Which Depth Mic to Buy

I have a new guy who wants to buy a new Depth Mic.

All of my inspection tools are Mitutoyo, and I pretty much stick to that. If I could find an Etalon or such I would grab it, but Mitutoyo is pretty easy to find.

So I am saying: Grab a Mechanical Mitutoyo Depth Mic.

He wants a Fowler Digital Mic.

Fowler is cheaper, and he wants to not have to add stuff up, and just read a number.


I have no experience with Fowler, anyone have anything good or bad to say about it or a recommendation for depth mics?

Fowler Digital Depth Mic
Mitutoyo Digital Depth Mic
Mitutoyo Mechanical Depth Mic

In my sample set of lots of mitutoyo and a few fowler, the fowler stuff is sort of kind of OK, but is cheesy by comparison.

Mitutoyo stuff always works, and anything mechanical from Starret also always works.

Whatley,

I use the Mitutoyo Digital Depth Micrometer with the non-electronic readout. It's fully mechanical and works well.

If he "just wants to read a number" then this might work. Cheaper than the electronic types and very rugged. I did not see them on the
Mitutoyo website but I got mine off ebay.

Chuck
Burbank, CA

I find it not that easy to get .0000 measurements with any depth micrometer (.0005 is not easy) so getting less than the guy wants might give an excuse fora less than perfect job.

"He wants a Fowler Digital Mic." That is an OK tool and it will read just as good as the Mitutoyo for a time.

Accuracy (Decimal Inch) 0.000120 on a good day with the moon in the right phase and only with a warm light south breeze

Another option is to see if you can find a used Starrett. I lucked out a year ago and bought everything a retired machinist had, tool boxes, mikes, etc, and wound up with a 20-year old Starrett depth mike set. The cal lab said they are virtually unused, and they passed certification just fine.

Since most machinists probably don't put a lot of use on a depth mike, a US made used set might be just fine.

My "like" to michiganbuck expresses my sentiments and if "he" doesn't want to add anything on and have it as easy as possible then digital is the way to go. Apart from any digital micrometer that is dirt cheap then I've never seen a bad one. If he isn't 100% sure of what he's always going to use it for I'd pick one that I knew I could get "extension" bridges for.

Whatley said:

I have a new guy who wants to buy a new Depth Mic.

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If his measurements affect the quality of the parts that your company makes, then you should dictate the accuracy and quality of the tools, even if he buys them for his own use.

Even if defective parts never get to the customer, measurement errors can cause reworks or rejection in house.

- Leigh

The real Leigh said:

If his measurements affect the quality of the parts that your company makes, then you should dictate the accuracy and quality of the tools, even if he buys them for his own use.

Even if defective parts never get to the customer, measurement errors can cause reworks or rejection in house.

- Leigh

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Agree.. I would get the Fowler Digital or better... The Mitutoyo Digital is the better IMHO

But... it is your bucks so your choice. Its even your choice to go digital or mechanical or if rarely needed to measure with
jo-blocks and plugs. Its all a matter of time and holding specifications with what tools and skills you have in your shop.

Whatever the choice use the ratchet when measuring as that is what the manufacturer will have used when calibrating the depth micrometer and also what will be used if it ever gets recalibrated by a professional lab.

Gordon B. Clarke said:

Whatever the choice use the ratchet when measuring as that is what the manufacturer will have used when calibrating the depth micrometer and also what will be used if it ever gets recalibrated by a professional lab.

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I might add the same comment for friction thimbles on instruments so equipped.

- Leigh

I have used my mechanical Starrett set for a couple of decades and found them to be reliable and durable, would expect the same from Mitutoyo as well. I've never considered the fit/finish of Fowler to be as good as the others. Don't have any of the digital (except older mechanical digital type) instruments out of concern for longevity in shop duty. I do have one comment about the Starrett, the adjustment "cap" on the end of each rod is an ideal location to trap dirt, lint, "crud" (tech term) that will throw the reading off. Switching rods that I've already calibrated may produce a different reading than the one you took an hour ago due to whatever was on your skin. I also have a B&S that has a conical/tapered cap that tends to squish out crud or at least makes it easier to spot a residue on it. That may just be my imagination but I've not had as many bad readings using it. I did not mean this as a knock against Starrett, just a shop generated observation that may not apply to inspection duty instruments.

AD Design said:

................. just a shop generated observation that may not apply to inspection duty instruments.

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That is usually the best type of observation as in "The proof of the pudding is in the eating"

Personal preference: Starrett. The form of the base and feel in my hand is vastly superior to the clunky Mitutoyo.

I have four sets! Half base, blade type, long base and short base.

I've owned near a dozen brands of depth mic. including one digital and a couple mechanical digital (including a nice feeling Slocomb).

Fowler has sourced stuff from all over. The mic shown is likely Chinese of not too-terrible quality (but likely a clear step down from most Mitutoyo).

If you actually use different rods, one of the things to check on any depth mic is the ease of adjustment. Many have tiny adjusting nuts, sketchy bearing surfaces, and a someday-it's-gonna-get-a-vise-grip cap. Not so much of an issue if the mic is dedicated to a single job or always in the 0-1" range. Anyhow, I'd want to check that before saving a hundred dollars on a cheaper mic if the rods would be swapped out somewhat frequently.

There are reasons to use short, medium, and long bases. For a first and possibly only depth mic, I wouldn't get one with a short or half base unless the work dictated a lack of clearance. Much easier to hang a rod over an edge or bridge a gap with a somewhat longer base.

If going electronic (and that's increasingly the best choice these days), the quality of Mitutoyo electronics is still worth the premium IMO over most other brands, including Starrett. I'd agree that in a non-digital set, the Starretts are nice (as were/are B&S, Etalon, Lufkin, even Scherr-Tumico, etc.).

For non-critical work, a depth base on a digital caliper or an indicator are cheap solutions, good to maybe .001 or .002. There are also depth/height bases available for some of the interchangeable rod type inside mics. Depending upon the work, sometimes it's possible to get by until a quality tool is either affordable or available used.

The real Leigh said:

I might add the same comment for friction thimbles on instruments so equipped.

- Leigh

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I didn't realize the "thingy" on the end had so many names

Bottom of page 2

http://www.mitutoyo.com/pdf/2016_ProductFund.pdf

Gordon B. Clarke said:

I didn't realize the "thingy" on the end had so many names

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A rose by any other name would smell. ;-)

- Leigh

Gordon B. Clarke said:

That is usually the best type of observation as in "The proof of the pudding is in the eating"

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And the proof of the eating is in the Emergency Room.

Sorry. Feeling jocular today due to the beautiful spring weather.

- Leigh

Things to AVOID: The depth mics with non-adjusatable depth rods. Since the individual rods can (and do) need adjustment to allow for wear or modification, those with fixed lengths are suitable only for the scrap bin when (not if) this happens. Just my $0.02 worth....

Eric M said:

Things to AVOID: The depth mics with non-adjusatable depth rods. Since the individual rods can (and do) need adjustment to allow for wear or modification, those with fixed lengths are suitable only for the scrap bin when (not if) this happens. Just my $0.02 worth....

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I've never seen a depth mic without adjustable rods -- even among the cheaper ones -- curious who actually made one?

Biggest problem I have seen is rods with a bit of bend.. For this reason I like new well cared for depth mics. I have two sets starretts mechanical that are still good but when needing around .001 or less I like to measure with a better device perhaps a block stack and indicator.

Back to the OP a Name Brand only. We had a couple apprentices who bought no-name micrometers that looked good but would not lock on size well so to be trusted they had to be checked after a measure,