HF micrometer set or go EBay?

I have bought a couple of calipers (I know, this thread is about mics) from Ideal Precision Instrument Services. They also sell used/refurbished. They have some of the best prices around and sell genuine articles.

I, too, have a bunch of HF calipers thinking they are good enough to lie around different areas in my shop and even one in the house. I am about ready to chuck them all. Every time I go to pick one up, it seems that the battery is dead, dying, or loose, which then causes me to walk across the shop and grab the Mitutoyo.
 
Mic sets from Slocomb or Tumico can be a really good deal. They aren't as shiny as Starrett, but are definitely as precise and well-fitted.

I like eBay for instruments like this, you can buy Tesa Swiss retired from production with tool room inscriptions and a calibration history for the same going price as a banged-out Starrett from pop-pop's estate sale. There is something for everybody.

I have tools from eBay that lived in a drawer in the tool cribs at Eastman Kodak, Xerox, and Boeing. It feels good to know the prior owners cared for the tools while in service. Beats the heck out of a rusty chunk or a bamboo curtain mystery, and sometimes there isn't even much difference in price.
 
7milesup said:
Every time I go to pick one up, it seems that the battery is dead, dying, or loose
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I found that on most of the Digital micrometers that I purchased the devices are always on! Even though the screen shuts down the electronics do not. This is both good and bad, as the zero is not lost just because it timed out the display or I turned it off. On the other hand if you are going to set them aside and not use them for a while, take the battery out. The ones that have the ~ quarter sized Li- CR2032 etc. last quite a while. But do die after about a year if you leave the current flowing to run the electronics. These batteries have a shelf live of > 10 years .... if you take them out when storing the micrometer for long periods they will still be good when you need it. All, new batteries, I keep in the refrigerator, which slows chemical reactions and so extents the shelf life. I don't freeze them!

I also have the standard small PM Mill quill DRO, which uses a little button cell (LR44 I think) to run the LCD. I commonly forget to turn it off and so it dies while I am away from the mill for several days or weeks. Some of the digital micrometers use the same battery, but because the display turns off they last a lot longer. I purchased a few hundred of these button cells from Aliexpress for ~5$ some years ago and keep them in the refrigerator. They are still good. Likewise you can typically get 100 of the CR2032 for <$20. ($0.20/each) or 10 for ~$0.35 each. So I keep a stock in the refrigerator door compartment!

By the way, I designed and implemented a circuit which turns on our garbage disposal when I bring a magnet near a sensor that is mounted under the granite counter top for a clean look. I did not like the look of having a hole in the counter top for a dirty pressure switch or reaching under the sink to turn the disposal on, so this works much better. There is a magnet in the bottom of a very small vase that sets on the counter. Move it to the sensor near the corner of the sink and the disposal comes on until you move the vase away a few inches. It runs off of 4 AAA batteries (Duracell) and uses a simple magnetic reed switch as the sensor. When activated the reed switch furnishes power to the Solid State Relay's input connected to 220V-20A to turn on the disposal motor. Hence, the batteries have no drain except while the magnet turns on the disposal. I put three of these in service in ~ 2011-2012 and they had not died yet. However, I recently changed the batteries in one of them .... just out of an abundance of caution. At the time I thought I could use a small power supply for this application, but that just made it more complicated. So, even good alkaline batteries can last a long time when effectively on the shelf. But who has not had a flash light destroyed by leaking Alkaline batteries.

Dave L.
 
Hi Dave @B2 . I was referring more to the 357 cell (SR44W) in the HF calipers. My Mitutoyo, which I have had for a few years now, is still going strong, even though, on numerous occasions, I have left it on. Not sure why, but there is a HUGE difference in power draw between the HF and Mitutoyo.
My next calipers will be the Mitutoyo solar-powered ones.
 
Hi Neil @7milesup
7milesup said:
My next calipers will be the Mitutoyo solar-powered ones.
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I don't think there are any shortcuts to be had in all of this. Once one turns on the electricity he has to keep paying for it one way or another. However, the technology does seem to be improving. The LR44 and SR44 etc are commonly used because they are small and so cheap.

My wife once gave me (~20 years ago) a really neat watch, but very expensive at the time.. ~$400-$500 back then. Seiko motion powered with built in motor to run the hands. It was electrically charged by my wrist motion driving a magnet in a coil to generate electricity (not wind up a spring or the stem) which was then stored on a special chemically driven "super capacitor". Sort of a battery, but called a low voltage chemical capacitor. the watch was cool as you could look in the glass back and see all of the moving parts and it did have a classy front with hands and date. A swinging bob to drive the magnet to generate electricity and a motor to drive the hands. No cheap LCD or LED display. Looked analog but with digital accuracy. A friend described it as "diesel electric" but I think Seiko called it a Kinetic . It worked great. You could push in the stem and the second hand would fast forward a number of seconds representing how many days of charge were remaining on the rechargeable "battery." Full charge was many days. A last, the rechargeable battery failed after about 3-4 years. I had a friend who also bought one when in Japan for a little less money and his capacitor also failed. To replace it was 1/2 the cost of the watch with no warranty that it would last longer... so I never did. I just got a cheap plastic watch with a cheap Velcro band and LCD, but a Li ion battery in it that lasted many years... At the time I paid as much for a new Li battery as I paid for the watch. I found I could scuba dived with it to 150 feet, several times, and it always survived even after I changed the battery and continued to dive. So when K Mart had them on close out sale for ~ $2.99 I bought a bunch of them and have given a number away to fellow divers!

However, my wife did not like my cheap looking watch. So a year or so ago she tried again. This time she got me a Citizen Solar powered. It is still going and keeps good time, but cost a lot more than $3! I wear my cheap watches when I work, sweat and get dirty and wear the expensive watch when we go out. But I fear that the rechargeable battery ( super capacitor etc.) will not last as long as my cheap watches. Seiko still sells something similar and hopefully they have improved the storage capacitor life time.

Alas, the Velcro on my cheap watches is wearing out before the watches!

Dave L.
 
B2 said:
There is a magnet in the bottom of a very small vase that sets on the counter. Move it to the sensor near the corner of the sink and the disposal comes on until you move the vase away a few inches. It runs off of 4 AAA batteries
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I think that’s one of the coolest ideas I’ve heard in a long time! Definitely “Get Smart” material — love it!

-frank
 
I have come across some very good Ebay and estate auction deals for good old stuff
Some needs disassembled and cleaned. When they have carbide tips the chances of problems seems slim.

I’ll also say Ideal Precision is a very good way to go for inspected and serviced used! I got a very nice Mitutoyo drop indicator from them off ebay

Security Measure

www.ebay.com www.ebay.com

Their website: http://idealprec.com/index

I’d like to add old NSK to the list of Japanese tools that are pretty nice!

Otherwise, (with the caveat that I’m a total amateur ) a lot of the new off shore stuff can probably be acceptable for the shop. I’ve gotten some nice stuff from Shars (they sell direct on Ebay as Discount_machine [Discount Machine Shop])
HHIP, Accusize and Anytime Tools on Amazon

In the beginning I picked up this 0-1” mic from Anytime. It is very nice, smooth and repeatable.

Anytime Tools Micrometer 0-1" /0.0001 Outside Premium Precision Machinist Tool https://a.co/d/0au8sXE

I like those ‘name brand’ importers as their quality control seems a little better and definitely with Shars there is customer support etc. more piece of mind
 
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FWIW, I have an inexpensive set as well as a Mitutoyo 0-1"
If I measure my 1" gauge block the Mitutoyo is bang on. The MIC is off by 0.0005 to 0.001 depending on how tight I adjust.

I use a caliper for non critical measurements so when I reach for a micrometer I want / need a precise measurement and I just don't have much faith in the MIC ones I have, so I'm going to keep an eye out for a good 1-2 and 2-3"
 
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