Gunsmithing buy micrometers.....frictin,ratchet, or plain

[SSC]

Which one do you guys use or recommend for a new guy to precision measurements? Is the ratchet twice as nice as the plain? seems to me after a while the ratchet would wear out.

this mitutoyo plain is only $62 vs the Friction is $95 and ratchet is $128.

 

[nutzo396]

Re: buy micrometers.....frictin,ratchet, or plain

I've used all 3 and prefer the plain. If you really have to have a clutch type mechanism, I would go with the friction type. I really don't have a reason, it's just a preference of the way it feels and that it's a little more compact without the ratchet tail. I would absolutely get mics with carbide faces though.

 

[bohem]

Re: buy micrometers.....frictin,ratchet, or plain

Carbide contact surfaces are a must IMO.

My personal preference is the ratchet if I'm getting something with a limit-mechanism on it.

If price is a concern the "plain" type are still excellent and will do a great job.

Take care of the tools and they'll outlast your grand kids.

 

[skog]

Re: buy micrometers.....frictin,ratchet, or plain

Carbide is a must. I have mitoyoto and starttett friction and i find myself not using the clutch at all most of the time.

 

[SSC]

Re: buy micrometers.....frictin,ratchet, or plain

what advantage does the carbide give you over hardened or baked enamel?

i checked Mitutoyo's site and the faces are carbide

 

[HPLLC]

Re: buy micrometers.....frictin,ratchet, or plain

I didn't have a lot of money when I went to technical college for machining and I used imported Mics- (if you're not familiar you have to buy like $3000 worth of measuring tools to go to tech college for Tool and die).

The guys there had mics from name brand companies- Starret Mititouyo etc, and I had a $20 mic from little machine shop which had carbide faces too.

I measured a lot of name brand guage blocks and as far as I could tell, my mic was accurate to .0002" <And no one will recommend relying on the tenths scale for more than .0005" accuracy anyway.

My buddy was born into machining like a lot of people in the area, (SE Wisconsin) and he would joke about my tools in fun, but we compared his name brand tools (inherited from his dad) to mine and his weren't better that I could tell. I used the 0-1 all the time and graded in the top 10% of the class.

My mic had a ratchet mechanism, and sometimes I used it and sometimes I would just use finger pressure on the dial- I wouldn't pay $60 for the feature, but it is nice for helping you to develop a feel for how tight you want to touch an item when measuring it. (not very tight).

Little Machine Shop 0-1 $16.95

I later learned there is a company called Shars that probably sells the same thing with their name on it for a lot less- IE you can get a 0-3 set for $30.

0-3 mic set Shars-


It's a thought. I certainly don't know why people are paying $60 more for a ratchet mechanism that should be the same cost as through all three types.

Where I think spending the money is a good idea, is on a dial caliper. The Brown and Sharp dial and Mitutoyo's expensive digital water proof calipers are better tools than the import calipers. Not that the import caliper isn't good-

just that the Mitutoyo for $100-200 will yield accuracy sometimes comparable to a mic instead of .001" accuracy like the import caliper.

 

[Sean the Nailer]

Re: buy micrometers.....frictin,ratchet, or plain

I gotta throw this in the ring. During my student years, which is 20-30 years ago, we were taught to not use the ratchet. Specifically.

What we were taught, was to learn to hold the mic body with the last two fingers of our hand, (r) and to use our pointer finger to DRAG on the actual barrel of the mic. This way, we could be using our left hand to hold whatever it is we were measuring, as well as in a short time become consistent with the measuring "tension" or "pressure" that we apply with our finger.

Mainly due to the ratchets never been the same between two mic's, as well as never being the same over the years on the same mic from wear/use. It doesn't take long at all, on a gauge-block, to learn just how much tension/pressure that you want to apply. Simple to remember too, that it is a measuring device, not a clamp. There really isn't much needed at all.

Whereas, you'll always have the same finger. Barring some crazy placement issues, of course.

As such I'll say that I've never used a ratchet and have no need to start. You MAY feel the same in due time.

YMMV

 

[LRI]

Re: buy micrometers.....frictin,ratchet, or plain

A mic is a C clamp with a ruler attached. A caliper is a ruler with a speedometer.

Used correctly it doesn't matter what/how you get there. Used poorly, you can get any # you want.

Carbide is nice as they'll likely never wear out. That being said if you ever do engine work, an all steel unit works well for delicate crankshaft journals. With a set of stds it really doesn't matter. You can calibrate/tune if it wears/gets dropped, etc. . .

Nothing would suck more than nicking a main on a brand new Sonny Bryant crankshaft that you paid 5K for.

 

[nutzo396]

Re: buy micrometers.....frictin,ratchet, or plain

I have a 1-2 and 2-3 w/carbide faces and standards that match the one in your link that I've been meaning to put in the For Sale section.PM me if you need a set and perhaps we can work something out.

 

[turbo54]

Re: buy micrometers.....frictin,ratchet, or plain

All it takes is to develop a feel. The ratchet or friction thimble is a niecety, but really, you just need the feel. You'll develop it very quickly.

 

[cal50]

Re: buy micrometers.....frictin,ratchet, or plain

Buy the mics with the carbide faces #1. They wear forever but can chip if you bang them around. As for ratchet's they do have their place. When I was an apprentice I purchased a set of Starrett 0~6"
OD mics with the ratchet thimble and carbide faces. We machined a lot of thin section materials and the ratchet thimble was mandated for users to get similar or consistent measurements. Until a person get "the feel" the ratchet allows different users to obtain similar results. This was proven by various gauge R&R's.

I purchased my set 30 years back and they still look new. Good tools will last a lifetime.

 

[jasonixo]

Re: buy micrometers.....frictin,ratchet, or plain

I agree on the carbide- definitely a good investment. With regards to the torque-limiting mechanism, I'd rather have one, but either is fine. If the mics are calibrated using the ratchet/friction thimble, they read the same no matter who uses them or what subjective effects the user is under.