Counterbalancing a dial for manipulation
One of my practice locks has a really free spinning keyed dial (S&G D225). The weight of the key plug imbalancing the dial was not very conducive to consistency in contact point reading. I flattened a 148 grain .38 caliber wadcutter and taped it to the front of the dial opposite the key plug, and the difference was like night and day! Sooooooo much better! The dial no longer fights me, pulling away from the right (or left, depending on whom you ask) contact point as I was trying to take a reading. If you feel the dial fighting you, try a counterbalance. A fishing weight, washer, whatever. I hope this helps.