# Fixed a Federal dial indicator



## twooldvolvos (Jan 31, 2021)

Yesterday I picked up a Federal dial indicator at my local 2nd hand tool store for $5.00.  It was sluggish and the dial would move around and kind of do what it wanted.  But for $5.00 I figured it would be a cheap education to try to fix it.

First, I liberally applied some light weight oil t the innards..  Bad move.  No improvement.

Then I took the bezel off and realized the dial was slipping on the shaft.  So, I placed the dial onto a small drill and used a pair of pliers to squeeze the dial shaft in a bit.  After a few tries, I had success.  No more slipping.  One problem fixed.

It worked better but it would not stop at the same place after pushing and releasing the plunger.  I took the back plate off and realized that I needed to preload a little spring before placing the dial on.  Second problem fixed.  Now it stopped reliably in the same spot after plunging.

But it was still sluggish.  Getting a bit tired of my repair, I went for broke.  I took the bezel, the dial face, and the back off and submersed what was left in a jar of mineral spirits.  Let it sit and stew for a couple of hours and blew it out gently with my air compressor after rubbing the internals carefully with a few Q tips.  Then I let it dry and put it all back together.

I also buffed out the plastic lens with some 3M rubbing compound followed by some 3M polish and cleaned up the face with some turtle wax and Q tips.

And ... Bob's your uncle.


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## Packard V8 (Jan 31, 2021)

Congrats on saving a good old USA tool.  I believe Federal made the dial indicators for Sunnen dial bore gauges and I've repaired a few of those.

FWIW, every time I tackle a dial indicator repair, I'm amazed at how many different solutions there are to the same problem.  For example, I've encountered at least ten different designs of holding the bezel onto the housing.

And what's with having to have a special tool to replace the crystal.?  Seems so simple to press in a new crystal from the inside of the bezel, but few do it that way.

Pretty soon more ailing dial indicators will be finding their way to your bench and you'll have a box full of parts units, none of which will fit the next one you tackle.  And then most old USA are 4-48 inch threads and most recent manufacture are metric.

jack vines


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## mmcmdl (Feb 1, 2021)

Nice find . Is that a dial , test , drop or a mixture of them all indicator ?  I have a few Federals sitting in a box downstairs that need minor attention .


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