Lee Safety Powder Scale

[Newton24b]

Just how well made is it? is it at least more accurate then the low cost "budget" battery powered digital scales?

also, does it come with the lee "sliding load calculator"?

[Jim243]

I would recommend you get a decent ($65.00) scale. I was not happy with either of those. Look for a used RCBS 5-0-5 or 502.

or

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct...tnumber=605320

Jim

[riverwalker76]

I wasn't happy with mine either. I couldn't get it to work properly, so I bought a high dollar digital scale. It was very sensitive, but it took way too much time to get it calibrated after each load.

[Sevens]

Here's the lowdown on the Lee Safety scale.

I will preface this with full disclosure: I'm a fan of many Lee products and while all colors (except Dillon) are represented at my bench, the bulk of my stuff is Lee. However, I pride myself on giving an honest opinion.

The Lee Safety Scale is very well made, very durable, very accurate and when you compare the price to every other beam scale on the market, I don't think any reloader no matter how tight the budget can ever justify not owning ANY scale as long as this one is available.

On a shoe string budget, this is a must-buy.

However... it's a very difficult tool to use. It's time consuming, it's not flexible, and it can be very difficult to read, especially if you are an older fellow with failing eyes. It's also not the easiest thing in the world to understand-- you must learn how to read it. Many folks just picking one up might not be quite sure how to read the output on the scale.

I keep mine as a back-up to check against my little digital scale if I think something has gone hinky with it. Truth is, I've been very fortunate with my budget digital scale and it's worked very well since day one and I know that many folks have serious trouble with the cheap digitals.

But I keep my Lee Safety Scale just because I know it works. And I've had it since 91 or 92 and it worked hard for a good 5-7 years before I upgraded and it still works today.

If you have more money to work with, I can't say that I recommend the Lee Safety Scale. But if the budget is tight and you need to know that your money spent will give you a product that is durable and works, then I can tell you that this scale is a good purchase.

But this is one of those products where many folks will tell you it's junk. I don't agree.

[Abraxxas]

I agree with Sevens.

Im new to reloading and got one of these with my press and first set of dies. For the money I cant say a bad thing about it, it doesnt look fancy or anything but it is simple and seems to work well. Once you figure out how to read it and set it to what you want it is very straight forward. I cant vouch for it's accuracy because at the moment I have nothing to compare it to but I can tell you I have not blown myself or any of my guns up due to using it yet It does seem very sensitive, a few flakes of W231 make a difference up or down when loading my .45acp.

I decided to put more of my money towards purchasing the dies and supplies I need to get started with 2 or 3 calibers I want to reload. I started from scratch so I needed press, dies, measuring tools, powders, bullets etc. I'll upgrade to a nicer scale and keep this one for throwing in the box and working up a load at the range or something, other than dropping it or throwing it accross the room I dont see how you could hurt it. It is designed to be affordable, simple and durable and I believe it serves its purpose well. Are there other, nicer scales? Absolutely, I plan to pick one up eventually but for now I have no problems trusting this little thing.

[Fishslayer]

However... it's a very difficult tool to use. It's time consuming, it's not flexible, and it can be very difficult to read, especially if you are an older fellow with failing eyes. It's also not the easiest thing in the world to understand-- you must learn how to read it. Many folks just picking one up might not be quite sure how to read the output on the scale.

I keep mine as a back-up to check against my little digital scale if I think something has gone hinky with it.

^^^This.

The biggest trouble I had setting mine up was zeroing the spring loaded nut. It kept shifting. Once set, tho, it shouldn't move.

Hard to read. Yes. I keep a magnifying glass & flashlight on my bench.

I have a Lyman digital I use mostly, but as has been mentioned, digitals can be a PITA to calibrate before each use.

Having said that, once it's set up & you're used to it the hardest part is waiting for the scale to settle.

[Coffeeshop123]

I've had one for several years now, and it's a mixed bag. Very consistent, sensitive and accurate! But, it's a bit difficult to read, and you have GOT to spend the time to set it up properly. You need a nice, firm, LEVEL surface; if the surface changes you need to recalibrate it. But, once set up properly, it works well. A little tedious for weighing each and every charge , but it's great for calibrating or verifying a powder measure.

[Xfire68]

I bought a Lee 35th Anniversary kit years ago and everything in the kit including the scale worked great.

I just bought a new 50th Anniversary kit and the kit is just as good if not a llitle better with the safety prime system. The scale is a bit hard to setup the first time but once it is set it works great! I to bought a cheap digital scale ($5.88 shipped) and it works perfect! I do check it against the Lee scale from time to time to be sure it's still on. I also bought a 200 gram calibration weight to zero it out.

You would be surprised what is passed off as higher priced items! The same Micrometer I have that cost me $15.00 sells at Sears for $129.99!!!!!!

[jhansman]

I used mine as long as I could, but when the little plastic 'stop' for the 1/10 gr slider broke, I shelved it and got an RCBS 5-0-5. For the $$ it really is a much better beam scale and I'm glad I bought it. All my other Lee equipment serves me quite well.

[jmortimer]

I've got two, one from my single stage kit and one fom turret press kit. Accurate and worth the $$$. I'm sure there are better choices. I hate scales so I'm going to keep using mine as little as possible. I use powder dippers and the sliding charge card comes with the dippers. Fortunately, I only have to use my scale once or twice every year or two when I buy new powder as I only buy Unique and use the dippers.

[mrawesome22]

I also agree with Sevens. It works, but is a PITA. I gave mine away to a friend just starting into reloading. It wasn't long before he upgraded LOL.

I had it for about 3 months before I upgraded.

If you can't save any longer and just MUST get into reloading, go for it. If you can save a little longer and get a RCBS or Redding or a decent digital, HOLD OFF.

[Newton24b]

i really cant afford a high end beam scale at the moment, and i can never seem to find a used RCBS scale for what people say they should sell at.

Im wary of the low cost digital scales as ive read about issues with the weight calucalating algorithms, and well i have yet to contact customer support people who can understand the basic question of:

"if your electronic scale has a +/- variation of .3-.5 grains, how do i calculate that variable into the weight reading it gives me for a charge? Because if my maximum load is 3.5 grains, and the scale says "3.4grains" how do i know its 3.4 and not really weighing 3.7-3.9 grains?"

that kind of concerns me because the high end digital scales merely say "accurate to within 1/10 of a grain"

[fxdrider]

Dillon Eliminator Scale (Beam)

Current price: $54.95

I started off reloading back in '93 with the low-cost Lee Beam scale. It was a PITA, as others have said. I then progressed to a $100+ digital scale 2 years later, which was fine, but had its own quirks. I have since migrated back to a beam scale (Almost 2 years ago). I now have the Dillon Eliminator beam scale, and it's accurate, reliable, and doesn't take forever to settle in to a stable reading like the digital scales often do.

[ajmaudio]

after reading many threads much like this one I bought an RCBS 502 and its seems to settle out super fast and zeroing seems to be about as straight forward as it gets. Then again I am new

[gregjc9]

Thought I would echo's others comments. I got started reloading this past winter when I got a Lee kit that contained their scale. It is pretty simple to setup and use, but can be a real PITE (Eyes) to read the scale. I keep a small flashligt on the bench so I can read it. You have to learn to read the vernier scale correctly, not difficult to do, but the way the scale is set up can make it a tedious chore. Using the Lee Pro Auto power drop for pistol loads, I dont have to worry too much about exact loads, because the cavity in the disk will only drop so much powder, and all my loads are in the lower to middle range. I use the scale to check the first few drops, then I just load away.

When I start reloading rifle, I will be getting a RCBS 505 scale or something similar.

To make sure the scale always has a level base to sit on, I took a piece of 2x4 and put a long machine screw in through each corner of it. With a bullet/torpedo level, I adjust the screws until it's level both front to back and side to side. This has helped with the consistency of the scale. It sits on a shelf on my bench about eye level, which helps quite a bit.

[sc928porsche]

Is it accurate? Absolutely. I have checked it against my rcbs and they read the same. Are they a pain? Very much so, but they do work well.

[Fishslayer]

"if your electronic scale has a +/- variation of .3-.5 grains, how do i calculate that variable into the weight reading it gives me for a charge? Because if my maximum load is 3.5 grains, and the scale says "3.4grains" how do i know its 3.4 and not really weighing 3.7-3.9 grains?"

You can't. But you can err on the side of safety.

OR.... go ahead & verify with your cheap-but-accurate Lee beam scale.