Your Favorite Micrometer?

Etalon was my thing back in the 70s' , I had 1-2-3 mics . That was all I could afford at the time . The 1" finally died , replaced it with a Mitutoyo digi . i also had a Schurr- Tumico 1" blade . Finally at the end I bought a Schurr-Tumico 6" to 12 " from the bay , it came from the Chance-Vought factory .
 
Scherr-Tumico mics aren't the greatest compared to the other popular name brands, some love them, some don't but that's true with all brands. Not sure if they made higher end stuff in the past. But I do know they are pretty good & were made in the USA (not sure about now). They even supplied the US government at one time.

I like my Accupro/Scherr-Tumico 0-6" set. I really wanted a 0-6" Mitutoyo set in the case but I couldn't afford one. At one point I even considered buying a Chinese import set, glad I snapped out of that one.

I got my 0-6" set brand new in case for $200 shipped, seen here, carbide faces, & w/ standards. No way I could pass up that deal. They're good enough for me so I'll keep using them. Before this set I had only used ratchet thimbles as that's what everyone had around. Because of this set I have grown to like friction thimbles more now. Or I don't even use the friction thimble at times, just direct feel.

I'm a friction thimble guy now. What do you guys prefer, ratchet or friction?
 
I agree Will, Mitutoyo is the best in electronics. They will last for a long time, just not 30 years or more. But for the money, The Mits are a great value.
Super accurate and reliable. Mitutoyo gages are worth more than they charge for them. Exceptional value. I like them. The Mitutoyo digimatic depth mic
is a tool I would love to own. Very $$$$ But for longevity, you can't beat good Swiss mechanical gages. IMHO.
 
I agree Will, Mitutoyo is the best in electronics. They will last for a long time, just not 30 years or more. But for the money, The Mits are a great value.
Super accurate and reliable. Mitutoyo gages are worth more than they charge for them. Exceptional value. I like them. The Mitutoyo digimatic depth mic
is a tool I would love to own. Very $$$$ But for longevity, you can't beat good Swiss mechanical gages. IMHO.

Yup, I agree, the digitals will fail one day like anything electronic and get outdated. That is how the modern world is now unfortunately. But the Mitus will last well long enough to get my money's worth & then some, especially cause I don't pay full prices on most of it. When that time comes I'll have no problem replacing them if needed.

My Mitu Digitmatic depth gage is the older style but I'm ok with that. I don't even keep a battery in it, sometimes I just use the vernier scale cause I don't use it that often. Bulky I know, cause it's digital & I don't always use the digital readout but it's there. I got this 0-6" set brand spankin new for dirt cheap so I can't complain.


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I'm a friction thimble guy now. What do you guys prefer, ratchet or friction?

I like the friction type better but I'm ambidextrous and can use either. My Etalons are a friction type and when they juuust slip they are dead on accurate. I check all my mics with gauge blocks to see how they like to read and my Mit mics are most accurate after three clicks of the ratchet so I guess it depends on the mic, actually.
 
My Quantumikes are ratchet type, odd thing is they are only ratchet, the thimble does not allow you to use it direct. But the ratcheting mechanism is lighter than any other ratchet type mic that I have personally used. I own only 1 Starret & it's ratchet mech has a harder clicking action, well I would say almost normal (slightly harder) with the other mics I own & have used. But I have used mic where the ratcheting action was so hard it could be an inpact driver, haha. Not sure how well or bad that mic was cared for though.

Is the 3 click thing something that is standard? That's how I was taught, 3 clicks is all you need & to always use the same number of clicks for consistency. But I've seen people ratchet away excessively. I've always wondered.
 
Is the 3 click thing something that is standard? That's how I was taught, 3 clicks is all you need & to always use the same number of clicks for consistency. But I've seen people ratchet away excessively. I've always wondered.

No idea if its a standard. It is what works for my Mit mics with gauge blocks. All my Swiss mics are friction type and seem to need very little tightening to read accurately.
 
My favorite micrometer is a seasoned Mitutoyo 0-1" "digital" (with the analog spinning number wheel display)
but i like to use my antique JT Slocomb's anytime i get the chance!
honorable mention to my vintage G.Scheer's too.

digital mic's are really cool to use, but somehow i feel like i'm cheating a little bit when i use them :oops:
 
Well it is easy to cheat with digital mic or calipers. When I first started getting interested in machining to turn a new shaft for a bearing I zeroed the mic on the old shaft and checked the new shaft to see how much to take off. :laughing:
 
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