A late April Fool's.....

[GGALLIN1776]

Whilst searching for a cheap scale pan for powder measurement, I think I may have found the ideal model!

Sadly, it's missing the bacon

[Smoke & Recoil]

Try this...the large pan is only a tad smaller than an RCBS pan and work great, you will have to recalibrate the pan hanger. I have used these on 4 occasions. Available on Ebay.

[GGALLIN1776]

I might end up getting a scale/pan combo. Thought I was being slick buying a cheapo harbor freight scale & would end up with pans for a buck on ebay....actual pricing turns out more like "buy $20 pan, get free scale".

[ballardw]

I would say that "cheap" and gunpowder measurement is bad combination. Used name brands like Lyman, RCBS, Redding etc would be the way to go.

I've had enough calibration and measurement issues with Harbor Freight and similar brand tools that I wouldn't want one of their scales for reloading. Mixing paint or similar maybe, but things that go boom! Not.

[Ricklin]

I recently purchased a combination scale pan/funnel.
It saves a step, now my scale pan can pour the charge in the case.
I think I had to remove 3-5 pieces of the shot that RCBS puts in the scale platform to rezero the scale.
A very handy item.

[georgehwbush]

https://www.simplyclean.com.au/reusa...p/#description

it might not be right for your scale pan ... but it'll keep it clean ))

[Aguila Blanca]

Originally Posted by ballardw

I would say that "cheap" and gunpowder measurement is bad combination. Used name brands like Lyman, RCBS, Redding etc would be the way to go.

I don't know if it applies to scales, but here's my story about digital calipers. Several years ago I bought one from Harbor Fright Tools. A friend was going to be visiting from Europe, and he really had his heart set on a genuine Lyman digital caliper, so he ordered it and had it delivered to my house so it would be waiting for him when he arrived.

All worked according to plan. Then we opened up his genuine Lyman digital caliper and held it next to my Harbor Fright digital caliper, that cost less than half what the Lyman had cost. They were IDENTICAL. I'm certain they both came out of the same fafctory in China.

[jmr40]

I was in the Bass Pro in Chattanooga yesterday. They had some actual tiny Lodge cast iron skillets for sale. They were being sold as a novelty, but you could actually cook in one. But they were only about 3" in diameter.

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/lodg...let-spoon-rest

[georgehwbush]

they used to sell them as ash tray when smoking was more popular.

[kell]

Those look like the eggs I've been getting from Walmart.

[5whiskey]

I don't know if it applies to scales, but here's my story about digital calipers. Several years ago I bought one from Harbor Fright Tools. A friend was going to be visiting from Europe, and he really had his heart set on a genuine Lyman digital caliper, so he ordered it and had it delivered to my house so it would be waiting for him when he arrived.

All worked according to plan. Then we opened up his genuine Lyman digital caliper and held it next to my Harbor Fright digital caliper, that cost less than half what the Lyman had cost. They were IDENTICAL. I'm certain they both came out of the same fafctory in China.

Yeah that's a thing. I dare say the overwhelming vast majority of digital calipers (that arent Mitutoyo, Starrett, or Fowler) do, indeed, originate from the same factory. I've had an assortment of the cheap ones, and have found them to be generally within .002 (.003 on a bad day) of my Starrett dial caliper across the measurement scale... often within .001. The cheap ones do crap out and battery life is bad... but they are precise enough for reloading.

I believe digital scales especially suffer the same treatment. I've seen a number of digital scales out there that look an awful lot like a Frankford Arsenal DS-750. Not that the FA is top shelf. But it's consistent, or mine has been.

I also think you get to a point of diminishing returns with reloading effort. Lots of people buy forster dies at $$$$. I make rounds with Lee dies that shoot sub moa all day every day (not barely sub moa either, some loads shoot nearly 1/2 moa). One of my more accurate milsurp rifles is, believe it or not, a type 99 arisaka. I can rather easily hold 1.5 moa groups with the iron sights on a good day. I think that is about the ragged edge of my (and most other mortal men's) ability to shoot iron sights. Getting to the point, I warped the crap out of the expander on the decap stem driving out a stuck case while converting .30-06 to 7.7 Jap once. I didn't have a runout gauge, and wanted to keep loading. So... I took a hammer and "straightened" the expander/decap stem by rolling it on a table and "eyeballing" for wobble. I continued making cases, and I loaded them, fully expecting stupid amounts of bulket runout and garbage ammo. Those rounds shot... the same 1.5 moa that I always have. I have a runout Guage now I actually should test bullet runout on my 7.7 jap. And the expander stem of the sizing die.

Sure, if I'm a serious benchrest competitor I'm going all out on consistency. Otherwise, most of us spend more time than is needed for what we are trying to accomplish.