Most helpful customer reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful.
Great reloading scale - absolute best bang for the buck (bad pun).
By B. Spencer
I bought this scale to speed up my pistol cartridge reloading. I use coarse, large flake powders (Unique & 800X), which don't meter very well through my powder measure. For some loads the starting and never exceed loads are within 0.1gn, so I weigh each charge. The beam balance I have is accurate, but takes way too long to settle down. The other digital scales out there claim to have resolution of ±0.1 grain, but they actually are measuring to 0.01 GRAM, and then convert that measurement to grains. 0.01g = 0.1543gn, so they're not really accurate to a tenth grain.

This scale, with its resolution of 0.001 grams (0.01543gn) actually will get you dead on to the tenth grain of powder, as there are 5 increments to each grain measured. I've seen a single flake of powder make this scale register. Best of all, I can use the aluminum powder pan from my beam balance, put it on this scale, hit tare, and now I'm only weighing the powder.

As a lot of the other reviews have stated, this unit is very small - the pictures don't accurately depict just how small it is, but on a reloading bench, something with a tiny footprint is a welcome piece of equipment. I haven't had any problem with the timeout, I can weigh every charge and it hasn't shut off yet.

The other thing, as others have stated, the actual weighing mechanism is way too recessed into the top face, and there's a lip around it that does make it difficult. Instead of gluing a dime, I just took a rubber faucet washer, and put that directly on the weighing pad, then set my powder pan on top of that. The rubber washer raises it up a good bit (~3/16"), so there's plenty of clearance.

I would absolutely recommend this to any reloader that wants accuracy of a beam scale, with the ease and speed of an electronic scale. And you can't beat this price!!!

32 of 38 people found the following review helpful.
Amazing instrument, amazing price
By photo buff
I'm amazed that you get a balance which can display to the nearest milligram for the price that I would expect to pay just for the two calibration weights, which are included. Unless you've had a course in analytical chemistry or work in a lab where precision weighings are routine, here are a few tips. Do keep in mind that it is a precision instrument - use a light touch adding weight to the pan, always use the tweezers -- do not touch the pan or weights with your bare fingers. Keep the balance in a clean environment away from fumes, and only use it on a solid vibration free surface. For precise weightings to the nearest milligram, don't lean on the table, which must be solid, level, and vibration free. This balance is a little gem and an incredible bargain.

59 of 76 people found the following review helpful.
With a little care, this scale is quite repeatable and a great value
By rbruning
I needed a scale that could measure quantities less than 10mg and did not want to buy a $1500 piece of lab equipment. If you are careful and consistent with your measuring techniques, this scale is repeatable to within a few milligrams - often to its finest resolution of 0.001g. These are essential for this performance: 1) let the scale stabilize on a hard, flat and level surface. 2) Make sure the sample tray is properly seated inside the circular detent of the scale's metal measuring platform. If you're not careful, the sample tray (as provided) can touch the body of the scale, grossly throwing off the measurement. I glued a small piece of metal to the bottom of the sample tray raising it higher for more clearance. I'll often tap the table that the scale is on to help everything settle. 3) calibrate as described in the manual. 4) place and remove samples consistently and carefully - don't drop them. Even the slightest impact can throw off the measurement. 5) wait for ten seconds or so for the sample to settle. 6) for minuscule samples, use the ten gram weight in addition to the sample to put the scale in the middle of its operating range. With a little care, one will get closer to the performance of a lab-grade milligram scale than anything else for this price. Nice scale.