John --I consider the Swiss-made micrometers -- Etalon and Tesa -- to be the cream of the world's crop, but they are expensive . . . last time I checked a 0-1 inch Tesa was going to go over US$ 300 with California sales tax. There are a number of micrometers that are a small step down the quality ladder and a big step down the price ladder. The others have already mentioned Starrett, Brown & Sharpe, and Mitutoyo; I'll add Scherr-Tumico (US), Mauser, Moore & Wright (England), and NSK (Japan). Several of the mail-order tool supply houses sell a line of Polish micrometers that are pretty darn good; at a third the price of Starrett, B&S, and so on the Polish micrometers are a great value. Finally, there are some "Mitutoyo-lookalike" micrometers being imported from China that are FAR superior to the typical Chinese micrometers. I would hesitate to buy these mail order, but judging from the examples I've examined, I would not be at all surprised if some of Mitutoyo's execs aren't staying awake at night worrying about the Chinese competition. As for digital calipers, I've never used any that have really satisfied me. The best of the bunch I've tried are Mitutoyo's "coolant resistant" models. After trying digital calipers a half dozen times over the last twenty years, I gave up on them and stick with dials. John
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