Essential measuring tools for the home shop

[Highpower]

Very nice Tom. I wish I could trade mine for a set like yours. Unfortunately mine is a 2 - 6 inch set for cylinder bores....

[TomG]

(08-31-2012, 10:21 AM)TOM REED Wrote: Very nice set tom. What if you don't mind did they set you back? tom

Thanks Tom. I believe I gave $230 for the set on eBay. They run around $500 retail.

Tom

[TomG]

(08-31-2012, 11:17 AM)Highpower Wrote: Very nice Tom. I wish I could trade mine for a set like yours. Unfortunately mine is a 2 - 6 inch set for cylinder bores....

Yeah Willie, they come in all different ranges. Unfortunately the ranges aren't very big so you could spend a fortune in no time. Some of the dials will accept several different ranges of heads, but even the head sets alone are quite pricey.

Tom

[EdK]

(08-31-2012, 10:21 AM)TOM REED Wrote: Very nice set tom. What if you don't mind did they set you back? tom

I don't believe they make that exact set anymore but here's one that has the same measuring range.

http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/tools/...-bore-gage

Ed

[rleete]

Essential tools? A scale, a square and a scribe. Desirable? A set of calipers and a micrometer. More advanced, a height guage and a dial indicator. Many beautiful engines were made with not much beyond the very basics.

You guys with pin gauges, bore measuring tools and the like are way off base for what is essential. Hence scaring off casual hobbiest guys who just want to make stuff. If doesn't all have to be to the nearest tenthousandth to work. It's not like we're all building space probes. The kid who reads these type of threads hoping to get started sees that he "needs" thousands of dollars in tools, and gets discouraged.

I work with guys who make lenses. Optics, working to tolerances you can't even see with the naked eye. They have to use a microscope to see the cuts, and yet most of them use only a good set of mics for everything else.

If you want to gloat over the fancy extras, that's okay, but don't class them "essential". I don't mean to sound so harsh, but lets be realistic here. No newbie is going to drop more on a set of bore gauges than he paid for his Craigslist lathe.

[Mayhem]

(08-31-2012, 12:13 PM)rleete Wrote: ...If you want to gloat over the fancy extras, that's okay, but don't class them "essential". I don't mean to sound so harsh, but lets be realistic here. No newbie is going to drop more on a set of bore gauges than he paid for his Craigslist lathe.

You raise a very good point rleete.

However, that being said, you can get some very good deals on eBay if you are patient and resist the urge to "bid just a bit more" when you are outbid with a few hours to go. You will lose more than you win but when you do, you will most likely have a good tool at a good price.

(08-31-2012, 12:13 PM)rleete Wrote: ...It's not like we're all building space probes...

So what sort of probes are you building? Sorry - couldn't resist that one!

[TomG]

(08-31-2012, 12:13 PM)rleete Wrote: Essential tools? A scale, a square and a scribe. Desirable? A set of calipers and a micrometer. More advanced, a height guage and a dial indicator. Many beautiful engines were made with not much beyond the very basics.

You guys with pin gauges, bore measuring tools and the like are way off base for what is essential. Hence scaring off casual hobbiest guys who just want to make stuff. If doesn't all have to be to the nearest tenthousandth to work. It's not like we're all building space probes. The kid who reads these type of threads hoping to get started sees that he "needs" thousands of dollars in tools, and gets discouraged.

I work with guys who make lenses. Optics, working to tolerances you can't even see with the naked eye. They have to use a microscope to see the cuts, and yet most of them use only a good set of mics for everything else.

If you want to gloat over the fancy extras, that's okay, but don't class them "essential". I don't mean to sound so harsh, but lets be realistic here. No newbie is going to drop more on a set of bore gauges than he paid for his Craigslist lathe.

Hmmm...guess you didn't read my entire post. I thought I made it clear that a dial bore gauge was NOT essential and falls into the fluff category. I think we all covered the essential stuff pretty well in the first few posts.

Pin gauges however are one of those things that are very useful for measuring small holes and do have a place in the home shop after a set of small hole gauges (Ever try measuring a hole smaller than 1/8" with a small hole gauge?). They would fall into category #3 of the original post.

Tom

[EdK]

rleete,

You do make some good points but what is essential for what one person makes can be entirely different to what is essential for what another person makes. How do you know someone is not building a space probe in their home shop? It's all relative. I don't mean to sound harsh either.

Ed

[TOM REED]

We have one member here that has posted many of his engines, Bob has a small lathe and no milling machine. He does fantastic work in his shop with a minimum of tools {(lots of work with files and hacksaw)
I wish that I had his experience and patience and anyone viewing his posts can see the type of work that can be done with a minimum of tooling. tom

[stevec]

(08-31-2012, 12:13 PM)rleete Wrote: The kid who reads these type of threads hoping to get started sees that he "needs" thousands of dollars in tools, and gets discouraged.

I agree and it's only after many years of being captive by this "machining thing" that one realizes they did need "these thousands of dollars in tools". The better half, however never does come to this realization.