Starrett has fallen (a bit) from grace

[markso125]

I recently purchased several Starrett micrometers for my classes, they are still good quality micrometers you look at them and they maintain a nice fit and finish, that being said they are good tools and my students will benefit from them. For my personal tools I prefer my old style Starrett micrometers. For those of you that don't have a comparison they moved the spindle lock from the middle of the anvil base to the end of it. I know why they did it, it is cheaper to manufacture just cutting the end of the anvil part with an endmill instead of running a separate slotting operation, I just prefer the older style the quality is still there as well is the accuracy. Oh and I would take a Hexagon Metrology dial test indicator (these include Brown & Sharpe, Tesa, Etalon and Interapid) over a Starrett any day their indicators are just better made in my opinion, of course I think the same thing about their dial calipers... well as long as you don't get the Chinese made brown & sharp cheapies.
For those of you that don't understand here is a picture of the old style micrometers note the spindle lock position


Here is the new style

 

[pstemari]

I recently purchased several Starrett micrometers for my classes, they are still good quality micrometers you look at them and they maintain a nice fit and finish, that being said they are good tools and my students will benefit from them. For my personal tools I prefer my old style Starrett micrometers. For those of you that don't have a comparison they moved the spindle lock from the middle of the anvil base to the end of it. I know why they did it, it is cheaper to manufacture just cutting the end of the anvil part with an endmill instead of running a separate slotting operation, I just prefer the older style the quality is still there as well is the accuracy. Oh and I would take a Hexagon Metrology dial test indicator (these include Brown & Sharpe, Tesa, Etalon and Interapid) over a Starrett any day their indicators are just better made in my opinion, of course I think the same thing about their dial calipers... well as long as you don't get the Chinese made brown & sharp cheapies.
For those of you that don't understand here is a picture of the old style micrometers note the spindle lock position

Here is the new style

Odd. The 226 still has the lock in the original position.

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[markso125]

Odd. The 226 still has the lock in the original position.

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Hmm from what I have seen on Starretts website the only ones that have not changed are the 230's
http://www.starrett.com/metrology/m...isplayMode=grid&itemsPerPage=24&sortBy=wp/asc

But the 230 always seemed to be their premium line.

 

[ericc]

I hate to say this, but I have had bad experiences with both a last word and a 196 dial indicator. Both were purchased used, and looked OK, but ended up getting sticky and unreliable. I even ended up making some mistakes. On the other hand, a $10 Harbor Freight indicator has been super reliable and always on the dot for me. It has saved the day when the Starrett's were finicky. I ended up sending the 196 in to Starrett, and they fixed it for $75. It is perfect now, just as reliable as the Harbor Freight indicator. But, now I am afraid to use it. The Starrett indicators just have much cleaner and classic lines. Much nicer to look at, but they have let me down. If I were more practical, I would use all import junk indicators, and dump them in the trash at the first sign of trouble.

 

[markso125]

Oe thing I have noticed with indicators is all of the premium dial indicators are built with super tight tolerances, Starrett, Brown & Sharpe, Mahr Federal, Mitutoyo ect and in dirty shops with coolant and welding smoke and dirt and everything floating around in the air they get pretty sticky fairly quick. All of my inspection room indicators tend to be name brand but the ones I use on the floor are cheap indicators like Techlock or SPI just for the fact you can dunk them in a bucket of coolant and let it dry out and get sticky, then to get them to work again just run them under the sink and then oil them up with indicator oil and they work just fine.

 

[EmilioG]

I own many Starrett tools and gages and they are well made. Most are from my Dad and the rest, vintage and new.
When buying Starrett tools, I usually buy the older Starrett and not all tools. Small stuff mostly and few precision tools.
A Last Word DI? Never. I do have a 196, but the older one. Starrett is just not what is used to be. Great company, but they are in survival mode.
They still make great tools and they do go out of their way to help customers, so I support them. I would hate to see Starrett disappear.
They should get rid of certain tools and gages from their catalog, like the Last Word. Starrett makes a great anvil mic and more. But like I wrote, most of my Starrett tools are the older vintage in pristine condition.

 

[benmychree]

Starrett's Last Word is likely the weakest product they have made. I don't know squat about the insides of test indicators, but there must be a design glitch. Every Last Word I have layed hands on, maybe a half dozen or so, has been awkward with less than good feel in how fast and repeatable the needle goes back to zero. Anything from Switzerland is likely better as are the instruments from Germany. 312-b is my workhorse test indicator, but I also have other Euro indicators, they are certainly worlds better than the Last Words I have seen.

I bought a Last Word indicator about 50 some odd years ago and used it daily; they may not be as sensitive or accurate as B&S, but they do stand up to daily use and require little or no care other than occasionally tightening up the pivot screw. The ease of changing contact arms is an asset. The B&S and other indicators that are similar may be better for inspection purposes, but the Starrett is the more practical for shop floor use. No one indicator type is best for all applications.

 

[Kevin J]

Perhaps Black and Decker will buy Starrett and save the company.

 

[benmychree]

I think the quality is still there, but the finish is not.

 

[Rustrp]

Perhaps Black and Decker will buy Starrett and save the company.

There is no Black & Decker today, it was purchased by Stanley Tool Group and if they did purchase Starrett everything would be a half bubble off.

Edit: Technically there is a B&D but it's lost somewhere in the DeWalt sawdust and nothing they make comes close to Starrett.