eetz Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 Hi guys, I've been reading the site for a while and have finally started working on balsa cranks. I want to start experimenting with different internal weighting and need to step up and get a scale. My question I'm hoping everyone can help me with is, How much do you need to spend to get a dependable scale? I see them from $10 up to more than I can afford. I'd hate to buy one and have inacurate weights though. Recommendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dog1660 Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 A friend of mine let me use his and it worked really well. He got his from Midway USA. You want to make sure you get the calibration weights with it. You can check to see if the scale is starting so slide the weights a little. Once you recalibrate the scale you will be back in the money again. I think they need to be 50 grams or more, the cheap 10 gram weights will not recalibrate the scale. You should not have to spend more than 30 from what I have seen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 I think I paid about $25 for my last one, on Ebay. Its max is about 8 oz. Almost all digital scales are made in China so buying one from a U.S. company is no guarantee of better quality IMO. My first scale was a Digiweigh brand and lasted for 6-7 years before it crapped out. I don't have a calibration weight but ballast I weighed on my first scale weighs the same on my new one, accurate to 1/100th oz. So in my experience so far, the digital scales stay pretty accurate. Playing devil's advocate, as long as your scale stays constant, it doesn't really matter if it is accurate to a standard weight. What matters to me is the weights of hardware and the finished crankbait compared to weights I got on earlier batches that worked (or didn't). One detail, the pad on many digital scales is too small for many crankbaits when you weigh them with treble hooks installed. So a scale with a larger plastic cover and a Tare Weight function is desirable. You can zero the scale with the cover on the pad, then fit a larger crankbait on the scale to weigh it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wchilton Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 I have a MyWeigh i1200 that's worked perfectly for 8 or 10 years now. Price is higher than I remember at about $100 from saveonscales.com. If you don't need super accuracy no reason to pay for it. This i1200 is rated to 1200 grams with 0.1 gram precision. It came with a 1 kg calibration weight. They have models with lower total rating that cost less. The i500 has a 500 gram capacity (1.1 pounds) and 0.1g precision for about $60. 0.1 grams is only a couple of drops of water so plenty of precision for lures and components. If you need to weigh small parts (hooks, swivels, etc.) you can weigh 10 or 20 at a time to get down to 0.01 gram accuracy. One thing I like is the large, flat top so you can easily weigh parts, etc. that stick out way past the edges. Think a lot about what you want to be able to use the scale for. I use mine to measure food items, lures and components, RTV/catalyst, even my POP/water mixtures up to a couple of pounds of POP. If you think you only need precision down to about 1gram, you can go with a postal scale. Those tend to be less expensive and have higher capacity. I've got one of those that's good to about 30 lbs. The ultra-precise scales used for reloading top out in the 100 gram range. That's only around 4 oz...not enough capacity for things like RTV or POP for lure making. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baitbucket Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 harbor freight has a scale that's not that expensive.Thats what I use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbaj007 Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 http://www.ebay.com/itm/0-01Gram-100g-Digital-Electronic-Jewelry-Weigh-Precision-pocket-Scale-silver-/360598117010?pt=US_Pocket_Digital_Scales&hash=item53f5529a92 drug dealers, jewelers,pawn shops all use digital, now......unless they are really old. (very few old drug dealers!!!! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoonpluggergino Posted February 24, 2013 Report Share Posted February 24, 2013 I purchase my on line I believe it was aroun 24.00 dollars. You may want to stop at Office Depot I saw one there one day, this way you can see it in person Gino 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedyarb Posted February 24, 2013 Report Share Posted February 24, 2013 Whoops I was trying to post a link to harbor freight scale. It's $11.99 and works good for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedyarb Posted February 24, 2013 Report Share Posted February 24, 2013 http://www.harborfreight.com/1000-gram-digital-scale-97920.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 24, 2013 Report Share Posted February 24, 2013 http://www.harborfreight.com/1000-gram-digital-scale-97920.html I just bought one. Weighing in tenths of a gram will be a big help for me when I'm figuring ballast. I've been using a weight watchers scale, but it only weighs in grams, not fractions. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eetz Posted February 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 Thanks for all the input everyone. This is great news that most of you are happy with reasonable priced scales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil'skeeter Posted March 1, 2013 Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 Show-off..........LOL just kidding. Nice bait by the way! WhoopsI was trying to post a link to harbor freight scale. It's $11.99 and works good for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Mac Posted March 1, 2013 Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 If you can find an old lab scale, that would be best. The more decimal places the better. Mine goes 1 decimal place which is great for weigh finished products and ballast weights. However, it is not accurate enough when weighing "filler" materials for adding to resin. I'm better at eye-balling my filler amounts than actually weighing them, but a lab scale would be awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted March 1, 2013 Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 I purchased a scale at Ebay that weighs in thousandths of an ounce or tenths of a gram. It has been more than sufficient for building lures and only cost a little over $20. Measuring in grams is what I use the most and is necessary for figuring ballast weight when using the Archimedes principle of water displacement. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cali's.rigs.and.lures Posted March 3, 2013 Report Share Posted March 3, 2013 Mines just a food scale.from the grocery store paid 14 dollors for.it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
