On 6 Sep 2005 05:23:25 -0700, plh wrote:

Believe it or not, yes. It's used to straighten the frame. You have to be pretty
brutal to bend a micrometer frame, but it happens. When it is close enough you
lap in the carbide contacts.

As a child I thought my grandfather's micrometer
looked much like a child-sized C-clamp. Needless
to say, it required some repair, and I required
some fast education about which tools were for
generating force and which were for measuring.
(My grandfather had incredible anger control.)

I believe it only required lapping to return it
to accuracy, but the lesson was learned. I believe
that it was about this time (maybe 8 years old)
that I was set to making one-inch cubes from
bar stock with a hacksaw, files, micrometer and
try-square -- no light under the try-square and
closer to the zero-tenth vernier than to either
the .0001 or .0009 mark. I also learned that both
files and hacksaws (if new and sharp) were effective
metal working tools -- lessons I try to pass along
to new generations.
--
--Pete
"Peter W. Meek"
http://www.msen.com/~pwmeek/