A new easy way to balance blades!!

[akent]

Hi all:
I recently bought a 0.01 gram resolution scale from fleabay for $20. I was a little skeptical at first, but this little scale is amazing!

It has enough range to weigh 450 main blades, and is accurate enough to balance tail blades!

What I did is balance a set of blades the normal way (bolt through them balanced on knife blades) and then put them on the little scale. They were still off by a few hundredths of a gram.
I added small pieces of tape until they were exactly the same.

So, I then ripped all of the balance tape off and did this:

I found the center of gravity for each blade and marked it. I did this by balancing each blade on a knife edge. The CG's were pretty much the same.
Then I weighed each one.
On the lighter blade, I cut balancing tape to where the exact tape size was perfect, by using a bigger than needed piece and trimming until perfect. I then placed that tape around the CG of the blade.

Now, they are perfect, and it takes almost no time to do!!

The tail blades were off by a couple of hundredths too, so I just shaved a little bit off of the heavier one.

Now, the Exi is SMOOTH!!!!

Here's a link to one like I bought. This one is $19 with free shipping.

cgi.ebay.com/Digital-100g-0-01-Gram-Scale-CD-Grain-Reload-Carat_W0QQitemZ390030877883QQihZ026QQcategoryZ71119QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Just thought I would share this.

Take care,
Kent

[Solitaire]

Yep, handy little tools they are.
I got this one off eBay a few months ago and use it faithfully. I'm a bit anal when it comes to knowing weights. This will weigh up to 1kg which is handy when weighing complete helis, but I've always been suspicious as to how accurate it is.

Maybe we can exchange weights on a few standard items to compare. If you're up to it, I'll send a few via PM

[akent]

Hi Solitaire:
Yes, these are awesome!

It looks like yours is good to 0.1 gram. The one I got is 10 times more sensitive, at 0.01 gram resolution. It's amazing to see that tiny little pieces of tape show up on this one.

The max this little one will weigh is 100 grams, I think.

I also have a bigger one that is good for 3 kg, but it only has a resolution of 1 gram.

It would be fun to compare weights!

Maybe we should start a thread about that?

I could weigh my fleet, all the batteries that I am using, or whatever else you would like to see weighed!
Kent

[Solitaire]

Ah yes, I didn't read your post closely enough. .01 increments would be better for the small stuff. Not sure one could find a scale to 1kg in .01 increments without spending a fortune. I, like you, paid less than $20 shipped for mine.

I suppose a new thread could be started if anyone else is interested.

[akent]

I'm using this one mainly for blade balancing from now on. It's too easy!

I think it would be fun to start a weight thread.
Just where to start it is the question...Maybe in the general area?
Kent

[Solitaire]

Sure, works for me