5 ms·

Dial Caliper Repair (2019)

64 points by stacktrust 4y ago

nrh 4y ago
I'm pretty into this place's business philosophy: just ship us your stuff with a little bit of information and we'll repair it. don't call ahead, don't ask for a quote, don't send us garbage that's not worth repairing. mucking around and/or unnecessary communication will just slow things down. We'll fix it and ship it back and bill you. End Of Story. I wish my work-life were so simple.
- RicoElectrico 4y ago
  How the hell that even works is beyond me; usually in the case of phone or laptop repairs it means crazy high backlogs and other issues along the way. Bonus points for those repair people who never say no and in effect spend all their life in the workshop.
- stacktrust 4y ago
  http://www.longislandindicator.com/p30.html http://www.longislandindicator.com/p30.html > We don't carry spare parts or we just have a dislike for some of these brands, so please do not send the following ... Alina, Craftsman, Helios, Kanon, Peacock, NSK, Fowler, Starrett, Sylvac, SPI, Scherr-Tumico ... Anything made in China.
contingencies 4y ago
I've seen so many digital calipers destroyed by careless engineers and humidity here in Guangdong in the last few years (mostly cheap Chinese ones), I just bought two new extended digital Mitutoyo. I intend to keep them carefully secured in boxes with dehumidification salts and zealously restrict their use. Heading to the US shortly so was sure to obtain the metric/imperial option, which is amusingly cheaper than metric here in China as nobody wants the hassle of the extra button - and presumably, the corresponding increase in chance of error.
- kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
  > nobody wants the hassle of the extra button Or they know they're more likely to be counterfeit.
  - contingencies 4y ago
    When you buy imported mass-produced goods in China and they come from a really popular distributor located in a developed coastal city (eg. Shanghai) with huge, platform-audited sales volume and the goods already cost 10x local units, the chance of counterfeit goods is generally very low. The most recent supply scam I have personally had to deal with was the substitution for sale of alternate polymers as more expensive, engineering grade polymers.
- stacktrust 4y ago
  If rolling the dice on a cheap Chinese digital caliper, Home Depot's Husky house brand offers lifetime warranty, no receipt needed, return to any HD store, https://www.homedepot.com/c/huskywarranty https://www.homedepot.com/c/huskywarranty Metric, imperial and woodworking-friendly fractions, https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-6-in-3-Mode-Digital-Fractional-Caliper-1467H/206007130 https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-6-in-3-Mode-Digital-Fracti...
  - bityard 4y ago
    Usually the biggest problem with sub-$100 Chinese calipers is they chew through batteries even when off. A real annoyance if you're not using them every day. (And if you were using them every day, you'd just buy Mitutoyo in the first place.) Since I'm just a lowly woodworker, I just buy second-hand dial calipers on eBay.
    - s0rce 4y ago
      This is super annoying, I spend more time at work trying to find batteries, which we never have, than it would have cost to buy a legit brand name micrometer/caliper originally. Not to mention if you ever get it calibrated locally you are better off buying a good one initially vs. paying to calibrate cheap ones.
stacktrust 4y ago
Rene Meyer's paper books are a subset of the website, https://www.amazon.com/Ren%25C3%25A9-Urs-Meyer/e/B016S8ZOT4 https://www.amazon.com/Ren%25C3%25A9-Urs-Meyer/e/B016S8ZOT4 > I have personally repaired over 35,000 indicators in the years that I have been working. My father easily matched that number along with tens of thousands of dial calipers and micrometers which he and my brother have repaired. What I learned during all these years has all been put into this repository: www.longislandindicator.com Here you will find charts of manufacturers’ specifications and spare parts lists, critical evaluations of brands and models, instructions for cleaning, servicing and calibrating indicators and hundreds of web pages of information which often exceed what manufacturers’ catalogs provide. In fact, we have had manufacturers refer to our website to learn things about their own products!
Blackthorn 4y ago
Love this website. Always go there before I buy a measuring tool so I know what I'm getting. As a result if I ever need one repaired I'm going right to them.
stacktrust 4y ago
Any recommendations on gage blocks for micrometers and calipers? Veritas Set-Up Block (made in Canada) accuracy is rated at 0.002" (aluminum) and 0.0002" (steel), https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/marking-and-measuring/45089-veritas-set-up-blocks https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/markin... & https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/marking-and-measuring/110150-veritas-imperial-layout-block https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/markin...
- NoImmatureAdHom 4y ago
  Depends on what you're up to. The set you're pointing to will be fine for most everything you'd do with calipers. With micrometers, it's harder to say. You'd buy from an established machinery / metrology supply if the work demands it, like Starrett. Or MSC, Enco, etc. if you don't need the best. If you're just screwing around measuring the odd household object and / or using the calipers to get splinters out, Lee Valley will be more than adequate. Also, estate sales are a good place to look for a set of gage blocks. Machinists often die with their stuff, and family has no idea what it is. The machinists would almost universally prefer it remain in use, in the hands of someone who knows how to use it.
- exmadscientist 4y ago
  0.0002" is fine to calibrate a pair of calipers but not really for a micrometer. I just bought a real gage block, which will be far more than sufficient for anything I ever do: https://www.zoro.com/mitutoyo-gage-block-rectangular-100-in-asme-0-611201-531/i/G2547334/ https://www.zoro.com/mitutoyo-gage-block-rectangular-100-in-... Admittedly, this choice was a little more obvious before the recent inflation. Select your size and preferred units as required, of course. It was nice to see that even though mine is only Grade 0, it actually meets the Grade 00 standards. Not that that matters for me. Now all this is reminding me that I should actually go and check out that sketchy micrometer that was borrowed and abused....
userbinator 4y ago
The Chinese-made Starrett 1202 models are actually better than the standard made-in-USA versions in some ways. The sturdier, nicely made movement is an improvement over the old calipers which probably haven't changed design since they were first invented. But, parts for the movement are not sold separately! You will have to buy the complete movement assembly, with the bezel and the crystal. That sounds like you can buy an unbranded/off-branded one from Aliexpress or similar at a fraction of the price, with the exact same construction.
walrus01 4y ago
It's worth mentioning that if you need something basic for home DIY needs and things without very demanding precision, a not half bad digital caliper from China is under ten dollars on Amazon, accurate to 0.1 mm. Digital Caliper, Adoric 0-6" Calipers Measuring Tool - Electronic Micrometer Caliper with Large LCD Screen, Auto-Off Feature, Inch and Millimeter Conversion https://a.co/d/1YBFS00 https://a.co/d/1YBFS00 Of course you can go up to $50-60 for some more accurate all metal ones before taking the jump to serious $250+ precision instruments.
- midoridensha 4y ago
  You can get nice metal ones (digital) for much less than $50 from Harbor Freight.
- boltzmann-brain 4y ago
  No, it's _precise_ down to 0.1mm. There's no way I'm trusting it's _accurate_ down to 0.1mm. Just the mere thermal expansion coefficient of abs, 100 * 10^-6 m/(m C), is enough to tell you that across a very conservative range of 50 degrees the full scale measurement of 10 cm will expand by L0 * alpha * DeltaT = 0.1m * 100 * 10^(-6) * (50 C) = 0.5mm. (Units don't check out, I just added them here and there so you know what's what). Even if you use fiber-glass reinforced ABS that's still 31% of that, 0.155mm > 0.1mm. And who knows if the digital scale is even printed so it's accurate at any point in time - for all you know they just took a random other inaccurate tool to check against. And this does not account for any mechanical slop or for deformations from using what's essentially a slightly colder bar of chocolate to clamp down on hard metal. Accuracy: if you measure something with this tool, and then with a standard, it's going to come up with the same number, "down to 0.1mm of accuracy". As we've shown above, this thing is not accurate. Precision: if you measure something with this tool, and then measure the same thing with this tool again later on, then it's going to shoe you the same number. And even here, this tool isn't really "precise", but we can assume that for all intents and purposes you won't be using it to measure things years apart (wear and tear can change its shape easily) or during massive temperature swings. Moral of the story: Accuracy /= Precision Edit: at least tools made out of chocolate can be eaten https://www.thisiswhyimbroke.com/edible-chocolate-tools/ https://www.thisiswhyimbroke.com/edible-chocolate-tools/

64 points by stacktrust 4y ago

nrh 4y ago

I'm pretty into this place's business philosophy: just ship us your stuff with a little bit of information and we'll repair it. don't call ahead, don't ask for a quote, don't send us garbage that's not worth repairing. mucking around and/or unnecessary communication will just slow things down. We'll fix it and ship it back and bill you. End Of Story. I wish my work-life were so simple.

RicoElectrico 4y ago
How the hell that even works is beyond me; usually in the case of phone or laptop repairs it means crazy high backlogs and other issues along the way. Bonus points for those repair people who never say no and in effect spend all their life in the workshop.
stacktrust 4y ago
http://www.longislandindicator.com/p30.html http://www.longislandindicator.com/p30.html > We don't carry spare parts or we just have a dislike for some of these brands, so please do not send the following ... Alina, Craftsman, Helios, Kanon, Peacock, NSK, Fowler, Starrett, Sylvac, SPI, Scherr-Tumico ... Anything made in China.

contingencies 4y ago

I've seen so many digital calipers destroyed by careless engineers and humidity here in Guangdong in the last few years (mostly cheap Chinese ones), I just bought two new extended digital Mitutoyo. I intend to keep them carefully secured in boxes with dehumidification salts and zealously restrict their use. Heading to the US shortly so was sure to obtain the metric/imperial option, which is amusingly cheaper than metric here in China as nobody wants the hassle of the extra button - and presumably, the corresponding increase in chance of error.

kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
> nobody wants the hassle of the extra button Or they know they're more likely to be counterfeit.
- contingencies 4y ago
  When you buy imported mass-produced goods in China and they come from a really popular distributor located in a developed coastal city (eg. Shanghai) with huge, platform-audited sales volume and the goods already cost 10x local units, the chance of counterfeit goods is generally very low. The most recent supply scam I have personally had to deal with was the substitution for sale of alternate polymers as more expensive, engineering grade polymers.
stacktrust 4y ago
If rolling the dice on a cheap Chinese digital caliper, Home Depot's Husky house brand offers lifetime warranty, no receipt needed, return to any HD store, https://www.homedepot.com/c/huskywarranty https://www.homedepot.com/c/huskywarranty Metric, imperial and woodworking-friendly fractions, https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-6-in-3-Mode-Digital-Fractional-Caliper-1467H/206007130 https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-6-in-3-Mode-Digital-Fracti...
- bityard 4y ago
  Usually the biggest problem with sub-$100 Chinese calipers is they chew through batteries even when off. A real annoyance if you're not using them every day. (And if you were using them every day, you'd just buy Mitutoyo in the first place.) Since I'm just a lowly woodworker, I just buy second-hand dial calipers on eBay.
  - s0rce 4y ago
    This is super annoying, I spend more time at work trying to find batteries, which we never have, than it would have cost to buy a legit brand name micrometer/caliper originally. Not to mention if you ever get it calibrated locally you are better off buying a good one initially vs. paying to calibrate cheap ones.

stacktrust 4y ago

Rene Meyer's paper books are a subset of the website, https://www.amazon.com/Ren%25C3%25A9-Urs-Meyer/e/B016S8ZOT4 https://www.amazon.com/Ren%25C3%25A9-Urs-Meyer/e/B016S8ZOT4 > I have personally repaired over 35,000 indicators in the years that I have been working. My father easily matched that number along with tens of thousands of dial calipers and micrometers which he and my brother have repaired. What I learned during all these years has all been put into this repository: www.longislandindicator.com Here you will find charts of manufacturers’ specifications and spare parts lists, critical evaluations of brands and models, instructions for cleaning, servicing and calibrating indicators and hundreds of web pages of information which often exceed what manufacturers’ catalogs provide. In fact, we have had manufacturers refer to our website to learn things about their own products!

Blackthorn 4y ago

Love this website. Always go there before I buy a measuring tool so I know what I'm getting. As a result if I ever need one repaired I'm going right to them.

stacktrust 4y ago

Any recommendations on gage blocks for micrometers and calipers? Veritas Set-Up Block (made in Canada) accuracy is rated at 0.002" (aluminum) and 0.0002" (steel), https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/marking-and-measuring/45089-veritas-set-up-blocks https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/markin... & https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/marking-and-measuring/110150-veritas-imperial-layout-block https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/markin...

NoImmatureAdHom 4y ago
Depends on what you're up to. The set you're pointing to will be fine for most everything you'd do with calipers. With micrometers, it's harder to say. You'd buy from an established machinery / metrology supply if the work demands it, like Starrett. Or MSC, Enco, etc. if you don't need the best. If you're just screwing around measuring the odd household object and / or using the calipers to get splinters out, Lee Valley will be more than adequate. Also, estate sales are a good place to look for a set of gage blocks. Machinists often die with their stuff, and family has no idea what it is. The machinists would almost universally prefer it remain in use, in the hands of someone who knows how to use it.
exmadscientist 4y ago
0.0002" is fine to calibrate a pair of calipers but not really for a micrometer. I just bought a real gage block, which will be far more than sufficient for anything I ever do: https://www.zoro.com/mitutoyo-gage-block-rectangular-100-in-asme-0-611201-531/i/G2547334/ https://www.zoro.com/mitutoyo-gage-block-rectangular-100-in-... Admittedly, this choice was a little more obvious before the recent inflation. Select your size and preferred units as required, of course. It was nice to see that even though mine is only Grade 0, it actually meets the Grade 00 standards. Not that that matters for me. Now all this is reminding me that I should actually go and check out that sketchy micrometer that was borrowed and abused....

userbinator 4y ago

The Chinese-made Starrett 1202 models are actually better than the standard made-in-USA versions in some ways. The sturdier, nicely made movement is an improvement over the old calipers which probably haven't changed design since they were first invented. But, parts for the movement are not sold separately! You will have to buy the complete movement assembly, with the bezel and the crystal. That sounds like you can buy an unbranded/off-branded one from Aliexpress or similar at a fraction of the price, with the exact same construction.

walrus01 4y ago

It's worth mentioning that if you need something basic for home DIY needs and things without very demanding precision, a not half bad digital caliper from China is under ten dollars on Amazon, accurate to 0.1 mm. Digital Caliper, Adoric 0-6" Calipers Measuring Tool - Electronic Micrometer Caliper with Large LCD Screen, Auto-Off Feature, Inch and Millimeter Conversion https://a.co/d/1YBFS00 https://a.co/d/1YBFS00 Of course you can go up to $50-60 for some more accurate all metal ones before taking the jump to serious $250+ precision instruments.

midoridensha 4y ago
You can get nice metal ones (digital) for much less than $50 from Harbor Freight.
boltzmann-brain 4y ago
No, it's _precise_ down to 0.1mm. There's no way I'm trusting it's _accurate_ down to 0.1mm. Just the mere thermal expansion coefficient of abs, 100 * 10^-6 m/(m C), is enough to tell you that across a very conservative range of 50 degrees the full scale measurement of 10 cm will expand by L0 * alpha * DeltaT = 0.1m * 100 * 10^(-6) * (50 C) = 0.5mm. (Units don't check out, I just added them here and there so you know what's what). Even if you use fiber-glass reinforced ABS that's still 31% of that, 0.155mm > 0.1mm. And who knows if the digital scale is even printed so it's accurate at any point in time - for all you know they just took a random other inaccurate tool to check against. And this does not account for any mechanical slop or for deformations from using what's essentially a slightly colder bar of chocolate to clamp down on hard metal. Accuracy: if you measure something with this tool, and then with a standard, it's going to come up with the same number, "down to 0.1mm of accuracy". As we've shown above, this thing is not accurate. Precision: if you measure something with this tool, and then measure the same thing with this tool again later on, then it's going to shoe you the same number. And even here, this tool isn't really "precise", but we can assume that for all intents and purposes you won't be using it to measure things years apart (wear and tear can change its shape easily) or during massive temperature swings. Moral of the story: Accuracy /= Precision Edit: at least tools made out of chocolate can be eaten https://www.thisiswhyimbroke.com/edible-chocolate-tools/ https://www.thisiswhyimbroke.com/edible-chocolate-tools/