One other thing I don't think has been mentioned it the setting of the
gages. Reguardless of the brand of gauge you use you need an accurate
setting master. While a micrometer and stand will do, it's not always
the easiest way to do it. In production situations the best option is a
ring gauge, custom made to the size of your part. Of course this could
get expensive very fast as the ring gage could cost more than the bore
gage. In my last shop we used Sunnen bore gages, They come with a
setting master that can adapter to any size in its range and holds the
bore gage in position for proper setting. We would use these for
checking bores on the Jigbore with +/-.0002" tolerances.
I would stay away from the really cheap sets, but I found the
Mitutoyo gages to hold up pretty good.
Mike Graham wrote:
In article , Lennie the Lurker wrote:
Depends. If you're doing production, they would be indispensable. If
you're doing one off in a tool room situation, maybe. For general
machining, probably not.
I can see how the 'dial' aspect of them would be very important when
looking for the condition of a bore... when looking for bulges, waisting,
out of round, etc. I'm primarily looking for a fast and accurate way to see
where I am in the boring process so that after I take my final 40 thou cut,
I'm where I want to be.
Federal, Starrett, Standard and Mitutoyo (junk),
The set that I was looking at was an import, but looks pretty much like
Mitutoyo. Would you agree with a previous poster who suggested that a bore
gage isn't worth having if it isn't a big name?
Most dial bores will. What size range are you looking at?
I'd *like* .5" - 6", but what I see available for a reasonable price is
1.4" - 6".
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James P Crombie
Summerside Machinist
Prince Edward Island Amateur Astronomer
Canada 3D Designer
E-mail
Astronomy webpage http://www.jamescrombie.com
Rhinoceros 3D webpage
http://www.jamescrombie.com/rhino/
Mirror Grinder page
http://www.jamescrombie.com/pics/
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