What Did You Buy Today?

[455dan]

Been a few days actually but a ( Complete Kit) would have been nice a few days ago when a storm took out power.
14.3 KW Solar array 32 7 foot bi facial panels, seasonal angle adjust rack , LiFe batteries 28.4KW and a 12kW (15.5K for 5 min.) 240 VAC Hybrid inverter system with 200 amp pass through.

Now to get it all in and functional before winter hits.

 

[rwdenney]

I have an engine project that I’m doing and am thinking about ordering a digital bore gauge. Anyone have economical recommendations?

John

Economical? Telescoping gauges and good micrometers, plus the necessary practice.

The Chinese copy of the Mitutoyo Series 511 two-point dial bore gauges that I bought is garbage. Waste of money--it doesn't work reliably or repeatably. I get much more consistent measurements with the telescoping gauges.

If I wanted a three-point bore gauge with a digital display, I'd save up for the Mitutoyo Series 511 Absolute Digimatic bore gauge set, which uses extension anvils to cover a wide range. Spendy, but covers the range from 1.8-4" in the size most useful for guys hot-rodding smaller engines (and in a larger range for those with big-block motors). They still have to be calibrated against a master bore, which does not come with it. And they are subject to cosine error if not rocked in the bore to find the minimum reading.

The more expensive Mitutoyo bore gauge is the series 568, which isn't subject to cosine error (the anvils are pins rather than spheres, and align more easily with the walls of the bore being measured). But these only cover a narrow range and are about as expensive as the Series 511 wide-range set. These only need to be calibrated once, near as I can tell. Bring your checkbook. I've never seen a knockoff of these.

I've looked at these before, but the price has always encouraged me to practice my telescoping gauge skills.

Rick "noting the dial indicator units are cheaper, but also have to be calibrated" Denney

 

[rwdenney]

I have an engine project that I’m doing and am thinking about ordering a digital bore gauge. Anyone have economical recommendations?

They usually go cheap at used equipment dealers. Over the years I've purchased 6 different sizes. Most were in the $50.00 to $75.00 range. Dealers like to move them on quickly because the whole unit or parts tend to disappear off the shelves. One of the dealers I frequent kept the last 4 off to the side because he knew I was interested in them

I wish I lived near your equipment dealers. I've never seen anything on that planet of cheap from the sources I have access to.

Rick "sees an order of magnitude higher for Mitu three-point bore gauges" Denney

 

[rwdenney]

To be clear, this is the type I previously bought, and don't think is worth even the little that it costs:



It's a ripoff of the Mitotoyo Series 511 dial bore gauges. These are comparator gauges that require comparing to a known bore--after adding the needed extension. Motor Trend wrote an article comparing an older one of these to the Mitutoyo, and then comparing both to something engine pros would use (made, as I recall, by Sunnen). The Mitu was off by 3-5 tenths, and the knockoff more than twice that. I despise this one--telescoping gauges work much more consistently for me and with much less effort, even though they take practice. These also take practice. I suspect the digital versions read with more precision but are no more accurate.

Rick "sometimes, you get what you pay for" Denney

 

[projectnut]

The three point gauges are easier to use, but far more expensive. It doesn’t take long to master the standard bore gauges. For the difference in price and relatively short learning curve the standard gauges are in my opinion the best bang for the buck

 

[ChazzC]

Economical? Telescoping gauges and good micrometers, plus the necessary practice.

The Chinese copy of the Mitutoyo Series 511 two-point dial bore gauges that I bought is garbage. Waste of money--it doesn't work reliably or repeatably. I get much more consistent measurements with the telescoping gauges.

If I wanted a three-point bore gauge with a digital display, I'd save up for the Mitutoyo Series 511 Absolute Digimatic bore gauge set, which uses extension anvils to cover a wide range. Spendy, but covers the range from 1.8-4" in the size most useful for guys hot-rodding smaller engines (and in a larger range for those with big-block motors). They still have to be calibrated against a master bore, which does not come with it. And they are subject to cosine error if not rocked in the bore to find the minimum reading.

The more expensive Mitutoyo bore gauge is the series 568, which isn't subject to cosine error (the anvils are pins rather than spheres, and align more easily with the walls of the bore being measured). But these only cover a narrow range and are about as expensive as the Series 511 wide-range set. These only need to be calibrated once, near as I can tell. Bring your checkbook. I've never seen a knockoff of these.

I've looked at these before, but the price has always encouraged me to practice my telescoping gauge skills.

Rick "noting the dial indicator units are cheaper, but also have to be calibrated" Denney

Mr. White fixed me up with this SPI set last year (and I'm not sharing the price!):


Covers 0.8" – 2". I have a 0.2" – 1.2" inside micrometer and gage pins to go smaller than 0.8" and a Starrett 823BZ set for larger than 2":

 

[dkemppai]

The true bore micrometers are the ones with three inside points, but they are limited in bore range, so one needs a set and those puppies are expensive even one at a time.

Yes they are. Went a bit crazy, and collected sizes from 1/4" through 2" plus 2-1/2", with setting rings. They still need a little cleaning, but are in the toolbox now, at least...

 

[matthewsx]

Economical? Telescoping gauges and good micrometers, plus the necessary practice.

The Chinese copy of the Mitutoyo Series 511 two-point dial bore gauges that I bought is garbage. Waste of money--it doesn't work reliably or repeatably. I get much more consistent measurements with the telescoping gauges.

If I wanted a three-point bore gauge with a digital display, I'd save up for the Mitutoyo Series 511 Absolute Digimatic bore gauge set, which uses extension anvils to cover a wide range. Spendy, but covers the range from 1.8-4" in the size most useful for guys hot-rodding smaller engines (and in a larger range for those with big-block motors). They still have to be calibrated against a master bore, which does not come with it. And they are subject to cosine error if not rocked in the bore to find the minimum reading.

The more expensive Mitutoyo bore gauge is the series 568, which isn't subject to cosine error (the anvils are pins rather than spheres, and align more easily with the walls of the bore being measured). But these only cover a narrow range and are about as expensive as the Series 511 wide-range set. These only need to be calibrated once, near as I can tell. Bring your checkbook. I've never seen a knockoff of these.

I've looked at these before, but the price has always encouraged me to practice my telescoping gauge skills.

Rick "noting the dial indicator units are cheaper, but also have to be calibrated" Denney

I do have a set of Chinese telescoping gauges that I’m pretty familiar with built many winning race engines with them.

John

 

[rwdenney]

One thing I like about telescoping gauges is that it's easy to measure oval bores by taking samples at various angles in the bore. A three-point gauge might miss anomalies in roundness, it seems to me. For engine bores and bearing journals, I'm mostly measuring to see if something needs to be machined or replaced, or if it's within spec and can be reused. Given that most wear patterns create an oval shape, it seems to me important to measure it.

For checking the dimensions of fresh machining, a good three-point gauge like the fancy Mitu (and the SPI pictured above seems to be similar) is fast and convenient.

Rick "speed costs" Denney

 

[projectnut]

I have a couple sets of the older solid rod Starrett inside mics. With my clumsy paws I find them a little tougher to use.

They get set to a preset length and manually removed readjusted and reinserted several times to get accurate measurements