A Bit Of A Tool Gloat (and A Question)

extropic said:
(Snip)
If you want to investigate provenance, place a call to Starrett. I'll bet that they have a historian who could offer an opinion.
(snip)
At $23.65, I think the term is YOU SUCK!
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Click to expand...
My guess is that bean counters outnumber historians by 1000:1 at Starrett today, sadly. And yes, YOU SUCK! 8^)
 
Actually, I went to the Starrett contact page earlier, described what I had, and asked if they could give me an approximate date on these. Since it was a fill-out-the-form page I wasn't able to send photos but I told them I could. I'll let you know if they contact me back.

I also did a google book search on Starrett. Didn't find anything on the micrometers, but I did find this:

https://books.google.com/books?id=G...ADSYQ6AEIQjAE#v=onepage&q=ls starrett&f=false
 
That is a very cool find! Please keep us posted as to what Starrett has to say, if anything.

Here's a couple of my shop made mics. The large one goes to almost 31, the intent was to 30".

photo.jpg
 
Tony, I can remember a few of them "home made" mics hanging on the wall in a tool room at a old machine shop my dad worked in when I was around 5 or 6 years old. I remember the circular "C" frame really didn't know what they were back then. That old shop is still in business today. I doubt any of that old stuff is still around. If it is, probably "wall art" today.
 
I received an email from Scott Robinson at Starrett this morning:

"I have never heard of these tools perhaps the parts were purchased and
they made their own tools If you can send me the pictures I could tell
for sure."

So I sent him the same pictures as above. This afternoon I received his response:

"Closest I can find in my books is this tool from 1900."

starrett pic s.jpg

This is the text:

text.jpg


The sides on mine are wood, not hard rubber. Starrett is stamped on the frame in the picture above, but not on mine. The anvils are different in that they are interchangeable instead of adjustable like on the ones I have.

I am inclined to think that these may have been made from Starrett parts either by a third party or at Camden Forge.
 
I should say that this does not make me appreciate them any less. I actually kind of like the fact that they are unique items from a century ago.

I also looked at the micrometer on the other page:

adj mic.jpg

The description was interesting:

adj mic text.jpg

Some day when I'm feeling an urge to be particularly precise I might try making something like that from one of the numerous old micrometers I have. I think I'd go with an anvil that is at least slightly adjustable.
 
I wonder if the hard rubber deteriorated and was skillfully replaced with wood at a later date? Rubber wasn't what it is these days back then. I have to keep my latex surgical tubing(great for clamping certain cracks in things like gunstock wrists),in a sealed baggie. If not,the air will deteriorate the tubing in a year or 2,making it brittle and cracking apart.

On the other hand,gutta percha grips used on 19th. C. Colt pistol grips doesn't deteriorate. Just changes color some. But,that was just one kind of natural rubber at the time. Great stuff,too! Beautiful and exceedingly detailed frames for daguerreotype picture frames were made of molded gutta percha. The frames still survive perfectly.
 
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