2017 - The Original "What Did You Buy Today?" Mega Thread

[T Bredehoft]

I was given a set, assembled from Gov't rejects 20 years ago. I couldn't find (with mikes) why they were rejected then, been using them ever since for set up, etc. some won't wring together, but they still mike OK.

 

[darkzero]

If you can verify the set, that would be nice. Certs from China don't mean much to me. They just write what they want on some pieces. CME's rep is questionable too. So ring a few of your Mits and CMEs and see if they really are close to spec. Would like to know if they are that good.

Certs from China have never meant anything to me either. I have no way of verifying the tolerance.... so what do you mean, so they are lying & not everything on the internet is true?

The quality of them didn't matter to me much cause I have the Mitu set. As long as they wring should be fine for what I need. Price was the most important factor. I've purchased from CME a few times, can't complain on any of the stuff I got from them considering the prices.

Well I hope they wring. I'll test some of them & see how they do.

 

[Alan H.]

Will, looking forward to the report on the "wringing tests"!

I am curious, why do you dislike Shars' branding?

 

[Bamban]

OK, admiting ignorance, what does "wring" mean as it applies to gauge blocks?

 

[RandyM]

OK, admiting ignorance, what does "wring" mean as it applies to gauge blocks?

Here is a video that may help explain it.

Wringing Gauge Blocks

 

[darkzero]

Will, looking forward to the report on the "wringing tests"!

So I tested some random pieces. I didn't feel like taking all of them out of their wrappers & cleaning off the protective wax right now.

They wring. A few feel like they don't wring as tight to hold much heavier blocks but that doesn't matter to me. Could be that I just didn't clean them well enough but whatevers. On those ones I had to really align them well & put good pressure on them to wring with that really tight feel like my Mitu ones. But many of them do seem to wring tight. Tight or not, at least all the ones I've tested so far do wring. Plenty good enough for what I bought this import set for & I can't complain for the price. There's a reason why there's sets that cost well over a thousand & much higher. Makes you wonder how they can even sell these for so cheap.

I would say, if you really need gauge blocks for professional or inspection work, buy a quality set & take care of them. Again, I'm just a hobby guy, I could live without them. I'll be using this import set for setup which may not be often as I imagine but now that I have them I may just find myself using them whenever I can.

 

[Alan H.]

My brand new Mitutoyo micrometer stand.



Price was too high for Chinesium but the paint job is nice though! I think Mitutoyo is farming the brand a bit on the pricing for these. Glad I bought it on a Zoro flash deal.

 

[Ulma Doctor]

4 Beautifully cared for Vintage Ames 282 Dial Indicators, (.001")
$50 shipped

 

[woodchucker]

Certs from China have never meant anything to me either. I have no way of verifying the tolerance.... so what do you mean, so they are lying & not everything on the internet is true?

The quality of them didn't matter to me much cause I have the Mitu set. As long as they wring should be fine for what I need. Price was the most important factor. I've purchased from CME a few times, can't complain on any of the stuff I got from them considering the prices.

Well I hope they wring. I'll test some of them & see how they do.

you do have a way, consider the mit set your master, test that against your Chinese set. so ring the mit, then do the same for the Chinese set, and validate. do a few different block configs randomly. Don't reuse the same block unless you find your off and want to find out which one.

 

[bfk]

A couple of purchases from eBay.
About 30 end mills. All in very good condition, mostly American made, some still with wax coating. A few bullnose a couple v shaped.
About 70 reamers, again mostly American made. At least a dozen countersink, from #6 screw up to too big for my little Sherline. Four expanding types. All seem to have seen little use.
Overall about a buck a piece.