Help me spend some $$

[Mike Cherry]

Looking for two things: I'd like to get a decent dial indicator. I'm not interested in a digital one. My budget for this tool is at max $150. I am more interested in a good value here. I realize I can buy a starret or Mitutoyo for somewhere around here but I'd like to see if there a better value out there. If not what is my best option in this range.

Next I want a good middle stone to complement my shapton 1k and Naniwa Snow White 8k. Love to have a Jnat, but alas I have bills to pay. I'm leaning towards Shapton 5k or maybe the Ohishi's that LN sells either a 3k or 6k. I think 3k might make more sense. Not opposed to a spyderco if that might make more sense.

Thanks for looking!

[Stew Denton]

Mike,

Go to that auction site and look at the selling prices of "sold" Starrett dial indicators. Some of the used Starrett dial indicators may be what you are looking for. Some of the prices look pretty reasonable.


Stew

[Roger Nair]

Just for the fun of the hunt, go to McMaster-Carr website and bask in the variety of dial indicators, their mounts and their accessory hardware. Stick with a mainline brand so you can equip the indicator with compatible gear.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Mike

I have a couple of Mitutoyo digital calipers (not dial), and have used them happily for many years. They are reliable. But expensive. A year or so ago I purchased another, by Wixey, because it had a fractional capacity, that it, it could convert digital to fractions. This is quite inexpensive - read cheap - yet it has worked faultlessly. Importantly, it resets to zero each time, which many cheapies do not.

http://wixey.com/calipers/index.html

The best middle stone I have used to date in the Sigma 6000, however that is too close to your 8000 Naniwa.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[John Schtrumpf]

I don't have any shaptons or a snow white, so I don't know how it will fit with your stones. But I like my 3K Sigma Power Select II stone (from Lee Valley). It is a fairly quick stone and makes a fine scratch pattern. I use mine between my lower grit and 8K Imanishi stones.

[george wilson]

do you mean dial indicator or dial caliper?

[Brian Holcombe]

The Jnat middle stone is a Tsushima nagura, I wouldn't really bother going synthetic - Jnat - synthetic, since the best money spent on Jnats is for finishers or pre-finishers. At Kez a lot of the guys used a Shapton 5k and I was really impressed by that stone.

[Mike Cherry]

do you mean dial indicator or dial caliper?
Thanks for keeping me straight George. I am in the market for a dial caliper. I can see how that makes a world of difference. Coincidentally I have a cheap dial indicator that worked great for setting jointer blades. I think it was the Grizzly indicator if anyone is interested.

Thanks for everyone's input thus far, two recommendations for Sigma....maybe the sigma stone combo that Stu sells is in my future. I've always heard good things about that combo. My 1k is getting rather thin, it will need replacing at some point.

Brian, thanks for your insights on mixing Jnats with synthetics. Makes total sense. Shapton 5k is not ruled out at this point for me

[Prashun Patel]

I have Shaptons and like them because they seem to wear slowly.

I have this one:

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=44325&cat=1,43513,43546

While 1000ths of an inch is great for knowing how far away from zero one is, I personally would have preferred one that has fractions listed... Can't have everything... It's well made.

LV also carries the Sigma stones, so if going that way, you can save shipping...?

[george wilson]

I am sure that if LV sells it,it will be just fine.,and will leave you $100.00 for the stone.

[lowell holmes]

It looks like the one I bought off of the wall at Woodcraft 20 years ago. Mine still works great. IIRC, the price was about the same as the Lee Valley caliper.

[Mike Cherry]

Alright good call, I must've missed those calipers at LV in my search.

[Patrick Chase]

Alright good call, I must've missed those calipers at LV in my search.

I have the LV dial caliper Prashun referenced. It's very good for the money. It isn't quite as accurate as my Mitutoyo calipers and not in the same league as a quality micrometer, but it's more than good enough for anything we talk about here, except measuring ultra-fine shavings (you need a micrometer for that).

If it's good enough for Konrad Sauer (http://www.sauerandsteiner.com/news/uploaded_images/DDTA7shellwidth-718403.jpg) then it's good enough, period. I noticed he was using the same caliper while posting that link to another thread earlier :-).