I have reloaded in the past, .40,45,357 pistol. I had to stop reloading for a while and am getting back into it, when I pulled out my scale and set it up it does not want to balance out,meaning that I can't get the beam to balance to the 0 mark.
The scale should be on a relatively level surface. Both weights at zero. When it stops moving turn the white foot (about the size of a silver dollar) at the left front to move the indicator to zero.
I have seen several older scales come out of storage with that problem. In the bottom of the powder pan tray is a small compartment where weight should be. The small weights corrode and the dust falls out, so now you cannot get primary balance. I have a method to restore primary balance.
Put the adjuster foot about 1/2 way in its normal range. Set up the scale with both poise weights on their zero notch. Place a coil of lead solder on the powder tray. Adjust more or less solder until you have the beam pointer nearly zero. Unscrew the little cup on the bottom of the pan holder. Put the solder wire into that little cup and reassemble. It might take two or three tries to get it really right. It is most accurate when it is as close to horizontal as possible. You should now have primary balance and be able to zero the pointer with the adjustable foot. Good Luck
If your powder pan is sitting directly on the wire hanger, you have a part missing. There is a silver tray that snaps into the wire hanger and the gold colored pan sets on that. Double check the pictures on the RCBS website. I think we just figured out the problem
You are correct sir. I just pulled out the instructions and took a good look at he picture and relized that the silver pan that snaps in the wire hanger was missing. I guess i will have to do some digging in the boxes that in was packed in and see if it is in one of them.
This is one of the redeeming qualities of the Internet. We all know stuff. We all know other people who know stuff. Forums like this allow lots of people who know stuff to know it in the same place and same time, virtually speaking. Access to large volumes of timely knowledge is a remarkable thing that I know I sometimes take for granted. Kudos to Leo for picking up on such an unlikely solution to this problem.