On Sat, 23 Aug 2003 22:09:02 GMT, CW wrote:

"nuk" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 23 Aug 2003 01:21:41 -0400, Silvan
wrote:
But I'd hazard a guess that since about every
good mechanic and machinist I've ever come in contact w/ swears by
Starrett and considers them basically a 'gold' standard,


You apparently haven't talked to enough of them.


No need to get snotty about it. But while we're at it, lets see: a few
years back, in the U.S. Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program, the dial
indicators and micrometers and calipers and about every other mechanical
measuring device I came in contact w/ was Starrett (disclaimer: I was a
sub nuke electrician). Don't remember using
anything else. Just like we used Fluke for the multimeters, Techtronics
for the oscilloscopes, etc. There *might* be other equipment that could
be arguably better, but generally speaking, if there was, I'd be
surprised they weren't using it. Military contracts or not. Picky
doesn't even *begin* to describe the attitude towards tools and
procedures in that program.

Then when I got out, in the (big) steel mill in Kansas City I worked in,
the millwrights and machinists and motor rebuild shops used, thats
right, Starrett. I went from there to a civilian nuke plant for a brief
time, and the stuff in the electrical maint. shop at least was Starrett
and some Mitutoyo.

Now I work at a hydro power plant, and a brief tour thru the tool room
reveals an awful lot of Starrett stuff, and again, some Mitutoyo. A
friend of mine is a fairly skilled machinist who used to work at LE
Wilson Tool & Die here in central Washington. Since most people don't
know that name, they make custom dies for centerfire rifle competition
shooters, of whom many are machinists, mechanics, engineers, or other
picky sorts. Take a wild guess at what he used there, and still uses
for instruments: Starrett. Most of the shooters have a small amount
invested in calipers, either dial or digital, micrometers, and dial
indicators, and when people step up from the $20 steel calipers from
RCBS, or $50 mikes from Midway, they go either Mitutoyo or Starrett. In
a sport where its not uncommon for people to have $3k plus tied up in
just the gun, be it Benchrest or HighPower, if there was something
significantly 'better', I think it'd be selling like hotcakes.

Not knocking Brown and Sharpe, but the above is why when someone
mentioned Starrett slipping and Brown and Sharpe being 'better', my
initial response was 'Brown and who?!?'

Now, I might be barking up the wrong tree here, and maybe B&S does make
some product that is better than a comparable product from Starrett.
That's entirely possible. But please don't go making assumptions about
the machinists and mechanics I know. They might take it wrong

In any event, I'm working at getting some better tools myself, and it
may come down to the same thing that resulted in me getting Mitutoyo
digital calipers and micrometers instead of Starrett: For my uses, they
are accurate *enough*. I most likely wouldn't notice the difference
btwn Mitutoyo, Starret, or Brown & Sharpe for what I'm doing.

Anyway, time to get off the soap box. Have a nice night

nuk




--
I know more than enough *nix to do some very destructive things,
and not nearly enough to do very many useful things.