Good feeler gauge recommendations

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BillBro

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Last night after learning even more on this forum I went and evaluated my two feeler sets, neither are worth a <÷%@#. One of the leaves are off by as much a .002" and some have a thick edge around the leading, round edge, some are a little thicker on one edge. Most of these anomalies are concentrated near the tips. Maybe the leaves were "stamped" with a large cutter that leaves a raised edge? I dont know. I measured both sets ( only a few selected, oft used leaves) with 2 different dial calipers and get the same defects. One set yes is a new vintage but the other is many years old.
I'm assuming everyone is going to suggest Brownells? Have you guys ever took readings on your feelers? Looked for defects in them? I'm sorry for being so anal about this but measuring tools have to be exact, it has always been a pet peeve of mine, especially a square. Stuff like that just sticks in my crawl when off.
 
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I have found the ones at the local hardware or big box stores like Lowes or Home Depot to be adequate and accurate enough for most firearms tasks. Ebay might also be a place to find a "name brand" set for cheap. (under $10)

If you want a higher quality set, Brownells sells them in metric and inch versions, but they are expensive.

BROWNELLS FEELER GAUGES | Brownells
 
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KD Tool #161. .0015-.014. Ones I have were made in USA but mine are older can’t say about current production. Available at any good auto supply store and even Amazon has them.
 
Starrett tapered leaves#66T or my preference #66TS which is stainless. Tapered leaves fit better into narrow spaces. Second hand set can often be had quite cheap on the auction site.

Cheers
Bill
 
The problem may actually be your dial caliper, or as their known in machinist circles, "guessing sticks".
If your dial caliper is one of the cheap Chinese ones rebranded by a variety of the our "American" reloading companies (such as Lyman, RCBS, etc) or major retailers (Midway comes first to mind!), then don't expect much.
The .002" variable is just about right for the error factor one can commonly expect.

If you want an accurate measurement, try a micrometer, aka micrometer screw gauge. You have to get used to reading the scale, but at least it's easier than a Vernier gauge!

In any case, be it feeler gauges or micrometers, you would be hard pressed to do any better than buying Starrett. Alternatively, for the latter, other fine makes include Mitotoyo, Brown & Sharpe, Helios, Etalon...
There are deals to be had for used ones, but you'll likely have to clean, tune and adjust them to get them back to spec, which will require having some gauge blocks.
Robert's recommendation in #3 is a good one. But, the idea of accurate feeler gauges sold in automotive stores "may" be a thing of the past.
Probably best to cough up the coin for the good stuff in new condition.

My apologies for taking you down the rabbit hole, and making more of your question than you may have wished.

Regards,
Jim
 
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Despite being printed with decimal numbers suggesting accuracy in inches to as small as one ten thousandth (I have some blades marked as .0015"), feeler blades are gauges for quick checking of clearances when the higher levels of precision are not required.

In the hierarchy of precision measurement, the feeler blade occupies a position between the measuring tape and the pocket scale.

Take a step up to the vernier caliper if you desire accuracy of +/- .002" (Contrary to popular belief, dial calipers have no inherent accuracy advantage over non-dial calipers, they're just faster to read).

If you truly require precision down to .0001", go ahead and use your feeler blades, but it's time to break out the micrometers (Starrett, Mitutoyo, or equivalent) and "mike" your gauges (whether they be feeler blades, snap gauges, or wire gauges) when testing clearances, and you will never again need to "trust" the printed numbers on a feeler blade.

John
 
Go on ebay and get yourself the BEST! You can get a used Starrett set in any of the multiple configurations for not much money. IMHO Starrett is the best and you need not spend big bucks! There are some available for around $10 - $15 bucks.
 
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Feeler gauges are capable of quite a bit of accuracy. Just use your micrometer and see what the feel is when you draw the feeler blade through the micrometer set 2/10,000 over and then 2/10,000 under. Might surprise you. When I went to Mercedes-Benz training so many years ago we were taught you can feel 1/10,000 if you train yourself and 2/10,000 was pretty easy.

Stu
 
The no name feeler gauge issued to me in the USAF back in 1960 has been pretty accurate. I just need to remember to wipe the oil off the blades when I use it . Wish I had kept the TPI guage also.
 
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