Homemade scale...

[Michael Schumacher]

I'm looking to build a scale - I need to weigh out some powder dye to mix into a gallon of distilled water.

So I'm thinking that I could build a scale - something that is like a school type scale, where a needle is in the middle. and each side would have a plate. One side to hold the contents to be weighed and the other side would be fish weights. Of course it would need to be balanced first prior to putting items on it to be weighed.

So - would this work or is there something else to weigh out an ounce of dye powder?

Michael

[Jerry Bruette]

Mike,

Maybe you could take a container of the appropriate size to the post office along with the dye. Put the container on the postal scale, mark the weight of the container, then add dye until you have one ounce. The local post office is always happy to weigh Pinewood Derby cars for the Scouts.


Good Luck
Jerry

[Brandon Shew]

Mike,

Maybe you could take a container of the appropriate size to the post office along with the dye. Put the container on the postal scale, mark the weight of the container, then add dye until you have one ounce. The local post office is always happy to weigh Pinewood Derby cars for the Scouts.


Good Luck
Jerry

Call me crazy, but I don't think that the post office will be too keen to put some strange colored powder on their scale for you.

Just buy a cheap $15 digital scale off of eBay. It will serve you well for whatever you use it to measure.

[Eddie Darby]

Two words .... Teeter Totter

[Dave Lehnert]

Harbor Freight item 93543 or 95364

[David G Baker]

I mixed my own motion picture chemicals when I operated a lab and all I used was a simple beam scale (teeter totter) with a known weight on one side and the sample on the other. Simple and accurate. My scale was quite expensive and extremely accurate but you won't need that type of accuracy so a inexpensive plastic beam scale with brass weights will work fine. As was suggested, check Ebay or go to a police auction, drug labs use the scales as well.

[harry strasil]

Office supply, postage scale

[Richard M. Wolfe]

Get a clear or translucent vertical sided container of some kind, like a small jar. Take it and the dye to some place that will weigh the container and then measure a known weight, like an ounce, of dye into it. Mark it with a Sharpie or piece of tape - something that won't come off. Say your mark is at one ounce; half that is 1/2 ounce, twice that is two ounces, etc.

[Phil Thien]

Digital kitchen food scale, set to grams. 28 grams = 1oz.

Tare feature will allow you to subtract container weight.

[David DeCristoforo]

First take a three oz container and fill it with powder then pour it into a five ounce container. Now fill the three oz container a second time and use it to top off the five oz container. There will then be exactly one oz left in the three oz container. If that's too much trouble, a kitchen scale can be had for under twenty bucks....

[Michael Schumacher]

First take a three oz container and fill it with powder then pour it into a five ounce container. Now fill the three oz container a second time and use it to top off the five oz container. There will then be exactly one oz left in the three oz container. If that's too much trouble, a kitchen scale can be had for under twenty bucks....

Let me guess - you watch one of the Die Hard III movie just recently...

[David DeCristoforo]

"...Die Hard...movie..."

Wasn't that "Die Hard 886"? It was subtitled "Measure Correctly or Die Hard". Lots of terrorists sneaking around replacing everyone's tapes and rulers and scales with inaccurate ones thereby throwing the entire world into confusion and starting riots because everyone thought they were getting cheated.