You understand it correctly. Using the steam tables I have at work, I derived a conversion to liters from 62.41 #/ft^3, which is liquid at 50 degrees. The number was 35.26 oz per liter, so then I multiply the ml reading on the cup by .03526 to get ounces.

You are quite right, the metric system is much easier all around - the more I use it the more I want to throw away all references to inches and feet in my shop - but pure metric tape measures are unavailable. The only one I have shows inches on the other side, and I cant find another. Feet, sixteenths, thirty-seconds... All because some dumb king had big feet. Fooey. But I digress... Gee, if Id seen a conversion factor from grams to ounces, it oughta be about .03526...

I reweighed by zeroing the beam with the empty cup on one side and the empty tray on the other - adding the paddle and the water I more accurately measured 28.2 oz for the 25 oz I posted earlier - about 3 oz off. A discrepancy in the distances from the pivot, I'm sure. Still, these paddles are lighter than anything else Ive tried. Solid core vs hollow core seems to save about 2 oz, which is a noticable difference.

: Just out of curiosity (and because it's always fun to throw a wrench in the
: works...) how are you doing the conversion from water to weight?

: 1 US Fluid ounce of water does not weigh 1 ounce. If I've done the conversion
: right it's 1.04318 ounces. So for example, 29 fluid ounces of water weighs
: about 30.25 ounces.

: Metric would be easier. 1 ml of water weighs 1 gram (at standard temp and
: pressure).

: Feel free to ignore me if I've misunderstood how your balance beam works.