STARRET STILL THE BEST

[chief38]

I own LOT of tools and plenty of precision measuring devises most of which belonged to either my Father or Grandfather and are Starrett brand. I use them almost every day but I recently was in need of some new Punches as most of them were worn out, bent, or have just been reground so many times they were too short. I ordered a new Starrett set from Brownell's and was pleasantly surprised to see the quality of their Punches are as good today as they were back in the day. Something you rarely see anymore. I went on their website and was happy to see that most of their measuring devises and tools are STILL made in the USA - amazing since I think they are one of the last Tool Makers left here. Anyway, just thought I'd share some good news for a change.

Regards,
Chief38

 

[Nframecollector]

I agree! I have a small precision measuring device collection and Starrett are my favorites. I have several micrometers from many manufacturers including Brown & Sharpe, Mitutoyo, Starrett and believe it or not Lufkin to name a few. I also use the Starrett punches. Any well made tool is a pleasure to use!

 

[sophie]

Starrett has always been the standard by which all others were judged. They have always made quality micrometers. I have an inside mic set from 1" to 12" and several outside micrometers made by them. Mine are all old but work just fine and never let me down.

 

[TAROMAN]

Their hacksaw blades are excellent, also.

 

[keith44spl]

Ya remember the Starrett dial indicators that said on the face "Last Word"

Well, it is!

Use the best....You'll never want for anything else.


.

 

[geddylee10002000]

Starrett tools are good but not the best.

 

[dsink]

Starrett are good and I have alot of them but Brown & Sharpe will give them a good run for there money.

 

[chief38]

Starrett tools are good but not the best.

OK - do tell, who makes better tools? I always interested in tools.

 

[geddylee10002000]

OK - do tell, who makes better tools? I always interested in tools.

IMO Etalon makes a better mic. I have a 0-4 set. We have several shop mic sets that we use. Starret, B&S.

My choice for test indicators are Interapid, & B&S. Have several of each.

Plunger or dial indicators my choice is Mitutoyo, & B&S. I use the Mitutoyo the most.

Herman Schmidt is quality. I have their surface gage. I also have 2 Starret ones. The shop owns several of their products.

I have been collecting tools since 1978 when I got out of tool making trade school. I was tool poor for a while at my second job after trade school. Company would buy the tools for you and then do payroll deduction w/o interest.

 

[chief38]

geddylee10002000

I also have 5 Brown & Sharpe Micrometers (a set 0-1" 1 -2" 2-3" 3-4" 4-5") and a few standard model as well. Got several Starrett Mic's & few Calipers, a couple of Mitutoyo's and two Federal run out gauges. Lots of Scribes, Punches, Rules, Squares, Calipers, Thread Gauges (internal & external) Pin Vises, and stuff that I have probably forgotten about.

I must admit that I am unfamiliar with Etalon and H. Schmidt but will Google them just to earn about them. Thanks for the reply as I always like to learn.

 

[M29since14]

I have spent so many years with a Starrett "Slim-line" mic in my hand I almost recoil at the feel of anything else.

That said, there are a lot of good brands and personal preference does play a part.

I was glad to see Dave remembered "the Last Word." Means something to a few of us.

 

[Neumann]

You can't go wrong with Starrett, Brown and Sharp, or Mitutoyo. I retired as a Metrology Engineer, and we used all of these in the standards lab.

 

[jtcarm]

Their bandsaw blades are the best, too.

 

[jaymoore]

Ya remember the Starrett dial indicators that said on the face "Last Word"

Well, it is!

Use the best....You'll never want for anything else.


.

If there's a Starrett measuring tool I don't much like it's the Last Word indicator! Point is very short, the spring loading is high, it's too easy to move the travel direction switch to an intermediate location which will give erratic readings, and the replaceable tips' serrations wear down over time (a long time, granted!) allowing the point to slip under the heavy spring loading, forcing the user to "chase" the contact...But other than that, it's OK.

Starrett punches, though, are very nice and have remained consistant for many years.

Favorite Starrett measuring tools? Their vernier calipers from 12" to 72".

A late friend delivering one of the six foot beasties. We've bigger, but I haven't used them!

My 12" Starrett vernier is a far better tool than the digital thing below it, but I just haven't gotten around to replacing the smaller set. Micrometers get far more use in that small size range, anyway, at least for the cruder work....

 

[chief38]

Just in case there is someone here who doesn't yet know I hate change and modern digital stuff...... I much prefer my Starrett Dial caliper to the digital ones, the standard Starrett & Brown & Sharpe Mics to the digital ones, and I still prefer my RCBS 10-10 powder scale over the newer digital powder scales.

 

[Narragansett]

I have several Starrett tools, but mostly Brown and Sharpe stuff. I grew up a mile from " Precision Park" ( the B&S) home in North Kingstown, RI. I had a neighbor that used to get me rejected pieces from the scrap barrel. He would take them, check them for claibration, and give them to me. The defects were usually anick or a scuff on the bbl. Nothing that would impede the use or accuracy of the tool. I have now passed most of them on to my son in the automotive field. I guess there is still some B&S, but not like the used to be. Their new building was over a million square feet. A big portion of that is now rented to other companies. The unions broke them, or should I say broke themselves, with the longest strike in US history

 

[jaymoore]

My most heavily used test indicator is a Brown & Sharpe 0.0005" graduated Model 599-7035-5 with the nice long friction locked stem and black face. But it's Swiss made, I think. It actually does work well down to the nearest 0.0001", as it has less hysteresis than the usual 0.0001" indicators, but I double check with the finer resolution units if it's important. We've electronic indicators that come in useful on occasion, but are generally used for visually inaccessible or tight areas or for really tiny runouts. Otherwise, they're a "pill". And not US mfg, either...

As for dial calipers...they're OK, until they're not! Nothing like having one jump a tooth to give you big problems. Tend to wear out in localized areas as well. Had to retire one some time back for just that sort of problem. Failed calibration by about 0.0025" around mid travel, IIRC.

Just in case there is someone here who doesn't yet know I hate change and modern digital stuff...... I much prefer my Starrett Dial caliper to the digital ones, the standard Starrett & Brown & Sharpe Mics to the digital ones, and I still prefer my RCBS 10-10 powder scale over the newer digital powder scales.

My old Pacific scale is still the best reloading scale in the "pile". It's outlasted many others, including some digital units.

 

[mkk41]

Starrett and Brown & Sharpe were the Colt-S&W rivalry of the precision tool world.

I have some old catalogs from them as well as Lufkin and it's pretty cool all the different tools they made. I buy them up whenever I see them at flea markets and yard sales. Stuff most of todays CNC operators wouldn't have a clue to.

I have an Etalon 0-1" mic and it is a very well made tool. But the 50yr old Starrett I've had for 35yrs is lighter and feels better. Kinda like a K-frame vs an L.

A Charmilles EDM machine we have has Etalon mic heads for table and ram adjustments.


Starrett makes , or did make , different grades of mics too. Full machined frames , smooth black forged frames , cast black frames. The shiny black frames had ground threads. The black cast frames had rolled threads and are economy grade.

The imports seem to be taking over this field too.

 

[bmcgilvray]

Basic Brown & Sharpe products handle the measuring chores at the reloading bench here.

 

[sceva]

I have been in Quality assurance for over 40 years and always believed you should buy the best tools you could possibly afford.
My first choice for Most, but not all, precision measuring tools is Starrett and I have a lot of them. Micrometers - Starrett and I also like the old Lufkin and it's short lived successor Pratt & Whitney. Dial calipers- my first choice was B&S (Brown & Sharpe); Starretts always felt gritty to me and didn't have a covered rack. Dial Indicators - depends on the type of indicator and it's use. I have B&S, Standard, and Starrett indicators. For Levels, squares scales small hole gages telescope gages etc Starrett all the way.
Mitutoyo tools are good workhorse tools but I always felt the Mic's were larger than necessary and bulky. Their Dial calipers seemed to wear quicker than either Starrett or B&S but were relatively cheap.
B&S micrometers: good mics but the thimble was attached to the measuring spindle with a set screw instead of the taperlock that Starrett (and Mitutoyo) uses I havew seen many cases where ( especially a larger micrometer) the face of the measuring spindle got bumped and while the Starrett's were usualloy non the worse the B&S could and would slip past the set screw resulting in inaccurate readings. This soured me on B&S mic's.
Slocum, Craftsman, Scherr-Tumico, and others - OK tools but if price is equal or even close - Buy the Starrett.