Balance beam / level pictures.

Thrash

New User
Here are some pictures of the balance beam that I posted yesterday. See what some of you guys think.
a170284.jpg

a170285.jpg
 
I did something similar a number of years ago when I was frequently building pickup engines.

I'd balance all of the rod and piston assemblies to the lightest one by grinding excess material off the rod cap.
 
Maybe I'm the only one who thinks so, but sorry to rain on your parade. Friction on the center pivot spoils the accuracy. To be accurate, the pivots should be knife edges. Even 100,000# truck scales have knife edges on all pivots, & they are only accurate to +/- 100#.
Just my thoughts, have been wrong before.
WJ
 
exactly - the friction sets the accuracy.

in other words if it takes 1 ounce to move one side a noticeable difference, your accuracy will always be about +/- 1 ounce.

Not saying your ISN'T accurate enough - just that if you want to know, it's easy enough to test.

Just put some typical weight on both sides to get it perfectly even. Then add small weights to one end to see how much it takes to get it to move an amount you can notice.

If you don't have known weights to test with, try dimes. A dime is 2.268 grams. If that's too heavy, cut one in half - not super accurate, but close enough.

Once you establish how accurate it is, your other problem is consistency. Take the weights off - try it again and again. You might find it takes a different amount of weight each time to offset it.

And then on top of all that- the accuracy (friction) will change with the weights being compared.

If you're always measuring cutter blades, that's great, but if you're comparing items of various weights - heavier objects may prove to be much more innaccurate.

Try it. If it takes one dime to offset two beer cans - it might take 50 dimes to offset two cinder blocks (if you really wanted to hang that much weight on it - but you get the idea)
 
Since we are trying to balance two brush
hog blades, 1 or 2oz. off isn't going
to make a big difference. He's not doing
brain surgery or placing a space ship on
Neptune. This method one will have a chance
to make the balance much closer than what
it appears to be... Good Idea....
 
They are 2 bearings set in the middle, a paper clip will make the bubble go to one side, and I do tune every beam to make sure when I change the blades from one side to the other, it takes the same weight to balance them. I will agree when you put the blades on it does take some sensetivty out of it. But it will get those blades within 1/2 oz. It has taken me about a month to work all those little bugs out. I use a file that is only ten thousandth widder than hook on the end to make the notches where they set. The beam has to be balanced, the hook and chains have to weight the same and those nothches have to be right. I been getting $50 for on model and $60 for the heavier one. It takes about 3 hours to turn one out.
 
Man everything your saying is right. When you get those blades close, it takes a 5/16" nut set on one side to see a noticable difference. It it was any more sensitive, you would grind on those blades all day. I have come in the house many nights with my head hurting getting trying to get those bugs out.
 
A little more money but my electronic scale I use for refrigerant weighs down to l tenth of an ounce. Using that you could have all blades weight the same or those connecting rods and pistons. A 5/16 nut would be quite a lot on that scale.
 

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