Reward yourself with proper mike

R

rashid11

Joined
Dec 8, 2005
Messages
707
As soon as I realized me shop was complete as had
all the tools I needed, I realized I need just one :)
more: a proper mike.

So I got it: the 0-1" .0 0 0 0 5 accurate Mitutoyo
(yep folx, it is FOUR zeroes before the 5), IPS-grade,
coolant and debri proof, with digital display.

The thing is as smooth as silk and deadly accurate.
So now I moved on from the world of a THOU accuracy
into the world of TENTHS.

To remove material in 0.0001 incs, use 2000 grit
wet paper from yer fav auto supply joint. Fold it neatly,
hug the part. Make sure there is no burs etc. Use oil.
Stay away from the chuck :)

Depending on material, 5-20 secs @ highish RPM will
remove one tenths of material. And it also puts a really
nice finish. Follow that with some green polishing compound,
I just rub some onto a piece of shop towel and then hug the
part with it.
 
Be VERY careful in these endeavors. Precision measuring tools can be very addictive. I started out with a simple 1" B&S mic a couple years ago and now have an entire top box devoted to the stuff. Lots of Browne & Sharp with quite a bit of Starrett and a small dose of Tesa for fun :)

Not sure about all that battery powered stuff though. I don't trust it! One of the few things I bought new was a pair of Mitutoyo 6" Digimatic calipers. I could never warm up to tehm so I gave them to my wife.

You've got a mill and lathe right? now start thinking Interapid :)

PS: Be careful using a shop towel on a part held in a chuck. It would be a drag to lose a finger when the rag gets sucked into a spining machine. Also, if you really want to use that mic anywhere near it's top level of precision, you need to have all the parts to be measured as well as the measuring too at a stable 68 degrees. Thermal stability is ctitical in high precision measuring.
 
Actually, if you're measuring steel, as long as the steel and the micrometer are at the same temperature, it will be accurate, no matter the temperature.
Thermal stability is indeed the key as you say.
I don't care for Interapid, as service is a problem.
I dislike digital calipers, too.
They are good in a dirty environment, though, where a dial cailper can pick up filings and dirt in the rack.
 
John,

I think I _am_ done now :) . No more tools for me. Unless
it has to do with an improvement of existing one .

I use "Shop Towels", buy em in rolls or pre-cut @ HD, Lowes and favorite auto stores.
They are really thick paper towels, no risk of grabbing or anything and
of course I only use smallish pieces, say 4x4" folded 2-3 times.

In knifemaking few parts if any require tenth kind of precision. But
my other hobby is machining/metalworking. I also work on accordion
reeds and highest-pitch ones are about 0.001 thick @ the tip.
 
OK, tossing out the Interapid reference, if you've got a lathe and a mill and really want to use them to their best potential, you really need a dial test indicator and a holder or two. If you've never indicated in your fixed jaw on your vice, how do you know that it's parallel to the travel of the table? If you don't know if the vice is set up correctly, how can you be confident that a milled slot is parallel to the edge of the workpiece?

Howie, I tossed Interapid out as so many machinists seem to hold them in high esteem. I will more often use a Starrett 811, or even the much maligned Last Word :)
 
:)

I sure have plenty of dial indicators, to indicate and tram in,
both on mill and lathe. Complete with holders, magnetic stands
etc. All no-name Asian-made, but they work fine. The .0005 DI
sees most use, $15 or so I paid for it and it never lemme down once.

spindle to table, vise to spindle,indicating holes for boring etc.

The Shumatech DYI DRO I built a couple of years ago's been incredible
help. To where I almost stopped using Dykem

I recently bought a Last Word, used off Ebay, but it sticks and is only
.001
When there's no super reqs for alignment, I also use precision machininst angle to quickly align
vise to table. I use grinding vise most of the time, just like this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/precision-vise-...ryZ25297QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
Ahh! In your thread about your shop being done you listed quite a few tools but no measuring tools besides the calipers. Now in this thread you got pretty excited about a new Mic., but nowhere were indicators mentioned so I made a rash assumption. Please accept my apologies.
 
John, While Interapids are about the best you can get, if you ever work on them, you'll have to learn some new curse words...
I have a bunch of Starretts, a Federal, one B&S, some Mitutoyo, a Tesa or two, a Fowler, Etalon, and a Mahr Supramess(.00002"/div). Oh, and an Interapid...
There are still tools I need or want.
I used to do mechanical calibration/repair, but I'm now doing microwave...
 
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