Recommended Dial Indicators

One other small point about some of the cheap ones. Some folks have found the supplied spigots have dovetails far too big and simply don't fit the DTI. Not a big deal, there are many places to get suitable fittings if you need them.

Slightly off topic, but when applying for my present position - Prod Eng - I had to sit a test of which one question is what does DTI stand for.........in the ten years the test had been used by the company - primarily for graduates - I was the only person to answer the question correctly......

You can get back on topic now....

Trevor

Did you win a bag of jelly babies.

Nick

No - I got the job, and a pay-rise...

Trevor

So how is it working for the Department of Trade & Industry

Sorry to be late joining this thread. For a beginner, I would not recommend a dial test indicator but one like this...

I have several DTIs, the best being a secondhand Baty and a new Mercer, but the device that gets used 95% of the time is this Starrett no.564 indicator. Mounted at centre height in a quick change toolholder on the arms supplied with the indicator, I can quickly manoeuvre it into pretty well any position. The pointer reads positive for movement of the stylus in either direction and the stylus head can be rotated through 360 degrees. It's discontinued now but I got one for £7 on eBay that was new but not working. I took a gamble that I could fix it and it turned into one of my best buys on eBay. There was a tiny amount of corrosion inside which was stopping it from working. It came in this rather nice wooden box...

It replaced a similar Verdict indicator I'd used for 30 years that didn't have the advantage of the rotating head. Of course, it's a comparator and no use for absolute measurement but in practice I rarely find the need to do the latter. I'd be interested to hear the views of others.

Andrew M

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Andrew,

My view ... It's an excellent, and robust, little device.

Personally, though; I prefer the similarly proportioned worm-geared Dial version that also has the pear-shaped tip.

[which is what I recommended in my first response on this thread]

MichaelG.