- Joined
- Jun 7, 2013
- Messages
- 10,140
My most accurate tools are kept in my shop office in a Gerstner box that I bought in my apprenticeship back in the 60s, larger tools are kept on shelves above the box.
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Where do you keep your very best tools?
- Thread starter Doug Gray
- Start date
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2017
- Messages
- 1,921
Keep in it's case, near the machine you plan to use them with. Revert to the old pair for the other machine. Buy a HF set for the bench. I don't have any actual practices in place to protect my tools other than climate and humidity control. Nothing bothers me quite as much as an undamaged, rusty tool. A damaged rusty tool is fine. Lol
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2014
- Messages
- 4,060
I keep my GOOD calipers, Mitotoyu dial, in their original box in one of my Kennedy boxes. I've got a bunch, 4 or 5 cheap ($9.00 HF) calipers scatered about the shop, at the mill, the lathe, on the bench where I assemble propellers, who cares what happens to them. On the other hand, if I'm being fussy, I get a mike out of another Kennedy box.
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2015
- Messages
- 2,082
- Joined
- May 27, 2016
- Messages
- 3,480
My very best measure tools are in a top drawer.. but I mean all the way into the house, upstairs, at the desk with the big green pad.
This is where stuff like calibration gauge blocks, electronic digital micrometers, and suchlike are brought out.
In the garage shop, sure, I do have one cheapo digital caliper left, and that be the one I added value to by reworking it with some "improvements", by way of a replacement display stripped from the second "cheapo". They looked identical, but were not. The quality of the second was so abysmal, I complained, and the sale was cancelled, with no need to return it, so it became the donor only for it's display, which I transplanted into the first. I now have a reasonably decent "cheaper" caliper, and a pile of "caliper bits" which might even insult the other scrap in the box. Arguably, I should not have bothered!
BUT
I have taken to using reasonably high quality stuff, even in the shop. My iGaging Absolute OriginCal is not as pricey as a Mitutoyo, but it seems to work like one. It was £55, so think about $74. It's just that some things, like optical flats, 0.001mm electronic micrometers, and calibration gauge blocks are just too precious to use right up near a lathe or bench grinder, amid chips, WD40, way oil, and wire brushes.
This is where stuff like calibration gauge blocks, electronic digital micrometers, and suchlike are brought out.
In the garage shop, sure, I do have one cheapo digital caliper left, and that be the one I added value to by reworking it with some "improvements", by way of a replacement display stripped from the second "cheapo". They looked identical, but were not. The quality of the second was so abysmal, I complained, and the sale was cancelled, with no need to return it, so it became the donor only for it's display, which I transplanted into the first. I now have a reasonably decent "cheaper" caliper, and a pile of "caliper bits" which might even insult the other scrap in the box. Arguably, I should not have bothered!
BUT
I have taken to using reasonably high quality stuff, even in the shop. My iGaging Absolute OriginCal is not as pricey as a Mitutoyo, but it seems to work like one. It was £55, so think about $74. It's just that some things, like optical flats, 0.001mm electronic micrometers, and calibration gauge blocks are just too precious to use right up near a lathe or bench grinder, amid chips, WD40, way oil, and wire brushes.