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Gettin down with the balance beam

cast1

Polyhobbyism sufferer
Full Member
Minuteman
Nov 23, 2011
783
1,345
Did the video kind of spur of the moment. Looking back I realize some of my pricing figures are a tad off and apparently I say the word "uh" a lot lol, but you get the idea.

 
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Might call them about the prism.


Yep.

None in stock, doesn't look like they sell the prism anymore.

Little bit of searching indicates mixed results using it and based on number I see selling in PX I'm thinking they have their quirks.

Still willing to give it a try.

Sent email to Dandy enquiring aboit availability and prism sales.

Posted WTB in PX so that guy that has moved on may be motivated to let me try.

Already have and use the Dillon scale.
 
If you have a balance beam you are confident in I have absolutely no hesitation recommending the Dandy. I don’t know what there would be to complain about. Getting the powder flow can be very slightly quirky, but you can’t do better overall imo. A little faster yes, but not better.
 
I used a Scott Parker tuned balance and own 2 Dandy Tricklers. Works great and is repeatable. Slow as shit.

I've been telling people for years, the key is load development. People say Chargemasters arent accurate. Well if your not in the center of the node, and your CM is slightly off, then you're going to see that on target downrange. But CM are very accurate at doing what you need them to do. Thousands of loads with single digit SD's and extreme accuracy here.

But I've loaded 10's of thousands of rounds on 2 CM side by side. When your load is in the center of the node, the target downrange knows no difference. That's why proper load development is crucial.

Guys that pick the smallest group and call it good are the first to complain when there awesome tiny 0.25" @ 100yd group went to shit and cant figure out why. Powder lots, scale being slightly off, environmental variables all can wreak havoc on a load not properly developed.
 
My balance beam is whatever Ohaus made it to be.

If I throw my crappy non registered RCBS checkweights representing 42 grains in the pan I will get a reading within a tenth, never dead nuts.

Put a pan on, take it off put it on, take it off Ill get the same reading.

Is that reading my desired weight?

I dont know but if whatever the error is is the same all the time than its not accurate but its consistent.

My current loading process is to use a Dillon S1050.

I drop powder close, pull the case. dump powder into a pan and trickle to goal. My process usually has me using tweezers to either add powder to or subtract powder from the pan.

Only advantage of the Dandy will be that I only press one button rather than spin the trickler on my Redding trickler.

Guessing Ill still on occasion have to add or subtract a kernel with my tweezers.

Lets dig those unused pristine Dandys out and let me give it a try.
 
PS - Im not going Chargemaster because when I first started loading I had an electronic scale that I never had confidence in.

Cheap scale, perhaps, dirty power, maybe, flourescent lights - not than.

Whatever it just didnt give me the confidence that the scale does.
 
I'm a firm believer in the balance beam. I've only had one electronic scale and that was a Dillon exterminator and it drove me crazy. Never measured consistently. I throw the charge in the pan with a Lee Hopper style powdrr measurer then put the pan on the scale and add or subtract as needed.
 
Got my Dandy in route.

Speed has never been one of my main concerns. Consistency more my goal.

Im sure this will be the best purchase I ever make and from arrival on forward everything in my life is going to be better and Ill be a more complete human being.

or


this will be in the PX three weeks from now with the OPs video and my comment "works great!"
 
I used a Scott Parker tuned balance and own 2 Dandy Tricklers. Works great and is repeatable. Slow as shit.

I dispute that the dandy is slow. The Scott Parker scale is very slow because the damping is waaaaay slow. I had one and gave it away over that fact. The Dillon is miles ahead in that dept. If you don’t use a powder measure to get close I agree, but in the video the time it’s dispensing is well under 10 seconds. I trickle the last few kernels manually in the video but if you’re not changing charges for a ladder you can dial the thing in to the kernel. It’s right at 30 seconds per charge from powder measure to case. My A&D is faster but honestly I’m not as fast as it is.

If I want absolute speed I’d just run a progressive with a mechanical measure (rl550b). I fuss over my reloads because I like to.
 
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Did the video kind of spur of the moment. Looking back I realize some of my pricing figures are a tad off and apparently I say the word "uh" a lot lol, but you get the idea.



A trickle test is how we should be checking our beam scales for consistency. Checking consitency with a static weight/check weight is not how we use them. Trickle up a charge, dump a handful a grains from the pan into a spoon or something. Place pan back on scale, slowly drop the the powder from spoon back in pan. Repeat 10 times or so.... A scale that is consistent with a static weight can fail miserably with the trickle test.