?

[10 Spot Terminator]

The Lee scale you speak of has adjustable incriments of 1/20 of a grain verses 1/10 of a grain for others I have seen including my RCBS Model 5-0-5 . ,,, I also have an RCBS 1500 electronic scale which only touts accuracy to within 1/10 of a grain as well . I will be ordering a new LEE turret press kit before the end of the month which comes with a Safety Scale and would be happy to check it then if you like but am curious where you got the info as to it will go "all out of whack" if not aligned just so ,,, Lee states it unlike my 5-0-5 and others does not require that it be pre leveled and set prior to every weighing session. The only thing I have seen with balance beam scales that may make a difference of a couple of tenths is how the powder lays in the pan ( all to one side or the other ) or if the pan is not set squarely back into the cradle. Think of your scale the same as a teeter totter on the playground and that you can balance one of them if two riders are of a different weight by moving the heavier rider closer to the pivot point in the middle .

[CortJestir]

Poor choice of words I suppose. What I meant to say was that the scale will tip all the way down if a charge is 1/10 gr overweight or tip all the way up if 1/10th gr underweight. I don't remember where I read it - it was probably a consumer review on one of the etailers out there.

I guess what I'm getting at is if I'm checking every 10th charge or so on a batch (I'm using a powder measure), does every measurement need to be exactly level or can I get away with the indicators being just the tiniest bit off?

...In retrospect, I should have phrased my question like that first! Carry on...

[10 Spot Terminator]

Sounds like you are asking if you are high or low by as little as say 1/20 or maybe 1/10 of a grain off will it make a performance difference and the answer is "not really" . If you are a 500 yard cometition shooter then you can statrt splitting hairs. As for that other bit you read I would say whoever wrote that comment does not know how to read the scale as was dealing with a whole grain of powder not tenths of a grain . No beam scale is that sensitive . He most likely had the 1/10 bar set on 10 rahter tan "0" which could put you off some . typically 3 kernals of most stick or "extruded" powders equal 1/10 of a grain. Ball or flake powder of coure takes quite a few granuals to equal 1/10 of a grain. Your scale should do fine.

[SKULLANDCROSSBONES65]

G'day. One thing that I have done in order to become more familiar with my Lee safety scale is to take 100 x 55 grain .223 projectiles and weigh them all. 100 each night over three nights, between jobs while on night shift. It's one way to fill in a few hours. I also wrote down each projectile weight each time. The only thing I neglected to do was number each projectile so I could cross check each result. If you try something like this you will soon become proficient with the (any) scale.

[trublu]

The scale must be level. I used a spirit level to find a nice spot on the bench then drew an outline around the scale so I know where to put it.

I weigh 10 charges together - not just one. Makes things easier.

[daywalker627]

I have bought the a Lee Press kit from midwayusa and it came with the saftey scale. It says this is precise. I have to disagree and there are many people out there disagree with me and there are many that agrees. The Lee is hard to read as some people will tell you. I would measure out 53.0 grain and then remove the pan and replace it a second time and it would show a little light then replace it again and it would show a little heavy. One of the other things that I really do not like and this is personal, I have big fingers and in order to set the 1/10 grain poise, you have to push a very small pin out to allow the slider to slide verses the 505 which have notches which is much better. I have found when I press the pin, I would also hit the level poise and I would have to recalibrate it. Also, as you know the numbers to the right are painted onto the beam, when I would have it on like 3 and the 1/10th on 0, I would also notice that on the 1/10th 2 other numbers would also show with the white marks in the window. If Lee would change from a slider with a push pin to lock the slider to a beam that actually have notches to where (please forgive my terminology and spelling) the markers sit in, then it may very well be an excellent scale.

I just bought an RCBS 505 off ebay and got a very great deal on it. I feel more confident with that particular scale v/s my Lee due to the fact what I see is what I get and not guessing like the lee scale. I weighed a charge of 53.0 grain on the 505 and then placed it on the LEE and the LEE showed it being a light load and weighed it at 52.2 grains. Being the max is 55.0 I was still under however, if a person who really knows what they are doing and loads at or near max, I would not trust this scale.

Now, I could have gotten one bad Lee scale which is possible. I am only one person with this feeling. I am sure there are 50 out there that lives by this scale. Just thought I would pass my experience on to you. I may contact Lee and explain this to them and see what they say.

[brickeyee]

A set of check weights will verify the scales accuracy, and weighing them repeatedly its precision.

[CortJestir]

Thanks for all the input everyone.

I'm getting closer to what I want to figure out...but I guess I'll have to wait to get a second scale to truly know.

Assume the scale itself is on a level surface and I have set it correctly to weigh out 5.0gr. I then drop a charge from my powder measure and weigh it. The beam settles a little below where it's supposed to be - not a huge increment, say 1/64". What I want to know is how underweight is that charge in general?

If I process a batch and weigh every 10th charge, some are spot on, some are a tad below and some are a tad higher. If I'm no where near max loads, can I assume these are safe loads with this scale? That's where I'm angling.

[wncchester]

"I think I read somewhere that the scale will go completely out of whack if a charge is under or over 1/10 of a grain. "

I have no personal experiece with the Lee Safety Scale but I suspect that's a load of BS. The scale on the left end, at the pointer, should be calibrated to + or - a half grain.

The Lee scale has a reputation of accuracy, sensitivity and reliablilty if it's used correctly. Nothing works well if it's used incorrectly! The only reason I don't have one is it's limited range, great for weighing powder but I want to weigh my cases and bullets too.

The platform you set your scale on need not be precisely level, there is usually an adjustment screw that allows you to "zero" the scale with an empty pan and that's all you need do.

IF you don't keep any scale's pivot bar centered between the bearings, at least enough so the ends of the bar can't rub against the bearing brackets, you will have friction inducted errors.

To make any balance beam scale easy to read it should be placed on a shelf at about your about nose level, not sitting on the bench top.

[Smaug]

In this case, I believe Lee's advertising.

Namely, that it unless it is broken, it is accurate to 1/10 grain. This is the advantage of using phenolic instead of aluminum for the beam.

As you have found out, a scale doesn't have to be a complex, expensive piece of equipment to be accurate.

As someone else pointed out, it depends on your application. For handgun ammo, don't worry about 1/20 of a grain.

Even for target rifle ammo, I wouldn't sweat it. (since that 1/20 of a grain is a smaller percentage of the total in rifle ammo.)

Do you use a trickler? That makes it easy (but slow) to get every one the same.

Here's how I do it, for what it is worth:

Handgun ammo - Once, I'll weigh a charge thrown by my Pro Auto Disk powder measure. After that, I'll assume they're all the same or close enough unless I have data to the contrary. I haven't had the best of luck for really light charges with the auto disk pro. (under 4 gr.) So I dip those. That's it, load the rest and don't worry about it.

Rifle ammo - I weigh each charge. Set the powder measure to dispense just under what you're after. Then, trickle into the tray to bring it to the exact weight you need. As you discharge powder from the measure, you can check the charge weight prior to trickling to see how consistent your powder measure is. Consistency is much more important than outright accuracy. If you find it is consistent, you might opt out of the individual weighing altogether.

[CortJestir]

Thanks, Smaug.

I figured as much. I'm not gonna worry about it. Out of hundred rounds I loaded last night, I hope the variance is between 1/10 and 1/20th of grain. Again, when I weighed the check charges (every 10th), some charges were right on the money, some were just a tiny bit below, and some a tiny bit higher but no charges made the scale go all the way up or down to the extreme or even half or a quarter way. So I think I'm all good.

I do have a powder trickler that I use when making a test batch of 10 rounds when I come up with a new load to try. I use that to ensure each and every charge is exactly the same. I use my powder measure when I do the higher volume loading and don't want to weigh every charge to save a little on time.

[jpwilly]

The Lee is very accurate and sensitive all at the same time. I picked up an electronic scale from "Smart Reloader" for only $29.99 and have been very happy with it. It comes with a check weight to calibrate with and I've had great results. Far better than fighting with a beam scale.

[crazylegs]

I have a Lee scale that I put away about six years ago. I like a lot of Lee's stuff, but the their scale in MHO is a POS. Mine absolutely was not repeatable. I even built a leveling table for it and got the same inconsistent results. Come to find out, the knife edge was walking up the V. I bought a dillon beam scale and never looked back (any of the others made by Ohaus would also be fine).
Crazylegs

[jaguarxk120]

I would think Ohaus would be more than fine since they are a manfacturer of scales and balances.