Height gauge lower arm stuck

pontiac428 said:
Those double slides tend to bind when you get them too far apart. If you can back off the upper slide from its travel screw and remove it, it may make it easy to slide the lower one off. I would NOT remove the thumb screws, they have peened ends to prevent them from falling out in use.

My point being the bind is more likely mechanical, but what do I know. Someone could have put Krazy Glue on it before oiling and storing.
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Is the peening of the screws a starrett thing? I've had other brands out to clean or sometimes fall out at inappropriate times when in use. :rolleyes:

I have an old caliper they have put pins in the lock thumb wheel to stop it falling out, nice but I have no idea how you would disassemble it.

Stu
 
stupoty said:
Is the peening of the screws a starrett thing? I've had other brands out to clean or sometimes fall out at inappropriate times when in use. :rolleyes:

I have an old caliper they have put pins in the lock thumb wheel to stop it falling out, nice but I have no idea how you would disassemble it.

Stu
Click to expand...

Well, if they don't back out under easy, gentle pressure, don't get out the vise grips work them loose. Instruments are like watches, not like doing a brake job on an old beater.
 
woodchucker said:
Starrett does not use marvel.. it uses it's own oil that it has formulated.
I should have read through the post. my bad, they may loosen them using marvel, but they lubricate everything with their own oil.
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No worries. It's at least worth a try.
 
pontiac428 said:
Those double slides tend to bind when you get them too far apart. If you can back off the upper slide from its travel screw and remove it, it may make it easy to slide the lower one off. I would NOT remove the thumb screws, they have peened ends to prevent them from falling out in use.

My point being the bind is more likely mechanical, but what do I know. Someone could have put Krazy Glue on it before oiling and storing.
Click to expand...
After the penetrating oil I was able to remove the top slide and all of the screws with only finger strength.
 
The staining looks alarming; I'd consider a good rub-down with metal polish (non-scratching abrasive
will scrub off lots of things that aren't part of the tool).
There's metal polish for aluminum that causes rust if you use it on steel; find the polish description and
read it carefully.
 
whitmore said:
The staining looks alarming; I'd consider a good rub-down with metal polish (non-scratching abrasive
will scrub off lots of things that aren't part of the tool).
There's metal polish for aluminum that causes rust if you use it on steel; find the polish description and
read it carefully.
Click to expand...
The base has a rusty area I was going to soak in evaporust, so I will also apply it to some of the stained areas to see if it helps. If not, metal polish will be on the list of things to try. Thanks!
 
mmcmdl said:
Hey dab . Is this the same model of the one I brought up ? I found a Starrett clamp and scribe set for these when cleaning up .
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This is the exact model you sold me. I have restored it. I would love the clamp and scribe... I was just about to start building the scribe, and was looking for a suitable clamp - the clamping bar is narrower than the current height gauges, so Either I was to buy a replacement one and mod it, or make a new one (frowny face)...

pontiac428 said:
I would NOT remove the thumb screws, they have peened ends to prevent them from falling out in use.
Click to expand...
Not on this model. I've removed and inserted the thumb screws a bunch of times during the restore. They don't fall out because 1 turn loosens it, but it takes about 30-35 turns to completely fremove it. I have to make a new shoe for the upper because the shoe was broken. Not a big deal. just a few minutes.

Rob_fixit said:
The base has a rusty area I was going to soak in evaporust
Click to expand...
The one I just restored had a few rusty patches on it. Don't be too aggressive about removing metal from the base. A good deal of your accuracy is in the lapped surface of the base, and how perpendicular it is to the mast. I used a pencil eraser with 1 micron grit to remove the deepest rust patch very locally, so it becomes a non-contact surface. the rest of the rust stains came away with WD40 and a regular pink eraser with no abrasive at all. It prints very well on the surface plate, and the former rust areas show no contact.
 
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