Pin gauges

[tedog]

Can someone advise where I can find these for measuring cyl. throats of 45s? Thanks to all that may advise.

 

[Protocall_Design]

Get in the Business/Industrial section of eBay or on Amazon. You can get sets, either used higher quality or new from China fairly cheap. The Chinese ones are perfectly fine for gunsmithing work.

 

[STG38]

I've had good luck with McMaster-Carr.

 

[reddog81]

A couple of years ago I went with Meyer Gage because it seemed like they were the cheapest option for buying individual gauges.

If I was going to do it over today I'd probably just pick up a .250 to .50 set for $75 and be set for all popular calibers other than .22

 

[Engineer1911]

Class Zz Minus Plug & Pin Gages - MSCDirect.com

The link above is for 0.451 pin. Just enter the size you want and add to the shopping cart. Six pins would be about $30 with shipping.

The SET I bought (250 pins) from MSC 0.250" to 0.500" by 0.001" increment was under $100 about 2 years ago. Today the price was ~$280. I bought the set so I could check anything from .25 acp to .500 Boomer.

 

[NYlakesider]

For the amount of times I would need them, I just have my machinist foreman son bring home what I need, use them and return. He has access to top of the line equipment!

Moral of the story is why spend that kind of money for a few minutes use, find someone that has them.

 

[lebomm]

FYI, the correct technical term is plug gauge.

Larry

 

[Protocall_Design]

Plug gage is a generic term. Some of the subsets are pin (cylinder), thread, taper, ball, etc. They are all plug gages that measure internal diameter features.

 

[Tom S.]

A telescoping gauge could be more useful as it will also show an out of round hole. A ball type gauge set would also be useful.

Ball set:

 

[iPac]

For the amount of times I would need them, I just have my machinist foreman son bring home what I need, use them and return. He has access to top of the line equipment!

Moral of the story is why spend that kind of money for a few minutes use, find someone that has them.

If one is gauging cylinder throats, just pound a lead slug down through there and measure it with calipers. Free of charge and accurate. Same with the bore.

The only reason I would buy plug gauges would be forcing cone work. Everyone has their own preference though.

 

[stu1ritter]

Amazon sells them by the individual gauge and they are not expensive, averaging about $4 each depending on size. They are made in America by the Vermont Gauge Co.

http://tinyurl.com/ybh3ou9h

Stu

 

[chief38]

The better way is to buy a Lathe, buy Drill Rod Stock & turn your own. Just joking of course........

 

[DwayneV]

If you are going to get pin gauges be sure to get 0.0003 minus set.

 

[Frank46]

Seem to remember that MSC bought out Enco. Got the .250 to 500 set minus pin guages from enco few years back. Think at the time they were on sale around Christmas. As a home shop machinest kinda have a thing for tools. Have the minus set pin guages, ball or hole guages and also the telescoping ones. No companies around here sell precision instruments and if they did I probably couldn't afford them. So a bit by bit over the years got what either I needed or wanted. Course getting a decent discount from Travers tools near the job helped quite a bit. Starret, Brown & Sharp, Mitutoyo, and probably a few I've forgotten. My old kennnedy tool chest is so heavy it hasn't moved from the same spot in 20 years. Frank

 

[Skeetr57]

I am lucky that I have a Travers tool store about 8 miles from home, and they have a room with discounted tools. I visited a few years back and they had sets of Chinese 0.025" to 0.500" minus pin gauges for sale for $5 a set. Needless to say, I bought a set. Each pin was wax dipped and wrapped in paper, and the only fault that I could find was that one end on some was not cut square. They have been very useful