Test micrometers

S

skeetlee

Active member
Ok i am looking at buying a test micrometer that reads in .0001. I dont know what test micrometer to buy, nor do i know if i need to spend the big bucks for a brown sharp, or sterrat or other high end maker. I have looked at several of the import models for around 75 bucks but are they a waste of money? I have asked this question privately to a couple of men i respect wholeheartedly, and there responses have been somewhat mixed. I am currently looking at a Fowler test mic, as they seem pretty middle of the road on price. I am using the grizzly rod method to chamber barrels and i would like to hear some personal experiences with high end and middle of the road test mics for this application. Do i need the best to do what we are doing? What do you fellas know about the Fowler test mic? any info is appreciated. Also this will probably be subjected to personal opinion but do we really need a mic that reads .0001 when most of our machines wont even hold this kind of tolerance? Lee
 
thanks Boyd, i will certainly watch this auction. Every other auction like this i have watched these indicators dont sell very cheap. I dont know what that indicator is worth, but i would think even at 100 bucks it would be a good buy? I thought i read that long stem indicators loose accuracy? I assume this is why i need to use the whisker half way down on the pin? Lee

I am reading as much as i can about these things trying to educate myself the best i can. I like to do this before i buy anything. So i am just trying to gather info here. If i need to spend premium money for an indicator i certainly will. if i dont need to, for what i am doing then i wont. I just dont know?
 
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If the indicator was set up to read correctly with the whisker that is shown, a reading on the tip will be correct on the dial. By moving the contact point in to the middle, the reading would be twice the actual runout. If you fit a longer whisker the dial will show less than the actual runout. For instance if you doubled the length of the whisker, from the way that the indicator came, runout that showed .001 on the dial would actually be .002. Going the other way, if you touch the top of the rod with the middle of the whisker, runout that shows as .001 on the dial, should actually be around .0005.
 
Hey Lee do a google search for long island indicator. They do repair on most brands and they have excellent info about every brand made. Check the alphabetical list and click and D, then scroll to dial indicator. They have a section titled, compare the different models.
They list almost every brand made and give pros and cons of each. Most people recommend the Interapid brand, as they are viewed as the best, it's hard to argue this. One thing I learned is Tesa is a Swiss manufacture that produces Interapid, Etalon, Compac, Standard, Brown & Sharpe, Roch and Mercer, among others. These are the top names in the world all made in the same place. Not that my opinion means much but I would get a .0001" resolution indicator.

Hope this helps.

Joe Hynes
 
Some more stuff from Long Island Indicator.




In Brief: the best dial test indicators are Swiss made. You have 4 commonly available brand names to choose from: Bestest, Compac, Interapid, Tesatast. All of these are made by the same manufacturer in Switzerland. There's nothing better on the market, in our opinion.

The worst dial test indicators are Chinese, Japanese and - sorry to say - American. We'll let you figure out the manufacturers in question



Heres what they say about Fowler.

Fowler used to rely heavily on English imports such as Verdict indicators. These are about as good as English weather in winter. Nowadays they rely more heavily on Swiss made gages but also offer look-alikes in their effort to remain competitive. Beware of wolves in sheep's clothing: a new Interapid look-alike is made in China and sold under the name Xtest. Similarly, series 52-562, 52-563 and 52-560 are also Chinese. The best mechanical test indicator which Fowler offers is the Swiss made Girodtast. When shopping Fowler, if it doesn't say "Swiss Made" don't buy it.

Repairs: see Girodtast
Sales: see Girodtast
Parts: see Girodtast
Information: see Girodtast


Joe Hynes
 
Don't cheap out on quality measuring tools. Lots of Chinese junk out there that is worthless. Stick with Starrett, Mitutoyo or anything Swiss made. If its cheap, most likely you get what you pay for!
 
Are you wanting a test indicator or a micrometer? I like the bestest indicator that I have. I bought a Phase II or whatever they are called and it is clearly not a reliable as the bestest. If you want a good micrometer that reads to .00005" then get the Mitutoyo. Mine is 8 years old and I just certified it two weeks ago and it was dead on to 5 decimal places. I don't use it that often but it is nice for checking out of round on cases, flatness of lugs and expansion on case heads.
 
Buying a machine shop several years ago that had a lot of mics lets me compare them. You really need a set of "JO" blocks or gauge blocks to check your instruments. If not you are guessing at their accuracy. My go to mics are Mitutoyo, Brown&Sharpe, Starrett, and Etalon. They all have standards and I have a good set of JO blocks.
 
In all reality do i need a micrometer that reads in .0001 or will a .0005 be fine? I have a mitutoyo that reads in .0005 but i dont know if it is accurate. The last certification date on my mic was in 08. Who or where do i send this mic to have it tested? thanks Lee
 
Lee,
What kind of mic is it? All of mine read in tenths. Just get some JO blocks and you can check and adjust it your self or get the standard for your size mic.
 
Butch,
I think that he was asking about an indicator to use for setting up barrels through the headstock with a Grizzly(?) rod. He just used the wrong term to describe what he asked about.
Boyd
 
Yep i said it wrong. My bad. Long day with my wife gone and my two girls at each others throats. LOL!! I have been playing referee most of the day. Lee
 
Lee, When I started looking for test indicators, my first purchase was a Mitutoyo, then an Interapid, and finally, two B&S Bestest - one with .0001" resolution, the other with .0005". If I'd known then what I know now, I'd probably have skipped the Mitutoyo (not a quality issue - it's just that the two Brown & Sharpe indicators handle everything I've run into so far). And dial rotation of the Interapid is opposite from the two B&S, which gets confusing when using two indicators to dial in the mandrel while setting up an action in the GreTan action truing fixture. You can get longer indicator points or stylus for the B&S indicators, which should let you check the forward or neck portions of finished chambers.

I bought all four of my test indicators from Enco when they were on sale, and went back to Enco's master catalog to find the longer stylus. Test indicators are one thing I wouldn't risk going cheap on. And yes, I believe you need a test indicator with .0001" resolution in order to do a good job of dialing in a bbl. using Gordy's method - or at the very least, a .0005" indicator with the stylus resting at its mid-point to double the indicator's resolution.
 
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And dial rotation of the Interapid is opposite from the two B&S, which gets confusing when using two indicators to dial in the mandrel while setting up an action in the GreTan action truing fixture.
Click to expand...

Simple solution... Turn the indicator face to where your null point is at +.005". Set it so that the high point of runout will go in the positive direction (say +.006") and the low point of runout will move the dial in the negitive direction (say .003" for example). Once you get used to the system there won't be any confusion. ;)


You can get longer indicator points or stylus for the B&S indicators, which should let you check the forward or neck portions of finished chambers.
Click to expand...

You can also buy longer points that will screw into an Interapid indicator. Like all indicators changing points also changes the resolution of the dial.

I've used Interapid dial indicators professionally for over 30 years. Their built to last...
 
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