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Metalworking (rec.crafts.metalworking) Discuss various aspects of working with metal, such as machining, welding, metal joining, screwing, casting, hardening/tempering, blacksmithing/forging, spinning and hammer work, sheet metal work. |
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#1
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Dial Indicators - Brand Name Comparison
Found this. Didn't write it. Don't know if it's correct.
http://www.longislandindicator.com/p14.html Karl |
#2
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Dial Indicators - Brand Name Comparison
wrote in message ... Found this. Didn't write it. Don't know if it's correct. http://www.longislandindicator.com/p14.html Karl Jeez, someone has taken a lot of time to analyze dial indicators. FWIW, there is a lot of junk on the market because, worldwide, there isn't much of a market for dial indicators anymore. Mitutoyo built a little plant to make them in the US (some suburb south of Chicago; I forget which) because the US was just about the last market in the developed world that would buy them. The rest of the world uses digitals. I have both and prefer dial test indicators for on-machine use and for comparison measurements, although I like digitals for off-machine gaging applications. -- Ed Huntress |
#3
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Dial Indicators - Brand Name Comparison
On Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:43:07 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote: Found this. Didn't write it. Don't know if it's correct. http://www.longislandindicator.com/p14.html Karl I've been to that site Karl and mostly agree with it. I have found in my own experience that Mitutoyo makes the best 1 inch travel indicators. Over time they have been the most accurate and robust indicators I have used. However, for test indicators the SPI and Brown & Sharpe, which are the same, are the best overall. Interapid indicators are a close second. Starret Last Word indicators are best left in the box. Eric |
#4
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Dial Indicators - Brand Name Comparison
wrote in message ... Found this. Didn't write it. Don't know if it's correct. http://www.longislandindicator.com/p14.html Karl Thanks for the reading Karl, very interesting. As far as my shop I have a lot of Sunnen (The standard for engine machining) and Starrett, Brown & Sharp, Mitty. It's too bad to see a report card like this when we spend a LOT of money on good indicators and the Harbor Fright (intentional sp) ones may indeed be just as good in the long run. I have some from Heckler &Koch (A gun maker) that are German, and work great. Can't find them any more. The digital ones seem to chew batteries fast, why I don't know but I was really shocked to see the Starrett stab. I have a LOT of Starrett everywhere. Looks like I'm going to get the standards and granite base out this week and do some testing. Thanks again. Respects, Rob Fraser Fraser Competition Engines Chicago, IL. |
#5
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Dial Indicators - Brand Name Comparison
"Ed Huntress" wrote:
I have both and prefer dial test indicators for on-machine use and for comparison measurements, although I like digitals for off-machine gaging applications. I'm pretty fond of my Mitutoyo test indicator (0.0001") with a sub dial to let you know you buried it. Company provided but some day I'll buy my own for the garage shop. Wes |
#6
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Dial Indicators - Brand Name Comparison
On Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:50:51 -0500, "Rob Fraser"
FraserRacing"AT"RobFraser.Net wrote: wrote in message ... Found this. Didn't write it. Don't know if it's correct. http://www.longislandindicator.com/p14.html Karl Thanks for the reading Karl, very interesting. As far as my shop I have a lot of Sunnen (The standard for engine machining) and Starrett, Brown & Sharp, Mitty. It's too bad to see a report card like this when we spend a LOT of money on good indicators and the Harbor Fright (intentional sp) ones may indeed be just as good in the long run. I have some from Heckler &Koch (A gun maker) that are German, and work great. Can't find them any more. The digital ones seem to chew batteries fast, why I don't know but I was really shocked to see the Starrett stab. I have a LOT of Starrett everywhere. Looks like I'm going to get the standards and granite base out this week and do some testing. Thanks again. Respects, Rob Fraser Fraser Competition Engines Chicago, IL. Greetings Rob, Certainly Sunnen makes great bore gauges and setting fixtures. Soaked in oil all day and still accurate. It's also true that Starret makes crummy indicators. And it's really too bad. I would like to buy their products their prices are too high and the quality too low. Remember when the steel tools they sold had a nice mottled bluing on them? I know, it's been a long time since they do that. In fact, the last items I bought from them were some screw jacks that were beautiful in the catalog but were in fact just black oxide coated. I called Starret about it and they basically told me to shove it. They said that they didn't care if I stopped buying their products. So I did. Eric |
#7
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Dial Indicators - Brand Name Comparison
wrote in message ... Found this. Didn't write it. Don't know if it's correct. http://www.longislandindicator.com/p14.html Karl Karl, thanks for finding and posting that. I generally agree with their opinions. It is hard to go wrong with Brown&Sharpe, Mituroyo, and most Starretts. Federal has long enjoyed , along with Compac and Standard, a reputation for good, servicable equipment. SPI, AMTOS, CDI, and PhaseII are basically second-line. They ARE repairable, but often by cannibalization, as parts are not readily available. No experience with Scherr-Tumico's dial gages, but their "tubular micrometers" are quite good, in all sizes, up into the 72" range. Starrett's big OD mics (from 48" to 72") also exceptionally good. I do agree with the "throw-away" comments on some of the cheap import indicators, but if you haven't actually *broken* something, most of them are repairable, after a fashion. However, the longislandindicator web page mentions rack-teeth breaking off in the indicators. I never found that an issue; but BENT racks, especialluy on 2", 3", & 4" indicators get to be expensive. The best:Mitutoyo. Next: Federal. Ease of repair primarily, with parts availability second. Much of what passes for gages currently is ugh! plastic. Flash |
#8
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Dial Indicators - Brand Name Comparison
"Ed Huntress" writes:
wrote in message ... Found this. Didn't write it. Don't know if it's correct. http://www.longislandindicator.com/p14.html Karl Jeez, someone has taken a lot of time to analyze dial indicators. The web site was created by a company that repairs dial indicators. I guess they were tired of telling people that repairing a Chinese dial indicator was a waste of time... |
#9
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Dial Indicators - Brand Name Comparison
On Jun 30, 12:51*pm, wrote:
On Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:50:51 -0500, "Rob Fraser" FraserRacing"AT"RobFraser.Net wrote: wrote in message .... Found this. Didn't write it. Don't know if it's correct. http://www.longislandindicator.com/p14.html Karl Thanks for the reading Karl, very interesting. *As far as my shop I have a lot of Sunnen (The standard for engine machining) and Starrett, Brown & Sharp, Mitty. *It's too bad to see a report card like this when we spend a LOT of money on good indicators and the Harbor Fright (intentional sp) ones may indeed be just as good in the long run. I have some from Heckler &Koch (A gun maker) that are German, and work great. Can't find them any more. The digital ones seem to chew batteries fast, why I don't know but I was really shocked to see the Starrett stab. I have a LOT of Starrett everywhere. Looks like I'm going to get the standards and granite base out this week and do some testing. *Thanks again. * * * * * * * * * Respects, * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Rob Fraser Fraser Competition Engines Chicago, IL. Greetings Rob, Certainly Sunnen makes great bore gauges and setting fixtures. Soaked in oil all day and still accurate. It's also true that Starret makes crummy indicators. And it's really too bad. I would like to buy their products their prices are too high and the quality too low. Remember when the steel tools they sold had a nice mottled bluing on them? I know, it's been a long time since they do that. In fact, the last items I bought from them were some screw jacks that were beautiful in the catalog but were in fact just black oxide coated. I called Starret about it and they basically told me to shove it. They said that they didn't care if I stopped buying their products. So I did. Eric It looked work posting. Reminds me of when I bought a General Tool automatic center punch and my friend liked it so much he bought a Starret one because we thought it would be better. It had weaker springs and only worked if you kept it oiled. Very annoying to pay a premium price for lower quality. Karl |
#10
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Dial Indicators - Brand Name Comparison
"Maxwell Lol" wrote in message ... "Ed Huntress" writes: wrote in message ... Found this. Didn't write it. Don't know if it's correct. http://www.longislandindicator.com/p14.html Karl Jeez, someone has taken a lot of time to analyze dial indicators. The web site was created by a company that repairs dial indicators. I guess they were tired of telling people that repairing a Chinese dial indicator was a waste of time... Yeah, I know (or knew) those guys. I still think they took a lot of time to organize and write all that stuff. -- Ed Huntress |
#11
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Dial Indicators - Brand Name Comparison
Ed Huntress wrote:
"Maxwell Lol" wrote in message ... "Ed Huntress" writes: wrote in message ... Found this. Didn't write it. Don't know if it's correct. http://www.longislandindicator.com/p14.html Karl Jeez, someone has taken a lot of time to analyze dial indicators. The web site was created by a company that repairs dial indicators. I guess they were tired of telling people that repairing a Chinese dial indicator was a waste of time... Yeah, I know (or knew) those guys. I still think they took a lot of time to organize and write all that stuff. -- Ed Huntress I prefer InteRapid, but I don't see them on the site. David |
#12
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Dial Indicators - Brand Name Comparison
I like my Starrett tools. They are in the same boat as everyone else,
The foriegn stuff is getting better and cheaper. Pretty soon none of us will have a job. |
#13
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Dial Indicators - Brand Name Comparison
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#14
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Dial Indicators - Brand Name Comparison
"*" wrote in message news:01c8dc46$8b8611e0$e295c3d8@race... wrote in article ... Reminds me of when I bought a General Tool automatic center punch and my friend liked it so much he bought a Starret one because we thought it would be better. It had weaker springs and only worked if you kept it oiled. Very annoying to pay a premium price for lower quality. Karl ---------- You don't suppose that the closer tolerances of the Starrett made it more sensitive to improper maintenance (regular oiling), do you? There's nothing magic about Starrett. They were quite ordinary, serviceable, reasonably-priced tools. B&S was always the better brand but it was generally high priced. However, Starrett has benefited from two things. One is that they're American-made, at a time when we've become skeptical of any hand tools that are not. Second, they're the beneficiaries of bracket-creep. They didn't get any better; the market just got filled with crap. -- Ed Huntress |
#15
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Dial Indicators - Brand Name Comparison
Ed Huntress explained the Starrett question in his comment re. "bracket creep" People that knock
Starrett and other top US companies pretty much fall into the sour grapes category, IMO. As for some digital calipers being hard on batteries: That is becasue they are "on" all the time. Only the display is operated by the "on - off " switch; while the internal electronics stays on to maintain the dial setting where you leave it, usu. "zero". Higher priced calipers that maintain setting with no internal power loss must have more expensive memory components. Bob Swinney ** Posted from http://www.teranews.com ** |
#16
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Dial Indicators - Brand Name Comparison
On Jul 2, 3:21*am, "*" wrote:
wrote in article ... Reminds me of when I bought a General Tool automatic center punch and my friend liked it so much he bought a Starret one because we thought it would be better. It had weaker springs and only worked if you kept it oiled. Very annoying to pay a premium price for lower quality. Karl ---------- You don't suppose that the closer tolerances of the Starrett made it more sensitive to improper maintenance (regular oiling), do you? Possibly but the weaker spring's really annoying when marking concrete so the bit won't drift. Kar |
#17
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Dial Indicators - Brand Name Comparison
On Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:44:58 -0500, "David R.Birch"
wrote: -- Ed Huntress I prefer InteRapid, That should go on the Vibrator thread...... |
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