Don't tighten and then use the ratchet. That defeats its purpose completly. Bring the anvils in until they are almost touching (but not actually touching) and then use the ratchet.
I figured out how to be dead accurate with one of these sets. First off, you need to live near a harbor freight. It's branded Pittsburgh, you get a lifetime warranty. If you miss something, you can exchange individual micrometers. Second, sit in the store with a known standard (a very true 1-2-3) and crack open kits until you have a kit with straight, flat anvils. Forget the standards, they're junk. The best I've found had heat marks from an attempt to grind them flat. Third, zero and test min and max. You should have repeatability with the upper bound off by 0.0001. You can account for this as it's linear and exact. 0.0001 per inch. If not, see if you can replace it. They market 0.001 to get around responsibility but your local store may be generous. I spend enough there that the employees don't bat and eye. They have the biggest zip ties after all... Mine are not only repeatable, but they read as accurately as a reference. It's kind of funny!
Sat in harbor freight last weekend with my 123 doing this. Found most were nearly 1 thou over. Returned my old set which was constant a thou over the inch then had at their stock looking for the best set. Unfortunately they only had 2, and it seems the best I could do was a few tenths over on the 1 and 2, but almost a full thou on the 3. Cheap enough so I could use my money to buy other tools so I'm happy
@@axa.axa. Having more kits at my disposal was a plus.. I poured over a lot of them. If that's not an option, Shars sells friction thimble sets for 30 a piece. Also just hunting on eBay. I found if you wait long enough you can find a near new best offer option where they'll bite for pennies. 15-20. It's a waiting game. I wanted to try out brands. To be honest, for price and function I've been fond of Vis and NSK white label. But I can't fault my Shars, just don't settle for the ratchet Shars. Not impressed there.
You need to take them apart, clean them, *lightly* oil them, with something like sewing machine oil, and reassemble them. That's what I do with any micrometer I get, be it a cheap one, or an expensive one.
The way my mind works i triple check everything and understand there can be inconsistencies, however i think i would maybe find a used good set somewhere., update, 2 hours later, found a nice set of 3 on marketplace for 25$, made in China but precise older set.
Stupid question: The small end of the wrench included with this set fits the ring at the ratchet end of the thimble. What does this ring adjust/calibrate?
Folks, notice that the little silver lever is to the tight when turning the thimble. Don’t be like the HF customer who brought a set back because it was to the left and locked. The store manager threw the set away.
Why are you using a standard, to zero a 0-1" micrometer? BTW: You can't *calibrate* a micrometer (that was done at the factory, when it was made), you can only zero it.
That's a 10,000ths micrometer, so you zero it twice. Firstly, you zero it using the datum line (aka the reading line), then you fine tune it, using the 0 on the Vernier scale.
@@BedsitBob I thought the same thing. Upon further inspection the anvils weren't parallel to one another so the standard would tilt or offset itself to the high or low side when calibrating. The 1"-2" I had is long gone now. The frame is in the landfill and the barrel is on a carriage stop I made for the lathe.
Low quality, I returned mine. The ends as he says in the video are not perfectly parallel. Mine felt not perfectly smooth or flat, with definite tooling marks, no more accurate than a standard dial caliper, which defeats the purpose.
Harbor freight digital calipers are just as accurate as these garbage micrometers. Mine exhibits the same behavior. If you calibrate the one inch, the zero is off which suggests the pitch is inaccurate
For the price its still not a bad micrometer set. Unless you are working with tolerances that are less than a thousandth they are great. Every machinist i know pays the money for a quality set that will pay for itself. They are more than sufficient for the weekend hobbyist or the guy who only uses them a couple times a year or less.
Don't ever think about buying one of these. I bought same set from AliExpress. they are useless, 5 dollar chinese digital calipers have more precision.
@@lionkeld idk what you mean by cancer here, very sorry if you have a cancer but these mikes can be considered a kind of cancer as well so... But I suggest craigslist or local equivalent, I live in Finland and I found almost brand new Mahr calipers for about 70 bucks and some older mitutoyos has been as low as about 35 converted to dollars, maybe closer to 40 Canadian
FWIW, I typically pay anywhere from $5 to $50 for a used Mitutoyo, Starrett, and B&S. Right now, as an example, there are brand new (NOS) Brown & Sharpe 0-1 mics on ebay for $40. They're fantastic and read tenths repeatedly. Can post many more examples. High quality NOS and lightly used mics are readily available at affordable prices. There's no reason to use junk.
why didn't you use the 1-2 inch to measure the1 inch standard? zero the 0-1s by ensuring they measure zero when closed. I do agree with the feeling that the faces arent parallel on the standards. You do have to also remember those mics are covered in oil right out of the box. You will have to calibrate them regardless.
Don't tighten and then use the ratchet. That defeats its purpose completly. Bring the anvils in until they are almost touching (but not actually touching) and then use the ratchet.
I figured out how to be dead accurate with one of these sets. First off, you need to live near a harbor freight. It's branded Pittsburgh, you get a lifetime warranty. If you miss something, you can exchange individual micrometers. Second, sit in the store with a known standard (a very true 1-2-3) and crack open kits until you have a kit with straight, flat anvils. Forget the standards, they're junk. The best I've found had heat marks from an attempt to grind them flat. Third, zero and test min and max. You should have repeatability with the upper bound off by 0.0001. You can account for this as it's linear and exact. 0.0001 per inch. If not, see if you can replace it. They market 0.001 to get around responsibility but your local store may be generous. I spend enough there that the employees don't bat and eye. They have the biggest zip ties after all... Mine are not only repeatable, but they read as accurately as a reference. It's kind of funny!
Sat in harbor freight last weekend with my 123 doing this.
Found most were nearly 1 thou over.
Returned my old set which was constant a thou over the inch then had at their stock looking for the best set.
Unfortunately they only had 2, and it seems the best I could do was a few tenths over on the 1 and 2, but almost a full thou on the 3.
Cheap enough so I could use my money to buy other tools so I'm happy
@@axa.axa. Having more kits at my disposal was a plus.. I poured over a lot of them. If that's not an option, Shars sells friction thimble sets for 30 a piece. Also just hunting on eBay. I found if you wait long enough you can find a near new best offer option where they'll bite for pennies. 15-20. It's a waiting game. I wanted to try out brands. To be honest, for price and function I've been fond of Vis and NSK white label. But I can't fault my Shars, just don't settle for the ratchet Shars. Not impressed there.
These are precision measuring tools what good are they if they're not right
You need to take them apart, clean them, *lightly* oil them, with something like sewing machine oil, and reassemble them.
That's what I do with any micrometer I get, be it a cheap one, or an expensive one.
The way my mind works i triple check everything and understand there can be inconsistencies, however i think i would maybe find a used good set somewhere., update, 2 hours later, found a nice set of 3 on marketplace for 25$, made in China but precise older set.
Keep your eyes on secondhand stuff got a 8-9 inch mitutoyo for less than $100 but had to buy a spanner and i need to buy a standard
Thank You for this video! I had the exact same results with the 0 - 1" I thought maybe I was doing something wrong. Going to have to exchange.
I have had the same issue with the standards provided didn’t feel parallel to the faces of the micrometers
Whoever buys a micrometer from Harbor Freight needs a IQ test.
If you don't trust the standard, use a gauge block instead.
Stupid question: The small end of the wrench included with this set fits the ring at the ratchet end of the thimble. What does this ring adjust/calibrate?
Uhh... Nevermind. Appears that ring is for disassembly purposes, not calibration.
When did you last zero the Starrett micrometer?
Folks, notice that the little silver lever is to the tight when turning the thimble. Don’t be like the HF customer who brought a set back because it was to the left and locked. The store manager threw the set away.
One can't expect HF to be lapped at all . Starrett hand laps their items and it is why their smoother and more costly .
Why are you using a standard, to zero a 0-1" micrometer?
BTW: You can't *calibrate* a micrometer (that was done at the factory, when it was made), you can only zero it.
As long as we are being specific, you can't calibrate a micrometer at all, the lead screw is manufactured correctly or not
@@axa.axa. Isn't that exactly what I said?
Good call on the standard. Was thinking the same. Also. Why would we compare a 0 to 1 mic to a 1 to 2?
That's a 10,000ths micrometer, so you zero it twice.
Firstly, you zero it using the datum line (aka the reading line), then you fine tune it, using the 0 on the Vernier scale.
I bought the same set. The 0-1" is dead on but the 1-2" has a few warts. 2-3" never even used.
Curious that they're different, given the measuring parts (spindle, sleeve and thimble) are identical.
@@BedsitBob I thought the same thing. Upon further inspection the anvils weren't parallel to one another so the standard would tilt or offset itself to the high or low side when calibrating. The 1"-2" I had is long gone now. The frame is in the landfill and the barrel is on a carriage stop I made for the lathe.
You get what you pay for, harbor freight may be good for a garage mechanic, but in the professional shop never going to fly.
Starrett or central tool.
Low quality, I returned mine. The ends as he says in the video are not perfectly parallel. Mine felt not perfectly smooth or flat, with definite tooling marks, no more accurate than a standard dial caliper, which defeats the purpose.
Don’t cheap out on measurement equipment. It’s not worth the trouble.
Check back in 40 years.
You are trying to split hairs with junk, stop already they are junk....
Master
innacurate micrometers are not really a great idea.
Harbor freight digital calipers are just as accurate as these garbage micrometers. Mine exhibits the same behavior. If you calibrate the one inch, the zero is off which suggests the pitch is inaccurate
For the price its still not a bad micrometer set. Unless you are working with tolerances that are less than a thousandth they are great. Every machinist i know pays the money for a quality set that will pay for itself. They are more than sufficient for the weekend hobbyist or the guy who only uses them a couple times a year or less.
@@63jeepj20 well said.
This dumb ass recommends a different tool with a different purpose and didn't know why his comment is invalid
Don't ever think about buying one of these. I bought same set from AliExpress. they are useless, 5 dollar chinese digital calipers have more precision.
C-clamp
You can probably get used mitutoyo or other calipers for the same price that are more accurate than this junk
Where can I get it in Canada, I’m fighting cancer , been fighting cancer for four years
@@lionkeld idk what you mean by cancer here, very sorry if you have a cancer but these mikes can be considered a kind of cancer as well so... But I suggest craigslist or local equivalent, I live in Finland and I found almost brand new Mahr calipers for about 70 bucks and some older mitutoyos has been as low as about 35 converted to dollars, maybe closer to 40 Canadian
@MF : Decent used Mitutoyo or Starrett are still a lot more than new budget mics.
@@macroevolve I meant calipers, they are probably more accurate than these micrometers
FWIW, I typically pay anywhere from $5 to $50 for a used Mitutoyo, Starrett, and B&S. Right now, as an example, there are brand new (NOS) Brown & Sharpe 0-1 mics on ebay for $40. They're fantastic and read tenths repeatedly. Can post many more examples. High quality NOS and lightly used mics are readily available at affordable prices. There's no reason to use junk.
Waaayy too much racheting
why didn't you use the 1-2 inch to measure the1 inch standard? zero the 0-1s by ensuring they measure zero when closed.
I do agree with the feeling that the faces arent parallel on the standards. You do have to also remember those mics are covered in oil right out of the box. You will have to calibrate them regardless.