VisualKeiKei t1_j91x3ah wrote on February 18, 2023 at 4:42 PM

As someone who has a retired $20k+ box full of Etalon, Tesa, Compac, and Interapid Swiss tools among other machining and metrology tools that are BIFL, I would want this awesome restored set with display rack instead.

ExHempKnight OP t1_j92ovww wrote on February 18, 2023 at 7:53 PM

Lol I dunno about all that. These mics are good, but they're not Etalon good.

I do wish I had the equipment to lap the anvil/spindle faces. That's really the only thing stopping these from being truly good as new.

But, I suppose I need to be realistic. The mics only read to thousandths, and the tolerances required in my little hobby shop aren't aerospace-grade. Pretty sure they'll be perfectly fine as-is.

Doesn't stop me from wanting to, though...

HipsterGalt t1_j932nzn wrote on February 18, 2023 at 9:33 PM

I swear we'll machine our way to accidentally splitting an atom one day, purely out of that desire to chase 0. Gorgeous mics though and I'm with the original commentor, I'd pay heaps for a set like this. Though I've yet to do so for those Tesa indexable calipers. One day.

ExHempKnight OP t1_j9393g3 wrote on February 18, 2023 at 10:21 PM

They're honestly not hard to restore... Disassemble, clean, strip paint, re-enamel the engravings, mask, paint, reassemble with a drop of appropriate oil, calibrate. Just takes patience and attention to detail.

There's probably around $500 in all this. Plus a couple hundred of hours of my own work.

HipsterGalt t1_j93f81j wrote on February 18, 2023 at 11:08 PM

I'm just not even sure I'd be able to find a set to start with. Though I am definitely making a rack like that one way or another.

ExHempKnight OP t1_j93ftgn wrote on February 18, 2023 at 11:12 PM

I got these one at a time, mostly. Just cruised ebay.

VisualKeiKei t1_j94k8ac wrote on February 19, 2023 at 4:41 AM

Your effort and care in the resto definitely shows and the display rack is just awesome. It's way more impressive than all my gear stuffed into a boring brown Kennedy roller. Even a person not familiar with these tools would have the impression they're something special and they're more than sufficient for the home gamer.

I see century-old Starrett and B&S micrometers all the time on eBay and it would be neat to collect and restore a set one day.