Last Word Indicator Repair - Who?

[opsoff1]

I have two 711's - one is getting very inconsistent when returning to rest in one direction only and the other has a seriously yellowed crystal (old style with the wire insert) - Looking to have them tuned up - options are Long Island Indicators or going to Starrett. (Or any other suggestions)
Pro's / Cons of each?

TIA

 

[jwmelvin]

Mark Ratkowski

mrtool2010@hotmail.com

He’s great.

 

[NCjeeper]

X2 on Mark.

 

[opsoff1]

I pinged him on email - thank you for the suggestions.

 

[opsoff1]

For general info - got a quote from the folks in Athol... Flat rate repair $157.

 

[woodchucker]

For general info - got a quote from the folks in Athol... Flat rate repair $157.

Not worth it.
I don't find them to be great indicators to begin with. I like my Federals and Mitutoyo test indicators better.
MR will probably be somewhere in the area of $45 last time I checked.

 

[opsoff1]

As far as repair costs go - that too was my thought - not worth it. I find that they are "ok" and I use them for specific applications where their small size is an advantage, but not for critical measuring. I have never used a Federal. My go to's for critical stuff are an Interapid and a B&S Bestest as well as a few Mitutoyu's. These two Starretts are probably more sentimental than practical.

 

[mmcmdl]

For general info - got a quote from the folks in Athol... Flat rate repair $157.

Can't see paying that either . Although they are nice general indicators , there are much better out there .

 

[ChazzC]

As far as repair costs go - that too was my thought - not worth it. I find that they are "ok" and I use them for specific applications where their small size is an advantage, but not for critical measuring. I have never used a Federal. My go to's for critical stuff are an Interapid and a B&S Bestest as well as a few Mitutoyu's. These two Starretts are probably more sentimental than practical.

For the sticky one you can try using mineral spirits followed by an alcohol “rinse” to remove any residue: Last Word’s don’t like lube particularly when it gets stiff.

I have 2 LW that function perfectly and another 2 that are “slow:” eventually I’ll clean these.

 

[woodchucker]

For the sticky one you can try using mineral spirits followed by an alcohol “rinse” to remove any residue: Last Word’s don’t like lube particularly when it gets stiff.

I have 2 LW that function perfectly and another 2 that are “slow:” eventually I’ll clean these.

yes to the mineral spirits, no to alcohol. The MS should be blown out with a spray of gentle air, but alcohol will make the ferrous metal rust. the ms is an oily solvent which will not do that. Blowing the MS out leaves but the finest amount of residue.