Micrometer suggestions

OrangeCat said:

the micrometer I acquired has a sizable gouge down the side and the digital display looks water damaged.

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Contact the mfg and see what they will charge to repair. May be considerably less than a new on.

Sterrett , Brown & Sharp are few others to keep your eyes open for.

Not a professional so take my ideas with a grain of salt. In general the micrometer is an order of magnitude more accurate than any caliper measurement. After Budget, there is what is the honest evaluation of the most likely measurement system you will deal with for your projects, imperial v. metric. The range of part sizing you will need to assess with the micrometer, as quality micrometers are availed in various measurement limits, e.g. 0-1.0", 1.0-2.0" etc. Deciding if you want to have Vernier v. digital readout system, the clear advantage of digital is push-button conversion between imperial-metric dimensions. A nice tool properly cared for will be a lifetime trustworthy friend on the bench; an inexpensive short term mistress of a tool, will break your heart when you least expect it (Sinatra's, "Luck Be a Lady Tonight"). I have been satisfied with these three tools for a lot of projects; Mitutoyo digital caliper and the Starrett micrometers, both came with a calibration length pin to make sure they are behaving as expected. Mom always said don't end a sentence with a preposition nor use "Machinist class" and "complete idiot" in the same paragraph!

Mitutoyo, as well as the American measuring instruments are excellent. But, I'd recommend sticking with the mechanical, rather than digital types, because they are equally accurate and their batteries don't give up...

PRD1 - mhb - MIke

I personally am a fan of Starrett and Mitutoyo measurement tools. I do have some "inexpensive" tools in the toolbox for working on the car and motorcycle, but my precision tools are kept in a controlled environment and are handled like glass. Spend the money on good tools up front and reap the rewards for years to come.

I strongly recommend a non-digital micrometer. Digitals require a battery, and their selling points are not so wonderful (being able to zero anywhere, etc.). A purely mechanical micro depends on the user, whose skills should be developed at the root level. If you are taking a class they should be teaching about non-digitals. I was a machinist and our standards were 'way stricter than digitals could provide. Plus a mechanical mike is MUCH more durable.

beag_nut said:

Digitals require a battery...

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There are these Mitutoyos which are solar powered, but work pretty well under suboptimal fluorescent light.

I find all these mechanical micro recommendations odd. My mother was an electromechanical technician for NASA back in the early 90's , and she used the digital micro they gave her. Apparently, everyone used a digital one.

She actually gave me her micro they day i came home with my reloading press. it reads to the nearest half-millionth.

I bought a Starrett in tenths for $40 at the pawn shop. Another resource to check.

Double_J said:

I personally am a fan of Starrett and Mitutoyo measurement tools. I do have some "inexpensive" tools in the toolbox for working on the car and motorcycle, but my precision tools are kept in a controlled environment and are handled like glass. Spend the money on good tools up front and reap the rewards for years to come.

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I am only a professional lay-about now but when I actually did work for pay I preferred the same brands you listed. I took very good care of mine and all are still in excellent condition except for a Starrett level that after babying it for years I managed to drop .I grabbed it, checked it over, and finding no sign of damage I breathed a big sigh of relief. The next day I found it no longer had a bubble. One of these days I'm going to have it repaired but until I do I'm getting by with a digital model that I find more handy than the Starrett for my MIG (made in garage) projects. I have forgotten the name and cube is all I recall.

I suggest that you visit pawn shops in your area. Often you can pick up a used mic for $20-25 for Starrett or Brown and Sharpe. I recommend getting a 0-1" and a 1-2" mechanical micrometer. For pure convenience a Mitutoyo Digital caliper is great, but use the micrometers for precision measurements.

Bill Jacobs

Been using a $35 CHINESIUM for a couple years now. It’s accurate to .001” at least. And that’s all I’ve needed. Even in my machining, Custom Knifemaking. But when it gives up, I’ll grab a Mitutoyo.

I just retired from a tool & die position where work had Mitutoyo's & I had Starrett, Brown and Sharpe in my box.
I don't care for the digital tools because every time I needed to use one I had to stop to find a new battery.
Buy the best you can afford but have some cheap measurement tools too, just to take out to do the dirty work where you wouldn't want to take your best tools.

AK Hunter said:

I just retired from a tool & die position where work had Mitutoyo's & I had Starrett, Brown and Sharpe in my box.
I don't care for the digital tools because every time I needed to use one I had to stop to find a new battery.
Buy the best you can afford but have some cheap measurement tools too, just to take out to do the dirty work where you wouldn't want to take your best tools.

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I have a HF chinesium digital calipher for quick and dirty measurements and the battery lasts almost forever. I have another brand of chyinesium digital I bough before the HF and if I don't remove the battery after every use it is dead the next time I try to use it. I even cut the foam in the box away above the head with no success. It just enjoys laying in it's box in the back of a drawer. I should throw it away.

Edited to add: Out of curiosity I checked HF and found that calipher I gave 11 bucks for several years ago on sale is now $22.99.

There is a whole lot of great advice give here. I recommend getting your hands on a little bit of everything that you can afford. It has been my experience to start out with something that you aren't afraid of breaking or having to get it re-calibrated by accidentally dropping it. Don't ask me how I know this. I'll just say it was an expensive lesson. One that couldn't afford at the time.

Don't fall for the convenience and my brand of tool is the best from the tool truck salesman because if you do you will be married to that bill for a vary long time especially on credit to the tune of a car payment size bill. Ask me how I know that.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with used tools and inexpensive tools to start out with. Pawn shops, flea markets, swap meats, craigslist, eBay, harbor freight, auto parts stores are excellent sources to acquire the equipment you need just starting out. Sometimes you can luck out and get some smoking deals on the brand name tools that the tool truck salesman and your close buddies will envy. Ask me how I know that.

That's enough of the lecture here is a photo of some of my precision measuring tools to prove that you don't have to be brand specific. Starting left top with Vernier Caliper made by Helios in Germany, next is another Vernier caliper made by General/MG in Italy, next is a dial indicating caliper made in China and last is a digital caliper made for Harbor Freight in China. None of which broke the bank.

Next is the steel pocket rule followed up with my micrometers made by Mitutoyo and a set from NSK from Japan.

I have never had much luck with digital (electric) calipers, some would read different from inside to outside, some would count up under CFL bulbs
I have gone back to Mitutoyo, Brown & Sharp, Starrett, Peacock dial calipers,
I do have a few Starrett mikes and use a nonelectric digital Mitutoyo mike.

I forgot about Fowler. We haven’t even mentioned them. Fowler makes some very high quality Micrometers, Calipers.

Old school machinist/tool and die maker here. When I need a very precise measurement, I use micrometers and calipers with a vernier scale since they are more accurate than any digital micrometer or caller I have used. Digital measuring tools have their place. They are great for when you need a quick measurement and you do not need accuracy down to 0.0001".

Funny story for you. When one company I worked for got ISO 9000 certified, we had to get everything calibrated. I handed the QC guy my 12" vernier caller for calibration and he came back and said he could not calibrate it. When I asked why, he said that he didn't know how to read it.

Mauser fan said:

here is a photo of some of my precision measuring tools to prove that you don't have to be brand specific. Starting left top with Vernier Caliper made by Helios in Germany, next is another Vernier caliper made by General/MG in Italy, next is a dial indicating caliper made in China and last is a digital caliper made for Harbor Freight in China.

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You mentioned a lot about the calibrated c clamps, nothing about the “for reference” c clamp holding the butt stock

I prefer Starrett, but a lot of great suggestions above!

12Bravo20 said:

Funny story for you. When one company I worked for got ISO 9000 certified, we had to get everything calibrated. I handed the QC guy my 12" vernier caller for calibration and he came back and said he could not calibrate it. When I asked why, he said that he didn't know how to read it.

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Not many people can use a Slide Rule, much less an Abacus as fast as it takes to punch numbers in a regular Casio / TI / HP, either...

Just musing a little bit here about old technology. I was weaned on linear slide rulers (miss the K,L,M scales) in high school but then the numbers had to be in scientific notation, understand how to add / subtract the exponents for multiplication / division functions, and had to understand # of significant digits of an observed measurement. HS physics teacher invented a round slide ruler that was pretty cool. Freshman in college chemistry, Texas Instruments SR-25 had a hand held scientific notation calculator with 25 functions (Trig, log's etc) and Hewlett Packard challenged with their Polish Reverse Notation algorithm for data entry. Vernier scale still requires interpolation of where the index marks align (akin to old fashion logarithm tables wherein one had to interpolated the actual #, i.e. the "mantissa" digital component of the answer. Don't see any of the NASA engineer still using handheld slide rulers; although the TV series My Three Sons dad was an aircraft engineer and he would on occasion be shown at the drawing board with slide rule in hand.

I picked up a Starrett and a Mitutoyo at a flea market about 5 years ago for $18 between them. Their digital cousins were considerably more which perhaps speaks to people’s more recent predilection for technology.

I learned what little I know about measuring devices from my cabinet making teacher in high school and a retired machinist from the Rock Island Arsenal; both were decidedly old school. I owe my retirement 9 more years of work but I’m pondering a few courses at that point to learn a bit more…if my hands survive the hand file work I do between now and then.

I can’t say enough good things about Starrett non-digital micrometers. I have several 0-1” that I keep in handy spots so I am never without. The oldest dates from 1928 and is as accurate as it was on day one.

Kp321 said:

I can’t say enough good things about Starrett non-digital micrometers. I have several 0-1” that I keep in handy spots so I am never without. The oldest dates from 1928 and is as accurate as it was on day one.

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I have a 0-1" hanging on a hook on my reloading bench. It's a Craftsman which was considerably less expensive than Starrett and Mitutoyo back when I bought it but it is always right on when I check on a standard.