Starrett 454 Height Gauge--how Does It Work?

[JimDawson]

OK, you guys win, I stand corrected.

 

[T Bredehoft]

Hey! You know where the base surface is, the height gage is sitting on it. You want to measure something above that surface, or you want to scribe a line somewhere above that surface. With the Scribe mounted on the bottom of the arm, "Upside down", to measure the top of something, put a 1 2 3 block on the top and measure the bottom of the 1 2 3 block.

Sometimes you gotta think out side the box.

 

[Rex Walters]

Heh. No winning or losing, we're all learning.

I think a height gauge is used two ways: to scribe lines or to measure heights. I don't think the orientation matters much as far as scribing goes, but it's critical to know what the reference is when measuring. With a dogleg you are still using the same reference, just scribing lines exactly 1" lower.

I think the intent is to remove the movable piece when you just want to measure the overall height of something: lower until the non-removable piece makes contact. Similarly, raise with the removable piece in place to measure the height of the underside of some feature. To measure the height of something less than an inch tall, you need the dogleg offset. Regardless, all three methods use the same reference surface.

Nice piece of gear, Jay.
--
Rex

 

[birdus]

Nice piece of gear, Jay.
--
Rex

Thanks for all the replies and good info!

Thanks, Rex. Got it for $50 on eBay. I was the only bidder. I'll clean it up a bit and should get some good use out of it. I was happy to get the original box and scriber, too.

I'm obviously no expert on height gauges, but I had no idea these were ever used except in reference to the table top on which you place the gauge. Weird.

I'll start looking for the dog leg on eBay. Nothing there now. I was going to pick up some 1-2-3 blocks, anyway, so I'll just go ahead and get a few so I can set work pieces on them and get measurements while hunting down the dog leg.

One other thing. It seems clear that you lock down the upper piece of the sliding mechanism and spin the threaded knurled knob to make a precise adjustment of the arm. My question is what is the technique to get the arm to stop precisely when it touches the work piece? It seems to me that it's just going to start lifting the height gauge off the table as I screw the knob and lower the arm (after touching the work piece). In fact, I tried it and just don't know how to tell exactly when the arm/scribe touches the work piece and thus know the instant to stop spinning the knob.

Thanks again.
Jay

 

[JimDawson]

My question is what is the technique to get the arm to stop precisely when it touches the work piece?

If you move the gauge back and forth a bit while bringing the arm down, you can feel it when it touches the surface. The other way it to not use the nut at all, then holding the base, just push the slide/nut assembly down until it stops on the target surface

 

[birdus]

If you move the gauge back and forth a bit while bringing the arm down, you can feel it when it touches the surface.

Sounds good. I'll give that a whirl.

The other way it to not use the nut at all, then holding the base, just push the slide/nut assembly down until it stops on the target surface.

This is what I would've assumed the normal use of the height gauge was until I noticed the fine adjust. That makes me wonder why it's there and what would be Starrett's explanation of when one would use it.

Thanks,
Jay

 

[JimDawson]

I normally use the nut when I'm setting the gauge to a certain height for scribing use.

 

[RJSakowski]

If you move the gauge back and forth a bit while bringing the arm down, you can feel it when it touches the surface. The other way it to not use the nut at all, then holding the base, just push the slide/nut assembly down until it stops on the target surface

I normally use the nut when I'm setting the gauge to a certain height for scribing use.

+1 on the use of the of the fine adjust. I have a digital height gage that I use for setting tool offsets for the mill. I use the fine adjust to zero out the surface gage on my tool height reference for my mill. To measure tool heights, I disengage the fine adjust and gently lower the height gage until it makes contact.

If you were trying to measure the height of something soft (e.g. rubber gasket) where the weight of the gage might compress the object, you might want to use the fine adjust then and visually look for contact or slide the object back and forth slightly in the horizontal plane to establish contact.

Bob

 

[T Bredehoft]

you might want to use the fine adjust then and visually look for contact or slide the object back and forth slightly in the horizontal plane to establish contact.

Or, insert a .001 feeler stock and note when it is captive as you lower the height gage. Its something you develop a feel for.

 

[birdus]

Thanks for the tips on using the fine adjust. That makes sense.