Monday, February 11, 2013

Weighty Issues Farewell

After 41 years. Sorry baby, it's the end.
This old Ohaus scale was one of the first pieces of equipment I purchased when I started my own studio (1972). I bought it from Leslie Ceramic Supply in Berkeley Ca. It has weighed every bucket of glaze that I have ever mixed. Literally tons of ingredients have been weighed on it in the past 41 years. Obsolete ingredients such as Colemanite, Gerstley Borate, Kingman Feldspar, Albany Slip, Etc. have been balanced on this scale many times. It was expensive when purchased (about $100 dollars). It has always been a bitch to use. You first have to set the tare weight of the container you are using to weigh the ingredients then swap out weights and slide weights up and down the beams to get the proper balance. Then repeat for each ingredient. The maximum it will weigh is 2610gr at one time.

Today I started using this $20.00 little honey. She weighs 5000gr at one time. The tare weight is set with the push of a button and she will weigh in ounces or grams. She cleans up really easy and stores in a fraction of the space. I'm in love again!

Oh the old scale will stay right here. You never know when technology will let you down and a manual alternative will be necessary.


1 comment:

Deborah said...

Congrats on your new toy! Should make your life a bit easier, eh?