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ExHempKnight OP t1_j92ovww wrote

Reply to comment by VisualKeiKei in "The longest-lived micrometer than can be bought." J.T. Slocomb micrometers and stand, all fully restored by myself. Each mic is between 70-120 years old, and they're all still accurate. by ExHempKnight

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...

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HipsterGalt t1_j932nzn wrote

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.

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ExHempKnight OP t1_j9393g3 wrote

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.

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HipsterGalt t1_j93f81j wrote

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.

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ExHempKnight OP t1_j93ftgn wrote

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

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VisualKeiKei t1_j94k8ac wrote

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.

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