Micing Barrels

[D Sanders]

Bore mikes work well. They have multiple axially oriented elongated contacting surfaces that project outwards and press against the inside of the hole being measured. This is my ArmiSport 1847 being checked out. The bore is .696". Grooves are between .003"-.004" deep.
http://i791.photobucket.com/albums/yy192/SNARGLEFLERK/boremikes.jpg[/quote]


Do you know any place where a guy could get a good deal on one of those. If it measures inside the barrel I would like to have one of those. Thanks, Tom.

Big time expensive! Maybe on E-Bay or Craigs list.
These are very accurate measuring instruments. To buy one new would be in the hundreds of dollars if not more. Good luck.

HH 60

 

[HOGGHEAD]

I have found a bunch of different ones in a couple of different places. E-Bay has a few at some good prices. However I am not in a hurry and I am going to take the above advice and check out a few pawn shops first. And I have a friend who is a machinist so I want to talk to him also. But I am definitely going to buy one. If I could find one that would work from 40 to 50 caliber that would handle most of my needs. Tom.

 

[J.D.]

here ya go
http://www.amazon.com/Starrett-S82..._7?ie=UTF8&s=industrial&qid=1272509085&sr=1-7

This set is less expensive.
http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/fow72-472-104.html

 

[HOGGHEAD]

JD-good links. Do you know how to use the first one from Amazon?? That looks like a good one. I am guessing the ball expands into the bore and gives a measurement?? If that is how it works I think I will order those. Thank You, Tom.

 

[HOGGHEAD]

I have been looking at both of those links a good bit. It looks like they are the same item. Just two different mfrs.?? Is that correct?? Thanks, Tom.

 

[Marc Adamchek]

Thanks, J.D.! Now here comes a dumb question, given the name of the tool is SMALL Hole Gauge: Can ya get one that measures holes up to about .720? Do they make a "Just a little bit bigger" version? Think I'll hit Google up to check things out.

 

[BobKrohn]

I believe you expand it inside the bore as you mentioned.
But it doesn't give a measurement directly itself.
You take the expanded tool and measure IT with a standard mic or caliper.
You are transferring the dimension.

Tried Harbor Freight? (it was down for maintenence just now)

 

[Marc Adamchek]

Bob - Yes, it seems like an easy way to get a reading. But since the biggest gauge would only cover my .45 and .50, I'm looking for a similar gauge that could cover amy .62 fowler and .72 Kodiak. No luck yet, maybe they don't make a bigger gauge.

 

[J.D.]

The shank of the gauge is threaded so's the ball expands as the knob on the end of the shank is turned. Measurements are made by micing the gauge.

I'm sure someone makes larger gauges, but they are probably pretty expensive.

IMHO,a set of gauges to cover nearly any ID should be easy enough to make if you know someone with a lathe.

God bless

 

[HOGGHEAD]

I do not know anything about making metal things. As a matter of fact I am about as un-mechanical as you can get. But I think I can work those tools. So I am definitely going to order a set of those. Now I just have to decide which set. I wonder if there is any real quality difference between the two that are "linked"?? I know I shopped a few other sites for the exact same ones that were in the links. And in some places the price was twice as much as the price in the link. I was really amazed by that. Tom.

 

[Marc Adamchek]

Tom, I did the same things as you! Looks like the two links that were posted are the best, but it IS a weird problem trying to figure out if the price difference could possibly be significant enough to buy the more expensive Starett gauges.

The only factor in my mind's toolbox is that I have heard that anything made by Starett is high quality since I was 18, almost 40 years ago. My uncle owned a machine shop, all small tools were Starett or Browne and Sharpe. He gave me a beautiful Browne and Sharpe micrometer in the 70's, which of course my older brother took like he took just about anything with valuefrom the family home, which is a long boring story with an ending I'm sure you can guess.

Anyway, I'm going to Lowe's tomorrow, I'm going to look for these 2 brands of hole gauges and see if the difference is significant.

One thing to consider is, just how many times am I gonna USE the damn thing(s) anyway? We primarily just want to be able to measure the bores of our MLs. One to , what, THREE tries before we feel confident about capturing the bores' "mass" before we measure them with our calipers/mics? Can we justify such a jump in price for that?