Broken Verdict DTI

In spite of literally keeping it in cotton wool when not in use, compromised dexterity has led to me dropping my Verdict Metrinch DTI on a concrete floor and snapping the stylus clean off at the base.

I would be grateful for any suggestions on how to remove the remnant of the stylus from the screw hole, or otherwise make good the damage.

Edited By Bill Phinn on 24/10/2020 18:50:03

I did exactly the same thing. I got 2 sharp pointed scribers & at 180 degrees to each other managed to with a magnifying glass , twist the broken piece out.

I repaired it by using a short piece of a small drill bit & bonded it in. It has worked ok since.

Steve.

Verdict do offer a repair service but if you can get the broken piece out as Steve suggests it may well be just fine with a new stylus. Not 100% sure but i have a recollection that the thread is 8BA ?????

John

The size of the thread on mine was , across the threads 1.66mm or 0.0655in. Although mine is a Mercer England make. So could be different.

Steve.

Many thanks for the replies, especially to Steve for the suggested extraction method.

Yes, a scriber has done the trick! Took a long while to wind it out enough to get some jewellery pliers on the stub and turn it a bit more quickly. Fortunately it hadn't been screwed in too tight.

For the record, it's a 10BA thread. Now I just need to identify the right stylus to replace it with. I've got all three that go with this model [Metrinch T34] and the broken one is the 0.080" ball tip. MSC Direct's website seems to sell a big range of styli but the descriptions are hopelessly inadequate. Fortunately there's a good guide to the styli on Verdict's/MJ Allen's website so I think I've identified the right one on MSC's site. Buying from Verdict/Allen direct doesn't seem to be an option.

Bill, when I was looking for something a while ago, I found their web site a bit of a labyrinth with various versions of catalogues around.

Try This Link to a pdf, pages 3 & 9 if that's not the one you've already found.

https://mjallen.co.uk/application/files/2414/7686/3315/Verdict_Dial_Test_Indicator_Catalogue_2010.pdf

Bill

Don’t you think a careful bit of stick welding will overcome the problem ? OK : I just thought I would ask .

Thank you for the further replies.

Yes, Bill, those are the pages I viewed. Interesting to note in Verdict's catalogue that some of the parts for various DTIs are described as "not saleable". I'm unsure how to understand that.

The actual length of the stylus on lever indicators is only of importance if they are being used to measure something. Even then, experimentation with known thickness materials can allow calculation of the error. Use to set concentricity on a rotating workpiece such as truing up in a four jaw independent lathe chuck would not matter at all.

In the past I have repaired and made stylus for various dial test indicators as long as you know the thread size and the length of the stylus in question it is a fiddly but easy job. I would make bent stylus, diferent tip diamiter sizes an eavan longer length (although they were only for comparison) stylus. I would turn the blank and thread and either solder a ball bearing on to the stylus or bend the shank to suit the job in question, maybe U or Z shaped to get round inaccessible areas. Sometimes the stylus would be a disk which I would solder on a ball and then grind the sides to the required thickness, maybe 30 to 50 thou to measure a small step which a ball tip would not get to.

David

Edited By David George 1 on 26/10/2020 07:56:15

A few I have left.

David

Bill

I guess not saleable means that the part isn't sold to third parties to repair a broken or worn indicator.

Presumably either a fit / tolerance thing or a judgement that if those parts are damaged or worn out the indicator is beyond repair. Either needing too much work or simply cannot be made to work properly again.

Looking at the parts diagrams I can see why they say that. From a commercial viewpoint anything much beyon a simple crystal replacement or similar easy fix probably isn't worth it anyway. I guess by tghe time all is said and done you'd be into £30+ before anything is done.

When I asked about getting a relatively late version tenths thou cylindrical body one fixed they told me that they no longer did parts and that it wouldn't be worth it. Especially as the innards of those had proven a bit problematical in service. I guess squeezing the 10 ths thou mechanics into a cylinder didn't work out too well although the original, 1 thou sensitivity, A.Capp made versions had cylindrical bodies, albeit much shorter, and work fine. Pity as the long body on mine was handy for getting into close quarters. Approaching 2" into a bore.

Clive

Having recently totally rebuilt a Metric Verdict DTI that came to me by way of a gift, although broken.

All the parts required to repair the DTI came from Verdict. Kevin in the sales department was very knowledgeable, he suggested I might need some extra parts. One part was even included free of charge, as he thought of it after our telephone conversation. The parts were paid for over the telephone and arrived the next working day.

From memory the thread is 10 BA, which I think was used by several manufacturers.

Regards

Gray,

Just out of curiosity. Has anyone used the guy mentioned in the Doubleboost videos on youtube?

Just asking as I have a couple that could do with TLC.

Regards.

David.

Yes , I have used him to repair a broken DTI , he was very good and , I thought , very reasonable £ wise .

Still recon it would weld though ! .

Edited By D.A.Godley on 26/10/2020 20:57:09

Many thanks for the further replies.

Sorry to overlook your suggestion about welding, D. A. Godley. I thought you might have been joking, as I assumed such a repair could very probably adversely affect the stylus' ability to transmit reliable readings. I'm glad to hear the stylus isn't so critical as I thought.

Clive, your explanation for Verdict's unwillingness to sell those parts makes sense, yes. I'm certainly glad I didn't need them in this case.

Graham, your experience with Verdict's parts supply service is reassuring. I might need it if I drop the DTI again, assuming a DIY repair is not beyond my skill set and/or tool kit.

On a final note [and in light of the new forum thread on Parcelforce versus DPD] delivery of MSC 's replacement stylus via DPD did not go smoothly. The "guaranteed twenty-four hour" delivery turned out to be 48 hours [not really a problem to me as the replacement wasn't urgent]. Worse was that I received no valid tracking, no updates, and certainly no one hour time slot as others have reported. The tracking number MSC supplied at my request when I felt there surely should be one still draws a complete blank on the DPD site even after delivery.

EtA: David, I forgot to acknowledge your useful posts regarding styli you had made. Working in miniature is something I'm fond of, so I might well be tempted to have a go one day.

Edited By Bill Phinn on 29/10/2020 01:37:29

I too thought that Member was joking about welding it !

I was about to suggest a blowlamp and solder or brazing !!

Excuse me while I slink away -------------------------------!

Joking , Me ? , Well of course I was joking , glad some spotted it , but only about the Stick welding !

I’m quite sure it could be silver soldered .

I just had this same problem after dropping a Mitutoyo DTI, except I could not remove the screw thread in the described fashion even after prolonged efforts - I had to resort to drilling out the stub. I took a broken 1.5mm carbide end-mill and ground a spade/chisel end on it by hand. Working under a magnifier I used this tool with a small hammer to tap a small centre point in the end of the broken stub then put it in my battery drill (in reverse) and started drilling. After a few seconds it caught and wound out the broken end.