- Joined
- Jan 2, 2014
- Messages
- 8,852
A few years ago I found this Hardinge dial indicator at my local used tool place.
It was cheap because the crystal was so discoloured, it was barely usable.
The mechanism still moved smoothly though......so I bought it.
I took it apart to have a look:
Knowing it was probably futile (with those deep scratches) I tried to clean, and then polish the original crystal.
That did NOT go well:
No cleaner I tried was enough and the polishing wheel ended-up just melting the surface.
Oh well, no big loss.......
At the time I tried to find a replacement crystal.
The bezel recess measures at 52mm diameter, but I found nothing available.
It sat that way in the tool box drawer for a couple years.
I found the indicator in that drawer again recently and tried another search.
I know the (amazing!) Long Island Indicator site says that the crystal are actually flat, but take the domed shape when installed in the bezel.
http://www.longislandindicator.com/p233.html
However, the only crystal I could find was this one on ebay:
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Crystal-Cov...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
It was under USD $10, so I gave it a shot.
I ordered it on July 2nd, and got it on the 16th; that's much faster than I expected, especially given the current state of everything.
(no affiliation, just a very happy customer!)
Here's all the parts:
Interestingly, with the scale and brass spring removed the face shows more manufacturers information:
The new plastic crystal fit the bezel a little loosely. It held it's own weight, but I figured that it would fall out at the worst time and get lost or allow the needle to be damaged. So I used a toothpick to apply a few small spots of CA glue in the bezel recess.
Then, after another gentle cleaning, I put everything back together.
Here it is now:
That's just the LEDs in the desk lamp reflecting in the new crystal.
It still feels smooth, I can't wait to use it!
-brino
It was cheap because the crystal was so discoloured, it was barely usable.
The mechanism still moved smoothly though......so I bought it.
I took it apart to have a look:
Knowing it was probably futile (with those deep scratches) I tried to clean, and then polish the original crystal.
That did NOT go well:
No cleaner I tried was enough and the polishing wheel ended-up just melting the surface.
Oh well, no big loss.......
At the time I tried to find a replacement crystal.
The bezel recess measures at 52mm diameter, but I found nothing available.
It sat that way in the tool box drawer for a couple years.
I found the indicator in that drawer again recently and tried another search.
I know the (amazing!) Long Island Indicator site says that the crystal are actually flat, but take the domed shape when installed in the bezel.
http://www.longislandindicator.com/p233.html
However, the only crystal I could find was this one on ebay:
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Crystal-Cov...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
It was under USD $10, so I gave it a shot.
I ordered it on July 2nd, and got it on the 16th; that's much faster than I expected, especially given the current state of everything.
(no affiliation, just a very happy customer!)
Here's all the parts:
Interestingly, with the scale and brass spring removed the face shows more manufacturers information:
The new plastic crystal fit the bezel a little loosely. It held it's own weight, but I figured that it would fall out at the worst time and get lost or allow the needle to be damaged. So I used a toothpick to apply a few small spots of CA glue in the bezel recess.
Then, after another gentle cleaning, I put everything back together.
Here it is now:
That's just the LEDs in the desk lamp reflecting in the new crystal.
It still feels smooth, I can't wait to use it!
-brino
The background face looks crooked, is it adjustable? No matter really though, just caught my eye.
