Starrett has fallen (a bit) from grace

Before lasers the #196 button backs were the industrial standard for coupling alignment. Man, they took a beating . Millwrights aren't dainty souls like machinists, chuckle. And they were company tools. I'll say a good word about them.

A couple of days ago I had to tap for a #6 screw. My usually tap wrench, an English made Eclipse wouldn't go small enough, so I dug out a Starrett I had bought for working on a rifle 20 years ago, what a little jewel. And I'm a Mitutoyo fan.
 
wildo said:
Great thread! Lots of good, reasonable opinions here- and good respect for what Starrett was and is today. Ulma Doctor, given that I bought a Last Word (thinking it was top brass, lol) and have found it to be sticky, and requires a lot of pressure to move, can you elaborate on how it is not intended to compete with a DTI? I was under the impression that it was in fact a DTI. What purpose would you use a Last Word for where a standard dial indicator is not appropriate, but a DTI is overkill? While I'm not disagreeing with you (Lord knows I don't have the experience to do so) I am caught up a bit on what you're implying the proper use case is for the Last Word.
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Hi wildo,
after reading my response, i can see how the meaning cold easily be confused.
the last word, while being a very nice measuring instrument has a resolution of .001"
when i think of DTI's i'm thinking in .0001" resolution
in saying that, the last word could not compete in resolution, if you are trying to chase tenths a last word won't work.

it is true that a last word is a dial test indicator, i just don't think of it as one of the same cast
i put them into the same category as drop indicators, not saying that the thought or assimilation is right- just the way i look at them

if you were tramming a mill, the tenths indicator may be considered overkill to some, myself included
but' i'd put a .001" indicator on in a minute and tram away
 
I'm sure that if Starrett made an indicator of the same style as an Interapid, Mitutoyo, Compac it would also be top of the line. That being said the Last Word doesn't fit all types in the machining world. Had one 30 years ago and didn't take long to upgrade. I personally like Interapid...with an assortment of differnent contact point lengths the possibilities are unlimited....another drawback of the Last Word
 
Actually, Starrett is now making a DTI that looks like the Interapid. Mitutoyo has also copied the Interapid body design.
Many of those Starrett's and Mitutoyos are considered "throw-away's", not really worth the price of repairing.
I wouldn't spend $80 to repair a Last Word. Still, I hope Starrett never goes out of business. They are one of the great USA companies.,
but the world is changing. Look at Gibson guitars, .they're going in to bankruptcy.
 
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Have to remember, Starrett's core business today is in big industrial metrology equipment that we can't even think about buying for our shops. And that stuff doesn't come up often in the "used equipment sector" of the market. And from viewing the film on youtube of the tour of the Starrett factory in Athol, there's not much of it left other than building dial indicators and a few other things. Everything else has been moved to other divisions all over the World, thanks to global manufacturings and NAFTA.
 
And in global manufacturing, it's outsourced to other manufactures that may be building the same widget that has the Starrett label affixed to it, too!
 
Here in Europe i don't have much access to starrett tools but i've managed to buy couple of old scales and rulers made in usa and their quality some of the best i've seen. At work i'm using couple of hole saw and holders made by starrett in china and made in uk an is an disaster, holders snap all the time even in small cordless drills, HSS Bi metal hole saw are too brittle evan in sheet metal brake teeth on the first use and with as high price as they are sold i would never buy anything new from starrett.
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I have used a Last Word indicator for a LOT of years and it has always been great and works fine. I still use it for very fine work, but then I also take very good care of my precison tools. I never found any problem with the Last Word indicator. Just My opinion.
 
I have and use a Last Word purchased some time in the early 80's. It lives on my Flexbar "Donkey D*ck" mag base for indicating parts in the lathe. It's also the one I grab for indicating a vise, hole or tramming the head on the mill. It may be the versatility of the attachments, may just be habit. I noticed that Long Island Indicator does not repair them anymore, not because they're not worth fixing, Starrett has de-certified them as a repair center for some unknown reason.

I just sent off my venerable T230XRL 1 in. mic for repair. Broken ratchet stop screw (several decades ago) and frozen spindle. It went to Precision Instrument Correction in Brea, CA. L.I.I. wanted too much money to even look at it.
 
I was very depressed when I found out that Starrett sells Chinesium tooling, I ordered my first 0-1", 1-2" and 2-3" micrometers from Starrett and I received 3 models that were made it China. FAIL.
 
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