Buying new micrometers

Thanks for your answers and help.

I´m from Spain (I´m learning english, excuse me if I make mistakes) and here the DIY culture is not very popular, so if I want second hand tools I have to buy in other countries, so the shipping cost a lot.

I have done some research and the INSIZE brand seems good and they are not cheap (around 40-50 $) so I think is a good choice. The ones of 0,001mm aren't much more expensive so I'll buy those.

And a good test indicator of 0,01 because I don't want to be crazy with the needle.

And I'll have to sell the car!! Always the same, you start looking for a specific tool and you ended buying a lot. Later will come the rest for the indicator to use in the surface plate, but meanwhile I'm going to make one.
 
I was thinking of this thread earlier and was curious what a 0-25mm 0.001mm micrometer cost, so did a search for a Mitutoyo 0-25mm 0.001mm micrometer (model 103-129) and found that Newark Electronics sells them at good prices, and they have stock in England. That might be reasonable shipping for you in Spain. I never considered an electrical supply place like Newark selling micrometers, but they are a reputable company.

Here is the link https://www.newark.com/mitutoyo/103...lies&msclkid=e0e70e7ebf5315f44d6f6c29ffb48def

Hit send too early, they also sell other measuring equipment, so you might be able to get what you need at better prices that what you are finding local or from the US.
 
I've got a set of Starret mics, 1, 2, & 3" that have marks @ .0005" and I can estimate pretty good in-between. I've got the gage blocks for them and they stay dead on. My Mitutoyo 1" has the same markings and also a mechanical display that is very good for seeing .001 and guessing at how far it went to the next but the spindle reading is much easier to guestimate. I've never had a .0001 mic so I am making the assumption that they take 10 times the turns to advance? That could be a drag if you needed to make a very big move.
Here is a picture of my 0-1” 0.0001” micrometer. It reads to 0.001” on the cap and the axial lines on the barrel are the vernier scales for the tenths range.
 

Attachments

  • A76836BE-8A21-4FA9-AD9E-8DE51C8C1BA4.jpeg
    A76836BE-8A21-4FA9-AD9E-8DE51C8C1BA4.jpeg
    131.1 KB · Views: 10
the axial lines on the barrel are the vernier scales
A simple solution that shouldn't add much if any to the cost. The accuracy of the threads on micrometers must be really good.
I've got two mics from the USSR. 0-25 & 25 to 50mm. marked CCCP on one and USSR on the other. What looks like a trade mark, a K inside of a stylized micrometer. Still in their original boxes. One with a gage pin.
 
A .01mm mic is faster to use for an occasional user, but really, if you can afford it, get the .001mm ones, at least for the 0-25 (which you will likely use more often).

That being said, all my mics are Moore and Wright, all the way to 5", but that was acquired over 20 years. My 0-1" and my 2-3" Mics are .0001 inch - all my others are .001 inch and they suit just fine. No need to go overboard, but getting best quality means you won't be replacing them later and losing money.

I should add that for the first 20 years I only had a 5$ Starrett rusty mic that read to .001/inch, and I was fine.
 
A simple solution that shouldn't add much if any to the cost. The accuracy of the threads on micrometers must be really good.
I've got two mics from the USSR. 0-25 & 25 to 50mm. marked CCCP on one and USSR on the other. What looks like a trade mark, a K inside of a stylized micrometer. Still in their original boxes. One with a gage pin.
It would add a little bit since they need to calibrate and check the engraving of the axial lines, but yes it looks like the difference between a 0.01 and a 0.001mm micrometer is only a few dollars, so I don’t see any downside of going with the better resolution.

Having said that, I bought a 0-25 0.01mm resolution micrometer in Ebay many years ago at a price I couldn’t resist, but also have a 0-1” 0.0001” micrometer that I can use when it matters. I like to measure in the system I am designing to, and I design almost exclusively in metric, but being a frugal Yankee, sometimes I make exceptions :)
 
Thanks for your answers.

And talking about imperial or metric, I´m sure is not so hard when you used to it, but when I see in youtube videos measuring things in fracions of inches, that for me is crazy complicated
 
I feel the same way about fractions, drives me crazy seeing drawings with fractions on everything. For the steam engines I am building, I redraw everything into metric and use ISO tolerances so it is easier to make.
 
Back
Top