Refreshing old Starrett 436 micrometers

Little bit of an update for anyone following along and curious. The small baster worked OK with soda. My tiny compressor isn't big enough enough to keep up which made it difficult. But overall it did OK at cleaning out the engravings without dulling the stainless too much. Honestly a fresh new brass brush and some elbow grease would have done just as good. But wheres the fun in that!?

Seems like the key is to let the paint stick dry for a good 12 hrs before wiping it off. Seems to reduce the amount that gets wiped off (obviously)

 

How about a different color that is more visible. Light blue?

 

I have the duplicate Craftsman caliper as shown (my Dads) and I use it every day at my work in a manual machine shop. I also have an older Starrett vernier in the one foot size that I've carried clear around the world a couple of times in a previous occupation. Amazing the machinists we have had at our shop that don't seem to "get" the advantages of the fully mechanical measuring devices. I also have some precision "Pi" tapes that are quick for sizing bars out of the stock racks......

 

To our fathers ...

 

Is this how addictions start?

Happened to see these on marketplace over the holiday. Took a while to meet up with the guy, but for the price I couldn't pass them up. I'm actually surprised they didn't sell quicker. Matching set as near I can tell. 0 - 6 inch all with locks, vernier scale, and friction thimbles. I kinda like the friction thimble so far, but can still dial it in by hand if needed

 

Anyone have any idea how I might check the calibration of the bigger mics in that new set? No calibration rods were included. And my gauge blocks will only stack up to a total of 2 inches

Id like to find some way of checking they are at least in the ballpark without spending a ton of cash right now

 

Would something like a spacer block work for this instance? Maybe something along the lines of a 1-2-3 or 2-4-6 setup block? They should be machined to a precision that you're looking for without spending upwards of 5 grand on a machinist block set.

-J

 

I had not thought of 123 blocks. Ill have to check prices out.

 

more old metal bits…
https://albany.craigslist.org/tls/d/delmar-machinist-machine-shop-items/7706000077.html
Local to me if anyone is interested.