# Your Favorite Micrometer?



## Rockytime (Apr 27, 2017)

There is a recent thread on "your favorite caliper." Now I wonder about micrometers. I bring this up because I have a favorite micrometer which I nearly always use but never paid attention to the maker until the discussion on calipers. My micrometer is a Schurr-Tumico. I had never even heard of  the company. I have LS> Starrette, B&S and lots of cheap Chinese. mikes. I always gravitate to the Schurr-Tumico. Very smooth. Feels good in the hand.


----------



## woodchucker (Apr 27, 2017)

I have 2 goto mics, Starrett analog digital, and Mitituyo regular. Those are my regular mics. Easy to read, If I reset the Starrett too fast, I need to take the digit counter apart and reset it. It jumps. It was used, as is most of my quality equip. Both are quite good and accurate. When I need more precision, I take out a 261 I think it is.


----------



## Silverbullet (Apr 27, 2017)

I have at least a dozen in sizes up to 12".   I use most as needed but like the smoothness of the movement of one I picked up in a deal on eBay , some brand listed scientific , but it looks like schurr tumico. I always carried a ratchet end starrett , till this one came. I mean it rolls and just feels so easy to turn and reading its good too. I must have 8 - 1" mics , depth mics, holtest , inside , metering , now I think about all of them I have to many. Some I may never need intramics b&s , . I do really like my lufkin mics tho. Wow too many


----------



## darkzero (Apr 27, 2017)

Rockytime said:


> My micrometer is a Schurr-Tumico. I had never even heard of the company.



Tumico was the Tubular Mic Co & has been around for a very long time. They merged with the George Scherr Co that used to make machinists tool chests & sold other machining related tools. Scherr-Tumico is now ST Industries.

I have a 0-6" Accupro branded micrometer set that I got brand new for dirt cheap. They are made by Scherr-Tumico & look exactly the same except they read Accupro USA on them. I also have a 0-1" Craftsman micrometer that is also made by Scherr-Tumico, looks just like my Accupro ones.

Not really my favorites but I do use them often & I like them cause they all have friction thimbles which I prefer over the ratchet type. I don't really have a favorite.


----------



## EmilioG (Apr 27, 2017)

Etalon Swiss micrometers. I own 3 260 series and looking for more in 3-4, 4-5, 5-6.  The only Starrett I would buy is the anvil multi mike.
The Etalons will last a few lifetimes and are super accurate. I believe they are the best.  Tesa and Mitutoyo are others that I would buy.


----------



## woodchucker (Apr 27, 2017)

darkzero said:


> Tumico was the Tubular Mic Co & has been around for a very long time. They merged with the George Scherr Co that used to make machinists tool chests & sold other machining related tools. Scherr-Tumico is now ST Industries.
> 
> I have a 0-6" Accupro branded micrometer set that I got brand new for dirt cheap. They are made by Scherr-Tumico & look exactly the same except they read Accupro USA on them. I also have a 0-1" Craftsman micrometer that is also made by Scherr-Tumico, looks just like my Accupro ones.
> 
> Not really my favorites but I do use them often & I like them cause they all have friction thimbles which I prefer over the ratchet type. I don't really have a favorite.



Thanks for the Scherr info, I think my granite plate is a George Scherr plate.


----------



## darkzero (Apr 27, 2017)

darkzero said:


> I don't really have a favorite



Well I take that back. I suppose the ones I use the most would be my favorites. The ones I use the most are all Mitutoyo, 0-1" w/ friction thimble & my 0-1" & 1-2" digital Quantumikes. 

I love the Quantumikes, they have speed thimbles. But being digital & "coolant proof" they are heavy but I baby them.


----------



## EmilioG (Apr 28, 2017)

The QuantuMike is a great instrument.  I've though of buying one and I may yet.  I'm waiting for a new model from Mitutoyo. The cons for me are weight/size and
obsolecence.  They are fast and accurate!  They just won't last like a good mechanical Etalon though. (The electronics will give out one day, but for $250 every 10 years?
The Etalon 260 series is being sold on Amazon and the listing shows the classic model but you may get the new model with crazy barrel markings, which are very
difficult to decipher. Why did Etalon do this?  I have the older 260's with the clear long-short-long hash marks.


----------



## mikey (Apr 28, 2017)

I avoid electronic instruments and prefer an analog tool myself, but only because I had a beautiful B&S digital mic break after 13 months of ownership. Cost to repair was almost what the mic cost originally (over $200.00) so that was it for me; no more electronic measuring devices. 

I'll just struggle along with my analog Etalon mics ...


----------



## darkzero (Apr 28, 2017)

EmilioG said:


> The QuantuMike is a great instrument.  I've though of buying one and I may yet.  I'm waiting for a new model from Mitutoyo. The cons for me are weight/size and
> obsolecence.  They are fast and accurate!  They just won't last like a good mechanical Etalon though. (The electronics will give out one day, but for $250 every 10 years?



I'm not worried about my Mitu Quantumikes or Mitu digital calipers dying for a long time. Mitutoyo makes the best digitals for the common consumer market. They don't update the digitals that often & I bought the Quantumikes when they first came out. These models are still fairly new for Mitu years.

I have the older style Mitu digitals for ID & depth mics, still working fine but the older digital stuff doesn't have as great of battery life like the newer stuff. But those also have a vernier scale on them, the Quantumikes don't. My Quantumikes, digital calipers (silver, coolant proof models), & my DRO quill DRO have awesome battery life as well as reliability, I don't think anything else currently out there can compare with Mitu for digitals. I've used Starrett digitals before & their battery life sucks, literally, most eveything else digital has China quality electronics. The Quantumikes accuracy & speed thimbles are just awesome in my experience.

All my other mics I have are vernier but not for calipers. All my calipers are digital & are all Mitu. cause I only use calipers for quick measurements, being digital they're the quickest to get a measurement. But the Mitus are nice enough to give good measurements as well.


----------



## kd4gij (Apr 28, 2017)

I like this one it is cheap and accurate. When I first bought it I was working in  an ISO9000 shop and the calibration lab checked it out and was shocked that a cheap mic is as accurate as the myt. mic that we used.
http://www.harborfreight.com/digital-micrometer-68305.html


----------



## westsailpat (Apr 28, 2017)

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 .


----------



## darkzero (Apr 28, 2017)

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?


----------



## EmilioG (Apr 28, 2017)

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.


----------



## darkzero (Apr 28, 2017)

EmilioG said:


> 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.


----------



## mikey (Apr 28, 2017)

darkzero said:


> 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.


----------



## darkzero (Apr 29, 2017)

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.


----------



## mikey (Apr 29, 2017)

darkzero said:


> 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.


----------



## Ulma Doctor (Apr 29, 2017)

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


----------



## kd4gij (Apr 29, 2017)

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.


----------



## EmilioG (Apr 29, 2017)

The digital depth mics make the most sense to me. So much easier to use and calibrate.  Mitutoyo of course.
The new electronics are amazing. Mitutoyo is making it more difficult for counterfeiters too. The electronics on Mit gages are going to
get smaller and lighter. That's what I would like to see in my lifetime. Not crazy about the bulkiness of the mics., but they are nice., especially if you need to work fast.


----------



## westsailpat (Apr 29, 2017)

To answer darkzeros' question I liked "feel" most of the time but I do remember in some cases needing the ratchet . OK I know it's not a mic. but my first ever dial cal was a 6"Craftsman it felt OK but what did I know ? We had a Sears close by so I would get my stuff there . This was back in the early 70s' when I was first starting out and I was not aware of any other place to get machinist tools . Later at my first job I was introduced to the SPI catalog and I bought a 6" Tesa caliper , oh baby  talk about smooth as butter feel .


----------



## Silverbullet (Apr 29, 2017)

darkzero said:


> 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.


Have you ever worked in a government contracted shop. If so your mics are ok if your parts pass , all our tools were calibrated I think monthly. It's been thirty plus years since I worked there.


----------



## kd4gij (Apr 29, 2017)

Up  intel 3 years ago I worked in a shop that was government contracted. All gauges had to be company owned and assigned to specific jobs. Personal gauges could not be used. But I could use my gauges when working on machines. Calibration was done once a year or when a gauge became in question.


----------



## markso125 (May 3, 2017)

kd4gij said:


> Up  intel 3 years ago I worked in a shop that was government contracted. All gauges had to be company owned and assigned to specific jobs. Personal gauges could not be used. But I could use my gauges when working on machines. Calibration was done once a year or when a gauge became in question.



This is not just Government contracted it is any company that has to meet one of the ISO standards like the ISO 9000  ISO 90001 ect. They do this so they can prove that the tools maintain repeatable accuracy, it also is a great reduction on their insurance so if there was a major failure of a product they can show exactly how the part was made and inspected and they have all the documentation to back it up.



EmilioG said:


> Etalon Swiss micrometers. I own 3 260 series and looking for more in 3-4, 4-5, 5-6.  The only Starrett I would buy is the anvil multi mike.
> The Etalons will last a few lifetimes and are super accurate. I believe they are the best.  Tesa and Mitutoyo are others that I would buy.



Etalon is owned by Hexagon Metrology, they make Etalon, Tesa, Brown & Sharpe, Interapid and several other brand names, they are all good tools.



mikey said:


> I avoid electronic instruments and prefer an analog tool myself, but only because I had a beautiful B&S digital mic break after 13 months of ownership. Cost to repair was almost what the mic cost originally (over $200.00) so that was it for me; no more electronic measuring devices.





kd4gij said:


> 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.



I have worked in several large shops that have banned Digital measuring tools completely I mean banned, they are no longer allowed in the facility. The biggest reason for this is the human factor, I have seen people in a production line, accidentally  rezero the mic something like .01 and then proceed to run a 10 hour shift making bad parts, I mean they are measuring in the .875 range why would they want to spin it all the way down to zero and recheck it.... The last time I saw this the company lost several thousand dollars in both time and materials having to remake several jobs that had already had 2 or 3 previous operations done before several individuals(both night and day shift) touched those parts.

 I have found with digital tools people become too dependent on what is showing on the display, even though there is a Vernier scale on the micrometer most people will ignore it and still just read the digital display. Honestly for the most part I think its human nature, I do know when I was working on high production runs I would find myself even becoming dependent on the digital displays especially if you are checking multiple features on a part I mean why would you check the digital display and then check the reading on the side of the mic I mean after all they are the same..... aren't they?


----------



## mikey (May 3, 2017)

markso125 said:


> I have found with digital tools people become too dependent on what is showing on the display, even though there is a Vernier scale on the micrometer most people will ignore it and still just read the digital display. Honestly for the most part I think its human nature ...



Mark, I agree with the human being the confounding factor. Personally, I don't need a digital display to screw up. I've made parts that were exactly on size ... except they were one revolution of the handwheel off. The ability to set zero wherever you wish is probably the digital version of this. Fortunately, I am the foreman in my shop (actually, I'm the only one in my shop) so I get to do all the yelling when I mess up. It can get pretty colorful when that happens.


----------



## Superburban (May 3, 2017)

Thats what I would like to see in the digital gauges. make it hard to reset the gauge accidentally. Maybe a ridge around the button, or be required to hold the button for a few seconds.


----------



## bfd (May 3, 2017)

my favorite mic is the one that always shows my work to be right on size. haven't found it yet so for now I use mitutoyo bill


----------

