Dial Indicator Set-Up Gauge

tryinhard · Post by **tryinhard** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 10:08 pm

[quote="dusty"]I'm not one of the masters but I still have an opinion on this.

Thanks to you all. You gave me the perspective I was hoping to get.

Dusty said that he's not one of the masters. Well, I consider all of you Gold Members who are regular contributors to all the different areas of this forum to be 'masters.' The wisdom of the experience you share certainly has made me a much wiser (though not necessarily any better) SS operator.

Thanks again, Mike

foxtrapper · Post by **foxtrapper** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:12 am

Get the cheapest dial indicator you can find. Spring clamp it to your miter gauge, and you've got the same tool.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:02 am

tryinhard wrote:
dusty wrote:I'm not one of the masters but I still have an opinion on this.

Thanks to you all. You gave me the perspective I was hoping to get.

Dusty said that he's not one of the masters. Well, I consider all of you Gold Members who are regular contributors to all the different areas of this forum to be 'masters.' The wisdom of the experience you share certainly has made me a much wiser (though not necessarily any better) SS operator.

Thanks again, Mike

Thank you, Mike for all of us who participate here regularly but I am just one who loves the smell of sawdust and the only way I can enjoy that is to make some. When I can not make it I enjoy talking about it.

mickyd · Post by **mickyd** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:30 am

JPG40504 wrote:I doubt the indicator is the same. Similar with similar description perhaps but is a mercedes the same as a yugo? They are both passenger cars. They both have(had) internal combustion engines. They both have 4 wheels(tires on the ground). . . .

Can't tell for sure if you saying the cheapo indicator won't compare to the one offered by SS?? Elaborate please.

horologist · Post by **horologist** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:58 pm

All,

I'm not too sure who these so called masters are but I do have some experience with this tool.

The set consists of a fairly ordinary Chinese dial indicator with additional points. These can be purchased quite easily from a variety of metal working suppliers, generally for about $10. (MSC, Enco, and The Little Machine Shop all frequently have sales on such things.) The mounting bracket is quite solid, and machined to fit the slot on the Shopsmith table. The cost to manufacture this base is why it is so much more expensive than just the indicator alone.

No doubt there are plenty of clever people on this list who could create a base and save the cash. It all comes down to how you want to spend your time. If you do make a base it needs to be very rigid if the tool is to function properly. Otherwise it will be nothing more than a source of error and frustration.

Initially, it seems a luxury tool, something I would probably not purchase on my own, after all I have a variety of dial indicators. However once I used it I found the tool to be quite handy. My dad has one of these sets that travels between our shops and if I ever need one of my own I would be inclined to make the purchase and use the time saved on another project. If you have trouble paying $70 for something that will spend more time in a box than on your bench I would suggest telling your family that it would make an excellent gift. If your family is anything like mine they will be glad to have the idea.

Every alignment tool of this type I have seen advertised in the woodworking catalogs has a similar Chinese indicator. While I am ordinarily extremely wary of Chinese measuring tools, these indicators aren't too bad and are certainly good enough for most woodworking tasks.

Troy

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 5:40 pm

mickyd wrote:Can't tell for sure if you saying the cheapo indicator won't compare to the one offered by SS?? Elaborate please.

What are the internal parts made of? How LONG WILL THEY WORK? How precise are they made? Yada Yada Yada!

Actually I assumed the SS one was better!

efmaron · Post by **efmaron** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:20 pm

what is the brand name of the indiactor offered by SS. With 40+ yrs. as a tool maker i have used indicaters on a daily bases, so i needed good indicaters that would hold up to that kind of use, Federal, Starrett, Interapid, and Mitutoyo are the indicators that i own and have used since the early 60's. Working in a tool room i had to have good jewel movement indicators, but for the hobbiest a cheaper one would probable last ok. The picture below is of the holder i made to fit the SS table slot, the holder has a dove tail slide.
( NOTE : The blade i have on the SS is a hallow ground and not a good choice to use for indicating yet that is the blade that was shown on the email i got this week from SS for the sale of indicator.)

keakap · Post by **keakap** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:05 pm

beeg wrote:I also have one and like using it for setup. But be careful about getting caught in the "TRAP" of oh I can get it better. Then when ya do, it's oh I can get it better,oh I can get it better,oh I can get it better.

Ah yes, the measure twice, align 47 times and cut once syndrome!