I’m looking to purchase a dial test indicator for general lathe work. This will be my first test indicator. Looking at the Mitutoyo 513-504. Is there any others anybody recommends over that? I’d like to stay under $150ish.
Gunsmithing Dial test indicator
- Thread starter 47chevycoe
- Start date
For general lathe work you’re going to have a hard time with a .0001” graduation indicator by itself. Mititoyo makes good stuff but for indicators I prefer Interapid. Specifically model number 74.111370 (.060 travel with .0005” graduation). If you shop around it can be had for $150. They also make a .0001” graduation version as well.
In my over 25yrs machining career I can count the times on 1 hand I actually NEEDED a .0001” indicator.
With practice you can dial parts in within .0002” using a .0005” indicator.
In my over 25yrs machining career I can count the times on 1 hand I actually NEEDED a .0001” indicator.
With practice you can dial parts in within .0002” using a .0005” indicator.
My go-to indicators for use on the machines are Interapids as well, all are .0005". I have a .0001" and a .00005" (both B&S) that have only left their boxes a couple of times over many decades. My latest Interapid (312b-1V) was bought for $50 at a local flea market.
Many years ago when I worked in a room full of Moore jig grinders where everything we did had a .0002" tolerance we were required to buy (and exclusively use ) the Interapid 312b-1V. It's a very tough (if expensive) indicator. I think I paid about $305 for that one in 1982 and I still use it just about every day.
That said, I have been repairing & calibrating gauges as part of my tech duties for the last 15 years at the company I work for and we primarily use Mitutoyo and Peacock brand indicators. I'd never heard of Peacock until I hired on and they can be bought really cheap. After working on hundreds of them I'm really impressed with the accuracy and repeatability they are capable of, not to mention the amount of abuse they can suffer. Factory folk are the ultimate torture testers. Mitutoyo is the happy medium between the Peacock and the Interapid, great accuracy for the money but pricey to repair.
Many years ago when I worked in a room full of Moore jig grinders where everything we did had a .0002" tolerance we were required to buy (and exclusively use ) the Interapid 312b-1V. It's a very tough (if expensive) indicator. I think I paid about $305 for that one in 1982 and I still use it just about every day.
That said, I have been repairing & calibrating gauges as part of my tech duties for the last 15 years at the company I work for and we primarily use Mitutoyo and Peacock brand indicators. I'd never heard of Peacock until I hired on and they can be bought really cheap. After working on hundreds of them I'm really impressed with the accuracy and repeatability they are capable of, not to mention the amount of abuse they can suffer. Factory folk are the ultimate torture testers. Mitutoyo is the happy medium between the Peacock and the Interapid, great accuracy for the money but pricey to repair.
Good call on the Peacock indicators... I'd never heard of them and a cursory EBay search showed a whole bunch for under $100. Badass.
If I had to choose one indicator for barrel work, without a doubt it would be an Interapid 312B-15. Long reach point, tons of travel, .0005” resolution, big ass dial that’s easy to read and visually divide between the lines.
I can’t remember what they go for price wise, probably a bit out of what you stated but in my opinion, it’s worth the investment.
I can’t remember what they go for price wise, probably a bit out of what you stated but in my opinion, it’s worth the investment.
Quality measuring tools are worth the money, and can last a life time if properly cared for. If you think about a $75 dollar indicator vs a $200 indicator spread over 10 or 20 years it's really not a lot of money.
Especially in a sport where everyone is trying to wring out every bit of accuracy, I wouldn't want to save a couple bucks on a tool that's responsible for helping me achieve the best possible accuracy when indicating a barrel or receiver.
My vote would be for the Interapid above or Mitutoyo.
Especially in a sport where everyone is trying to wring out every bit of accuracy, I wouldn't want to save a couple bucks on a tool that's responsible for helping me achieve the best possible accuracy when indicating a barrel or receiver.
My vote would be for the Interapid above or Mitutoyo.
Does anyone know who makes grizzly's dial test indicators? I only do my own stuff and tinker in the shop, dont really want to spend 300$ plus on 2 or 3 of them I will only use a few times a year.
The beauty of indicating lathe work is that the indicator isn't actually used to measure anything (most of the time). It just lets you know when the runout is gone from your bore or range rod when you adjust your 4 jaw or spider, catshead, whatever. You could get by with a plain old dial indicator that has a lot more travel and much lower cost.
I agree, most guys aren't actually measuring anything, we're just trying to get the needle to stop moving. But I did notice a difference in my Interapid indicator versus a cheaper indicator I used to have in the shop. It's a lot smoother for certain setups I use them for, like indicating off the bore. The interapid seems to give much more consistent readings when bouncing between lands and grooves.
Kind of like comparing turrets on a scope from a midrange brand to something in the Alpha category. Both turn, but one probably feels a little better than the other, and probably offers a bit more of a guarantee that it tracks(measures) accurately.
Yeah, it comes down to the bearings at the pivot, jewels at the gear pinions and mainspring tension, Usually to get all 3 is expensive. That's where the Peacock surprised me. The interapid uses a fairly complex inner works for needle control.
They have up to 25% off plus free shipping over $200. Code is on top of their home page. Pretty temping...
MSC does some weird stuff with pricing. At my current employer, we have an MSC account that we've had for 20+ years, about two years ago I signed up a separate account that I order personal stuff from. The listed web price for my new personal account is significantly cheaper than my 20 year old business account. That's backwards as all get out.
I now email my rep to get the best price possible, it's a hassle. I've cut down buying from MSC for just that reason. As a customer for over 20 years, I should be getting the best possible price without having to haggle.
Different people and different accounts can definitely get different prices.
I've been satisfied with Brown & Sharpe test indicators over the past 14yrs of gun work. I also bought Interapid & Mitutoyo test indicators as I was tooling-up - had asked a few questions of machinists & gunsmiths, and had received a variety of answers & advice, so wanted to try the most often mentioned ones. The B&S tools (.0001" & .0005" versions) have been the tools of choice for my purposes.
Check the super savings flyer. $269. Part # UX06442784
I've also had decent luck with their quotes.
I have lots of test indicators, including and Interapid 0.0001".
I parted off the breech of a take off Rem700 barrel and threaded it for a military rifle.
I did not debur the chamber. The 7mmmag reamer wobbled all the way to head space.
I measured the chamber as 0.0050" eccentric. I went to the range and it shot sub moa.
Concentric chambers are not as important as concentric ammo [can you figure out why?].
But chambers are a non recurring effort and ammo is a recurring effort, so we still dial in barrels.
I parted off the breech of a take off Rem700 barrel and threaded it for a military rifle.
I did not debur the chamber. The 7mmmag reamer wobbled all the way to head space.
I measured the chamber as 0.0050" eccentric. I went to the range and it shot sub moa.
Concentric chambers are not as important as concentric ammo [can you figure out why?].
But chambers are a non recurring effort and ammo is a recurring effort, so we still dial in barrels.
So it's measuring runout?
It is until you get the bore concentric to the spindle axis.
I was watching a video the other day and saw an indicator accessory that I'd never seen before. I think I gotta have one now. It enables you to dial in a bore with a dial indicator. https://www.amazon.com/Starrett-670B-Indicator-Attachment-0-0-5625/dp/B000VDVTIS
If all your doing is indicating a part in, there is nothing wrong with a metric test indicator in the same quality brands mentioned above. They usually can be found cheaper than the same model with inch graduations on the used market. For example, I picked up a like new Noga base with a Mitutoyo test indicator with .01mm graduations for $50.
Depends on the diameter difference between it and your indicator. Not very hard to make a split bushing on the lathe.
I use interapid and brown sharp. My cheap grizzly indicator can be purchased for 20$ to the very first taker. It’s suppose to read .0001 but I’m thinking it doesn’t. Lol. It sits in my drawer all by itself. Lee
I ended up buying the interapid mentioned above. Now on to a base to hold it. Any recommendations? Looks like noga is the go to.
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