# I got me one of these!  HASLER SPEED INDICATOR



## Finster (Apr 18, 2017)

Well, I've never used one but I found one of these on E-bay for $25 and some change (shipping included). Meh, if it's a piece of junk, it will still be something to display on a bookshelf. I figure for $25, I'll roll the dice.  This isn't the super duper ally ooper accurate one. This is the "Type A" it's supposed to be accurate within 2 rpm. More than accurate enough for me. Anyone else have and use one? Any hint's, tricks or do's and don'ts?


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## RJSakowski (Apr 18, 2017)

Interesting instrument.  I would guess that it functions much like the old mechanical speedometers in cars.  The spindle is attached to a rotating magnet and the magnet creates eddy currents which create a force that works against a clock spring.  The faster the rotation the greater the force and the greater the deflection.

As I recall, the mechanical speedometers were notoriously inaccurate.  Hopefully, the Hasler indicator doesn't suffer from the same problems.


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## Finster (Apr 18, 2017)

RJSakowski said:


> Interesting instrument.  I would guess that it functions much like the old mechanical speedometers in cars.  The spindle is attached to a rotating magnet and the magnet creates eddy currents which create a force that works against a clock spring.  The faster the rotation the greater the force and the greater the deflection.
> 
> As I recall, the mechanical speedometers were notoriously inaccurate.  Hopefully, the Hasler indicator doesn't suffer from the same problems.


I read a bit about them before I bought it. They are Swiss made and supposed to be pretty good. They have been around since the very late 1800's. However, your guess is as good as mine. That being said, I have never owned anything (measurement wise) be it a caliper, indicator, watch or whatever that was Swiss made and not accurate. I do know there army knives suck!


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## RJSakowski (Apr 18, 2017)

Remember having to check the calibration on the old mechanical speedometers for each new car that I owned on a measured mile using a stopwatch.  I have never found an inaccurate digital speedometer.  That said, I highly doubt that American car manufacturers used Swiss made speedometers.


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## Bob Korves (Apr 18, 2017)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Las...498610?hash=item25d3b2c5f2:g:QAcAAOSwDNdV7QCV
Works great, incredible accuracy!  $7.72 including freight.


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## grzdomagala (Apr 18, 2017)

Bob Korves said:


> Works great, incredible accuracy!  $7.72 including freight.



How do you know it's accurate? 
I have the same model - directly from China.  I compared the measurements with diy meter (diy meter is not portable - builtin display for mill spindle) - they were 20% off. Of course diy meter may by the bad one - but oscilloscope says it's spot on. 


Wysłane z mojego GT-N7100 przy użyciu Tapatalka


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## Bob Korves (Apr 18, 2017)

If the Chinese tach works at all it should be essentially perfectly accurate, as a function of how it works.  You could test it using a synchronous motor against the mains wave accuracy.  The one I have seems to be accurate within the specs, which are extremely tight.  Make sure you get a good read...


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## ch2co (Apr 18, 2017)

I have one of each. The Hasler i've had since the sixties. Used it a few times. It works fine. Sorta neat. 
The cheapo chinese one Ive had for 3 years and it works great. I installed a mac tach on my lathe and
all three agree. One requires a reflection from a little piece of reflective tape, one requires direct contact
with the thing thats spinning and one just tells me how fast the lathe is turning. They all have their
place. That was a good deal Finster enjoy and use a fine piece of history.


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## dlane (Apr 18, 2017)

Hi Bob 
Just wounding How those Chinese eBay tacks work , just hold it by the spinning object ?


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## Bob Korves (Apr 18, 2017)

dlane said:


> Hi Bob
> Just wounding How those Chinese eBay tacks work , just hold it by the spinning object ?


You install a small strip of reflective tape on what you are measuring and then shine the light on it and it counts the revs as the tape comes around.  It takes less than a second to get a reading unless it is turning really slowly.


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## Finster (Apr 18, 2017)

Bob Korves said:


> http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Las...498610?hash=item25d3b2c5f2:g:QAcAAOSwDNdV7QCV
> Works great, incredible accuracy!  $7.72 including freight.


But that doesn't have any character! ..... Other than the person using it!


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## dlane (Apr 18, 2017)

Thanks bob , they are $10. Now but I can see one in my future


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## Tony Wells (Apr 18, 2017)

I just use a strobe app on my smartphone.....it was free, but I'm cheap.


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## 4GSR (Apr 18, 2017)

Some of the older electronic tachs, we used to hold it up to a fluorescent light and calibrate it to the light.  60 cycle fluorescent light would read 60 on the tach.


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## dlane (Apr 18, 2017)

Ordered one , $7. and change free shipping, hope it comes with reflective tapes x3
Thanks


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## 4GSR (Apr 18, 2017)

Anyone know where I can buy some of the reflective tape.  All of my stickers that can with mine lost their glue.  I did get a White paint stick to work, but would rather have the stick on reflective tape.


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## chips&more (Apr 18, 2017)

4gsr said:


> Anyone know where I can buy some of the reflective tape.  All of my stickers that can with mine lost their glue.  I did get a White paint stick to work, but would rather have the stick on reflective tape.


Wrinkle up some aluminum foil and then hold that down with some clear cellophane tape.


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## Finster (Apr 18, 2017)

4gsr said:


> Anyone know where I can buy some of the reflective tape.  All of my stickers that can with mine lost their glue.  I did get a White paint stick to work, but would rather have the stick on reflective tape.


You can get rolls of the stuff at lowes or the depot. The same stuff you use for driveway marking, mailboxes and whatever would work I would think.


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## f350ca (Apr 18, 2017)

I have one made by Stewart Warner. Not as fancy or accurate but works great. I use it to set the speed on a DC driven tool grinder for different wheels. Or setting the governor on a engine.

Greg


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## royesses (Apr 18, 2017)

4gsr said:


> Anyone know where I can buy some of the reflective tape.  All of my stickers that can with mine lost their glue.  I did get a White paint stick to work, but would rather have the stick on reflective tape.



Heres a few all are rolls except for Amazon. I used to get large rolls from cat when i worked for a Cat dealer. They might still sell the tape.

https://www.coleparmer.com/i/monarc...al-tachometers-5-ft-long-and-1-2-wide/0821062

https://www.grainger.com/category/ecatalog/N-1z0ccm0

https://www.amazon.com/RT6-Reflective-Optical-Laser-Tachometers/dp/B001TCWM3G

http://www.davis.com/Category/Optical_Tachometer_Reflective_Tape/5683

My Chinese laser tach is 12 years old and agrees within 1 rpm with my Machtach. The Machtach does sfpm and smpm too. 

Roy


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## Rustrp (Apr 18, 2017)

With all the chatter about accuracy this beg for the old joke I'm sure most have heard, but for those who haven't;

There's been a centuries old competition between the Germans and the Swiss on who produces the most accurate device, anything, etc.
The German engineers developed the smallest piece of wire know to man and sent it to the Swiss, with an Ah.HA!
The Swiss drilled a hole through the center of it and sent it back.


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## Rustrp (Apr 18, 2017)

Finster said:


> Well, I've never used one but I found one of these on E-bay for $25 and some change (shipping included). Meh, if it's a piece of junk, it will still be something to display on a bookshelf. I figure for $25, I'll roll the dice.  This isn't the super duper ally ooper accurate one. This is the "Type A" it's supposed to be accurate within 2 rpm. More than accurate enough for me. Anyone else have and use one? Any hint's, tricks or do's and don'ts?
> 
> View attachment 231681


It's accuracy when originally made was probably pretty good and two RPM's is still pretty good. As a last resort do the math on something with a known speed. The ones I used when I was owned by Uncle Sam had to be calibrated or checked for calibration.


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## Rustrp (Apr 18, 2017)

grzdomagala said:


> How do you know it's accurate?
> I have the same model - directly from China.  I compared the measurements with diy meter (diy meter is not portable - builtin display for mill spindle) - they were 20% off. Of course diy meter may by the bad one - but oscilloscope says it's spot on.
> 
> 
> Wysłane z mojego GT-N7100 przy użyciu Tapatalka


20% off the price or 20% off on the readings..


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## RJSakowski (Apr 18, 2017)

Rustrp said:


> With all the chatter about accuracy this beg for the old joke I'm sure most have heard, but for those who haven't;
> 
> There's been a centuries old competition between the Germans and the Swiss on who produces the most accurate device, anything, etc.
> The German engineers developed the smallest piece of wire know to man and sent it to the Swiss, with an Ah.HA!
> The Swiss drilled a hole through the center of it and sent it back.


And then it was sent on to Japan and the Japanese tapped the hole.


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## Finster (Apr 19, 2017)

Tony Wells said:


> I just use a strobe app on my smartphone.....it was free, but I'm cheap.


What is the name of the app? I'll download it and compare it to this instrument.


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## uncle harry (Apr 19, 2017)

Bob Korves said:


> http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Las...498610?hash=item25d3b2c5f2:g:QAcAAOSwDNdV7QCV
> Works great, incredible accuracy!  $7.72 including freight.



Thanks !  I uploaded the ebay site & ordered one immediately.


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## RandyWilson (Apr 19, 2017)

Old car speedometers could be accurate, if they tried. Witness the police certified units. But most were made to budget with aesthetics a primary factor. It's hard to be accurate when your entire range is covered in 60-90 degrees of sweep.

  I'll put up a picture of the tach I found in the barn this evening. Accurate or not, it is an impressive piece.


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## Pops (Apr 19, 2017)

I've got one of the Swiss models. Have had it since the 60's. works great


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## rgray (Apr 19, 2017)

RJSakowski said:


> I would guess that it functions much like the old mechanical speedometers in cars. The spindle is attached to a rotating magnet and the magnet creates eddy currents which create a force that works against a clock spring.



These read revolutions for a set time. They do not show a constant speed when pressed against a spinning object. You press the end to a spinning shaft and hit the button to start the timer the hands turn for 15 seconds on mine,
	

		
			
		

		
	



	

		
			
		

		
	
 and where the needles stop is the rpm read from both needles if above 100, if below 100 read from just the large needle.


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## TomS (Apr 19, 2017)

Finster said:


> What is the name of the app? I'll download it and compare it to this instrument.



I just downloaded Strobily on my Samsung.  Will test it when I get to the shop in a couple of hours.

Tom S.


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## Bob Korves (Apr 19, 2017)

RandyWilson said:


> Old car speedometers could be accurate, if they tried. Witness the police certified units. But most were made to budget with aesthetics a primary factor. It's hard to be accurate when your entire range is covered in 60-90 degrees of sweep.
> 
> I'll put up a picture of the tach I found in the barn this evening. Accurate or not, it is an impressive piece.


Auto speedometers are inherently inaccurate.  They rely on the tire diameter being constant, which it never is.  Also, a new set of tires will be a different diameter.  Then they ran it through a cable to a drum with a magnetic follower, which has no inherent accuracy.  Yes, they were calibrated, and still are, but they become inaccurate immediately, the calibration is just a useful talking point in court.


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## woodchucker (Apr 19, 2017)

4gsr said:


> Anyone know where I can buy some of the reflective tape.  All of my stickers that can with mine lost their glue.  I did get a White paint stick to work, but would rather have the stick on reflective tape.


Go get Aluminum Tape in the HVAC area in the HD, or LOWES. Used for sealing insulated air ducts.
I use it for a lot of things. It's durable, reflective, and hold tenaciously, but can be peeled because it's AL, not paper


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## Finster (Apr 19, 2017)

Well, I just got this thing in the mail. It's SUPER NICE!  I mean, it doesn't hardly look like it has ever been used. The case doesn't even have a scuff on it and the felt lining is perfect. The device doesn't have a scratch and the rubber wheels are even in great shape! I would have to say that this is pretty much mint! I got all excited, read the instructions, ran out to the shop, chucked up a piece of round bar and tried it out. It worked flawlessly!  Now I don't know how accurate it is. I'll have to compare it to another device or something known but so far I'm really happy with it. It's super simple to use also.  Now my only question is, it has a small oil hole on the shaft. I'm wondering what type of oil to use? Maybe just a drop of 3 in 1 ?


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## Tony Wells (Apr 19, 2017)

Finster said:


> What is the name of the app? I'll download it and compare it to this instrument.



It's just called "Strobe Tachometer". I run it on an old iPhone. It was free in the app store.


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## rgray (Apr 19, 2017)

Finster said:


> Now my only question is, it has a small oil hole on the shaft. I'm wondering what type of oil to use? Maybe just a drop of 3 in 1 ?



My vote would be spindle oil. Like Mobil velocite #6 . But that's cause I have it for the mill and cylindrical grinder. Very thin.


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## grzdomagala (Apr 19, 2017)

Update. Just checked the meter with LED driven from impuls generator - at 50Hz it shows 2960rpm and at 500Hz 29768rpm. Quite accurate. I also tested it at 6.5V supply voltage (dead battery simulation) - still the same, correct values. Looks like my diy meter is the bad one.
Quite impressive for 10$ meter...

Wysłane z mojego GT-N7100 przy użyciu Tapatalka


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## RandyWilson (Apr 19, 2017)

Bob Korves said:


> Auto speedometers are inherently inaccurate.  They rely on the tire diameter being constant, which it never is.  Also, a new set of tires will be a different diameter.  Then they ran it through a cable to a drum with a magnetic follower, which has no inherent accuracy.  Yes, they were calibrated, and still are, but they become inaccurate immediately, the calibration is just a useful talking point in court.




I was talking about the potential of the instrument itself. Yes, the drive mechanism was suspect. Still is.

This is the one I found in the barn, ex Father in law. It is truely a tachometer; readings in real time.


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## kd4gij (Apr 19, 2017)

I  have this one.





 And this one.
http://www.harborfreight.com/digital-photo-sensor-tachometer-66632.html


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## Finster (Apr 19, 2017)

Well, I chucked up a piece of round stock on the lathe and drilled a center hole for testing this. The free app I downloaded on the phone was placing surface speed of the .750 round bar at 580 rpm. My antique Swiss timepiece was put in the center hole and measured 590 rpm. Now I don't know the math to figure it out (I'm sure someone here does) but I do know that the center will be spinning faster. That being said, it seems pretty good to me and as accurate as I need. If anyone can figure out the equation and see if they match, I would be interested, just for kicks. All in all, I think I scored pretty good. However, I hope it doesn't break, I doubt anyone could fix it and I believe the company finally went out of business in the 80's Not to big of a deal. I'll probably check all my belt settings on my machines, write it all down and it will sit in the drawer for the most part. Nice to have though.


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## RandyWilson (Apr 19, 2017)

RPM is RPM, no matter the diameter.  You have agreement within 2%, which I would think is close enough for spindle speeds.


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## Finster (Apr 19, 2017)

RandyWilson said:


> RPM is RPM, no matter the diameter.  You have agreement within 2%, which I would think is close enough for spindle speeds.


Why is that not sounding correct? I'm not arguing, just confused. I'll have to think about this for awhile. The strobe, by nature, is checking the mark on the outside of the bar. So, in essence it is actually checking surface speed, correct? The other is checking the center of the bar or "the shaft" of say a motor. Why do I think they should not be the same? By the way, I flunked algebra more than once.


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## Tony Wells (Apr 19, 2017)

The timing mark is going to appear in the strobe just once per revolution, no matter what size the OD is. It doesn't take any longer to swing around the axis of rotation no matter what size it is. I think you are trying to integrate surface speed into this, but that is another thing altogether. That is diameter dependent. But put that out of your thinking on this one. 1 inch, 100 inches or 100 miles......how long it takes to complete a single rotation is the basis for how this works. The actual time it takes for that revolution does affect surface speed, but not RPM.


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## Finster (Apr 19, 2017)

Tony Wells said:


> The timing mark is going to appear in the strobe just once per revolution, no matter what size the OD is. It doesn't take any longer to swing around the axis of rotation no matter what size it is. I think you are trying to integrate surface speed into this, but that is another thing altogether. That is diameter dependent. But put that out of your thinking on this one. 1 inch, 100 inches or 100 miles......how long it takes to complete a single rotation is the basis for how this works. The actual time it takes for that revolution does affect surface speed, but not RPM.


OK that helped and I agree. But now I have a different problem. (look at the picture of my first post) I use one of the little wheels and put it on the surface. My RPM is way off, not even close, off by more than a thousand. I put the pointed center in, take a reading in the center drill hole and it's dead nuts. Why is that?


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## RandyWilson (Apr 19, 2017)

By using the rubber wheel against the surface, you are incorporating surface speed into the equation. The ratio would be your stock diameter divided by the wheel diameter. A 1/4" rubber wheel against a 3/4" piece of stock will give a reading three times faster than expected.


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## Finster (Apr 19, 2017)

RandyWilson said:


> By using the rubber wheel against the surface, you are incorporating surface speed into the equation. The ratio would be your stock diameter divided by the wheel diameter. A 1/4" rubber wheel against a 3/4" piece of stock will give a reading three times faster than expected.


Humph. Learned something new. Retaining it will be the problem.


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## Finster (Apr 19, 2017)

Thanks for the help and info everyone.


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## Ken from ontario (Apr 20, 2017)

uncle harry said:


> Thanks !  I uploaded the ebay site & ordered one immediately.


You won't regret buying that tach(the one in Bob's link), I have that model and it gives consistent  readings , in my opinion this is one Chinese product that could easily cost more and people would still find it a good deal.


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## Jericho (Apr 22, 2017)

Tony Wells said:


> I just use a strobe app on my smartphone.....it was free, but I'm cheap.


You got a smart phone for less than $10. Now THAT was a bargain.


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## benmychree (Apr 22, 2017)

RJSakowski said:


> Interesting instrument.  I would guess that it functions much like the old mechanical speedometers in cars.  The spindle is attached to a rotating magnet and the magnet creates eddy currents which create a force that works against a clock spring.  The faster the rotation the greater the force and the greater the deflection.
> 
> As I recall, the mechanical speedometers were notoriously inaccurate.  Hopefully, the Hasler indicator doesn't suffer from the same problems.


Actually, this type of device operates by counting turns on the dial in a given period of time; I have a similar device and that is how it works.  Read the instructions on the card on the back of the case, it spells out the operating mode.  When you engage the button, you can hear the clock mechanism inside ticking; when it stops ticking, it disengages a clutch on the input shaft.


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## ch2co (Apr 22, 2017)

My only problem with the el cheapo tach I got off of eBay is that it uses a 9 volt battery. I hate 9 volt batteries. My tach has a habit of not turning itself off
and 9 volt batteries are just too darn expensive to keep replacing every time I don't bother to turn it off.  Otherwise that little guy is my goto tach.
 The mechanical tach is beautiful to behold, but is difficult to use for determining the speed of your chuck for instance. I really like my Machtach
on my lathe. All three of my tachometers read within a couple of percent of each other.


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## Bob Korves (Apr 22, 2017)

I have lots of things that take batteries, but I leave the batteries out of them until I am ready to use them, and then remove the batteries immediately afterward -- with a few exceptions.  A flashlight for when the power goes off, a couple wall clocks, and my daily user HF digital calipers.


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## ch2co (Apr 22, 2017)

I just pulled my old mechanical tach out from under a pile of more often used tools, and it is a Misawa Seiki brand, Japanese.  Its from the mid 60's.
Doesn't need any instructions since even I figured it out how to run it, although the instructions are clearly printed in the top of the box, if you read
Japanese.  Although the photo makes it look round, the outer edge is polygonal just like Finster's Hasler.  See below:

And to answer to Bob, I try to remember to take the batteries out, but being senile as I am, (just ask the wife) I sometimes forgets.
There's nothing worse than to open a battery compartment and find it filled with white crystalline powder and the contacts all
chewed up.


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## Dave 41 (Apr 24, 2017)

QUOTE="RJSakowski, post: 478973, member: 36675"]And then it was sent on to Japan and the Japanese tapped the hole.[/QUOTE]
The way I heard it: The Swiss sent it back to the Germans who proclaimed themselves the winner of the competition since the Swiss returned the wire unchanged.  The Swiss replied that the Germans were wrong, and they would have known that if they had examined the wire more closely.  The Swiss cut the wire in two, and turned the end of one piece down and threaded it.  The remaining half was bored and internally threaded, and the two pieces were screwed together.


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## uncle harry (Apr 24, 2017)

Dave 41 said:


> QUOTE="RJSakowski, post: 478973, member: 36675"]And then it was sent on to Japan and the Japanese tapped the hole.


The way I heard it: The Swiss sent it back to the Germans who proclaimed themselves the winner of the competition since the Swiss returned the wire unchanged.  The Swiss replied that the Germans were wrong, and they would have known that if they had examined the wire more closely.  The Swiss cut the wire in two, and turned the end of one piece down and threaded it.  The remaining half was bored and internally threaded, and the two pieces were screwed together.[/QUOTE]

I've heard the first version of this series of micro machining, but threading and tapping at that level might just require some historical investigation.


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## benmychree (May 2, 2017)

Finster said:


> Well, I chucked up a piece of round stock on the lathe and drilled a center hole for testing this. The free app I downloaded on the phone was placing surface speed of the .750 round bar at 580 rpm. My antique Swiss timepiece was put in the center hole and measured 590 rpm. Now I don't know the math to figure it out (I'm sure someone here does) but I do know that the center will be spinning faster. That being said, it seems pretty good to me and as accurate as I need. If anyone can figure out the equation and see if they match, I would be interested, just for kicks. All in all, I think I scored pretty good. However, I hope it doesn't break, I doubt anyone could fix it and I believe the company finally went out of business in the 80's Not to big of a deal. I'll probably check all my belt settings on my machines, write it all down and it will sit in the drawer for the most part. Nice to have though.


 RPM equals cutting speed times 4 divided by the diameter of the moving part; this is not exact, but it was what I was taught in my high school machine shop class and can be easily done in your head.  Cutting speed (in feet per minute) for soft steel is 100, alloy steel maybe 60, brass maybe 300, etc.  This is from school shop, as I said, but that was 1963 ---- easiest thing is to get a slide rule cutting speed calculator; all the carbide tool companies gave them away back in the day, you can find them on E Bay; some are better for lathe work, some for milling, but they all will tell you what RPM to use if you know an acceptable speed in feet per minute.


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## Janthenovice (Jun 28, 2017)

I have this Hassler for many years and it IS acurate!!!


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## rick9345 (Jun 29, 2017)

if you burn you tool too fast
if your bored with boring,too slow


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## fixit (Jun 30, 2017)

dlane said:


> Ordered one , $7. and change free shipping, hope it comes with reflective tapes x3
> Thanks




You can also use WHITE CHALK to mark the shaft. If you need to spot a shaft or whatever just put a chalk mark on it. I used it just yesterday to check the TAC on a tractor.

fixit


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## Buffalo20 (Jun 30, 2017)

I have one of the Chinese optical tachs, I bought it about 10 years ago from Meter-Depot, for about $20 shipped. I have 2 tools with optical encoders, that read the spindle rpm, the tach reads exactly the same rpm. I have permanent pieces of silver tape on all of the spindles, covered by a small piece of clear packing tape. It keeps the reflective tape in place and doesn't effect the reading.  I also have a Stewart-Warner direct contact tach, the resolution of the dial is poor, it will get the rpm, within 20-25 rpm.

I have a few machines where I changed pulleys/sheaves to get the rpms I wanted, I then made a speed chart for all of the belt positions.


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