porschedude996TT
Well-known member
I don't think this subject has been posted. I will take some pictures when I get home and post them here.
Let's See Your Vernier Calipers and Micrometers
- Thread starter porschedude996TT
- Start date
I've always had access to whatever I need at work, so only have a basic vernier at home. After years of having the standard Mitutoyo's at work, I went for the coolant proof version for home, and haven't looked back. I've purchased a few Chinese mitutoyo knock-offs, but they've all been a disappointment (constant re-zeroing required, battery covers that fall off every time you handle the calipers etc).
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Steinmetz
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Oh, boy, finally something I can contribute to!
They're all the boss's, not mine. And there are more lying around somewhere.
The big guys go to 40". The second from the right has both SAE ann Metric needles.
Only one of the pictured devices is a vernier caliper.
I like verniers, and still use them, principally because that's what I first learned to read down at the machine shop. I have several vernier calipers.
I have over forty micrometers, some with a vernier (permitting a ten-thousandths reading) and also several height gages that also have a vernier scale.
Jim Johnstone
Well-known member
I'll have to dig up some pics of mine. I have so many mics scattered between work and home I'll never get pics of them all but I bet I have 25 at least.
Sent from my SGH-I727R using Tapatalk 2
Sent from my SGH-I727R using Tapatalk 2
Chasbec
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Here is a very old Brown & Sharpe micrometer that I bought at an estate sale a long time ago. It still works perfectly. View media item 35316
Outlander
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Packard V8
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So, if we're being technical, only those calipers with the secondary movable scale are vernier.
Some Browne and Sharpe micrometers have a slanted line which might be considered a vernier, but it isn't moveable. So anyone actually seen a vernier micrometer?
Vernier - the term is incorrectly used to means reading the dimension directly off a linear or round scale scribed on the instrument. Even more incorrectly, it's being used as any measuring instrument not having a digital readout.
Dial - reads finer gradations off the dial and coarse off the scale.
Digital - digital direct readout
Steinmetz
Well-known member
Correct.
Steinmetz
Well-known member
A very nice collection. Those old Etalon indicating micrometers were too large and clunky for regular use, in my opinion. The old Lufkin micrometers with the backlash-cancelling feature were very nice, and amongst the best made.
Steinmetz
Well-known member
Those were never very popular with machinists. I think that the problem was the plastic construction.
davethorik
Well-known member
I own several micrometers with a vernier. It isn't for the main measurement, but rather a series of numbered lines on the barrel of the micrometer that permit you to make vernier readings in 10,000 of an inch. Let me see if I can find a picture. Here is a Lufkin CT1641V 0-1" mic for example.
On to the verniers...I have a few pairs, I like them for their simplicity and lack of moving parts. The first set I have is a 0-6" Lufkin which are marked made in Switzerland, I am pretty sure they are rebadged Etalons. They are incredibly smooth.
Next up is the first set of verniers i got, a Starrett #123-6 master vernier. These look brand new and came with a nice wooden box (not pictured) and they are very nice looking, but they are not smooth at all. I have disassembled them and cleaned, can't see why they feel as rough as they do. Because of this I never use them. I only held onto them because I got them for $5 and they are like $300 new. They are pictured with a Mitutoyo 4" dial caliper, sorry I couldn't find a pic of the Starretts by themselves.
Last is my big guy...a 24" Scherr-Tumico #375-24 made in USA. Hard to tell from the pic but these things are massive. My boss has 2 chinese 24" verniers at work and this weighs almost as much as the 2 combined. Kind of an awkward setup but one side is graduated for outside measurements and one side is graduated for inside. I like these a lot. When I bought them they were missing a lock screw, emailed Scherr-Tumico (now called S-T Industries) inquiring if they were available for purchase and they sent me a pair for free. I was impressed by that customer service.
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davethorik
Well-known member
A few more...
Valco crimp height micrometer with Brown & Sharpe slant-line micrometer head. Looks new. I have used it exactly one time but I got it for cheap and I like the slant lines, personally.
A Lufkin #683 groove micrometer. "Multi-Mike"
Lufkin #6801D tubular I.D. mic set, 1.5"-32" with 2 mic heads.
Weird little midget Starrett #223 mic with a finger ring. Used for measuring sheet thickness. The anvil "wobbles". It measures to 11/32, I think it goes to .350
Starrett 220XFL-1 multi anvil mic. You can take off the whole anvil part and use this as a 0-1" step mic, which is why I bought it. New starretts don't have etched graduations any more, they are lasered on. I am kind of disappointed by that. Although mitutoyo has been for a while.
Valco crimp height micrometer with Brown & Sharpe slant-line micrometer head. Looks new. I have used it exactly one time but I got it for cheap and I like the slant lines, personally.
A Lufkin #683 groove micrometer. "Multi-Mike"
Lufkin #6801D tubular I.D. mic set, 1.5"-32" with 2 mic heads.
Weird little midget Starrett #223 mic with a finger ring. Used for measuring sheet thickness. The anvil "wobbles". It measures to 11/32, I think it goes to .350
Starrett 220XFL-1 multi anvil mic. You can take off the whole anvil part and use this as a 0-1" step mic, which is why I bought it. New starretts don't have etched graduations any more, they are lasered on. I am kind of disappointed by that. Although mitutoyo has been for a while.
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Steinmetz
Well-known member
"...On to the verniers...I have a few pairs, I like them for their simplicity and lack of moving parts. The first set I have is a 0-6" Lufkin which are marked made in Switzerland, I am pretty sure they are rebadged Etalons. They are incredibly smooth..."
Concur. I own at least two of those. I think that the Lufkin dial caliper was rebadged too.
Concur. I own at least two of those. I think that the Lufkin dial caliper was rebadged too.
I was wondering how the plastic affected things since all my mics are the traditional style. It is the blackness that appeals to me visually, like those old black 35mm SLR cameras.
Coopduc
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Here's a few I inherited from my dad. I rarely use them, just take them out to remember my roots.
Steinmetz
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Satin Chrome barrels were the best, since they were easy to read in normal light.
ganymede
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Will S.
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I was just using my 1940's-50's micrometer again yesterday, but it's out in the barn/shop, and too cold to go out and get it tonight. It was my fathers, and has been in my toolcabinet since he passed in 1989. I'll post pics soon.
Those Etalon mic still retail for $1300 each. I got them for $2 each. According to Long Island Indicator, Etalon make the best mic. I like Brown and Sharpe.
rshadd
Well-known member
My el cheapo Neiko 6" digital caliper... $17
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hofferwood
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The only vernie I have
It came in this box and mid for twenty bucks
It came in this box and mid for twenty bucks
softailgarage
Well-known member
Dad was an Experimental Machinist in the Space & Defense industry for 30 years. I never had an interest in it until after he passed away in '98. As I would go thru his tools I started looking things up in industry catalogs trying to identify what they were. I now know more about taps, end mills, sine bars, parallels, chucks, tooling, etc. than I ever had and found it all really cool and interesting. Now I would like to learn how to use a lathe and mill, a little late. So, this is what I have....
(3) Mitutoyo, (1) Craftsman
(2) Brown & Sharpe
(1) Craftsman
Federal model 200P-1 MikeMaster
Millers Falls
Starrett #220
And while I have some Machinist's eyes, what is this?, what does it do? ( I haven't been able to find anything on this.) I also have whole lot of other things I haven't been able to ID if anyone is interested.
(3) Mitutoyo, (1) Craftsman
(2) Brown & Sharpe
(1) Craftsman
Federal model 200P-1 MikeMaster
Millers Falls
Starrett #220
And while I have some Machinist's eyes, what is this?, what does it do? ( I haven't been able to find anything on this.) I also have whole lot of other things I haven't been able to ID if anyone is interested.
hofferwood
Well-known member
Neat stuff STG 
I have more, these are unusual
Analog-Digital
And a USA Mit.
I have more, these are unusual
Analog-Digital
And a USA Mit.
Very old? It can't be any older than mid/late '60s. I guess that's very old now for many of you.
That's one reason. The other was that the B&S "Digit Mike" was a little more expensive than conventional micrometers at a time when just a few dollars made a lot of difference.
The B&S "Slant/Line" micrometers were something that users either loved or hated. I really liked mine and used the hell out of it for quite a few years (photo below). Got it cheap from someone who didn't like it.
Nobody has shown any inside or depth micrometers yet, so I'll be the first:
Starrett at top; WWII-vintage International at bottom; 1930s-vintage Goodell-Pratt depth micrometer:
Top, my B&S "Slant/Line." The paint wear on the frame is mostly from it spending 8 hours a day for many years in my shopcoat pocket. It was easy to read when I was younger, and therefore my favorite. Not so easy for the eyes anymore, so I use a conventional Starrett instead. WWII-vintage Federal .0001" in the middle. 1945-dated Lufkin micrometer head at bottom, for making your own micrometer gage:
Helios (Swiss) vernier bevel protractor. The only thing here not older than the "very old" B&S Digit-Mike.
That looks like a Brown and Sharpe no. 621 Surface Gage. Surface gages are kinda old school tools. They typicallly function in conjunction with a granite surface plate. They are used to check or transfer scribe lines. You mark your workpiece with marking dye, then set the height of the scribe tip (using a scale, gage blocks, mating part, whatever), then you slide the surface gage across the granite surface plate to scratch a line thru the marking dye on the part. The result is a line parallel to the bottom of the workpiece at a set distance.And while I have some Machinist's eyes, what is this?, what does it do? ( I haven't been able to find anything on this.) I also have whole lot of other things I haven't been able to ID if anyone is interested.
These tools were used more frequently when guys machined parts to scribe lines. Most of us now machine using DROs, directly reading the position of the mill table or CNC.
You can use these simple tools in many ways. I would say that it takes a creative, intelligent person to figure them out. Nowadays, guys like me use these as check tools. We remove the scribe and attach a dial test indicator (or a dial indicator) and use that to inspect a surface. You can also check for squareness (and get a reading of how out of square something is. You just need a master square to zero the indicator to.
This model also has little feet that you can use to overhang a part or the surface plate to allow the gage to only move in one direction.
The little square piece at the bottom of the mast is also a scribe.
The finish on these is really cool. If you just clean it with WD-40 and a soft cloth then rub it with mineral oil, you will see many colors. This was decorative and is not typically found on tools nowadays. Your Dad's looks like it is in good shape.
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Here are my pics:
Couple old school Starrett 436s top left. 2" belonged to my Uncle. Issued by US Army and carried to India in WW2. I found a similar 0-1 on ebay cheap. 0-1 is satin, 1-2 is shiny which isn't as nice (tho they tarnish and become slightly easier to read.)
Cheap digital calipers. These guys eat batteries and are not nice to use but they are plenty accurate. I calibrated the 6" and it was pretty much dead on. Was a little under at 2". 12" is nice to have for measurements difficult to do otherwise. Someday will upgrade to Mits.
Mitutoyo digitals 293-344, 345, 346 are super nice mics. While you can and should set the 0-1 mic without a standard, I like having them.
While the digital mics are really nice, I do use the 436s a lot. If you are going to buy mics bigger than 1", you really should have a set of stds and you should disassemble, clean and adjust your mics so you know how to do it. I also like having mic stands. The Chinese versions and the Mitutoyos are practically identical. If you don't want to get involved in all that fuss, don't get mics at all. Just learn to use calipers. I can get close to .001" precision with my calipers. Lots of folks don't need more accuracy than that, but it's a skill you have to develop.
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KMScott
Well-known member
These are the tools I use the most. I use a full set of Etalon Micrometers up to 7" but prefer the Scherr Tumico 1" mic. I am old school and do not like any of the digital stuff. My 6" calipers are made by Etalon for Tesa and Brown and Sharpe. My 12" are Starrett and my only verniers are a 40" calipers made by Ash Precision from Germany. The step mic is a Starrett and all my indicators are Interapid's. I started this trade in 1973 and through the years I have grown to like these tools.
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Diesel_Crawler
Well-known member
My small collection. Not shown is my 6-18" Mics surface plate and height gauges.
![a>](http://<a href="http://s593.photobucket.com/user/Diesel_Crawler/media/photo3.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/tt13/Diesel_Crawler/photo3.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo photo3.jpg"/></a>)
davethorik
Well-known member
I have always heard that referred to as "color case hardening" in the firearm world. I have a Lufkin surface gage that looks similar.
I have 2 surface gages, a Lufkin and a Brown & Sharpe 7743 magnetic surface gage. The Lufkin only gets used on granite, usually with an indicator. The B&S with the magnet is more versatile and I use it regularly setting up weird jobs on the CNC or manual mills.
kiatech
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softailgarage
Well-known member
DUDE. great explanation
, thank you 
I take it there arm different length scribes? That would cover question #2
I picked these up at a farm equipment dealer quitting business auction a few weeks ago. There were pallets of stuff. They sold choice off the pallets for a few times then sold the remainder of the pallet. I bought this whole works for $30.
DUDE. great explanation
I take it there arm different length scribes? That would cover question #2
I've seen different masts, but never different scribes.
I'm not sure what your second question was.
On the bluing, I forget whether it was case hardening or not. I believe it was a hot acid salt bath, very toxic, involving potassium cyanide, not sure it's still done. It's different than modern hot bluing. Absolutely have seen OLD Winchester rifles with this same treatment. I bought my starrett Gages very corroded and attempted to cold blue them. They have no where near the swirly colors these old tools once had.
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softailgarage
Well-known member
Question #2 was going to be "are there different length masts as I have several different lengths?", however , you answered it before I could ask it, kinda (sorry, it's late)
I've just got a few verniers/digital calipers. The first image shows the two decent ones. The Mitutoyo is a fairly nice instrument, I've had it for over 35 years and it's still as smooth as the day I got it.
The digital caliper is some sub $20 cheapie, but it works pretty well and gives a nice quick reading that generally agrees with the Mitu to within about 0.02 mm.
The second image shows my two rubbish ones. These are handy to have laying around the workshop to get a quick measurement to about 0.1 mm, but anything better than that I'd get one of the good ones.
The metal one there has been abused a bit. It was left to rust in a box of old tools in some pretty bad wet and damp conditions. It used to have a thumbwheel but it broke off while I was cleaning it up. The orange plastic one was from a $2 bin somewhere years ago, totally rubbish but still handy for a quick rough measurement. Some of the markings are starting wearing off now, so I think I'll get another one next time I see one for a couple of bucks.
The digital caliper is some sub $20 cheapie, but it works pretty well and gives a nice quick reading that generally agrees with the Mitu to within about 0.02 mm.
The second image shows my two rubbish ones. These are handy to have laying around the workshop to get a quick measurement to about 0.1 mm, but anything better than that I'd get one of the good ones.
The metal one there has been abused a bit. It was left to rust in a box of old tools in some pretty bad wet and damp conditions. It used to have a thumbwheel but it broke off while I was cleaning it up. The orange plastic one was from a $2 bin somewhere years ago, totally rubbish but still handy for a quick rough measurement. Some of the markings are starting wearing off now, so I think I'll get another one next time I see one for a couple of bucks.
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