On Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:24:14 -0400, Leon Fisk
wrote:

On Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:38:28 -0400, Gerald Miller
wrote:

If this were the case, then the upward loop to the left of the sliding
weight would not be there, this would be the place where the knife
edges would rest on the bearings of the scale.

I was thinking that too until I looked at the patent I
referenced. It has the same loop and yet shows a stand
holding it. McFarlane had several similar patents from this
same time period, all for their dial indicator and beam. One
of the other patent drawings used a hook that held the beam
loop up.

I realize that this could have been a drawing error, but
would rather believe the draftsman just copied something
that was already in existence that they had on hand (shrug).

See this patent for one that they represented using a hook
to grab the loop:

http://www.google.com/patents?vid=1072018
Now, that is a different configuration

I couldn't find any good images/diagrams that showed how the
beam was implemented in old platform scales...

snip
The additional weights may be marked "50" and "100" which would extend
the capacity to 200 pounds.

The loops are around 5/16-3/8 inch in diameter and so are
the knife edge pins. Seems like pretty stout stuff for just
50 pound capacity.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada