RCBS M500 Instruction sheet

M500 MECHANICAL SCALE
PRODUCT INSTRUCTIONS
151020

WARNING!
Before using this product, read and follow these instructions carefully. Failure to
do so could result in serious injury or death, or property damage.
If you have any questions while assembling or operating this product,
call us at 1-800-379-1732 (U.S. or Canada)

Or email us at [e-mail]
This manual contains important safety and operating information. Keep this as a
permanent part of your reloading equipment. If lost, contact us for a replacement.
GUNPOWDER WARNINGS
WARNING! Keep out of reach of children
• Storepowdersintheiroriginalpackageinacool,dryenvironmentfreefromwidetemperature
variations.
• Keepcanstightlysealedandlabelsintact.
• Markdateofpurchaseoncan,forfuturereference.Useolderstockrst.
• Neveruseglassasastoragecontainer.Thismaycausea“greenhouseeffect”raisingtemperature
in container and degrade the powder.
• Checkcansandpowderforsignsofdegradation.Manypowderswillexhibitanered-browndust
on the granules and/ or inside the container when this happens. If it does, do not use propellant;
dispose of it properly in compliance with local regulations.
• DONOThavemorethanonecanofpowderonthebenchatonetime.PowderCansshouldbe
storedawayfromthebenchtoavoidpickingupthewrongone.
• DONOTuseanypowderunlessitsidentityispositivelyknown.Theonlypositiveidenticationis
themanufacturer’slabelontheoriginalcanister.Properlydiscardallmixedpowdersandthoseof
uncertain identity in compliance with local regulations.
• Ifyouuseapowdermeasure,replacethelidsonboththePowderHopperandPowderCanafter
thePowderHopperhasbeenlled.
• WhenusingaPowderMeasure,settlethepowderinthePowderHopperbeforechargingany
cases.Throwandchecktheweightofatleastten(10)charges.Thiswillassureyouthatthe
correctpowderchargeisbeingthrown.
• Whenyounishareloadingsession,pouranyremainingpowderbackintoitsoriginalfactory
container.Thiswillpreservetheidentityandshelflifeofthepowder.
• DONOTsmokewhilereloading.

-
mation on how to reload, or handle or use reloading components. Always read and thoroughly
understand a reloading manual before attempting to reload ammunition.
Reloadingisanenjoyableandrewardinghobbywhenconductedsafely.But,aswithmanyhobbies,
carelessnessornegligencecanmakereloadinghazardous.When
reloading,alwaysfollowthesesafetyguidelinestominimizetheriskofpersonalinjuryordeath.
• Alwayswearsafetyglasses.
• Understandwhatyouaredoingandwhy.Readhandbooksandmanualsonreloading.Talkto
experiencedreloaders.Writeorcallsuppliersofequipmentorcomponentsifyouhavequestions
orareindoubt.
• Readandunderstandallwarningsandinstructionsaccompanyingyourequipmentand
components.Ifyoudonothavewritteninstructions,requestacopyfromthemanufacturer.Keep
instructions for future reference.
• Don’trushortakeshortcuts.Establisharoutineandfollowitataleisurelypace.
• Keepcompleterecordsofreloads.Labeleachboxshowingthedateproduced,andthetypeof
primer,powderandbulletused.
• Donotsmokewhilereloading,orreloadnearsourcesofheat,sparksorame.
• Observegoodhousekeepinginthereloadingarea.Keeptoolsandcomponentsneat,cleanand
orderly. Promptly and completely clean up any spills.
• Keepyourhandsandngersawayfrom“danger”spotsandpinch-pointswheretheymightbe
injured.
• Keepallreloadingequipmentandcomponentsoutofreachofchildren.
2

• Stayalert.Reloadonlywhenyoucangiveyourundividedattention.Donotreloadwhentired,ill,
rushedorundertheinuenceofdrugsoralcohol.
Because RCBS®hasnocontroloverthechoice,assemblyoruseofcomponentsorotherreloading
equipment,RCBSassumesnoliability,expressedorimplied,fortheuseofammunitionreloaded
with this product.

Useonlylaboratorytestedreloadingdata.WehighlyrecommendthecurrentSpeer®Reloading
Manual.
OBSERVEALLWARNINGSABOUTTHEUSEOFMAXIMUMLISTEDLOADS.

• Examineemptycasestobesuretheyareingoodconditionbeforereloading.Thin,split,
deformed,orbadlycorrodedorpittedcasesmaybestructurallyweak,andresultinadangerous
condition.Payparticularattentiontosplitsinthemouth,separationbetweenthecaseandthe
head, and dents in the shoulder.
• Donotstorecartridgecasesorammunitionnearharshchemicalssuchasgasoline,household
cleanersorcaturine.Thefumescanweakenthemetalandpresentadangerouscondition.
• Donotcleancaseswithchemicalsotherthanthosespecicallydesignedforthepurpose.
• Donotattempttocleanloadedammunitionorprimedcases.Doingsocancausecorrosion,and
weakenthecase,orcauseamisre/hangrecondition.
• Ensurecaseshaveproperprimerpocketsizes;removeprimerstaking/crimpifnecessary.
Attemptingtoseataprimerintoanundersizedpocketorpocketwithstaking/crimpingcanresult
in detonation.
• Donotreamoutorenlargeashholesofcartridgecases.Thismaychangetheignitionrateand
result in dangerous pressures.
• Resizeandtrimredcasestoensurereliablechamberingandobtainproperbullettensionand
crimp.
• Neverattempttoguessattheidentityofyourammunition.
3

4

• Magneticdamping
• Levelingfootforeasyzerobalancingofscale
• Ruggeddie-castaluminumbase
• Ambidextrousdesign
• Ambidextrousscalepan
TheM500hasa505-graincapacity,andfeaturesatwo-poisesystem.Adjust-
mentsmadeusingthemainpoise,ontheleftsideofthebeam,adjustfrom5to
500grains,in5-grainincrements.Thesmallpoiseonrightsideofbeamadjusts
from0to5grains,in0.1grainincrements.TheM500utilizesmagneticdampingto
eliminateunnecessarybeamoscillation.Itfeaturesaruggeddie-castbasewitha
largeadjustablefootforextrastabilityonthebench.Self-aligningceramicbearings
supportthehardenedsteelbeampivotstoguaranteesensitivityto0.1grain.Ambi-
dextrousdesignwithdualgraduationmarkingsallowstheusertoreadtheweight
readings from either side of the scale.
UNPACKING
YourM500scaleispackedinaspeciallydesignedcartontoprovidemaximumpro-
tection.Unpackthescalecarefullytoavoiddamagingcomponents.Identifypartsas
youcarefullyunpack(Photo1).
TheM500scaleisahighlyprecisereloadinginstrument.Wesuggestusingeither
OIMLClassF2standardcheckweightsorNISTclassFRCBS
®
CheckWeightsas
standardcheckweightsforcheckingtheaccuracyofyourscale.

ToassembleyourM500scale,placethebeamassemblyontothebasebyrst
insertingthedampingvaneinbetweenthezeroreferencepointers(Photo2).
Nextrestthesharpedgesofthepivotportionofthebeamontotheceramicbearings
(Photo3).Placepansupportontoshacklelocatedattheendofthebeam(Photo4).
Tocompleteassemblyplacescalepanontopansupport(photo5).
Photo1:ScaleComponents
BEAM ASSEMBLY
BASE
SCALE PAN
SCALE PAN
SUPPORT

5
Photo2:Beamplacement
Photo3:Placementofpivotsontoceramicbearings
Photo4:Placepansupportontoshackle
Photo5:Placepanontopansupport


TheM500scaleisdesignedforusebybothright-andleft-handedusers.Thescale
panconsistsoftwotabs,amainbeamwithgraduationmarkingsonbothsides,
andasetofreferencepointersoneachside.Photos6and7showtheM500witha
100-grainloadinbotharight-andleft-handedorientation.

(directions below are for right-handed use)
• Placethescaleonaat,levelsurface
• Setinalocationwhichallowsviewingofscaleasneartoeyelevelaspossible;
thiswilleliminateanypotentialparallaxerror
• Placebothpoisesatzero
• Placescalepanonpansupport
• Scaleisbalancedwhenzerolineonmainbeamlinesupwithcenterreference
pointer(Photo8)
• Ifzerolinedoesnotlineupwithcenterreferencepointer,rotatelevelingfoot
clockwisetomovereferencepointerupward,orrotatecounter-clockwisetomove
referencepointerdownward(Photo9)
• Thescaleshouldbezerobalancedbeforeuseandcheckedperiodicallyduring
useformaximumaccuracyandprotectionagainsterror.
NOTE:DONOTMOVESCALEONCEBALANCED.IFSCALEISMOVED,FOLLOW
STEPSABOVETORE-ZEROSCALE.
6
Photo6:Right-handedoperationusing100-grainweight
Photo7:Left-handedoperationusing100-grainweight

7

ThepansupportontheM500scaleiscalibratedpriortopackagingandthere
shouldbenodifcultyinzerobalancingyourscale.However,ifthereisnotenough
adjustmentinthelevelingfoottozerobalanceyourscale,itmaybenecessaryto
re-calibratethepansupport.Toaccomplishthis,removethepansupporttopfrom
theweightholder,usingaPhillipsscrewdriver(Photo10).Theweightholdercontains
severalnon-magneticweights;ifweightneedstobeaddedtopanmakesureto
useonlynon-magneticmaterial.Magneticweightsmightaffectthescale’saccuracy
(Photo11).Placeallweightsandpansupportscrewintoscalepan(Photo12).Place
pansupportbackontoweightholderandre-attachpansupporttoshackleonbeam.
Placescalepancontainingcalibrationweightsandpansupportscrewontopan
support(Photo13).Adjustlevelingfoottoitsmidpointandaddorremoveweights
tobringbeamintobalance(Photo14).Whenzerobalancedisachieved,asshown
inPhoto8,placeallcalibrationweightmaterialintoweightholderandsecurepan
supporttoweightholder(photos15and16).Thepansupportisnowre-calibrated
and ready for use.
Photo8:Scalebalanced
Photo9:Rotatinglevelingfoottozerobalancescale

8
Photo10:Removingpansupport
Photo11:Weightholdercontainingnon-magneticmaterial
Photo12:Placecalibrationweightsintoscalepan
Photo13:Placescalepanontopansupport

9

Themainpoiseconsistsofanaccuratelyadjustedweightthatmovesparalleltothe
axisofthebeam.Itispositionedatweightvaluesbymeansofapawlthatengages
notchesinthebeam.Thepoiserunisfrom0to500grains,withequally-spaced
notchesthatdividethisdistanceinto100equalparts.Eachsubdivisionisequivalent
to5grainsofweight.
Tozerothemainpoise,moveittothepositionwherethepawl,locatedontheright
sideofthepoise,engagestherstnotchontherightendofthepoisetravel.The
poiseindicatorwilllineupwiththe“0”graduation(Photo17).
Photo14:Addorremovecalibrationweights
Photo15:Placecalibrationmaterialbackintoweightholder
Photo16:Securepansupporttoweightholder

Toincreaseweightvalues,movethepoisetotheleftandlineuptheindicatorwith
the desired graduation. Always make sure the pawl is seated in the notch.
Correctsettingfor160grains(Photo18).
Donotattempttosetthemainpoiseatanypositionexceptrmlyseatedinanotch.
Alwaysusethesmallpoiseforweightvaluesbetweenthe5-grainincrementsofthe
large poise.

Thesmallpoisefunctionsthesameasthelargepoise.Thispoiserunisfrom0to5
grainsandtheequallyspacednotchesdividethisdistanceinto50equalparts;each
subdivisionisequivalentto1/10(0.1)grainofweight.
Tozerothesmallpoise,moveittothepositionwherethepawl,whichisthetop
edgeoftherectangularslotthroughthepoise,engagesthenotchdirectlyabovethe
“0”graduation.Thelong,verticaledgeofthepoiseistheindicatorandwilllineup
withthe“0”graduation.
Toincreaseweightvalues,movethepoisetotheleftandlineitupwiththedesired
graduation. Always make sure the pawl is seated in the notch. Correct setting for
3.7grains(Photo19).
10
Photo17:Mainpoisesetonzero
Photo18:Mainpoisesetat160grains

11
Do not attempt to set the poise at any position; only set in a position where it is
rmlyseatedinanotch.

Thepointercontainsthreeseparatepointersforeasyreadingofoverandunder
loads.Thecenterpointeriswhatisusedwhenbalancingthescaleandestablishes
aZEROBalance.Thetopandbottompointersrepresentapproximately0.5to0.7
grainaboveandbelowtargetload.Thetopandbottompointersallowtheuserto
quicklyweighloadsknowingthatifthebeampointerisoscillatingbetweenthetop
andbottompointerstheloadiswithin+/-0.5to0.7grains.Havingtopandbottom
pointersalsoeliminatestheneedtomovethesmallpoisetocheckpowdercharge
variations.NOTE:WHENSCALEISZEROBALANCEDITISGOODPRACTICETO
VERIFYTHEEXACTLOADREQUIREDFORTHEBEAMPOINTERTOREACHTHE
TOPANDBOTTOMPOINTERS.
Photo19:Smallpoisesetat3.7grains
Photo20:Centerpointerat0.1grainabovereferencetargetload


TheM500scaleisequippedwithmagneticdampingwhichcausesthebeamto
cometorestquicklywithoutaffectingsensitivityoraccuracy.Itoperatesonthe
principleofapermanentmagneticeldresistingthemotionofanon-magnetic
copperdampervaneattachedtothebeam.
Thedampingmagnetsarepositionedinsidethebaseonbothsidesoftheslotin
whichthedampervanetravels.
Theonlymaintenancerequiredistokeepthisslotfreeofmagneticparticleswhich
couldinterferewithfreemovementofthedampervane.Themagneticdampingis
effectiveatallloadsandwillspeedupweighing.

Toweighanunknownload,placetheloadinthescalepan.Movethemainpoiseto
therstnotch,whichcausesthebeampointertodropbelowthecenterreference
pointer,andthenmoveitbackonenotch.Thenmovethesmallpoisetothenotchto
bringthebeampointertothecenterreferencepointer.Theweightoftheunknown
loadisthesumofthetwopoisereadings(Photo23).
12
Photo21:Toppointerat0.5grainsabovereferencetargetload
Photo22:Bottompointerat0.5grainsbelowreferencetargetload

13
Thescalecanalsobeusedtoweighoutpredeterminedpowdercharges;either
aloneorincombinationwithapowdermeasuresettothrowalightcharge.
Ineithercase,thedesirednalweightofthechargeispresetonthepoises.Thiswill
causethebeampointertofallbelowthecenterreferencepointer.Addpowdertothe
panuntilthebeambalances.Forefcientandeffectiveresults,werecommendusing
an RCBS
®
PowderTrickler-2(soldseparately).
Whenmakingrepeatedweighingsinthismanner,avoiderrorsbymakingsurethe
poisesremainintheircorrectpositionsandarenotaccidentallymoved.

Keepthescalecleanatalltimesandbeparticularlycarefultopreventthe
accumulationofdirtonthepivotsandbearings.NOTE:NEVERAPPLYOILOR
ANYLUBRICANTTOTHEPIVOTSORBEARINGS,ASTHISCANLOWERTHE
ACCURACYANDREPEATABILITYOFTHESCALE.
Photo23:Scalereadingof163.7grains

ITEM DESCRIPTION QTY
1 Base 1
2 Beam 1
3 Pointer 1
4 Leveling Foot 1
5 Ceramic Bearing 2
6 Bearing Retainer 2
7 Magnet Fixing 1
8 Magnets 2
9 Screws (M3x6) 4
10 Screws (ST2.9x8) 1
11 Conversion Label 1
12 Center Pivot 1
13 Front Pivot 1
14 Damping Vane 1 14
ITEM DESCRIPTION QTY
15 Main Poise (Front) 1
16 Main Poise (Back) 1
17 Small Poise 1
18 Graduation Mark (Front) 1
19 Graduation Mark (Rear) 1
20 S/S Shackle 1
21 Scale Pan 1
22 Pan Support (Top) 1
23 S/S Hook 1
24 Weight Holder 1
25 Screws (M5x10) 1
26 Washer 1
27 Screws (M3x10) 2
28 Screws (M3x6) 1

15

Your RCBS®M500MechanicalScaleiswarrantedtobefreefromdefectsinmaterialorworkmanshipforaslong
astheoriginalownerownsit.Thiswarrantyisextendedonlytotheoriginalconsumerpurchaser.AllRCBSprod-
uctsareintendedfornon-commercialusebyhobbyists.Anyotheruseoftheseproductswillvoidthewarranty.
Ifyoubelievethatyourproductiscoveredbythiswarranty,youmustreturntheproducttoRCBSattheaddress
below,postagepaid,withproofofpurchaseforevaluation.Ifcovered,wewill(atoursoleoption)repair,replaceor
refundthepurchasepriceofanypartorproductfoundtobedefective.Thisremedywillbewithoutchargeexcept
forreasonableshipping,handlingandinsurancecharges.
TO ENSURE ACCURACY OF YOUR WARRANTY INFORMATION, SEND YOUR DATED PROOF OF
PURCHASE TO THE ADDRESS BELOW. This limited warranty does not cover defects or damage
resulting from carelessness, misuse, commercial use, abuse, neglect, improper installation or
assembly,watersubmersion,unauthorizedorimproperrepair,failuretofollowoperationinstructions,modication
or normal wear and tear.
ANYWARRANTIESIMPLIEDBYLAWSHALLINNOEVENTEXTENDBEYONDDURATIONOFTHISEXPRESSWAR-
RANTY.Somestatesdonotallowlimitationsonhowlonganimpliedwarrantylasts,sotheabovelimitationmaynot
applytoyou.REPAIRORREPLACEMENTASPROVIDEDHEREINISYOUREXCLUSIVEREMEDYFORANYDEFEC-
TIVEPRODUCT.INNOEVENTSHALLWEBELIABLEFORANYSPECIAL,INCIDENTIAL,ORCONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGESOFANYKINDARISINGOUTOFTHEPURCHASEORUSEOFTHISPRODUCT,WHETHERBASEDUPON
CONTRACT,TORT,STATUTEOROTHERWISE.Somestatesdonotallowtheexclusionorlimitationofincidentalor
consequentialdamages,sotheabovelimitationorexclusionmaynotapplytoyou.Thiswarrantygivesyouspe-
ciclegalrights,andyoumayalsohaveotherrightswhichvaryfromstatetostate.

RCBS•605OroDamBlvdEast
Oroville,CA,95965
1-800-379-1732(U.S.orCanada)
E-mail:[e-mail]
Website:rcbs.com


Wethinkwemaketheworld’sbestreloadingequipment.
If you agree, please tell your friends. If you disagree,
tellus—wewanttodosomethingaboutit!
CustomerService
1-800-379-1732(U.S.orCanada)
Hours:Monday-Friday,5:00a.m.–5:00p.m.PacicTime
(hoursmayvary)
E-mail[e-mail],orvisitrcbs.com
RCBS•605OroDamBlvd.East•Oroville,CA95965
151020