Scherr - Tumico

[Ox]

Saw them at the show. Read the name and kept walking untill I saw a "made in USA" tag on a machine.

Tumico - made in USA?

They told me how they arrived at that name and it is NOT Jap.


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Tell me all you know aboot these fellers...


Think Snow Eh!
Ox

 

[ulav8r]

Tumico = Tubular Micrometer Company. That is all I remember for certain, but they have been around longer than me, I think.

 

[johnoder]

Good stuff. U.S. Navy bought their products.

John

 

[Tumbleweed Tim]

Down at work we just bought a new 20” Optical comparator from them. (installed last week) Nice machine, has Optical probe and runs DCC. Measurement software is QC 4000. Construction and placement of important things is very good. Very easy to program and fun to use. Paid right at 40K. We are running a gage R&R study on it now, because their stated accuracy is good but questionable. Machine is made in the USA.

I will be hauling away a J$L Epic 230 with a 8' x 10' footprint. The machine is massive. Will take 250 pounds on the table. We had a tracing set up on it to trace turbine blade profiles. Has not been used for that in years. Auto lens changer 10x, 20x, 50x. Digital readout and motorized, but slower than a snail. Guy from LA that does the calibration and service on it will be doing an up grade for me and replace motors and DRO with a joy stick control and Quadra check software. I am saving this from the scrap yard.

 

[PeteM]

Company has a long history. The "Tubular Micrometer Company" became "TUMICO." They were (are) famous for making lightweight micrometers in large sizes, by using a hollow welded frame instead of a casting. Merged with the George Scherr Company to become Scherr-Tumico. The Reed Micrometer Co. also merged in at some point along the line. Now known as ST Industries or STI and also make the "Accu-Pro" line.

As #3 to B&S and Starrett, S-T concentrated on such things as govrernment contracts (you see a lot of their stuff surplus) and making mics for others (some Craftsman, etc.).

Decent quality and often available at a discount to better known US brands.

 

[Milacron]

I have one of their optical comparators. Nice unit, small in size..more like bench top size, but on a custom cast pedestal stand with integral storage door. Dunno when it was made, would guess 1970's.

 

[JimK]

I have 10 or 12 of them in various tool cabinets around the shop here, most are gov't surplus. They range in sizes of 1"-2" to 2"-3".

Our everyday mike, nothing fancy but very good American quality and consistently accurate for work measured in thousandths.

The oldest is a set of three original "Tumico" mikes in a case.

They are quite sharp looking, at that time they ground the sides and edges of the ribbed frame and the paint is a shiny black.

There is a solid frame version with carbide anvils and a 'tenth vernier. I would say from experience that it is good as any Starrett I have.

Sice I have no current need to buy micrometers, I am unaware of the junk that is out there. I am glad to hear that Scherr-Tumico is still making mikes and going strong.

 

[jim rozen]

And what did Scherr make?

I have a lovely oak toolbox made by that
company. Don't know what else they used
to do though.

Why a wood toolbox manufacturer would team
up with a micrometer company is a bit of
a mystery to me.

Jim

 

[ADrummond]

I have a few of their smaller measuring tools - a 0-6" set of mics, a 6" caliper, a 24" height gage. It's all pretty nice stuff, though it isn't all made in the USA - the 6" caliper is German (and probably 30 years old, in like-new condition), and at one time I had a really nice large-dial tenths test indicator from England. I have a .25" travel dial indicator from England as well. The only problem I've had is with the height gage; the scribe isn't hardened (or isn't hardened enough) and the point needs some attention. It does not say on the height gage where it was made, but its metric set screws suggest it wasn't Minnesota.
I bought the mics on closeout from Victor Machinery Exchange about five years ago, and I think they still have a bunch of them at $20-25 ea. Their stuff goes pretty cheaply on ebay as well (the caliper was $12); that's where a lot of mine came from. One other thing; their mics look suspiciously like those offered in the latest Craftsman tool catalogue - does anyone know if they are one and the same?

Andrew

 

[PeteM]

Jim R -- I'm not sure, but it might have been a different Scherr Co. that made the tool boxes?? The George Scherr Co, headquarted in NY, made the micrometers and pretty much a full line of measuring tools, optical flats, Ultra-Chex gage blocks, magnetic parallels, etc. The S-T solid frame mics were basically Scherr designs. The only Scherr catalog I have doesn't show any tool boxes, though of course they might have made or resold them earlier or later.

 

[John Garner]

George Scherr was one of the pioneer makers of toolmaker's microscopes and optical comparators.

It's also worth mentioning that Scherr-Tumico has imported a fair number of tools and metrological equipment, including Parkson gear testers, DMT rotary tables, Zeiss toolmaker's microscopes and most Hilger-Watts equipment.

Scherr-Tumico did go through a period of British ownership, being a part of the Rank Organization for 20+ years from the 1960's into the 1980's.

 

[carla]

I've seen a couple of wooden tool chests marked "George Scheer Co"., a few marked "Lufkin", and a few marked "Starrett", but all the ones I've seen were "rebadged" Gerstner chests.

The "Starrett" badged Gerstner chests were a special-order run, with a slightly different drawer arrangement, red felt lining instead of green, mahogany instead of oak construction, and even the lid mirror mounted at a different angle.

The "classic", so to speak, pre-Scherr Tumico outside mikes are nicely elegant, with high polish nickel plated "tubular" frames and, in the larger sizes, were more comfortable to use, owing to their lighter weight. Tumico advertised them with a "the feather touch" logo.

The Tumico outside mikes were made with the (optional) carboloy tips, and tenth verniers, and can generally be trusted for o.d. measurements to the same extent you'd trust a Starrett or Lufkin mike.

There is a bit of an issue with the Tumico mike frames, regarding error from expansion due to the warmth of the user's hands. The lighter Tumico frame, obviously, hasn't the mass of the heavier Starrett/Lufkin/Brown&Sharpe frames, to absorb hand warmth and expand more slowly.

You can see this for yourself by making a surface plate setup with the mike reading on a tenths indicator. Hold the mike frame, and watch the indicator move. Try this with several makes of o.d. mikes, and note the differences.

Some users of Tumico outside mikes would wrap, or "serve" the mike frame with leather or light net cord, as thermal insulation. If done "Navy style", i.e. "macrame" they even look elegant.

cheers

Carla

 

[jim rozen]

The toolbox does indeed have a decal on it that
says "George Scherr" from NY.

The same company. The only possible other
explaination is that I purchased it from the
estate of a toolmaker - maybe he worked for
Scherr and put one of their decals on it?

It's a nice box, oak - but most definitely not
gerstner brand.

Jim

 

[JST]

I have a 0-6" set, one (yes it's shiny plated and tubular) frame with many anvils. Setting the thing up is a royal pain. I thought it was a great deal, of course, at the time.

By now I replaced most of the function with separate mics for each range up to 4". And I got mostly tenth reading mics vs the 0.001 reading only of the Tumico (not that it necessarily makes the measurement more accurate).

Oh, and the Lufkin, Starrett, Mitutoyo, B&S, and "generic Polish" mics all have a much better feel than the Tumico. It feels like a "General" made on a bad day.

The Tumico dial indicator I have is nice though.

[ 10-14-2004, 10:25 PM: Message edited by: J Tiers ]

 

[beckley23]

They also made a Master Precision Level, maybe they still do. Had one for over 20 years.
Harry

 

[Luke]

I've been to the factory in St. James Minnesota (south western) a couple of times. I had heard about the "seconds" room and went to investigagte and spend money. This was about ten years aog but they had some nice deals. Every thing in the room was half price or better and if it wasn't there they would sell new items for 25% off. There were several boxes of nice 6" rules for .60. I must have purchased a dozen of those and wish I hadn't given most away. Bought a couple of 48" flexible rules for just under $5.00 (they are handy when needed and cost over $100 new) They just had a small smugde from the engaving process. I needed/wanted a nice 1" travel dial and bought a new one and is more solid than my Starett. I don't know if they still have that room, but if your in the area it's worth the trip. Wish I had more money then (and now)

Luke

 

[Ox]

I was mostly interested in their comparators.

Other than Tumbleweeds new one and Don's old one - anyone else use them?

I doo not own a comparator to date - and one day I just may have to get something. A customer has one of the Suburban ones which looked fine and gets the job done. I kinda fingered on getting one of them, but after seeing the STI's and even Sterrett (I think it was them?) had some comparators there that were made in the UK for fair price too.

So I guess I was surprised that my options were opened up that much. I had just never heard of STI. Kinda scary to buy soomething like that from someone you never heard of.

Sorry chumms, I aint no Navy boy, so I wouldn't have a clue what Uncle Sam uses. Just a poor farm boy trying to eek out a nickle.

Think Snow Eh!
Ox

 

[Mike Henry]

I've got a Scherr-Tumico 22-4500 optical comparator, which is a table top type with 14" screen. It has a poor man's 2-axis DRO consisting of a couple of battery-operated scales that look like they came from a digital caliper, although they seem to be original S-T issue. Haven't really used it yet as table space is a bit short at present. Seems to have been somewhat rare as they don't seem to turn up much on Ebay

It has a 10x lens and I'm looking for higher mag lenses and charts to match if anyone has some for sale.

Mike

 

[Rich Carlstedt]

Luke
Thanks for the tip !
When I get out that way, i will stop and see if they still have the "room".

A good friend, years ago, served his apprenticeship a Tumico..good company.
He always spoke highly of them and he became a Master Machinist

 

[John Gulick]

I recently picked up a Craftsman combination square for $1.50 and was told it was probably made by Tumico. Nice casting accurate and a nice feature the ends of the 12" steel rule are "stepped". I have never seen this before and it looks like a nice touch. Are they still in business?