Originally Posted by
SquidPuppet
I make no claims to be able to perform the mathematical calculations necessary, cetainly not my field. But once a number (lbs) was arrived at, as well as the correct lever length, I think it would just be a matter of loading the lever while simultaneously montoring the unloading of the scale until acheiving the correct number.
Yes, you can do the same calculations as above and hang an object of a known weight (gallon of milk? can of paint? cinderblock? small child?) at the appropriate length along the lever arm. Hanging by a rope or bungee would also help to pin down the exact point where the force is applied.
radius=10(desired Nm)/(available kg) centimeters.