beam scales

what do you guys think of the Hornady beam scale?

Is it actually a "razor blade" type or does it use an actual steel PIN to let the beam arm move?

I hate hate hate hate knife blade/razor blade beams. At least the one by LEE.

funny story on that one, the scale base has extra slots in it caused from manufacturing, and the razor blade in mine has a burr. If I don't take 10-15 minutes to make sure it gets into the RIGHT notch in the base, the beam will need 5 grains of more powder to balance out.

ie 10 grain setting, will now end up being 15 grains actual

All beam scales that I have used are better than the Lee scale. I have 2 of the Lee scales and they are not worth the shipping to give them away.
I like the old Hornady/Bair/Pacific triple poise scales from the 1960s to the 1980s.

The RCBS 10-10, 5-10 and 505 models are also good.

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Originally Posted by pocketshaver

I hate hate hate hate knife blade/razor blade beams. At least the one by LEE.

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Originally Posted by ireload2

I have 2 of the Lee scales and they are not worth the shipping to give them away.

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We go over that here every so often and you still have some singing the high praise of those...I however know they are strictly for downrange targets...

I've used an RCBS for 38 years I guess. It's a 5-10 that I got in 1980... Can't say about the Hornady, but mine is pins and works flawlessly.

ironically its actually still accurate, the lee, if I only use the little 1-9 grain scale on it. kind of pointless as all my loads start at 10 grains.....

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Originally Posted by pocketshaver

kind of pointless

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I would substitute useless...but yes.

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Originally Posted by browningautorifle

I would substitute useless...but yes.

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My word would be dangerous....but I think we get the point.

Lee makes some good stuff, this scale ain't it.

My Ohaus 10-10 is over forty years old and was the first bit of serious loading gear I bought after high-school. Ohaus is a brand mostly associated with weighing gear used in actual scientific laboratories , so they have fairly high standards.

Serious money, then and now, but, in all those years and after probably hundreds of thousand of rounds, the ONLY thing that has been replaced is the dinky anodized alloy pan. The handle snapped off about six years ago, so I bought a new one. All I had to do was adjust the amount of lead shot ballast in the pan carrier so that it would zero correctly, (with the "calibration" / "booster" weight supplied at purchase).

It comes out for EVERY new load development, EVERY change of propellant batch, EVERY bullet and case grading session and EVERY bulk reloading session.

The plastic cover is a bit murky, the paint on the chassis is shabby, but, apart from the pan handle breaking off, it has NEVER let me down. They remain the only set of loading scales I have ever bought.

its safer using the lee dippers as is,

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Originally Posted by pocketshaver

using the lee dippers

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I've used the Lee dippers scoops for 40 years to feed my RCBS scales. They're close enough for banger loads though.

I have no experience with a Lee: I do have an electronic Lyman pocket scale and a 1942 Pacific balance. Set up the balance and it reads correctly on the electronic scale. Pacific has the "razor blades" setting on 2 parallel hardened steel rods so contact is minimal for balance.

The Lee manuals say to test the sensitivity of your scale by cutting up note paper into squares about 1/4" x 1/4" and dropping them into your powder pan. Your scale should increment by approximately .1 grain with each piece you drop into the pan. I think this is a neat test to do once in awhile. - Bob