Fowler and Vevor micrometers for hobbiest?

Fowler is one of my favorites, with some caveats. Fowler is not a manufacturer, they are a branded reseller. They contract various tools from well known manufacturers around the world. Most Fowler dial instruments were made by Helios in Germany before China took over. IIRC, they even used Tesa for their mics. This applies to stuff from the 80s-90s from what I have in my Kennedy chest. I can't speak for today's new production, though. I would consider any USA or European brand from any time frame to be a good choice. Be patient, but if you do see a good deal, jump on it!

Edit: My 0-12 mics are from Scherr-Tumico. Very affordable and readily found in complete sets.
 
As a "hobbyist", for me any measurement beyond 0.001" would be measured "Full or Scant". When one gets into "tenths", one is pushing being a professional. Most of my work is done with a (cheap) dial caliper. For what to me is precision work, I then fall back to a micrometer. I have only two, a 0-2" and a 2-3". I doubt I will ever use the latter, but it was cheap on eBay. Both are Brown & Sharps, just because I am partial toward B&S. Both have been checked with "Jo" blocks, yes I can do precision measurements when needed. And both are dead on. But I don't need that accuracy most of the time. I did precision calibration way back in the '70s and understand where it is needed and where it is not. If you want to train yourself to work to tenths, by all means get a micrometer calibrated as such. Don't worry about the brand, even a cheap one will do once it is properly zeroed. A Starrett or Mitutoyo when you get into professional work, but use the cash where it's needed, not chasing "better or bestest".

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As a "hobbyist", for me any measurement beyond 0.001" would be measured "Full or Scant". When one gets into "tenths", one is pushing being a professional. Most of my work is done with a (cheap) dial caliper. For what to me is precision work, I then fall back to a micrometer. I have only two, a 0-2" and a 2-3". I doubt I will ever use the latter, but it was cheap on eBay. Both are Brown & Sharps, just because I am partial toward B&S. Both have been checked with "Jo" blocks, yes I can do precision measurements when needed. And both are dead on. But I don't need that accuracy most of the time. I did precision calibration way back in the '70s and understand where it is needed and where it is not. If you want to train yourself to work to tenths, by all means get a micrometer calibrated as such. Don't worry about the brand, even a cheap one will do once it is properly zeroed. A Starrett or Mitutoyo when you get into professional work, but use the cash where it's needed, not chasing "better or bestest".

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I'm right there with you! Virtually everything I do for work is a one off that gets used once, then tossed. If it fits, it ships sort of thing! I do make items for myself that are more refined but, even then things are "fluid". I spent way too many years chasing perfection when it wasn't necessary, now I'm very happy just shooting from the hip and getting on with the next thing!
 
just curious here but micrometers create do there thing via a gear train, right? It would seem that accuracy would not be an issue with no-name and cheep tools, you ether have the right tooth count or you don't. So I am asking ( and speculating) that the difference in cheep vs high quality is not in accuracy but rather is things like how smooth the action, is it repairable (parts available etc), will the anvils last, and all of the usability things. I guess there could be some backlash in the gear train of lower quality mics but I would think that would be in the tenths range for even a low quality tool.
I'm not trying to stir the pot here, just curious if I am mis-understanding how mics work and where higher quality design and manufacturing of a mic will show up in practical use.
 
My 6-12" set is NSK. Good quality and made in Japan.
 
If your not in a rush I have a set of something outside, I can check to see what it is, all my stuff now is better quality. NSK is in my mind, something made in Japan, but not Mitutoyo. I may also have a roller display Fowler set, both 0-6. I'm not real mobile right now, and have to wait for my wife to go to work so I don't get caught going into the garage :)
All my NSK mics and calipers are top notch. IMHO, just as good as Mitutoyo...
 
just curious here but micrometers create do there thing via a gear train, right? It would seem that accuracy would not be an issue with no-name and cheep tools, you ether have the right tooth count or you don't. So I am asking ( and speculating) that the difference in cheep vs high quality is not in accuracy but rather is things like how smooth the action, is it repairable (parts available etc), will the anvils last, and all of the usability things. I guess there could be some backlash in the gear train of lower quality mics but I would think that would be in the tenths range for even a low quality tool.
I'm not trying to stir the pot here, just curious if I am mis-understanding how mics work and where higher quality design and manufacturing of a mic will show up in practical use.
At the bottom line, a "micrometer" is properly known as a micrometer caliper. As a step up from a vernier caliper, it is essentially the same as a dial caliper. Most times, I can interpolate half a thou on a dial caliper. A micrometer consists of a 40 pitch mandrel with the plunger running thereon. One rotation of any 40 pitch screw moves the tip of the screw 0.025 inch. On a "mike"(properly mic), the tip of the screw and the anvil it presses against are carefully shaped square to the moving ram and hardened (& possibly lapped) so that the same measure is acheived regardless of position. With a strongback to hold the parts under pressure. The "C" shaped bow. . .

From my distant past, I have several (1/8, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, etc) 40 TPI taps. They were for fitting adjustment (or calibration) screws on archaic measurement instruments. What and how they were actually used is outside the frame of this discussion. What is relevant is that they worked the same way as a mike, one rotation of the screw moved the tip 0.025 inch. From a theoretical perspective, I could build a special mike on a shaft of the same diameter as one of these taps.. The threads could be single pointed on the lathe. The follower could be tapped the same pitch, the hole left intact or shaved by a half to make a lifting mechanism. Essentially the same way half nuts fit the lead screw to make threads on a lathe.

The "complexity"of a mike is really non-existant. The precision and repeatibility are what matters. The only "complex" part is that it is done so small as to be a one handed shop tool. The many manufacturers realize "quality" as much or mostly through the smoothness where parts fit together, smoothness of finish, and the square grinding where the tips meet. In most any other perspective, once they are trued, calibrated to zero, there is little difference between Mitutoyo and Harbor Freight.

A metric micrometer works the same way, just with a metric thread on the screw. I have a couple but have not dismantled one or analyzed the dial. I don't use one very often, doing many of the conversions in my head as I work. Probably a 0.5mm pitch, but I'm not sure. . . Looking at how far the tip travels in one revolution defines the pitch.

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I think a 0-4 set is generally sufficient for a hobbyist, all of mine are secondhand from fleamarkets etc. I have a 0-6 set of phase 2, bought off fb marketplace not too long ago at a great price, the shape is a little clunky compared to the others but I wouldn't shy away from them, very reasonable online.
 
I have a 20-year-old set of Fowler mics from 0-4”. They are on blue Mitutoyo-style frames with plastic hand insulators, and include a tenths vernier (the use of which is optional, of course). They include ratchet thimbles. They do not have carbide anvils, but the anvils are hardened and polished. They are accurate and repeatable (the set came with standards but I have calibrated them against Starrett gauge blocks). I don’t see a country of origin on them anywhere, but they seem to me finished to a professional level.

(My larger mics—4-9”—are vintage Lufkin 0.001 mics that are hard to calibrate but have never needed to be. They are decent but the Fowlers are nicer.)

I have used them for automotive mechanical work many times over the years, and they give me much more measurement confidence than my sliding vernier and dial calipers, of which I have Etalon, Mauser, Mitutoyo, and Tesa examples.

Rick “bought the telescopic bore gauges with the Fowlers” Denney
 
I have bought several of the Vevor brand tools. They could be pretty good, or I could just be lucky, but everything has worked for me so far.
 
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