Can anyone recommend a good, reasonably priced mics, calipers, etc. I want to mic a couple motors before rebuild and need something serviceable. Thanks.
if you have a mac,snap-on guy ask about repo-ed stuff or look in the cl***ifieds for shops closing... have had good liuk at estates sales also. if not harbor freight has some cheap but useable stuff.
A quality dial caliper goes a long way. Any name brand is reliable. For ID, use a transfer caliper you can make from sheet metal or buy for about $20. http://www.starrett.com/download/426_p353_356.pdf You use the inside caliper to transfer a measurement to the dial caliper or precision rule. I found that I was measuring within one half thousandth of my machinist when checking parts at home.
a quick search on ebay for "Starret" brought up some interesting deals. you will probably need a couple sizes of micrometers....one for the crank mains and rod journals , and one for the cylinder bore. you will also need an inside telescoping snap gauge for the cylinder bore. if you are buying used , try to get the standards for them too so you can check if they are accurate all my micrometers are Starret and at least 30 years old , but i do a have a couple Enco dial calipers and they seam to be fine
Dial or digital vernior caliper. You can do all the tasks. I use a three year old CHEAP digital (for over 60 year old eyes) for rough work.+ or - .0005
It depends on what you want to do and the intended life. Some things you can save money on, others, not so much. I would get a simple Mitutoyo or Starrett 6" dial caliper to start. I have a Mit similar to Scotty's pic & it's reliable, repeatable, and was (I think) about $100 or a little less. A dial indicator & mag stand would be 2nd or 3rd in buying order. I have a Central (made in USA, not Harbor Freight "Central") and a Starrett 1" travel...both are equal in measure but the Starrett was 3x the money. You will get a lot of opinions on outside mics. I have a couple of Starretts, but my main set is Polish-made VIS stuff, which again is repeatable & reliable. It (the VIS) consistently is exactly the same as the Starretts under the same conditions & using the same standards to set each one. I think the set was about $250 or so. Some people have said that the main difference in mics is that the higher priced ones last longer for machinists. If you had to choose just one mic, probably either a 2"-3" or a 3"-4" will do depending on your journal sizes. For inside mics, I think Starretts are the best, but they are very costly. Mitutoyos are much less expensive. If you buy a complete set of outside mics, you can buy a set of snap gauges & use the outside mics on them, rather than invest in inside mics, if you don't need to use them more than once-twice a year. Dial bore gauges- if you need .0001 accuracy, it's Sunnen all the way. However, you can get .0005 ones for much less money. Keep in mind that technique is as important as the measuring tool. Enco is a good source for measuring tools...you can buy cheap or expensive as you prefer. http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRHM Another good source is Goodson. http://www.goodson.com/
Don't forget to get yourself a grade B gauge block set. It is the easiest way to make sure everything else is correct. You can stack them and make sure that cheapo tool is OK. If you ever really want to build good engines you'll eventually need tools as good or better that your machine shop to check them. BUT I suspect you can go a long way with cheap used stuff.
You need: A 1" to 4" set of outside calipers. (Four separate ones.) There is a 1" - 4" set made with add-on arbors, but they can be a pain in the backside since all the arbors use the same micrometer. A set of inside micrometers. They're usually quite reasonable and go to 12" most times. Good for checking brake drums and the like. I've been finding them at garage sales and swap meets. Don't grab the first one you see, some of them can be somewhat beat up, but if they measure ok you're in business. Many outside micrometer sets come with short test arbors and you can adjust them for accuracy. A dial caliper is nice and very handy for machine work, but you can get by without one very nicely. Starrat, Lufkin, Mitutoyo and Swedish brands are the ones to look for. Used, they're not too costly. Before or after you find a set, keep your eyes open for another 1" mic besides the one in the set. Very handy to carry in your pocket when headed for the steel supply houses and especially when shopping for sheet metal. A sheet metal gauge is fairly cheap, even when new and are great if you do sheet metal. If you can't find inside micrometers, look for a snap-gauge set. These go inside the bore, are spring loaded and once you've decided they're measuring in the right place you lock them with the long attached handle and use your OD micrometers to measure. Measuring engine bores is easily done with an inexpensive dial indicator. You get an instant reading on the dial when moving them around in the bore. Many times under $10. new at HF and like places. Get one that matches your bore diameter. I don't mind loaning out most tools, but don't loan my precision stuff. The ham-fistedness of some individuals is not to be believed....
I found out dial calipers do not like to be "dropped" onto concrete floors, by loaning them out. Never have zero'ed out the same since.
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