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[TomG]

(04-09-2016, 08:58 AM)Dr Stan Wrote:

(04-09-2016, 06:31 AM)RobWilson. Wrote: Anyway I can't understand  why you lads in the USA  are so down on Chinese products ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Starrett was made in China    

Starrett's decline began immediately after their purchase of Lufkin and accelerated after its offshoring many products to China.  I will purchase American or European made used Starrett tools, but never any of their Chinese made offerings.

BTW, I have a Lufkin 0-1" micrometer.  Satin finish, X/10ths, carbide faces, friction thimble.  I bought it used at a Pawn Shop in San Diego in 1974 for $25.00 and it was the first mic I bought.  Still have it and it is like new.  Always passed certification and I wish I had a full set 0-6" Lufkin mics.

Stan,

Lufkin was actually acquired by Cooper Tools in 1967 which is now part of the Apex Tool Group, who own just about everything today. I suspect Ken will also jump in to point out that all of the Starrett precision tools are still made in the U.S. It's the accessory and advertising stuff that's being made in China.

I also prefer the look and feel of Lufkin over Starrett, but I doubt Ken will agree with that.
BTW I have a 0-6" Lufkin micrometer set in the wooden case. I've been working on assembling it for years from NOS mics I've found on eBay. Some of them have the black finish on the frame and some have the green. My goal is to get them all from the 50's when they had the dark green wrinkle finish.

Tom

[Dr Stan]

(04-09-2016, 09:32 AM)TomG Wrote: Stan,

Lufkin was actually acquired by Cooper Tools in 1967 which is now part of the Apex Tool Group, who own just about everything today. I suspect Ken will also jump in to point out that all of the Starrett precision tools are still made in the U.S. It's the accessory and advertising stuff that's being made in China.

I also prefer the look and feel of Lufkin over Starrett, but I doubt Ken will agree with that.
BTW I have a 0-6" Lufkin micrometer set in the wooden case. I've been working on assembling it for years from NOS mics I've found on eBay. Some of them have the black finish on the frame and some have the green. My goal is to get them all from the 50's when they had the dark green wrinkle finish.

Tom

At least 10 years ago, could be closer to 20, I was told by a trusted Travers Tool inside sales person the majority of Starrett outside mics and several other precision instruments are made in China.  She certainly had access to the correct information.  Yes the high end instruments are still made here.

Assuming Cooper Tools purchased Lufkin, then why would the discontinue the line?  I was told in the early 70's Lufkin was purchased by Starrett in order to eliminate them as a competitor.

I checked and Lufkin is part of Cooper Tools. It still does not make any sense for them to discontinue the micrometer lines.

[Sunset Machine]

A lot could happen in 10-20 years... Maybe they moved it back here?
The air tool scene seems to change every week.

[Rob.Mueller]

(04-08-2016, 05:16 PM)TomG Wrote: Wow. Three of us within 20 miles of each other? Guess I had better get that batch of ale finished up.

Tom

Rochester Hills, but don't tell anyone. Seeing as I'm the third leg of the triangle, we should meet at my workshop (hobby shop). How well does beer travel in your car Tom?

[TomG]

Your secret is safe with me Rob, along with the millions of others who can see this post.

Unfortunately I've gone to kegging all of my ale, so transport would be a bit of an issue. I do have a small (2.5 gallon) keg that I've been meaning to set up for a cooler, but that's just another of the never ending projects on the list.

Tom

[Highpower]

(04-09-2016, 10:00 AM)Dr Stan Wrote: At least 10 years ago, could be closer to 20, I was told by a trusted Travers Tool inside sales person the majority of Starrett outside mics and several other precision instruments are made in China.  She certainly had access to the correct information. 

Travers is an importer so selling knock off Starrett products would not surprise me in the least. Much like the recent threads on Mitutoyo knock off digital calipers found on ebay and elsewhere.

Not long ago I bought a new forged and hardened Starrett center head from Amazon. The import combination square set I bought many years ago was dirt cheap by comparison, but it's accuracy I would grade D. The Starrett center head arrived and I tried finding center on a piece of round stock. None of the scribe lines matched, and intersected all over the place. I checked the "V" of the center head with a machinist square and found one of the legs was off by several thousandths at the outer end.

I could not find anything on this tool indicating that it was a STARRETT product. I began to worry that it might be a knock off so I contacted Starrett to ask them about it. This is the reply I received:

Quote:Your question is one of the most frequent I answer. Years ago Starrett
painted there combination tools with a black enamel paint and we had
issues with chipping and wear. Aside from issues during manufacture with
overspray and air quality issues. Anyways: now we powder paint , And the
problem is powder paint is very thick and covers well , actually too
well, we tried to stamp the logo and the paint covered it .There is just
no good spot to place this information .
As to the accuracy how are you checking this ? the center head is
intentionally built .005 off center to take up for the center distance
on a pencil.

My problem wasn't with the offset of the line, but the fact that I could not scribe two lines that were 90° to each other at both ends. I returned the center to Amazon and had them ship out a replacement. The second one was perfectly square and I can easily scribe two perpendicular lines that come out at 90° on both ends. Still no markings showing who manufactured it. That opens the door for a lot of scammers who make knock offs IMO.  

[RobWilson]

(04-09-2016, 08:39 AM)EdK Wrote: Nice haul Rob.  

"The Art of Electronics" is a real good book. I cut my electronic teeth on it.  

By the way, not all of us are down on Chinese products.

Ed

Cheers Ed ,   aye its a fairly weighty volume , most way above my head lol 

Quote:Rob Wilson

Starrett was made in China     

L.S . Starrett , the founder of Starrett Tools  was  Born  1836,   China , Maine , USA    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I will get my coat 



Rob 

[EdK]

(04-03-2016, 04:40 PM)TomG Wrote: You peaked my curiosity so I checked them and was pleasantly surprised. They were closer to 1"x2"x3" than I could measure with gauge blocks and a tenth reading indicator.

This would make a good video on how to properly measure such things.

Ed

[TomG]

Yup, that's on my list of topics. Surface plates are used for more than just laying out parts.

Basically you just set a part on a surface plate with a gauge block setting next to it of the nominal height. Then you compare the two with a tenth reading indicator. Of course everything has to be super clean and the part being measured has to be the same temperature as the blocks.

Tom

[Mayhem]

Rob - you have way too much time on your hands...