Years ago, I set a hive on what I would call a doctor's office
scale and then graphed the weight of that colony for several years.  In
the years that I kept records, the colony weight would peak at the end
of the early June honey flow and then the weight would dribble away
until the next spring.  The daily increase can be spectacular during a
honey flow.  (Yes, I subtracted the weight of dry supers added to the
colony!)
     Perhaps twenty years ago, _Bee Culture_ ran an article about a hive
scale made from what I would call a bathroom scale (stand on the
platform and read the dial at your toes).  The back edge of the hive
rested on the scale. The challenge is to build a gadget to keep the hive
from tumbling off the scale.
     This scale will register half of the hive weight (the back half)
which can be doubled.
     Putting a hive on a scale, and recording the result, is one more
way for beekeepers to see inside a colony without opening it.
     An easy way to judge the weight of a colony is to stand behind the
hive and, with one hand resting on the lid to steady it, give a heave
upward at  the lowest handhold.  A hive that is noticeably lighter than
its neighbor colonies needs feeding and/or inspecting.
Tim
--
Tim Sterrett
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(southeastern) Pennsylvania, USA