  By assuming the existence of a pseudopotential smooth enough to do
Hartree-Fock variations and good enough to describe nuclear structure, we
construct mass formulae that rely on general scaling arguments and on a
schematic reading of shell model calculations. Fits to 1751 known binding
energies for N,Z$\geq 8$ lead to rms errors of 375 keV with 28 parameters.
Tests of the extrapolation properties are passed successfully. The
Bethe-Weizs\"acker formula is shown to be the asymptotic limit of the present
one(s). The surface energy of nuclear matter turns out to be probably smaller
than currently accepted.
