Picked up a Cadillac height gauge.

[doc1955]

Well last 5s sale they had where I work I picked up a Cadillac height gauge for I feel a pretty good price its and 18 inches and I found out the reason it was for sale. Seems the calibration dept found it was off by 75 millionths in the first 4 inches. I think that will be plenty close enough for hobby work.I was surprised no one bid against me so I got it for 50 bucks a new one I believe runs right around 5,000. I also got a dial bore gauge for $10 its a 2.700 to 6.5000 dial bore gauge and it is in almost new shape. along with those I bid on a box of old hard drives 50+ I got those for $3. I wanted the magnets out of them. Anyway it was a good sale for me walked away with some good buys. They have 5s sales about once a month.
I could of had a monarch horizontal boring machine for the price of moving it but I didn't have any place to put it and it was a big machine. When I was in the shop doing proto type work I worked on missile launchers for the Bradly tank. That was a good machine too bad I didn't have some place to put it.

 

[Blogwitch]

Sorry to say Doc, it is not a height gauge, but what is normally referred to as a vertical micrometer.

It is used to set up, usually with a matching DTI stand, a finger DTI to exact height, but could be used with a height gauge with a finger DTI fixed to it.

This was mine, made by Frenco, with the matching DTI stand (on the right), before I gave it away to someone who had more need of it.
The 2ft high ball height gauge (on the left) got cut up for raw materials after trying for well over a year to find someone to take it away for nothing. Most of it was used to modify the down pressure on my power hacksaw, so was not wasted.

But even so, a very good addition to your precision tooling collection if you have a use for it.


John

 

[doc1955]

Maybe in the UK they are referred to as a vertical micrometer (which is more appropriate) :big: but her in the US I've only heard them called and seen them in catalogs as height gauges as they are calibrated to the surface plate.
I used one exactly and maybe the one I got for years in the shop. They still get used on occasion but for the most part the Numerx Machines are now used, but for my hobby shop I feel it will be a great addition. The one you have in you picture looks similar to one on e-bay right now selling for around $300. The style with the pads that turn with the spindle are and older style the style I have the pads do not turn.

 

[Blogwitch]

Doc,

Over here, you can't give stuff like this away.
It has all been superceded by modern equipment in professional workshops, and they are usually a little too large for use in the mainly small workshops we have over here. All I would have been offered was the scrap value, but very rarely do I sell any of my old tooling, it is usually donated to needy people.
Ideally, you would need at least a 2ft square surface plate to use it.

There is a piece missing on that picture, but actually went with the setup. It is horse shoe shaped piece with a bar sticking out that fits between the measuring faces, and is used for setting up the DTI when it needs to measure UP to a face rather than down to one.

As you said, a good addition to your shop.


John