Best bore gage?

Atomkinder · Jun 14, 2014

Just trying to get a reading on bore gages. I've used Mitutoyo, Diatest, those wonderful (well at least they seemed that way to me) Fowler Bowers XT 3-point digital units, and another that I believe is either out of business, or just doesn't sell in the US anymore. Curious what everyone uses as I see a lot of Peacock bore gages for sale, as well as a smattering of others, but don't have a lot of experience outside of the ones stated above. My favorite are the Fowler pistol grip type, but they were a tad finicky, and had to be zeroed a lot on ring gages before checking parts. Dead simple though, and quick.

Thoughts on good models and brands? Not thinking bore mics, but dial and digital gages, 2- or 3-point.

Edit: Sunnen is what I was thinking of. Had those at the first job, with Diatest for the split head type.

TrickShot1100 · Jun 14, 2014

I like the Mitutoyo.
They are more versatile. Can be set with OD mics, with a wide range of bore sizes. (and depths)
In a production enviorment with a lot of tight bore specifications and demand for fast set times, the digitals that require ring gages are better.
Mitutoyo for personal inspection tool.
Digitals and ring gages if your in a company with a big tool budget. $$$$

aerodark · Jun 15, 2014

I just bought a couple of Mahr 844N sets with .00005 Indicators. Very nice indeed.

DMF_TomB · Jun 15, 2014

Atomkinder said:
Just trying to get a reading on bore gages. I've used Mitutoyo, Diatest, those wonderful (well at least they seemed that way to me) Fowler Bowers XT 3-point digital units, and another that I believe is either out of business, or just doesn't sell in the US anymore. Curious what everyone uses as I see a lot of Peacock bore gages for sale, as well as a smattering of others, but don't have a lot of experience outside of the ones stated above. My favorite are the Fowler pistol grip type, but they were a tad finicky, and had to be zeroed a lot on ring gages before checking parts. Dead simple though, and quick.

Thoughts on good models and brands? Not thinking bore mics, but dial and digital gages, 2- or 3-point.

Edit: Sunnen is what I was thinking of. Had those at the first job, with Diatest for the split head type.

.
bore gages come in different types. a pneumatic or air gage made for specific sizes many would say is superior to a mechanical indicator type

Red James · Jun 15, 2014

Sunnen with it rapid and accurate setup would always be my preference. More expensive, but rapid setup will pay for it, especially if you need to setup often.

athack · Jun 15, 2014

We gage precision bores often. First choice air gages, second choice Mahr split ball. Air gages are expensive but if you need to measure .0001 or less, that's the tool. For bores bigger than .780 Mahr makes a 2 point gage that is good. Can't say enough good things about Mahr.

Athack

Atomkinder · Jun 16, 2014

Thinking tool box gage here, not air gaging. Thanks for the replies! Definitely turning into a tool junkie already. I see many heavy drawers in my future.

robwhi · Jun 16, 2014

Sunnen is worth looking at not cheap but they are worth it

drgnrider · Jun 16, 2014

None of these are really cheap!

We are starting to replace our old Boice gages, (circa 1970's), Dorsey seems to be decent for our application, we do so many bore with varying diameters from .750" to 24.000".

We use the dial, 0-.025" x.0001, as it is easier for the machinists to "see" if plus or minus. We tried a few digitals and our scrap rate went up as people forgot to look at the plus/minus sign.

vonblowseph · Jun 16, 2014

This is a thread I started a while back asking about the same question.

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/metrology/dial-bore-gauge-mitutoyo-vs-starret-vs-sunnen-278191/

Last update, my previous employer did buy the starrett bore gauges and I used them once. They seemed nice, but not enough time to really judge.

PeteM · Jun 16, 2014

As you probably already know, the Diatest split-ball bore gages are good for small holes.

Haven't used them all, but the Mitutoyo seems a good compromise of quality and price for a traditional bore gage. Sunnen worth the increment for those actually boring cylinders and the like on a regular basis.

Personally, I like bore micrometers for one-of measurements and would rank them Etalon (or B&S, old Lufkin equivalents), Mitutoyo, Bowers.

Mcgyver · Jun 17, 2014

I've got mitutoyo's dial bore gauge from small split ones to 10" I think. I find them nice and I have a less confidence in using a telescoping gauge as the bore size goes up so use them a fair bit - but set up but its a small production. I find Also have a set of 6 mit bormatics, overkill but the were cheap....don't use most as i haven't collected all the setting rings

. Nicest I would think would be the legged bore mics - just grab and measure. One day i'll get 'em. Oh yeah there are internal mics but I eften of skip them, going from telescoping gauges to a dial bore gauge if it needs more accuracy.

If you picked up the mitutuyo set from .7 to 6", other than feeding the beast, you probably would be set for life. imo get .0001 or .001mm and also imo it doesn't much matter as its a comparative tool used with a mic or gauge block stack

Gordon B. Clarke · Jun 18, 2014

Atomkinder said:
Just trying to get a reading on bore gages. I've used Mitutoyo, Diatest, those wonderful (well at least they seemed that way to me) Fowler Bowers XT 3-point digital units, and another that I believe is either out of business, or just doesn't sell in the US anymore. Curious what everyone uses as I see a lot of Peacock bore gages for sale, as well as a smattering of others, but don't have a lot of experience outside of the ones stated above. My favorite are the Fowler pistol grip type, but they were a tad finicky, and had to be zeroed a lot on ring gages before checking parts. Dead simple though, and quick.

Thoughts on good models and brands? Not thinking bore mics, but dial and digital gages, 2- or 3-point.

Edit: Sunnen is what I was thinking of. Had those at the first job, with Diatest for the split head type.

This is one of those threads where I don't know what I'd suggest unless I knew what you intended using it for. Who knows it might even be a a bunch of "thems" rather than an "it".

1. Is price important?
2. How accurate do you need it to be?
3. Will you use it for comparison measurements (as posted/suggested by Mcgyver) or using it to measure after calibrating?
4. 2 point and 3 point are both good but for different reasons. Any particular preference?
5. Are you making cheap or expensive 1 offs or mass produced items?

The more information given the better and relevant the advice you'll get.

Atomkinder · Jun 18, 2014

Gordon B. Clarke said:
This is one of those threads where I don't know what I'd suggest unless I knew what you intended using it for. Who knows it might even be a a bunch of "thems" rather than an "it".

1. Is price important?
2. How accurate do you need it to be?
3. Will you use it for comparison measurements (as posted/suggested by Mcgyver) or using it to measure after calibrating?
4. 2 point and 3 point are both good but for different reasons. Any particular preference?
5. Are you making cheap or expensive 1 offs or mass produced items?

The more information given the better and relevant the advice you'll get.

1. Price is somewhat important, but I'm not above used, and time isn't really an object. I just like to have my own tools in my box that I always know how they function, their quirks, strengths, weaknesses, etc. And I like tools.
2. ±.0001" is fine. Repeatability is important, obviously.
3. Set with gage blocks if two-point, and ring gage if three-point. Not above comparison, but likely not for production anyway (the most likely situation in which I could see this usage).
4. Personally I like the three-point gages. Easier to line up properly.
5. This is for my toolbox, so it would see general use. I am not currently in a production shop, and I hope to avoid such a thing in the future if possible, and even if so, I would expect them to have the appropriate calibrated gaging in place.

Anyone used the Peacock dial bore gages? Looks like Mitutoyo, but I've never seen one in person so I don't know of fit/function is comparable.

machinistrrt · Jun 19, 2014

my .02:

For the .0002 limit, the Mahr split probe gages will work, but are near their limits, larger, I like my Standards, again, near the limit, ymmv. Rather than air gage, LVDT cause I have those and no air gages. All need to be set with a ring at that tolerance. While the two point gages can be set against blocks in a cage with fingers, accuracy suffers some.

niemi24s · Jun 19, 2014

Atomkinder said:
Personally I like the three-point gages. Easier to line up properly.

While the three-point ones may be easier to line up, don't forget that they can't be used to check for out-of-round conditions - if that's something you might want to do.

Regards

npok · Jun 19, 2014

I like Standard & Sunnen. I'm not a fan of messing around with various stems & shims all the time.

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