Question for machinists

Hey folks,

I am going to be rebuilding a Ford diesel engine shortly and want to get a set of micrometers for this and future jobs.

I am not going to build hundreds of engines but perhaps tens.

I really can't justify the cost of a Starret set and I am looking at a few less expensive sets and am looking for opinions.

Thanks,

Brad
shars
 
FWIW, I have bought from shars a couple of times and have been well satisfied with the tools I bought and the service I received.
 
This probably goes against the grain of the other posts:

I rebuild an engine from time to time in my home shop. I don't do any of the machine work, but I do the tear down inspection and the Assembly in my farm shop.

For several years I have used a 0-3" set of Chinese micrometers, a 0-6" dial indicator (Craftsman, from 1990s) and recently added a used I.D. mike, Lufkin brand.

With these I can usually determine to within about a thousandth of an inch (or two) the wear/taper, etc. of the parts, So I can determine whether the part needs to be bored, ground undersize, etc.

I let the machinist at the machine shop, whose 0-1" mike cost more than all the above tools together, actually machine the parts.
 

I've pieced together a reasonably good compliment of precision tools by going to industrial tool auctions and believe it or not...some farm auctions. Recently bought a Craftsman machinists chest loaded with small mics, bore guages, Starret calipers, digital vernier calipers and other odds and ends for $60.00. A few rust spots...but what the heck !!

That was NOT a normal occurence, but way less that retail can be expected most of the time....

Of course, going the auction route is not a real fast way of getting exactly what you are looking for either.
 
Depends on whether you've used micrometers before.
If you aren't used to using them and don't have the feel for one you're better off having someone else do your measuring for you.
 
I completely agree,The feel is very important !!
I have starrett and some Chinese also
They usually come with standards to check the accuracy,I trust them for most measurments
 
All machinist tools on eBay sell well except for mikes. There are pages and pages of them many 99 cent auctions.All brands too.Buyers market on eBay.
 
Travers Tool Co (Online) has some decent Chinese mics, for casual use. 1 inch to 6 inch set is not much over 100 dollars.
 
Something that cheap (Shars) sounds like a big gamble. It's hard to wear out a good set of mics, so I would be inclined to search Ebay for a used set of something more name brand.

Whatever you get, new or used, they need to be checked with a standard gauge block. Any machine shop would have a set they could check your mics with or let you check them yourself. They are easily calibrated.

Smart move having a set of mics. Any part you send out, you should check when you get it back. Finding a competent machine shop is extremely hard to do! Even if you trust them, mistakes happen. Much better to find it before assembly and subsequent failure!
 
You should look for a decent name brand on Ebay.

Personally I like Mitutoyo but any good name would be fine. I still have my original 1~3 set of NSK that I bought in the early 70"s and they are fine. No matter what you are looking to get make sure you get carbide anvil faces. Keeps things nice and square for a long time and it makes it a better bet if you are buying used.

Whatever you do, take your time and get to know the feel of them. Once you get used to using them you will be surprised how accurate you can be.

I used to run lathes and grinders and we would work in the 0.0001/0.0002 range. I bought a starrett 0~1 mic that had a tenths scale on it and got pretty good at it.

Enjoy!
 
Shars is doing a great job of sorting out the pure chunk. I have purchased from them many times and have yet to be disappointed by the quality of any item. I have a 0-6 Shars mic set that I keep at the horizontal boring machine and they do what they are supposed to do, accurately measure, dont know what else to say about them? Shars mics are fine for the casual user. As some others have said you must acquire a feel for using mics and it makes no difference what brand they are.
 
Thanks for all the help and information.

I sure know a lot more about mics than I did a few days ago.

I am currently doing the ebay thing and if I can find a quality set that I can afford I will grab it.

Otherwise I am leaning toward the shars. Seems to have quite a bit of positive feedback.

Brad
 
I have had my starrets sence 1985 when i was grinding crankshafts. Dont cheap out on a tool thats got to be that percise.
 
Butch metioned below about a feel for the micrometers. This takes practice by repeatedly measuring a known standard . If it has a ratchet end spin onto the work at a speed where you get the proper measurment of the stadard.Repeat the same feel when measuring other items.If you have Jo blocks you can practice on those as they are measured to the millionth of an inch.
 

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