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Thread: Recommend me a beam scale for powder

  1. #1
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    Recommend me a beam scale for powder

    Hi all

    Just started reloading got a beam scale I got with lee kit but is there better out there. I find the . Of a gn adjustment not to good so what's better and is there any for sale

    Cheers del
    Last edited by del; 16-08-2018 at 03:28 PM.

  2. #2
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    Beam scale

    Anything other than the Lee scales...

    amc577

  3. #3
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    RCBS 10-10. Cry once...

    tac

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    Randy Bohannon is offline “Junes1 is a whining bellend”
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    Quote Originally Posted by tacfoley View Post
    RCBS 10-10. Cry once...

    tac
    Great scales but no longer made.

    Anything apart from the Lee, the Lyman beam scales seem good value
    "An infinite number of monkeys banging away at type writers for an infinite period of time will eventually reproduce Hamlet" Thanks to discussion forums we now know this to be untrue.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by amc577 View Post
    Anything other than the Lee scales...

    amc577
    actually other than the lack of proper damping making them take a while to settle down, the Lee scales are accurate and more than up to the job. There are more expensive scales out there that are less accurate and easier to damage without noticing, the Lee arms won't bend, they will break
    You Cannot Reason People Out of Something They Were Not Reasoned Into
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  6. #6
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    Mine's an RCBS 5.0.2 way better than the Lee I had before.
    Usually plenty for sale on the bay especially from the states.

  7. #7
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    rcbs and lyman are good but i cannot be arsed messing about with them so i just use digital scales......far easier in my opinion

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by loiner1965 View Post
    rcbs and lyman are good but i cannot be arsed messing about with them so i just use digital scales......far easier in my opinion
    i was using digital the other night but i kept getting inconsistent readings of both sets so just carried on with the lee beam scale

    del

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by del View Post
    i was using digital the other night but i kept getting inconsistent readings of both sets so just carried on with the lee beam scale

    del
    had this issue with lyman versions but the cheap chinese ones are perfect lol

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    Rcbs 505
    Thanks for looking

  11. #11
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    Although the Lee scale works well enough, being both sensitive and accurate, it's certainly not the easiest to read and adjust and as Kenny says, the damping leaves something to be desired. It's been around, unchanged, since the 1970's and was engineered as an entry level scale. (£12 then)


    The common range of RCBS scales, the 502, 505 and 10/10 were dropped from the RCBS range around 3 years ago and for around 8 years prior to that all production was moved from USA to Mexico and China, with quality becoming variable to say the least. RCBS then introduced two new scales the M1000 and the M500, again made in China but, of the several M500 I've seen the quality seems ok and the scales work well. (I've never seen a M1000 so can't comment)


    I would suggest, if you wanted to upgrade from the Lee and buy new, your choices are an M500 or the Redding No 2 or possibly the Hornady beam scale. These are all simple two poise scales with no frills but work well. I'm not keen on the current Lyman scales with their small knife edges, fixed bearing and lightweight plastic body.


    A good used scales would be better quality than new but it's obviously a bit of a chance. The RCBS/Ohaus 502, 505, 5-10, 10/10, the Redding No 2, Lyman M5 and the old Hornady "M" type are all obsolete but would be good choices.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by 1066 View Post
    Although the Lee scale works well enough, being both sensitive and accurate, it's certainly not the easiest to read and adjust and as Kenny says, the damping leaves something to be desired. It's been around, unchanged, since the 1970's and was engineered as an entry level scale. (£12 then)

    A good used scales would be better quality than new but it's obviously a bit of a chance. The RCBS/Ohaus 502, 505, 5-10, 10/10, the Redding No 2, Lyman M5 and the old Hornady "M" type are all obsolete but would be good choices.
    For what it's worth I made the change (after a few years) from the Lee beam scales to the RCBS 5-0-5 (bought second-hand) and my reloading was made far easier, more consistent and quicker as a result. The other benefit of the RCBS (and, presumably, other similar beam scales) is that they work superbly with the Targetmaster trickler (whereas the Lee will not).

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by severnsider View Post
    For what it's worth I made the change (after a few years) from the Lee beam scales to the RCBS 5-0-5 (bought second-hand) and my reloading was made far easier, more consistent and quicker as a result. The other benefit of the RCBS (and, presumably, other similar beam scales) is that they work superbly with the Targetmaster trickler (whereas the Lee will not).
    easier,and quicker I will agree with, more consistent? thats more likely to be user error than the scale, as to the Tagetmaster , it can be done
    You Cannot Reason People Out of Something They Were Not Reasoned Into
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  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by kennyc View Post
    easier,and quicker I will agree with, more consistent? thats more likely to be user error than the scale, as to the Tagetmaster , it can be done
    So it can Here's another lee scale that been chopped about a bit.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by kennyc View Post
    easier,and quicker I will agree with, more consistent? thats more likely to be user error than the scale,
    The cheek of it!!!!! More like my own impatience waiting for the Lee to settle leading to minor inconsistencies so yes, I suppose you're right, but I find the pan on the 5-0-5 much easier to use with my fat fingers than the Lee...…………...

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