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TTIT
10th August 2009, 10:34 AM
Vernier calipers???? :U One of the handiest gadgets I inherited from my old mans gear turns out to be this dodgie old set of verniers he modified. A bit rough around the edges but very cool for sizing spigots and getting an actual measurement of wall thickness. The only downside is that they are so badly worn that the 'brake' doesn't work properly anymore so "one day"!!!, I'll get a better set and make the same mods. I've never seen these available commercially but I reckon you could sell a few. Wouldn't be hard to make for the average tinkerer either - the extensions could just as easily have been bolted on to standard verniers so you don't really need to braze them on.

tea lady
10th August 2009, 10:37 AM
OooooooH! They could go on "the new inverters". Maybe I could modify my old dodgy ones. :cool:

Sawdust Maker
10th August 2009, 11:46 AM
That would take the guess work out of it :2tsup:

Ed Reiss
10th August 2009, 12:50 PM
I think my (sadistic) dentist used something like that my last appointment...and ya' gotta love that line "now this won't hurt a bit" :no::o:C:~

Skew ChiDAMN!!
10th August 2009, 03:09 PM
Dang! Another idea I just gotta pinch!

As for replacing 'em, the top half of the slide looks like it has plenty of meat in it, why not just drill/tap it and install a small thumb-screw to act as a lock? That's all the cheaper modern ones use...

Rum Pig
10th August 2009, 03:31 PM
I Like them:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

TTIT
10th August 2009, 03:32 PM
......... the top half of the slide looks like it has plenty of meat in it, why not just drill/tap it and install a small thumb-screw to act as a lock? ......That's probably what I'll end up doing . . . . . . .one day! :B

joe greiner
10th August 2009, 10:11 PM
Very neat! And makes so much more sense than the usual design, with legs shorter than half the jaw capacity. But I'd favour brazing over bolts for accuracy, or use the bolts merely for clamping prior to brazing.

rsser
11th August 2009, 06:34 PM
The ole timers knew a thing or two.

Then they couldn't remember what they knew.

But on a good day they could remember what they didn't know.

Sawdust Maker
11th August 2009, 09:29 PM
I saw something in More Woodturning which would accomplish the same
Tried to find it on the net but couldn't - I've posted a piccy from the mag

Made by a chap in Tucson - sells them for US$40 plus postage
If anyone wants his email address pm me and I'll forward it

113419

No connection or anything just trying to be helpful

Skew ChiDAMN!!
12th August 2009, 04:30 PM
While out on-site late last night (levelling a conc. pour in pouring rains during the wee hours :C) the ol' mind kept wandering off into la-la land.

And I kept thinking about this! How about if, instead of fastening the caliper arms directly to the verniers, you brazed on two small(ish) plates?

One would have two threaded holes, so you would bolt on whatever arm you desired... and the other would have a single hole, with a set-screw coming in from one side, parallel to the surface of the plate. That would allow you to screw on a matching arm, then calibrate it to zero using the set screw.

So, you could have several sets of arms for different type of jobs, including ones that could be sharpened for scribing. (Which you could recalibrate to zero after grinding.)

Perhaps I'm just feverish from the rain? :rolleyes::-

TTIT
12th August 2009, 05:16 PM
............And I kept thinking about this! How about if, instead of fastening the caliper arms directly to the verniers, you brazed on two small(ish) plates?

One would have two threaded holes, so you would bolt on whatever arm you desired... and the other would have a single hole, with a set-screw coming in from one side, parallel to the surface of the plate. That would allow you to screw on a matching arm, then calibrate it to zero using the set screw.

So, you could have several sets of arms for different type of jobs, including ones that could be sharpened for scribing. (Which you could recalibrate to zero after grinding.)

Perhaps I'm just feverish from the rain? :rolleyes::-I like it!:2tsup: I reckon that even with a couple of locating pins fitted in the standard 'arms', you could have a whole set of odd arm configurations that would virtually clip on. . . . . . . . . . . . and with a forced holiday coming up I might even be able to come up with a prototype . . . . . . and pigs might fly :B.
Damn I wish I had bought that cheap set of verniers at the field days last month:~

hughie
13th August 2009, 12:59 AM
I .

Damn I wish I had bought that cheap set of verniers at the field days last month:~
[/QUOTE]
Theres always cheap verniers around, would not to be perturbed about it :2tsup:

underfoot
13th August 2009, 06:46 AM
Vernier calipers???? :U One of the handiest gadgets I inherited from my old mans .
He was a clever bloke, your old man TTIT, and I still use all the bits he made for me.
I can see this one being a 'must nick' :2tsup: thanks for showing



So, you could have several sets of arms for different type of jobs, :rolleyes::-
no no no Skew, the idea is to have MORE tools, not less, (although it does sound like a good idea)'
.ok I'm keeping my eyes out for a bunch of cheapy verniers now.