Help for a newbie looking for measuring tools?

Mauser lover, welcome to HM.

I highly encourage you to look at the information you can find here: http://www.longislandindicator.co/ Hands down, the most useful source of information on instruments for the shop. You will find accurate information on the different kinds of tools as well as which brands are the best.

No offense meant to the other guys but certain brands or makers excel in different areas. For example:
  • The finest dial caliper is made by Etalon, while the best digital calipers are arguably made by Mitutoyo.
  • The finest dial and dial test indicators are made by the Swiss (Compac, Interapid, Tesa, Browne & Sharpe) and Germans; Mitutoyo, Starrett and others are okay.
  • The best micrometers are again made by the Swiss (Etalon, Tesa, Browne & Sharpe) and the Germans (I like Helios); Mitutoyo makes really good digital ones, while all the other makers come after them, including Starrett of new and old.
  • Solid squares, the right angle machinist's squares, are made by many makers but the most accurate are made by Tesa.
  • The best usable graduated rules are made by Starrett; their satin chrome scales seem to last forever and are laser etched for accuracy and longevity.
These are the tools you will use the most. There are thousands of others to buy but spend money on good basic tools. I would also suggest you buy what you need. Forget the planer gauges and buy a good dial caliper. Forget the vernier protractors and get a really good dial test indicator. If you happen to need a protractor, then buy a good one.

Small hand tools, like small bore gauges and telescoping gauges or the calipers that rely on "feel" are made by the older tool making companies, Starrett being one of the finest.

Be aware that many companies are outsourcing their tool lines to Asia. Starrett, Browne & Sharpe, Fowler, and even Tesa have lower line tools made in China. Mitutoyo outsources to Brazil. It pays to research the country of origin before paying premium prices.

The cheapest tools tend to be the top tier tools. They last longer, retain their accuracy over time and can be repaired when needed. Cheaper tools may be okay for a time but eventually their accuracy wanes and they cannot be fixed.

Almost every tool we normally use has a sort of standard. Aloris/Dorian quick change tool posts, Albrecht keyless chucks, Jacobs USA-made Super Chucks, Criterion boring heads, etc. Your job is going to be identifying these tools and then finding them for a killer price on ebay. They are out there.

Thanks so much for this kind of condensed info Mikey. It does make me cringe that I didn't know the name Etalon when I ran across a dial caliper by that name. I took my standards with me and it was off so I passed. But I now understand they can maybe be fixed? I also got a .0001 Alina test indicator in a box of Starrett dial indicators and a semi broken Brown & Sharpe 1-2" mechanical digital mic for $25. It was through another thread like this I found out what I had. The B&S needs some part to function properly.
 
Thanks so much for this kind of condensed info Mikey. It does make me cringe that I didn't know the name Etalon when I ran across a dial caliper by that name. I took my standards with me and it was off so I passed. But I now understand they can maybe be fixed? I also got a .0001 Alina test indicator in a box of Starrett dial indicators and a semi broken Brown & Sharpe 1-2" mechanical digital mic for $25. It was through another thread like this I found out what I had. The B&S needs some part to function properly.

You're welcome, C-bag. It pays to do your homework, brother.
 
You're welcome, C-bag. It pays to do your homework, brother.

Most definitely, but I've gotten more from theses kinds of threads than the site you mentioned. And every area CL is different. Here I can't touch Mitutyo where I can find all kinds of deals on Brown & Sharpe, even Starrett and like mentioned Tesa, Alina and other Swiss made stuff. For whatever reason I see Mitutyo for basically new prices. So having info on all the "high end" Swiss stuff earlier would have been amazing. And for the record, I read the dial and saw "Swiss made" but it just didn't register.
 
I may have missed it here, but if you are buying used instruments, it is also helpful to have a few "standards" so that you can verify accuracy at various places throughout its range.

David

Okay... I understand the concept, but I'm wondering what kind of product is referenced here. What am I supposed to get for calibrating this sort of thing?
 
As many have already alluded - "BUY ONCE" if you can. Get the best quality you can afford up front.

My personal experience has found ebay to be 50/50 on measuring instruments. Meaning that half the time there's something wrong with them and they'll need repair. Some are not reapairable or simply not worth the cost to have them repaired. Repairs are not cheap.

Everyone has their favorites. I am personally a fan of TESA made indicators and Mitutoyo digital mics and calipers. I have various manual micrometers including Etalon, Mitutoyo, and Fowler.

The reference to Standards above can mean Gage Blocks and or Micrometer Standards. Most manual micrometer sets come with standards included with them. BTW, more expense here as well. Gage Blocks and Standards can run the spectrum in terms of costs. Sets cost the most of course or you can buy them individually for the size you need. Starting out you may want a micrometer set that has them included.

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Thanks Alan for the standards reply. I think is always good to have some standards on hand especially if one is purchasing used metrology stuff.

David
 
It is wise to keep in mind that your checking standard for whatever you're using has to be at least 4 times as accurate as the instrument you're checking. For a micrometer, this means a gauge block traceable to NIST. If you use the bar-type micrometer standard then you need to check its accuracy against a known gauge block so you know what it measures.

Many guys just check a mic to see if it repeats to zero but you really need to check it at about 5 points throughout its range with a gauge block before you can call it accurate. And yeah, I know we're just hobby guys but accuracy is accuracy. If you prefer not to use a verified accurate instrument then at least use the same instrument throughout your project so that the degree of error is consistent .
 
It is wise to keep in mind that your checking standard for whatever you're using has to be at least 4 times as accurate as the instrument you're checking. For a micrometer, this means a gauge block traceable to NIST. If you use the bar-type micrometer standard then you need to check its accuracy against a known gauge block so you know what it measures.

Many guys just check a mic to see if it repeats to zero but you really need to check it at about 5 points throughout its range with a gauge block before you can call it accurate. And yeah, I know we're just hobby guys but accuracy is accuracy. If you prefer not to use a verified accurate instrument then at least use the same instrument throughout your project so that the degree of error is consistent .
I would agree with the statement made in this last paragraph regarding the degree of error needing to be consistent; the main requirement of most of our work is THE FIT, not the absolute size / dimension. I have been using the same Starrett 0-1 micrometer since I bought it about 1962, and have never had any problem with it in daily work; if I did have a particularly close dimension to measure, I might set up gage blocks to confirm the mike's display (a very rare occurrence --------
 
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