I want to be able to measure the weight of small parts, like the rudder or a chunk of balsa all the way up to the completed bird.

Is there a single scale available that will measure from less than an ounce to a dozen lbs or so? Balance beam? How do you do it?

Recommendations will be appreciated.

Hang it from some part of the plane that WILL support it's weight, like the landing gear, or prop.

Gives you a close weight for the entire plane, but not so good for weighing a "chunk of balsa".

I have a scale that I bought at Staples for about $30 to $40. It's pretty accurate down to about 0.1 ounce, which may not be good enough for a small piece of balsa, but it will also weigh up to 12 to 15 pounds, so....
Dennis-

If you paid $30-40 for a scale with a .1 oz resolution and max of around 12lbs, you did really well.

You can find a selection of scales at most office supply stores as postage scales. But they usually have a tradeoff between resolution and max weight and cost.

My scale is acurate to 5grams or 1/4oz depending on the setting, and I forget the max, but I've put 6lb planes on it with no trouble. So It's not that useful for a small bit of balsa, but if I put on a pile of balsa, I can get a general idea of what's going to happen

When I want to weight the entire plane, I place it on my digital scale nose down with only the prop shaft touching. I then balance it straight up like this and read the scale.