# Starret 6" Dial Calipers. wont hold zero can they be fixed?



## Joe0121 (Dec 12, 2013)

My starret Caliper wont maintain zero. The action seems overall smooth and it seems to hold zero when measuring longer parts but when I return the caliper to "zero" that is fully closed it will often read .005/.010 usually low but not always. Also the needle is pointed at the 7 oclock position as opposed to 12. The faster I return to zero the worse it seems to be. These Caliper have more sentimental value to me than their intrinsic value and I would mostly use them for reloading.


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## Bill C. (Dec 12, 2013)

Joe0121 said:


> My starret Caliper wont maintain zero. The action seems overall smooth and it seems to hold zero when measuring longer parts but when I return the caliper to "zero" that is fully closed it will often read .005/.010 usually low but not always. Also the needle is pointed at the 7 oclock position as opposed to 12. The faster I return to zero the worse it seems to be. These Caliper have more sentimental value to me than their intrinsic value and I would mostly use them for reloading.



Sounds like the pinion gear is slipping.  Not sure how to fix it.  I had mine to skip when it had a speck of dirt between the rack and pinion gears.


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## 12bolts (Dec 13, 2013)

As Bill said, most likely the pinion skipping on the rack.
Can you remove the rack and clean it, and the rest while your at it. If you have the case they came in there should (once upon a time) have been a little brass shim that you slide in behind the dial to disengage the pinion so you can reset the pointer to 12 o'clock.

Cheers Phil


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## iron man (Dec 13, 2013)

I had that happen send it back to starret they fix it for free. Ray


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## Joe0121 (Dec 13, 2013)

Thanks for the replies fellas. I will try cleaning and inspecting for obvious defects. I will also try to reach Starret. I will let you know how it turns out. I will be bumed of these cant be fix I don't have $200 buck to replace them and dont want to resort to my $30 made in china ones. 



Bill C. said:


> Sounds like the pinion gear is slipping.  Not sure how to fix it.  I had mine to skip when it had a speck of dirt between the rack and pinion gears.



It Apears to be clean but unless you take it apart ya never really know. 



12bolts said:


> As Bill said, most likely the pinion skipping on the rack.
> Can you remove the rack and clean it, and the rest while your at it. If you have the case they came in there should (once upon a time) have been a little brass shim that you slide in behind the dial to disengage the pinion so you can reset the pointer to 12 o'clock.
> 
> Cheers Phil


I am afraid the shim is long gone however I will attempt to dis assemble and clean it. These calipers are the better part of 20 years old and were a gift. 



iron man said:


> I had that happen send it back to starret they fix it for free. Ray


Do you have to be the original purchaser of the calipers for Starret to fix them? Still trying to find a customer service number that isnt just for sales or e-mail address.


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## xalky (Dec 13, 2013)

I haven't gotten one that I couldn't fix yet. I've bought quite a few at yard sales for $2-$5 and when I get them they usually need a good cleaning and they skip or they're a little stiff to slide. Or someone else attempted to fix it without taking it apart. Usually it's a small piece of crap in the rack or the pinion.

Theres a small leaf spring inside the slide that gets tensioned up with 2 small screws at the top to adjust the tension on it.  There's a stop at the tail end of the scale that can be removed and then you can slide the dial assembly off of the slide. Take it apart and give it a good cleaning, I use wd40 and lots of air to blow things out and lubricate. A sharp pick and a flashlight and maybe even a loupe(magnifying glass) to see the details, depending on how good your eyes are. Take it apart over a tray so you don't lose your small parts. 

I bought a 12" brown and sharp caliper for a dollar and it was rough moving it, so rough that I thought I might not be able to fix it. Someone must have had it on a table next to a grinding wheel, it was just heavy laden with grinding grit. I fixed it, it's smooth as the day she was brand new.

Marcel


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## Joe0121 (Dec 14, 2013)

Took them apart and cleaned them. Made it a little better but not much. Here is a video of what they are doing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mXfaNM07Ts


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## John Hasler (Dec 14, 2013)

Joe0121 said:


> Took them apart and cleaned them. Made it a little better but not much. Here is a video of what they are doing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mXfaNM07Ts



I had one (not a Starret) that was doing that.  Turned out that the needle was brushing the lens which in turn caused it to slip on the shaft.


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## Joe0121 (Dec 14, 2013)

John Hasler said:


> I had one (not a Starret) that was doing that.  Turned out that the needle was brushing the lens which in turn caused it to slip on the shaft.


Interesting, it looks like the needle is a bit bent. I'll look into it.


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## xalky (Dec 14, 2013)

Joe0121 said:


> Took them apart and cleaned them. Made it a little better but not much. Here is a video of what they are doing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mXfaNM07Ts


 This is a long shot. Is it possible that the rack itself is loose? I swear I could almost see the rack moving back and forth in the Video.


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## Joe0121 (Dec 14, 2013)

Any idea how to get the face off? 
	

		
			
		

		
	






Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk


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## astjp2 (Dec 14, 2013)

You need a watch hand remover to do it right, I just sent my brown and sharp in for the same thing and for $35, it was not worth buying the tools to do it right.  

http://griffinincorporated.com/

Good prices and easy to deal with.  Ask for Steve when you call.


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## 12bolts (Dec 14, 2013)

Joe,
After seeing the video, they look to me like the pinion is skipping on the rack or, more unlikely, the pointer is slipping on its shaft. Have you removed the rack and cleaned it. Give it a go with a fine wire brush, (brass preferably). check the teeth with a good light and magnifying glass. You might have a bit of crud stuck in the teeth that occasionally makes it skip. Try moving it slowly open and closed a couple of times and see if the fault still occurs. Maybe the rapid travel is compounding the fault.
You can make a pointer puller simply from a largish nut or piece of pipe. drill and tap from the side. Grind the opposite side thin and flat. Cut a partial opening to slide the puller around the shaft. Turn or grind a point on a suitable screw as accurately centred as you can to suit your needle.


	

		
			
		

		
	
 and 
	

		
			
		

		
	



A bought one, annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd a home made job from a piece of pipe.

Cheers Phil


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## Mike Nash (Dec 14, 2013)

Just last weekend I worked on 4 cheapy calipers. They all have two pinion gears though. However, 1 skipped tooth is .025" on mine. I got one of them out by about the same 8 thou you are seeing. That turned out to be the rack position. It was screwed in but also glued. Without the glue it will shift up to 8 thou depending on which order I tighten the screws in the rack. We had another set at work years ago and it had a loose needle that would move if closed too fast.


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## Joe0121 (Dec 15, 2013)

astjp2 said:


> You need a watch hand remover to do it right, I just sent my brown and sharp in for the same thing and for $35, it was not worth buying the tools to do it right.
> 
> http://griffinincorporated.com/
> 
> Good prices and easy to deal with.  Ask for Steve when you call.


I'll get a hole of them if a second cleaning using a small wire brush (I was going to use a bronse cleaning brush for a .30 cal rifle)


12bolts said:


> Joe,
> After seeing the video, they look to me like the pinion is skipping on the rack or, more unlikely, the pointer is slipping on its shaft. Have you removed the rack and cleaned it. Give it a go with a fine wire brush, (brass preferably). check the teeth with a good light and magnifying glass. You might have a bit of crud stuck in the teeth that occasionally makes it skip. Try moving it slowly open and closed a couple of times and see if the fault still occurs. Maybe the rapid travel is compounding the fault.
> You can make a pointer puller simply from a largish nut or piece of pipe. drill and tap from the side. Grind the opposite side thin and flat. Cut a partial opening to slide the puller around the shaft. Turn or grind a point on a suitable screw as accurately centred as you can to suit your needle.
> View attachment 65985
> ...


That tool is used to remove the needle from the shaft? Could I just take take the face cover off and bend the end of the needle up slightly if it is in fact touching he face?


Mike Nash said:


> Just last weekend I worked on 4 cheapy calipers. They all have two pinion gears though. However, 1 skipped tooth is .025" on mine. I got one of them out by about the same 8 thou you are seeing. That turned out to be the rack position. It was screwed in but also glued. Without the glue it will shift up to 8 thou depending on which order I tighten the screws in the rack. We had another set at work years ago and it had a loose needle that would move if closed too fast.


What odd is occasionally I will move it and it will return to zero within .0005. Maybe santa will get me these for Christmas:http://www.starrett.com/metrology/p...ls/Slide-Calipers/Dial-Calipers/R120A-6 W~SLC I think the red face makes them more accurate


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## gheumann (Dec 15, 2013)

When this happened to me it was the indicator needle slipping on the pin. If you went slow it was fine. If you "slammed" it closed the inertia would run the pin past the mark.

Maybe you just like fixing stuff. I do. Otherwise, for $10 you can get a digital caliper from Harbor Freight. I've bought a few and checked them agains my Mitutoyo. Good enough for work within .002". For a little more (and only a little more) you get one that's accurate to .0005" like the Mitutoyo itself (but still Chinese).


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## Mid Day Machining (Dec 15, 2013)

Joe0121 said:


> My starret Caliper wont maintain zero. The action seems overall smooth and it seems to hold zero when measuring longer parts but when I return the caliper to "zero" that is fully closed it will often read .005/.010 usually low but not always. Also the needle is pointed at the 7 oclock position as opposed to 12. The faster I return to zero the worse it seems to be. These Caliper have more sentimental value to me than their intrinsic value and I would mostly use them for reloading.



I had a Starrett dial caliper about 30 years ago. It was a very accurate caliper, but if it got a small chip in the gear rack it would skip .025. I put up with that for about 10 years, then one day I was working on some parts that has a close tolerance and it shipped. I was in a particularly pissy mood that day so I made an adjustment on my Starrett dial caliper that fixed the problem _forever_. I carefully set them on a large steel plate and I hit them with a 3 pound ball peen hammer. I never had another problem with them skipping again.


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## kd4gij (Dec 15, 2013)

Here you go some good reading
http://longislandindicator.com/p44.html


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## Radarguy (Dec 15, 2013)

Take it apart and clean the gear and rack.  It takes only a small particle to start do that.  Mine was doing it and the clean up worked great.  The gear is spring loaded and if you are very careful you can lift the gear and and move the carriage along the rack to re align it.  If you are squeamish about that take to a clock repair shop or send it back to Starrett.


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## astjp2 (Dec 15, 2013)

kd4gij said:


> Here you go some good reading
> http://longislandindicator.com/p44.html


Long Island is to expensive for me.  I went with Griffin Incorporated for 35 for the 6" and 50 for the 8".  Tim


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