Metric micrometer what t buy?

Gentlemen

I must hold my hands up, blame it on a very senior moment. ( 85 ) My mikes are 0 - 1,

1 - 2, 2 - 3 etc.  I always refer to the size as the largest ie.3"  or 4"  When I saw a 1 - 2" referred to I imagined a 2" mike with a 1 " anvil etc.  

Sorry

Roy   

Edited By roy entwistle on 17/11/2019 10:16:34

Edited By roy entwistle on 17/11/2019 10:35:12

No worries Roy, at least it threw up an interesting variant on the micrometer that I'd not seen before!

Henry - my two bits ! Pretty much all my tools/machines are imperial and mostly top end acquired during a lifetime in engineering, M & W, Starrett, Tesa Etalon Mitutoyo etc. I do like good tools !

However I do occasionally need to measure metric so decided to purchase some metric mics, not wishing to spend a large sum because of only very occasional use I opted for a far eastern set from Amadeal -- 4 micrometers from 0 to 100mm for about £45 at the time. They are very acceptable indeed amazing for the price, all have carbide tips and the "feel" during use is excellent IMO.

John

No worries Roy, at least it threw up an interesting variant on the micrometer that I'd not seen before!

+1. Plenty of precision G clamps around, but that is the first precison sash clamp I have seen.

It seems that no one has checked out one of the inexpensive Chinese 0-25mm oustide mics, so I decided to risk a heady £6.29 just to see for myself if what turns up is a useable measuring instrument or a small throat finely adjustable G clamp. I could have got what appears to be the same item 4p cheaper, but that was coming from the Far East and the expensive one is a UK supplier - it is due by next Wednesday. The Proops Bros. one at £5.60 just seemed too crude. Selection was made by searching "0-25 micrometer" and "Price inc. P+P first" on Ebay.

I have at my disposal at work a calibrated Inspection Grade slip gauge set that is only used to do in-house checking of our production measuring equipment, and a temperature controlled cabin that houses the CNC CMM to provide a reasonable stable environment to do the checks. As it happens I also have a new Insize brand (from Cutwel) 0-25mm outside micrometer on my desk at the moment, plus my own KS version + can also check out the 15 year old Mitutoyo mic from the set I mentioned earlier that lives on the shop floor.

That looks like my lunch breaks for the next few days taken care of ! As Arnold once said - I'll be back.

If there are any requests or suggestions, please get them in !

Nigel B

Henry - my two bits ! Pretty much all my tools/machines are imperial and mostly top end acquired during a lifetime in engineering, M & W, Starrett, Tesa Etalon Mitutoyo etc. I do like good tools.

Absolutely John, I spent most of my career in precision engineering. I just checked Amadeal and they don't seem to have your set now only 0-200 for £168.50 so I'll keep looking...

+1. Plenty of precision G clamps around, but that is the first precison sash clamp I have seen.

Brilliant Nigel! I'll be interested to see how you get on with the latest big spend. Incidentally the company where I did my apprenticeship and oddly ended up at before retiring used to have two guys doing calibration in a controlled area that was part of the temperature controlled precision gear shop, all high use measuring were calibrated at least once every two weeks.

Cheers, Henry.

Henry -- Amadeal link **LINK**

Now a bit more expensive but this appears to be the set I purchased, there is no brand on them at all not even Amadeal !

John

Edited By JohnF on 17/11/2019 20:13:44

How odd! I searched micrometer and micrometers and that didn't come up!

Thanks John.

Is it just me that finds metric micrometers a right royal pain. The number of times I've made something exactly 0.5mm wrong is legion. I now tend to use the digital caliper to get near then switch to the mic. Never had this issue with imperial.

Please tell me the two thimbles and locking lever are metal and not blue plastic. Please.

Nope, best quality blue plastic. Seems to work OK though I have had it for a few years and no sign of deterioration on the plastic bits.

John

For the Love of God! No !!!!

Not plastic. On a micrometer.

Is there nothing sacred left in this world?

Please tell me the two thimbles and locking lever are metal and not blue plastic

Blue is just so garish - less obtrusive to use grey plastic for the ratchet & lock lever like Mitutoyo do.

Nigel B

I like blue

In the long run it doesn't really matter what colour it is or what it's made from provided it works to the required level of accuracy which indeed this particular micrometer seems to do. At least it is good enough for my requirements, I usually work to around the nearest mm

John

Edit: typo

Edited By Journeyman on 19/11/2019 08:44:17

I must admit to being a little surprised about the blue bit on the M&W but it should help it stand out amongst all the other vitally useful things on the bench

Nooooooooooooo.

Not plastic on my beloved Mits as well.

The world has gone to pot, er plastic.

There are plenty of serviceable mics around that are 60 years old or more, I wonder if the plastic fittings will endure that long, even Tesa and Etalon have plastic though.

Mike

One would hope the plastic will last as long as the rest of it - but the rest of it likely won’t last as long as the current 60 year old ones (which might still be working in another 60 years time).

The plastic is there to insulate the micrometer from the heat of the user’s hand.

... Honest

MichaelG.

I have just bought 2 more and wright from Allen dale group they are on offer i am very impressed with them so far.

Bob

The Chinese 0-25mm micrometer I bought from Ebay turned up on Thursday.

As you can see, the box didn't survive the journey in the standard grey plastic bag. The micrometer was inside a sealed plastic bag as supplied. There are no makers markings & no paperwork was included. From a distance, it doesn't look too bad - the markings are clear against satin chromed backgrounds, clean knurling & the ratchet is all metal.

Thre seemed to be some kind of preservative on the bright parts, so first off I removed the spindle & cleaned it with IPA. Removing the spindle revealed that the female thread is cut directly into the body & has no wear adjustment

Sorry for the OOF picture - phone pics ! - but you can get the jist I'm sure. Further examination showed absolutely no attempt to finish the spindle end face or the fixed anvil face. There are burrs from the O/D grinding on the faces of the both the spindle and anvil. Neither face appears to be carbide as claimed and visible in the close-up pictures on the listing.

Replacing the spindle in the body revealed that the spindle is a loose fit in the front of the frame & the only bearing provision is via the thread - the spindle can be moved (wobbled) about +/- 0.25mm when extended close to (but not touching) the fixed anvil. It is not possible to get a reapeatable zero due to the rough, unfinished faces of the spindle and anvil & when brought together, the spindle and anvil are not aligned.

I don't propose to waste any time doing any accuracy checks on this thing - from a distance it looks like a micrometer, but it really isn't fit to use if you want any kind of accuracy.

A bit of searching for "Chinese outside micrometer" suggest that this is a product of the Conic Industrial Co. Ltd of Fuzhou, who appear to do many types of micrometer. The pictures form the Ebay listing suggest that the item supplied is this one

but what seems to have been supplied is a lower specification

model.

I have requested a refund form Ebay of the basis that the item supplied is not as described in the listing.

Nigel B