Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Starrett, Mitutoyo, etc.

While Starrett tools were the gold standard in the shop where I started my Toolmaking career I used my VA education benefits to purchase a lot of Mitutoyo precision tools. Their mikes came with a vernier scale and carbide anvils, Starrett charged extra for their mikes to be equipped the same way. The shop also recommended the Starrett best-test dial indicator, I found the Interapid indicators to be more useful. When my Mitutoyo dial calipers died of old age GM replaced them with a Starrett dial calipers which I brought home to use measuring group size at benchrest matches I bought an inexpensive pair to use in the plant for spot checking my work. 🙂

When I was an apprentice a mate bought Starrett, and laughed at my Japanese Mitutoyo mics right up until I saw made in Brazil stamped on his gear.... nice friction thimbles though.

Friction thimbles are super nice. Mitutoyo made some models with friction thimble, though I have never seen one. I haven't seen a Starrett with one either. I have couple of my Mitutoyos are from Brazil, a 6" square and a 125mm mic. I have couple of sets of Polish VIS mics with thimbles. When I got them they were gummed up pretty bad, one was a NOS and the other a pawn shop find. Taking them apart and adjusting was an education, and a study in patience,though not as bad as the Lufkin or the Moore and Wrights. From my experiences , I would say the Mits are the most accurate, simply because they are the easiest to adjust.

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I still haven't seen one in person. You are lucky. I've had to measure to the tenths with a ratchet Mitutoyo at work . And that is a skill . After cleaning and adjusting my VIS mics, I would much rather use a thimble mic. The company supplied calibrated Mits, the shiny ones, not the painted ones. Most any brand of micrometers work, certainly at a thou level. When I wanted a tubing mic for measuring case neck thickness, I purchased a KBC house brand made in China, it had the vernier even.

When using ratchet mikes to measure in tenths I used my thumb and index finger to spin the thinble on the mikes. If I had multiple pieces I'd set up an electronic column gage to verify size.

Buy a set of these,

https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-...calipers/6-in-digital-caliper-63711.html

Throw them away when they ever quit and get another pair.

Extra batteries!