Dial indicator

--- dz

Hitch wrote:

$30 bucks is about right for a dial indicator. It isn't too "cheap". It's typical unless you look at Starrett.

Dave

Hitch wrote:

For $32 it is almost certainly made in India, Pakistan, China, or Taiwan, and almost certainly more than adequate for typical woodworking use, and priced about 100% more than comparable units from other vendors. Try Grizzly or HFT, you should be able to find a similar base & gauge for $15-$20. When you get up in the $100 range you may be looking at a US or Japanese made indicator.

Hitch wrote in news:Xns966E4A21F16D5Hitch@216.196.97.136:

I dunno - my Harbor Frieght one was about five bux USD... :)

I haven't used these folks - but

mentioned / recommended as a place to get an inexpensive dial/base/tip combination.

Theirs is just fine for the wood shop, especially the one with the "tip collection".

Try Mcmaster Carr,

Cheap is OK on dial indicators. Make sure the magnetic base works though - they tend to suffer worse from cheapness than the indicators do. Poor clamping or lack of rigidity in the arm is a pain to work with. I've never seen a "snake" arm that was convincing for rigidity either.

Your kidding, right?

Or Mititoyo, Teclock, Brown and Sharp, ect, ect.

You are also looking at WAY more indicator than you need. It is enough to get a .001 resolution and estimate any fraction needed. I have .0005 and .0001 indicators and they are just a joke when trying to line up the table saw trunions because I don't have anything that smooth to measure against or from.

Bill

I just bought that exact model for LV. Magnetic base definitely works. Seems to be good quality (I new to dial indicators). I don't think I've bought anything at LV that wasn't good quality and value.

David

Worst case scenario, if it doesn't work out within reasonable time use LV will take it back.

I believe there's a factory in China that turns out shiploads of these indicators. I've seen basically the same one sold by several vendors. I don't have the Lee Valley version, but I've seen it in their store, and it's better than or equal to any of the other no-name Chinese indicators you'll find.

I've had one for years, and while I doubt it would last day-in and day-out in a production machine shop, it's worked just fine for all the machine alignment and testing I've done.

Have fun,

Tim

Got mine from somewhere like Highland Hardware. It displays both decimal and fractions of an inch. Ya gotta like that.

Mine's from an old physics lab I used to work in. It measures in microns. I could use the binocular microscope I borrow now and then, with a bit of interpolation for even more accuracy, but decided enuf is enuf.

If you only need accuracy to 0.001", try