What brand of machinist's tools should I be looking for?

[Roy's Rustbucket]

I am starting my machinist class on August 28th. I'd like to start looking now for micrometers, calipers, etc. on eBay and retail "on sales". I know what body-work tools are good, but this stuff is new to me.

Are there recommended brands for these items?

Thanks,

Roy

[Toyota_Jim]

Ive got some starret stuff, brown and sharpe stuff, and some mitituoya(sp) stuff. All seems to work just fine. the B&S stuff is older and seems to be just as good as the new stuff.

[HalfFastFord]

He's about covered 'em.
Starrett
Brown And Sharpe
Mititoyo

All the good stuff.

[JeepinDoug]

There's always Etalon and Tesa, if you can find them for a good price. Be aware if you buy used you'll need to calibrate them and you should be able to do that in class.

[gddyap]

I started Machine Technology classes last semester. I took an intro class and the stuff we were using were Chinese imitation stuff and the instructor said they are actually pretty good in quality. In our situation, high accuracy and precision weren't as critical as they're just teaching us how they work and how to use them. If you're going to pursue a career as a machinist you would want to get the better quality stuff.

[lsloth]

If you are not in a rush to get everything estate sales can have some good deals.

[Toyota_Jim]

thats where I got mine, Garage sale.

[PTSchram]

I have good tools that stay in the machine shop. For shop-floor stuff, I use Harbor Freight measuring tools. If you use the same tool to measure a part and that same tool to make another part or manipulate something, the errors should remain fairly consistent and won't cause too much trouble. If OTOH, you do one measurement with a good measuring tool and another with a lesser quality measuring tools, you may have problems.

Of course, I'm also the guy with a Starret tape measure :flipoff2:

[prototype]

Mititoyo is usually cheaper but work well. if you need real cheap on price get harbor freight stuff. They work well for the price.

[HalfFastFord]

I've ended up buying most of mine at Pawn shops. bought a Mitotoyo Digital 6" for 15 bucks.You'd be surprised at the amount of machinists tools that turn up there. Sometimes the calipers are sprung, but they can be good for carrying around the shop in your back pocket and you don't feel as bad if you drop them. I also have the 6s and 12s but they are kept in their cases and only used when it's critical to get it exactly right. Most of the other stuff, dial indicators, magnetic bases come from the slaes flyers the shop gets. My friend is the head of the shop so if a good deal comes up, he calls me. whenever I need a specific tool, I can go see him to get what I need.

[Kenny714]

I work at a Nuke Plant and 99% of the stuff we have is Starrett. I've seen some of the Mititoyo stuff around, but not a whole lot. The guys here work with some pretty crazy important shit:nuke: so I would imagine they use the best.

[D60]

I started Machine Technology classes last semester. I took an intro class and the stuff we were using were Chinese imitation stuff and the instructor said they are actually pretty good in quality. In our situation, high accuracy and precision weren't as critical as they're just teaching us how they work and how to use them. If you're going to pursue a career as a machinist you would want to get the better quality stuff.

Ditto. I just started 8/21. I've only got one week of experience so take that for what it's worth. But here's what I've determined: I'll be looking for a slightly better dial indicator than my current bottom-of-the-line Harbor Freight. It still works but the face came off and it hasn't been the same since, but it does still work. I'd seriously invest in the better mag bases, something w the "ball" sockets and only one clamp you need to tighten, much easier to use and position.

Dial calipers anything should be fine, but not plastic and not digital (for starters).

Micrometers I just purchased what was sold locally which is Phase II. They're fine IMO, and were less than $20 each.

Also get a fixed mag base to measure stuff like carriage travel, a protractor, and some quality non-China HSS.

[m016324]

starrett and brown and sharp are most of my personal tools. I have some cheap stuff for working in the garage but in the shop I use my good tools. Lots of guys that work for me use the habor frieght stuff but it breaks and usually starts losing accuracy after about 6-9 months (we have all of our equipment checked quarterly). So if you want to just buy once I'd get one of those two.

We also have some shop tools that are mititoyo and they seem to hold accuracy pretty well. In all honesty when you actually start working most of the jobs you will run will probably be roughing jobs at least for the first couple of months. You won't need really high accuracy but you will need repeatability. I would get a good set of calipers, a mag base, a good dial indicator, and 0-1" mics. And depending on the type of shop you are going to work for will determine what you get after those.

I wouldn't worry about getting a whole set of i/d mics or o/d mics because most shops have a set you can use and until you start getting familiar with the work that your shop does you don't need to look into the specialty tools because you don't know what you'll need yet.

It's a cool career and definately very useful and it also makes you lots of friends because everyone wants you to machine something

-ben

[Blase]

I have been a machinist in the oil and gas fields for about ten years and have gone through lot's of tooling! I have found that Starrett and Mititoyo are the best for the money. It kind of boils down to which one you like to use more. I like Mititoyo calipers, mics and dial bore gauges but use starrett blade mics. On an daily bases i cut and check .0005 tolerance parts and love all the tools that i currently own. I will say don't go cheap! I wasted alot of money getting started on cheapo mics that don't last with very tight tolerances. Good luck.
P.S. Don't go oil field unless you want to work ALOT of hours. 80 a week!

[bobdog]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,210384,00.html

Maybe not a good idea to support a company that aides our enemies.

[solarpower]

Start with a USA made drill set. Letters, numbers, fractions, the big set. Expect to spend more than $100.00. I have a Vermont set that has been replaced somewhat by Cleveland drills. Don't get shiny titanium, or some gold coated junk, drills that are black HSS work best.

Get cheap paralells, you will prolly mess these up, having 2 cheap sets is nice.
Cheper 1-2-3 blocks are usually fine in almost all situations. They will destroy a good drill just like a expensive starret 1-2-3 block will.:smokin:



I always preferred Starrett for most things that involve accuracy. Mics, squares,scales, combination squares, they are top notch.

I have used up way to many calipers to decide to buy good stuff anymore. now it's a 6 and 12 inch for about 30 bucks. if you are measuring closer than .002 stuff than calipers are not what you want.

Interapid indicator is my money tool. I also have a couple cheaper indicator's with a longer stroke for bigger stuff, but the $200.00 I spent on first Interapid was money well spent. It has perfomed accuratly almost 10 years, in thousands of situations. Still holds .0002 easily today.

My air tools are Dotco. Made in USA. Really hard to kill. I promise. They are also rebuildable. They also cost alot of money. If you plan to spend many many hours with handheld steel manipulating air tools then get Dotco. If you only need to deburr stuff get cheap air tools.

I also find alot of good deals around shops and garage sale places. My most used 0-1 mic is a Lufkin. They still make good tape measures, but got out of precision stuff long ago.

[Magoo]

Ditto for Mitutoyo, Starett, B & S, Fowler, Interapid, cheap paralells & 1-2-3 blocks. Gage block sets are certified too, even the cheap ones... Wilton Tool makers vices, V-blocks, angle blocks, machinists squares ect. are a pretty good by especially when you look at the price for the domestic stuff... SPI makes some good stuff too... Nicolson files are all I'll use, even if I have to buy them myself. Most of my wrenches/screwdrivers are Craftsman, Kant Twist clamps are a machinist third hand along with Vice Grips.

Ebay can be a source of some serious deals, look for mispelled Starett, mitutoyo and "machinist"... I've scored some serious deals there, just don't ever snake Magoo503! :flipoff2:

[Magoo]

Ditto for Mitutoyo, Starett, B & S, Fowler, Interapid, cheap paralells & 1-2-3 blocks. Gage block sets are certified too, even the cheap ones... Wilton Tool makers vices, V-blocks, angle blocks, machinists squares ect. are a pretty good by especially when you look at the price for the domestic stuff... SPI makes some good stuff too... Nicolson files are all I'll use, even if I have to buy them myself. Most of my wrenches/screwdrivers are Craftsman, Kant Twist clamps are a machinist third hand along with Vice Grips.

Ebay can be a source of some serious deals, look for mispelled Starett, mitutoyo and "machinist"... I've scored some serious deals there, just don't ever snake Magoo503! :flipoff2:

[rckjeep]

I"m using mitutoyo stuff and I"m very happy with it. The prices are a bit better and the quality is still there.

[Paul Gagnon]

Do they require you to buy your own tools for the course? When I took my course all the tools were provided but after a few weeks I ended up buying my own 0-1 mic, 6" calipers and dial indicator just so I didn't have to go to the tool crib all the time. If they provide the tools there are usually a couple of different brands and you can try them out to see which you like better.

As a side note, get ready to completely change your perspective on measurement. Before you start machining 1 millimeter seems tiny but soon you will realize that it is fuckin' HuuUGE. :laughing:

[m016324]

millimeters? Who uses that crap:flipoff2: :flipoff2:

Funny story from just this week. One of my guys came up to me with a really really stunned look on his face. He said that he missed a cut on his piece by 4 inches. I was pretty surpised myself because this guy is really good. Turns out he went and pulled the print and it was in millimeters and he didn't realize it. He was actually dead nuts but was confused for a little bit.

-ben

[ronnie bennett]

For my money I use Starrett mics ,mititoyo digital calipers , interapid iandicator and brown and sharpe dail calipers. For angle plates and v blocks I use suberban.

[DavidVanVorous]

Im a tad "old guard" I like my mikes with vernier thimbles and my .1" per revolution calipers instead of the digital. Easier to set dial calipers when doing layout stuff mainly.

As to brand, get a feel on the smoothness of action and go for the smoothest set, ditto same thing for mikes as brand only provides a name and possibly a warranty.

As to what I use, mix bag. My 6" calipers are B&S, mikes are all B&S, combo set (16R grad) is Mititoyo and the indicator is Starret.

D.

[78bronco460]

Starrett, Mitutoyo, B/S are good tools. I prefer Federal for dial indicators though, they seem to have more sturdy springs in them.

[Roy's Rustbucket]

Thanks for all the responses. I had my first class on Thursday. Now that I know the brands, is there a website that has consistantly great prices and service?

Thanks
Roy

[strokeddodge]

yup, I hear ya man im in an oil refinery, and all my box has is starrett, like you said ONLY THE BEST WILL DO

I work at a Nuke Plant and 99% of the stuff we have is Starrett. I've seen some of the Mititoyo stuff around, but not a whole lot. The guys here work with some pretty crazy important shit:nuke: so I would imagine they use the best.

[Wingnutt]

I'm the guy that all of the machinests hate.....the quality dude. I have three inspectors under me, and we use Mitutoyo, Starett, B & S, Fowler equipment exclusively. I pefer Mitutoyo because I feel that you get the best equipment for the price. You can watch Enco and catch Mitutoyo equipment on sale for a good price and most of the time you can get free shipping too.

It's a constant fight with our bean counters when we need new equipment because they don't understand the need for high percision measuring equipment. Our shop has regular customers who's requires us to hold +.0002, -0.0 tolerances on a few of thier parts.

Granted equipment of this caliber isn't exactly cheap, but when your customer requires it and you don't provide it, you won't keep that customer very long.

As an example, two weeks ago I had to order two digital hole mikes with SPC output and our buyer about crapped wis pants when he saw that they were $1500 ea. :grinpimp:

[Billetburb]

Thanks for all the responses. I had my first class on Thursday. Now that I know the brands, is there a website that has consistantly great prices and service?
Roy,
These are companys I have used for many years, The great thing about measuring tools is they are always on sale:D Never buy retail, wait for a sale (40-60%)if you can. That way you arent tempted to go the harbor frieght way. If you call and get a catolog from J&L or Travers, you will get sale flyers till the day you die...and maybe some after that:laughing:
Gary

http://www.jlindustrial.com/
https://www.travers.com/
http://www.usshoptools.com/