My Redding #1 is well over 30 years and working just fine. The good news is that I found the same model at the Giant Flea in Cheektowaga, NY today for only $20 and got it for my grandson. The scale zeroes fine and check weights same as my old one. This bargain one looks much newer than mine, it is smoother on the pivot and included the original box! He was worried about affording a scale. This one is better than mine and with his stuff now.
Gary
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Gary,
Isn't it a joy to pass on our hobby to grandkids? I built a bolt gun for one grandson and recently found a rifle for his brother, both are 7.62X39. I cast some bullets up for them and they lubed, sized and loaded their own ammo for a little get-together of some of my cast bullet shooting friends. Now both of them want to cast their own as well as load their own. Fun times for an old fart for sure!
Edd
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It is a lot of fun with my grandsons. The watched me cast once and immediately wanted to jump right in, and have done so.
Gary
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I use the same one.Wonderful scale.I have a digital but rely on the Redding as i trust it more.
"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!
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Same here--I bought one at a gun show for $10 but missing the pan. Ordered a pan but it was a lot heavier than the original, I guess. Spent a couple hours trimming and reshaping the pan until I got it right. I suppose it was no bargain if you consider the time spent, but I never figure that way.
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I have a Redding also. still going strong. Bought it new in 1962 for $12.50
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They must have seen me coming. I paid $14.50 for the scale and $18.00 for the BR3 measure in 1964. They always get the best of me! I still use both and like the measure way more then a RCBS I also have.
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Nice revolver in the picture, Russ. Which one is it?
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I have an old Redding. It's in the box. Price is printed $14.00. Here's my question; it says “hydraulicaly damped” but I can't see where that is. I rarely use it as it swings for a while before stopping. What's the 'hydraulic' part? My old Hornady Pacific is magnetically dampened and settles fast. Can we get a picture of that Redding #1?
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It is hydraulically dampened when you fill the little well that the dampening paddle goes down into with light oil. Yes, that works very well too! This slows the swinging very much and does not have any other effect unless you spill it on your bench. The novel hydraulic system works honorably well.
See what you have been missing, give it a try. The little Redding #1 can now be your favorite hydraulically dampened scale and go back to first place on your bench, to the place this marvel deserves.
Pencil is pointing into the little well where the hydraulic oil goes:
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Well I'll be... After all these years! It came with the box but no instructions. Never figured I'd need instructions. Goes to show you. Thanks Gary, I'll have fun playing with that. This dust collector just got promoted. I have given one to a friend, he'll be happy to learn this also.
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You are welcome...
That makes a world of difference for this scale with the oil added to dampen the movement. Also notice if yours is particularly old that the paddle may become wobbly. There is a small punch mark on the beam where the paddle shaft is inserted, This is punched in place and may become loose if yours is as old as mine. I used a scribe pin and lightly re-punched the pin solid again when it got loose a few years ago from cleaning and handling.
The Redding #1 is a pleasure to use and I hope you enjoy yours more now. I bet you really understand now why I didn't hesitate to buy another one used for $20 for my grandson!
Gary
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my very first scale was a Herters .. to be kind, it didn't work well ...having digested that smart pill, i ( 1955 ) bot a redding ... still using it.
a neat trick with a scale is to average the swings visually ...not waiting till the beam stops ... this works well with rifle-sized charges. and, yeah, i am probably the last to re-discover this easy way. dangit !
speaking of old, i still favor my 1955 belding & mull measure. slower but it never lies.
ken
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my very first scale was a Herters .. to be kind, it didn't work well ...having digested that smart pill, i ( 1955 ) bot a redding ... still using it.
a neat trick with a scale is to average the swings visually ...not waiting till the beam stops ... this works well with rifle-sized charges. and, yeah, i am probably the last to re-discover this easy way. dangit !
speaking of old, i still favor my 1955 belding & mull measure. slower but it never lies.
ken
Yup Ken, I learned to reload on a friend's Redding scale and the B&M powder measurer. Ah, kind of a soul food thing...Dan
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Ha yes, the swinging balance. I so remember my 1930's Nazi trained German chemistry professor whacking me on the back of the head for not recording EVER swing in my lab book. The “Ostfront” for me, you lazy pig. He did teach good lab technique, thought. Redding/Hunter Company in New York made great stuff, and their standard press is still the one I use the most.
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That Redding Scale looks EXACTLY, even to the color, like my Herter's scale, which I bought in the early 50's and used for all my reloading until I bought my PACT 15 or so years ago. Only difference is the name on the base, and - maybe - what looks like a threaded rod with a couple of nuts out there on the front end of the beam. If I'm correct in what I think I'm seeing, I suppose it would be for adjusting it to zero. On the Herter scale, that's accomplished by moving the back end up/down using the screw through the base.
I don't think Herter ever actually made anything. I have a hunch they bought their scales from Redding - or from the same outfit that made the Redding Scale. Mine has a reservoir for oil damping, but I never used it.
Wes
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my first scale was a Pacific it is oil damping and is a all thread rod with a cylinder to turn on the threads with another smaller cylinder on the other side of the damper. once balanced there were pieces of metal marked with wt. or cut into different sizes that represent weight. You picked the proper amount and put it into the pan and turned the cylinders on the beam till it balanced. This set the scale. Then take the pieces out of pan and put in powder till it balanced. a real PIA. I still have the scale but the weights have hidden and I can't find them. m
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LWesthoff: The threaded rod end of the beam with locking nuts is for zeroing the scale when the base leveling screw runs out of adjustment range on a poorly leveled work surface. This adjustment can also be used as a TARE function for a different pan.
All this, plus hydraulic dampening are features you will not find on a modern design scale.
The Redding #1 is and was, very far from being a “CHEAP” scale when they first came out. In the early 1950s Gold was $22 an ounce and the Redding #1 cost more than the value of 1/2 ounce of gold. Our neighbors thought we were rich because we had the first TV on the block, a gas powered lawnmower and my dad made $27 a week. Twelve or fourteen dollars was a seriously expensive investment for a hobby tool.
Gary
sorry for the double post, I had editing error.
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Nice revolver in the picture, Russ. Which one is it?
I know you are getting old Ric, but the revolver at the top in your picture is the .32-20 you got from me.
Remember now? :hijack:
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