Scales

Jewelry Discussion
1 
   I'm wondering, should I also buy a pocket scale???  Sure. 
An honest dealer won't mind you checking his/her math. (If you
need a source, let me know.)

Hi Tom

I would be grateful for your & the others advice on a reliable
transportable scale. I’ve always been leery of carrying those
little ones around, whether they stay calibrated and how accurate
they are. It could also save time at shows, I could weigh up
stones under consideration while the dealers scale is occupied &
decide if I want to purchase- I wouldn’t expect them to take my
scales “word” on weight, but If there were to be a discrepancy I
want to know how much to expect & how much to trust a pocket
scale. Are there reliable, hardy pocket scales available for
under $50.? Thanks, Kat

2 
  Are there reliable, hardy pocket scales available for
  under $50.?  	

Kat, 
I've got a 10 gram Deering pocket model.  It's accurate to 
1/100 of a gram (1/20th of a carat).  Very easy to recalibrate
each time you use it -- you just slide a little plastic thingy 
(that's a higly technical scale-term) until it levels out.  It 
costs just $27, and you can order it from this webpage:


http://www.scalenet.com/deering.html

Tom
3

We carry a real nice digital pocket gram scale 100gr x
.1gr. Durable and liteweight!! We will give Orchid people
a special price of $75 .

Kerry
Macaw Tools
www.macaw-tools.com
birdman@macaw-tools.com

4

Hi Kat,

 I would be grateful for your & the others advice on a
reliable transportable scale.  .....  Are there reliable, hardy
pocket scales available for under $50.?

There are a couple mfgrs of small, accurate, portable scales,
Tanita & Dendretics, that I am familiar with. Tanita makes a 6
1/2 x 3x 1/2 in scales that weigh in gm (100) or dwt (64).
Dendretics makes scales (5 1/4 3 1/4 x 1 3/16in) that weigh in
carats (0-50 & 0-100). They have a new one out that weighs in
cts, oz troy, grai ns & grams. All the Dendretics come with wind
screens & a weight to calibrat e the scale.

If you’re going to be weighing stones, the Dendritics is the
only way to go; the accuracy of the Tanita isn’t good enough when
you’re paying over $100/ct for a stone.

The Tanita is priced from about $110, Dendritcs from $335.

Small balances, the kind with 2 pans & lots of little weights
are availab le for under $50.

Dave

5

Small balances, the kind with 2 pans & lots of little weights
are availab le for under $50.

FWIW: If you are going to use the balance type scale on the
road, buy an extra set (or two)of the <1ct weights, as they are
incredibly small and will almost certainly get lost.

Sharon

6

Does anyone know where I could purchase a scale that weighs in dwt
and grains (not grams). Most of the scales available now do not
include grains, and I use this measurement for alloying. I’ve seen
old “scales of justice” type scales that measure both, but am having
trouble locating one to buy. Any suggestions?

7

You might try a gun shop, my grain scale was used for measuring
powder for reloads by my father-in-law. It’s amazingly accurate.

Marta

8 
     Does anyone know where I could purchase a scale that weighs in
dwt and grains (not grams).  Most of the scales available now do not
include grains, and I use this measurement for alloying.  I've seen
old "scales of justice" type scales that measure both, but am
having trouble locating one to buy. Any suggestions?

would a pharmacy or lab know where to get such a scale? just
wondering :slight_smile: erhard

9 
    Does anyone know where I could purchase a scale that weighs in
dwt and grains (not grams).  Most of the scales available now do not

People that reload ammunition use scales calibrated in grains . Check
out a gun store . See:

http://www.rcbs.com/equipmentframe.html

They make a scale that measures to about 1100 grains sensitive to
1/10 grain. These scales will all generally be smaller capacity than
that. Jesse

10

Judith, No need to buy a separate scale just to weigh stuff in
different units. Just DIVIDE the number of grains you want, by 15.43
to get grams and then weigh out the material in grams. I assume the
other unit you are interested in is PENNYWEIGHT, not DWT (dead weight
tons). To use your gram scale to measure pennyweight, simply DIVIDE
the number of pennyweights you want by 0.643 and weigh
that many grams. See, you just saved a bundle…Bob Williams

11

Hello,

Check out Rio Grande.They have a wide selection on scales That I know
of.Contenti would be another source and Kassoy could be a great help
aswell.

Regards Pedro
Palonso@t-online.de

12

Hi Judith,

Gun afficionadoes who reload the own ammunition scales graduated in
grains. They’re way way cheaper than carat scales and accurate to one
tenth of a grain. Check with a gun store.

Cheers,
Hans Durstling
Moncton, Canada

13

You can always get an old fashioned balance beam with weights. I
still use my 25 year old one occasionally.

Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.
@spirersomes
http://www.spirersomes.com

14

Allcraft used to carry an assortment of scales, and the weights to go
with them (including grain weights)…but my catalog is about 7 years
old, so I don’t know if they still stock them. However, Harbor
Freight has a couple of models of those ‘scales of justice’ at very
reasonable prices, and all you have to do is find a set of weights
in the system that you want. Dee

15

Hi Judy, I just bought a used scale from a company in NYC. They have
many types of scales, mostly new but sometimes people trade up and
they refurbish them. Give them a call: Precision Balances Service
1-212-221-1343

Kathy