Glossary K – P

*terms marked with an asterisk appear in this glossary

KEELED — vee shaped. A term describing the beams of old coin scales which had the top filed to a vee, i.e., pentagonal in section. 

KEY — a hand-operated lever used to raise a scale beam into the operating position from a position of rest, a LEVER LIFT, Fig. 37. 

KNIFE EDGE — a pivot in the form of a sharp edge, usually made of hard steel, sometimes agate, Fig. 2 (Glossary A–B). See also CONTINUOUS KNIFE EDGE, PIPPIN STEEL. 

LADDER SCALE — a letter scale having several beams one above the other in a frame resembling a ladder, Fig. 38. Scales with 2, 3, or 4 beams are known. They usually have an equal-arm beam* at the top (sometimes pre-loaded*) and have unequal-arm fixed-weight beams below. 

LANCASHIRE GOLD BALANCE — see FOLDING GOLD BALANCE. 

LATTICE BEAM — a scale beam with holes in it or made up from several separate elements to reduce the weight, thus improving the sensitivity, Fig. 39. 

LEG — the vertical member of a Roberval* system, which supports the plate* or pan,* Figs. 1 (Glossary A–B), 32, &  36 (Glossary E–J). Also called a STEM ( USA).

LEVELLING FOOT — see LEVELLING SCREW. 

LEVELLING SCREW — a screw on the base of a scale used for adjustment when on a sloping surface. Also called a LEVELLING FOOT (USA). 

LEVER LIFT — see KEY. 

LEVER RATIO — a term describing the relative proportions of the arms of a lever, or a system of levers. E.g., if a counting scale* has a beam with arms* of 500 mm and 50 mm, the lever ratio is 10:1. 

LINK — a connection between levers, Fig. 8 (Glossary A–B).

LOADING BOX — see BALANCE BOX.

LOCKING GEAR — a device used to immobilize the moving parts of a scale to prevent unnecessary wear. See also TUMBLER.

LOOSE WEIGHT STEELYARD — a steelyard on which proportional weights* are suspended from the end of the beam on a hanger.* The final balance is often obtained by a small poise* sliding on the beam, Fig. 40. 

LOTUS END — see TRUMPET END. 

MADE-UP-BOX — a scale box made from several flat pieces of wood fixed together by nails or glue. Abbreviated to MUB. Occasionally called a wainscot box (oak). See also CUT-FROM-SOLID.

MAGNETIC SCALE — a scale that uses two magnets with opposed poles as a resistant,* Fig. 43. 

MANCUR BALANCE — a form of spring balance, shaped like a letter '0 '. It was commonly used for weighing pigs, sheep, hides, etc. Fig. 44. It was sometimes called a "C-spring" balance. An old English name for the mancur was 'stilliard'.

MICRO BALANCE, ULTRA MICRO BALANCE, SEMI MICRO BALANCE — see PRECISION BALANCE.

MILK SCALE — a scale used to measure and record the milk yield from individual cows, etc. 

MONEY OPERATED SCALE — see COIN FREED SCALE.

MOISTURE CONTENT SCALE — a scale adapted for measuring the moisture content of a substance, e.g., butter, cement, paper, etc. In the example illustrated, Fig. 42, the beam is pre-loaded* to 10 grams. Ten grams of the moist substance is placed in the pan, whereupon the indicator reads zero. The substance is then dried and re-weighed, and the moisture loss is indicated as a percentage of the full weight. 

MOUSE — a weight attached to the cord used to lift a scale beam when suspended from a column, typically on money scales or jeweler’s scales.

MOVABLE LOAD SCALE (MLS) - An unequal-arm scale that has some features of both steelyard and bismar. An MLS has a fixed poise and a fixed fulcrum position. The load is moved along the beam until equilibrium is reached. A specialized form of MLS for coins is shown in Fig. 54, with two positions for the load. 

MUB — see MADE-UP-BOX. 

NEST WEIGHTS — see NESTING WEIGHTS, STACKING WEIGHTS.

NESTING WEIGHTS — weights in the form of cups that fit inside each other. Many sets were provided with a lid on the largest weight. See also WEIGHTS, STACKING WEIGHTS. 

NET WEIGHT, NETT WEIGHT — the weight of goods excluding the weight of the container, wrapper, etc. Net weight is equal to gross weight minus tare weight.* See GROSS WEIGHT, TARE WEIGHT. 

NIB — a small point, or projection, on a sliding poise,* which engages in the notches* on a steelyard blade.*  Also called a PAWL (USA). 

NOSE END — the end of the long arm of a steelyard beam. 

NOTCH — a groove on the blade* of a steelyard, which corresponds with a graduation* or division.* 

NUMERICAL WEIGHTS — weights shaped like the numbers which represent their denomination. See WEIGHTS. 

OBLITERATION STAMP — a mark used by Weights and Measures inspectors to cancel a verification mark.* In England, a six-pointed star was commonly used. 

OPIUM SCALE — see DO'TCHIN. 

OVER-AND-UNDER SCALE — a scale with only a zero line and no graduations.* It shows if the load is above or below the weight value set. 

OVERHEAD CHECK — see STAY.

PAN — a concave receptacle used on a weighing device to contain the weights or the goods being weighed, Fig. 34. Originally called a SCALE. See also PLATE. 

PAPER SCALE — a scale adapted for weighing paper, often of the estimating type,* for example, the weight per ream is indicated from a single sheet of paper, or from a small sample of specific size. (a ream was 480, 500, or 516 sheets, generally) Fig. 50.

PAWL — see NIB.

PENDANT — a small U-shaped link suspended from the bottom of the shears,* and used to indicate the true vertical, and to prevent the shears opening unintentionally, Fig. 13 (Glossary C–D). Also called a DROP or a GUARD-LINK.

PENDULUM SCALE — a scale that uses the varying leverage of a pendulum as a resistant,* i.e., as the pendulous weight swings out sideways, an increasing force is required to balance it, Fig.45. Also called an INCLINATION BALANCE. Some scales have two pendulums that swing out in opposite directions and are called BILATERAL PENDULUM SCALES, Fig. 46. See also CAM-AND­PENDULUM, and QUADRANT SCALE.

PERCENTAGE SCALE — a scale specially adapted to indicate the percentage loss in weight of a sample of goods after drying, cleaning, etc. (USA). See also MOISTURE CONTENT SCALE. 

PERSON SCALE — a scale constructed for weighing people. There are various forms, e.g., Hospital scales, Baby scales, Jockey scales, etc. 

PFITZER SCALE — see PHANZEDER SCALE.

PHANZEDER SCALE, PFANZEDER SCALE — a scale with a complicated series of parallel links and sub-beams, invented by Phanzeder, Fig. 47. Also called a PFITZER SCALE after the Pfitzer Brothers who improved the mechanism.  Like the Beranger* scale, except that the legs cross under the main fulcrum.

PILLAR — see COLUMN. 

PIPPIN STEEL — a steel rod shaped in cross-section like an apple pip, or pippin. It was used to make new knife edges* for scale beams. 

PIVOT — a knife edge,* pin, etc. around which the moving parts of a scale rotate. 

PLATE — a flat surface, or receptacle, used on a scale to hold the weights or the goods being weighed, Fig. 8 (Glossary A–B). Also called a PLATTER (USA). See also PAN. 

PLATE FULCRUM — see FLEXURE PIVOT. 

PLATFORM SCALE — a compound lever scale* with the goods receptacle in the form of a flat platform, typically used in warehouses, factories, etc., Figs. 14 & 21 (Glossary C–D). Exceptionally large types are called WEIGHBRIDGES and are used for weighing vehicles, railcars, etc.

PLUG — see STAMPING PLUG. 

POCKET STEELYARD — a misnomer used to describe a tubular spring balance in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, Fig. 16 left (Glossary C–D).

POINTER — a needle, or form of indicator,* used to show when a scale is level, or to indicate weight on a dial,* Fig. 35 (Glossary E–J). Also called a COCK, TONGUE (old English).

POISE — a sliding or hanging weight used on the beam of a steelyard, Fig. 49.

POULTRY SCALE — a scale adapted for weighing live poultry. The bird was placed in a conical receptacle with its head at the narrow end where a hole is provided for the head, Fig. 57 (Glossary Q–S). 

POWDER SCALE — a scale used for weighing gunpowder when making up the charge for cartridges. The powder receptacle was often a narrow scoop for pouring powder into the cartridge after weighing, Fig. 48.

PRECISION BALANCE — a scale constructed for a high degree of sensitivity.* The term covers a range of instruments:  Chemical balance, Analytical balance, Assay balance, Semi-micro, and Ultra-micro balance, in ascending order of sensitivity, from about 1 in 100,000 to 1 in 1,000,000,000 at maximum capacity.* 

PRE-LOADED SCALE, PRE-WEIGHTED SCALE — a scale that has one of the pans permanently weighted to a predetermined amount for a specific purpose. E.g., a Hungarian ducat scale,* Fig. 24 (Glossary C–D), or some GPO* scales which were pre-loaded to the minimum weight for the current postage rates. 

PRESCRIPTION SCALE — a pocket scale used by doctors, apothecaries, and patients, for weighing medicine. 

PROPORTIONAL WEIGHT — a weight suspended from the end of a loose-weight steelyard* or other scale type^† which is much lighter than the load being weighed due to the unequal arms of the scale. Thus, if the lever ratio,* or relative proportion of the arm lengths is 1 to 14, a proportional weight of 1 lb. will balance a load of 14 lb., or 1 stone. Also called a PRO WEIGHT, or an EKE WEIGHT (old English).

^† Revised from original.