Cardboard scales????

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> Post offices give away small, cardboard scales to help customers determine
how much postage their mail needs. (By Julia Ewan -- The Washington Post)

Where can I get one? - What do I ask for, and more importantly, where can I lay my hands on blueprints and specs for this??? how accurate is it?

Does anyone have one? How good are they? How hard would they be to make? How accurate?

thanks,

-t

ps: did we ever find the data on how much common US coins weigh for use as weights? - I suppose I could go digging in the refs if it needs re-posting...

as far as I know, the yardstick ballence, w/ known weights is the most accurate improvised scale and good to 0.01g, IIRC...

(that would be w/ a broomstick straw, of pref 12", in the lateral possition, and some callibration, esp if using improvised weights...)

[FlightERDoc]

IIRC, a nickle weighs a little over 5 grams.

BTW, very inexpensive (like $35) high-accuracy electronic lab balances are available now. I saw one a friend got at a lab supply company, we put a couple of calibration weights on it and it was good to go.

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interesting? - gotta source? - and how accurate?

thanks,

-t

ps: doc - did you get the CD's?

[FlightERDoc]

interesting? - gotta source? - and how accurate?

thanks,

-t

ps: doc - did you get the CD's?


I did, thanks...got to send you some paypal love.

As far as the accuracy, good enough. A friend had one he picked up at a chemical supply house. They were on the counter as a special, made in China (by 3 year old slaves, no doubt). Kind of a no-name special.

I think the range is up to 500 g, and has a 1 or 2 decimal point display. The slugs (cal weights) we had were kind of old and hadn't been checked themselves for years (to ensure their calibration) but the scale was within .2 g of the appropriate weight, not sure if the weights were off or the scale was.

The unit I saw was less expensive than this http://scientificsonline.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_3031476 but similar

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OOWWWHH - SWEET!

and pocket sized!

If I sent some PayPal the other way, do you think you could pick one of the discount ones up for me?

thanks,

-t

[FlightERDoc]

OOWWWHH - SWEET!

and pocket sized!

If I sent some PayPal the other way, do you think you could pick one of the discount ones up for me?

thanks,

-t

I'm not in LA anymore, so it'd be tough... I don't even remember the name of the chemical supply store he went to. A web search should turn a few up, though. Edmunds was only the first place I looked.

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DIY postage scale

http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/02/diy_postal_scale.html

-t

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USPS Cardboard Scale.

This is made of ~0.75mm glossy cardstock.

you'll have to adjust levels to make out the scale from the ruler.

-t

SHIT! - well, looks like upload on this board is broken - I tried twice...

Upload Errors
USPS Cardboard Scale.pdf:
Unable to move/copy file

Oh flipper.....

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USPS carboard scale. it's on glossy cardstock about 0.75mm thick.

-t

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some coin sizes / weights

Australia - Kangaroo
Weight: 1 troy oz (31.1 grams)
Denomination: $100 Australian
Content: 0.9999 pure
Diameter: 32.10 mm
Thickness: __.___ mm (anyone have this number?)

Austria - Philharmonic
Weight: 1 troy oz (31.1 grams)
Denomination: 2,000 Austrian shillings
Content: 0.9999 pure
Diameter: 37.00 mm
Thickness: __.___ mm (anyone have this number?)

Canada - Maple Leaf
Weight: 1 troy oz (31.1 grams)
Denomination: $50 Canadian
Content: 0.9999 pure
Diameter: 30.00 mm
Thickness: 2.87 mm
Notes: First minted in 1979, minted from gold mined in Canada.

China - Panda
Weight: 1 troy oz (31.1 grams)
Denomination: none
Content: 0.9999 pure
Diameter: 32.00 mm (there is probably at least one number to the right of the decimal point)
Thickness: __.___ mm (anyone have this number?)

South Africa - Krugerrand
Weight: 1.0909 troy oz (33.93 grams)
Denomination: Rand (no specific denomination)
Content: 0.9166 pure
Diameter: 32.60 mm (another source said 32.77 mm)
Thickness: 2.75 mm (another source said 2.84 mm)
Notes: First sold in July 1967 but those were proof coins, while the first mass produced coins intended for circulation were introduced in April 1970. These are slightly smaller than an Eagle because it contains only 10% copper additive (not silver).

U.S. - Gold Eagle
Weight: 1.0909 troy oz (33.93 grams)
Denomination: $50 U.S.
Content: 0.9166 pure
Diameter: 32.70 mm
Thickness: 2.87 mm (another source said 2.75 mm)
Notes: First minted in 1986, contains 0.0909 ounce of a copper/silver blend.

-t

[tangent]

USPS is offering a package scale for free. this one is apparently based on plastic springs that stack somehow. they are free for the asking (if you are in the US) :

http://www.postalreporter.com/news/2006/11/29/postal-service-giving-away-free-package-scales/

here is the direct link to order:
https://ecap21.usps.com/cgi-bin/ecapbv/scripts/promoRegForm.jsp?promoID=1033&sourceID=&listID=23454

It looks like the cardboard scales are available again at local PO's too - but they will be charging a small ammount for them - maybe a quarter?
http://www.postalreporter.com/news/2006/11/26/whatever-happened-to-the-cardboard-postal-scales/

-t