Mitutoyo or Starrett?

[mfrick]

Well for years I have been purchasing used tools from estate sales, I like the older Brown and Sharp tools along with Starrett. I started out with a $50.00 purchase in 1965 and the tools all were Craftsman, used for years and have been updating ever since. You can go broke purchasing new precision measuring tools.
MF

 

[goldstar31]

According to my Chinese computer - there may be others, so do tell- Mitutoyo went to the USA in 1963 obvious;;y to make mechanical measuring equipment because it was not until the 1970's that they made electrical ones.

The year now is 2020 and I'm not sure that some stories are correct.
It's nothing new, William Shakespeare in ' Julius Caesar' had Chiming Clocks long before everyone else

Say no more- wink wink

 

[dazz]

Hi

I use OriginCal calipers. Good value for the money.
I have made over 1000 purchases on Aliexpress. There is a lot of crap there, including many items that have brand names but probably haven't passed QC tests.
I aim for mid-priced items. Definitely not the cheapest. If you pay 50%-100% more than the cheapest crap, you are likely to get a product that is very good value for the money.
Nothing is certain and I have definitely brought some sour lemons, but overall I have saved vast amounts of money.

For measuring instruments, you want to buy good quality that you trust. I started buying used imperial English and German brands. Imperial is cheap here because everything is metric. The ability to measure stuff is a prerequisite for accurate work. You can only make stuff to the tolerance you can measure.

Dazz

 

[David Shealey]

Shopgeezer, what you describe sounds like the way I first tried to use telescoping gauges. Since then I have learned the correct way (or at least, I think it is the correct way): Put the telescoping gauge in at an angle, letting the fingers spread to touch the walls. Turn the handle to lock - which doesn't lock as much as hold with friction. Tilt the gauge straight - this will push the fingers in to the minimum measurement, which should occur directly across the bore. Tilt a bit more and pull it out. Measure across the fingers gently. Not sure how much sense that makes to describe it verbally. Quick and easy to understand if you see it, harder to describe it.

Of course, it may well be that you are doing it correctly (or at least as I describe above), and your gauges are still not holding the measurement, in which case disregard all of the above!

I started out as a machinist in 1960, and purchased all Starrett tools. Later in life I started buying Mitutoyo, since they seemed quite good at a considerably lower cost. Now they are both similar in price. I was taught to use telescoping gauges much as you state, except that when tilting through vertical also wiggle the handle a little side to side to insure the tips find the maximum diameter. If just tilted through center with no wiggling, you nay not quite reach the maximum in the sweep through center.

 

[awake]

Agreed, and good description. I debated trying to talk about making sure it was centered, but felt like my description was coming out confusing, so I left it at that. "Sweep" is a much better way of describing it.

 

[LSAGuy]

When I was buying my tools 47 years ago I asked the guy who calibrated our stuff. He said, that from his experience, if I wanted to replace them every 10 to 15 years, B & S or Starrett are just fine, but if you wanted micrometers for a lifetime buy Etalon Alina. He said that the important difference was that Alina lapped the spindle bore and let me compare a B & S mic with an Alina. I swear I could feel the difference. Maybe he was just pushing a more expensive brand but I took his advice. All these years later they still look great, and most importantly perform their function, perfectly.
One thing I really like is Etalon has a .0005 graduation on the barrel so you don't need to rotate the mic so far to get the tenths reading. You do have to remember to add the .0005 into the reading, though.
There's a lot that goes into your use of a micrometer so ultimately it's a personal decision. Good luck and enjoy making chips

Rick