I can't spend $240 just to check for variances between guages. I just have to trust that the oil-filled guage I bought from a race shop is probably pretty accurate.
...I wasn't implying that you ought to buy 3 or 4 gauges, but rather that even amongst the best there will be variation.
nothing is accurate unless its calibrated against a standard. I don't care how much you spend on it.
spending big money on tire gauges is about the stupidest thing you can do. Just sayin'... I have a standard in the lab, and I checked once: a $2 gauge was just as "accurate" as a $50 gauge on multiple measurements (that's what counts repeatablity). There's a difference between accuracy, and precision. Your $300 gauge may be precise as all get-out, but who the hell cares if its not accurate. Do you need to know if your tires are inflated to 25.15 or 25.16 psi? No, you don't. Hell, w/modern tires +/- 3psi is a drop in the bucket. You don't have an F1 car, worry about better things in life.
Do you need to know if your tires are inflated to 25.15 or 25.16 psi? No, you don't. Hell, w/modern tires +/- 3psi is a drop in the bucket.
No, I don't...which is why I didn't buy that model. But, I will challenge that +/- 3psi doesn't matter. I know I can feel the difference in 2psi in my car. Note my issue wasn't getting uneven wear, it was wondering why every manufacturer recommended too low a pressure, which would be witnessed on the first set of front tires after a few thousand miles and from then on those tires would be inflated noticeably more than manufacturers recommendations (or so the gauge would report), My brothers BMW is even more sensitive, especially when the front:rear ratio is concerned. 5psi gap (recommended) = understeer and 2psi gap = noticeable oversteer.
I know the Intercomp ones are thought to typically be more accurate thant the Longacre ones. Every time you use a torque wrench do you bench test it? I think there is some trust that the good ones bench test them at the factory (of course, the good torque wrenches come with slips of the test results of that particular wrench).
I've never seen a tire pressure gauge that doesn't give repeatable results btw.
Hey Doc, you're an engineer, right?
Out of curiosity, who do you use for calipers? I already have the only one I think I'll ever need...though I do feel a little guilty about using it since my grandfather bought it about 70 years ago, back when Mahr Federal was called Carl Mahr...shows the quality since he was always using it and it's still fine, not one spot of corision, even though it spent about 10 years in our basement in a leather sheath.
Hey Doc, you're an engineer, right?
Out of curiosity, who do you use for calipers? I already have the only one I think I'll ever need...though I do feel a little guilty about using it since my grandfather bought it about 70 years ago, back when Mahr Federal was called Carl Mahr...shows the quality since he was always using it and it's still fine, not one spot of corision, even though it spent about 10 years in our basement in a leather sheath.
Ah, Mitutoyo I knew about (Mahr actually recommended them to me when I was trying to find a replacement for this old caliper I have that would be a cheaper than their only current offering in a vernier style caliper with a pincher for brake discs which cost something like $340) but Starrett I didn't. Are those actually better than Mahr Federal, Scala, and Tesa, or is it just those those are the readily available good brands that everybody in that line of work in this country uses?
Are those actually better than Mahr Federal, Scala, and Tesa, or is it just those those are the readily available good brands that everybody in that line of work in this country uses?
I may be a bit biased as Starrett is local to Western MA. But, they've been in business as long as any precision tool maker, and Western MA is one of the homes of toolmaking in this country (or at least, used to be :cry)
Most machinists I know won't touch anything but those two brands. Mitu for the digi- and Starrett for analog.
I may be a bit biased as Starrett is local to Western MA. But, they've been in business as long as any precision tool maker, and Western MA is one of the homes of toolmaking in this country (or at least, used to be :cry)
Most machinists I know won't touch anything but those two brands. Mitu for the digi- and Starrett for analog.
Hmm, interesting. The Starretts are certainly cheaper than the Mahr, though I'm guessing some of that has to do with import tarriffs, and the rest has to do with high-priced German labor. I just wonder if people don't touch other stuff because the other stuff isn't as good or if it's because the other stuff just isn't popular this side of the atlantic (my grandfather was an engineer with Siemens, which would explain why his stuff was Carl Mahr...this is the only piece left though, because it was always with him in his coat, the rest was lost, quite sad, he apparently had literally an entire roomful of tools and calipers and loupes). I.e. I wonder if it's one of those things like Snap-On where it's good, and by far the most popular stateside, but not the best when compared globally.
I want someone to have first hand experience with everything dang it! Is that too much to ask?
BTW, does Starrett have a contract with GM or something? What's a "gage"? BAH! They don't have what I want anyways (slide caliper where the side for measuring outside diameter is a pincher instead of two blades).
To set the record straight, the caliper I still have is actually Carl Hamel, which is a textile machine company, so perhaps they made this especially for him, I don't know. His other stuff, that I don't have, I've been told was Carl Mahr.
I believe this piece is from pre-WW2, so any recall he would have taken care of....you got to wake up pretty early in the morning to fool me
No no no...im for real. Aparently there was a batch that got through with an extra electron in the sub-shell thus causing the calipers to read .00000000000000000000000000000000000002mm more than actual.
Man dont even think about using it on a car for gods sake.
Hey 'spike, there's a saying. It goes like this "It's not the arrow, it's the
Indian"
I know it's attractive and desirable to have all the coolest stuff but really,
you should focus on the job you need to get done and the quality of the
work you need to do.
There's another saying that one of the CFO's I worked for used from time to
time. Mostly when engineers were asking for stuff. Paraphrasing, he said
that you didn't need to fly first class when coach would get you there at the
same time. He also said that it wasn't that you couldn't fly first class but that
you needed to evaluate the request every time. Smart guy he was.
In otherwords, don't waste your money on two sets of tools just because one
of them won't be so slippery when you spill something on it.
Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
Hey 'spike, there's a saying. It goes like this "It's not the arrow, it's the
Indian"
In otherwords, don't waste your money on two sets of tools just because one
of them won't be so slippery when you spill something on it.
The two sets is just for phillips and flathead screwdrivers, and I didn't really buy two sets anyways. One my brother had bought, the other I had bought (he's been out of the house for a few years now...I got the microfinish btw), and then the conclusion I came to was that the microfinish is better for mechanical work and the soft finish is better for around the house/construction work (more comfortable, but less functional, but the function it loses is not something that matters in construction).
Trust me, I know what it's like the use sub-standard tools like Husky and Craftsman. No thanks. Even when the cruddy tools get the job done, they have you cursing the whole time, whereas nice tools work well and work easily, and it just makes life enjoyable. Also, I don't think you all are working on cars as much as I am (except Zac). Maintaining 4 cars, especially when one is a 13 year old Oldsmobile and another is a Porsche, involves quite a bit of tool time, it's worth the money. You can buy a whole bunch of nice tools for the price of one L lens.
While other kids are blowing their money on booze, going out for meals, movie tickets, the latest cap to wear backwards like an idiot, I'm buying good products that I use regularly and are not consumable and probably spending less money. Which makes more sense to you?
I have a saying as well: CFO's are a bunch of bean counters who ruin life. Well, it's not really a saying, just something that rings true for the few CFO's I've met.
The saying is go big or go home. This good enough attitude is why shitty stores like Walmart exist. You can get anything you want in this country, but because most people here are slack-jawed idiots who don't give a damn about anything, all you can find in local stores is junk.
Trust me, I know what it's like the use sub-standard tools like Husky and Craftsman. No thanks. Even when the cruddy tools get the job done, they have you cursing the whole time, whereas nice tools work well and work easily, and it just makes life enjoyable. Also, I don't think you all are working on cars as much as I am (except Zac). Maintaining 4 cars, especially when one is a 13 year old Oldsmobile and another is a Porsche, involves quite a bit of tool time, it's worth the money. You can buy a whole bunch of nice tools for the price of one L lens.
The saying is go big or go home. This good enough attitude is why shitty stores like Walmart exist. You can get anything you want in this country, but because most people here are slack-jawed idiots who don't give a damn about anything, all you can find in local stores is junk.
You're probably right that most of us don't work on cars as much as we
used to. That doesn't mean we can't, don't or haven't. Just keep that in
mind. Just as you are not a professional mechanic working on cars for
a living. I suspect that if you were, you'd have a set of left handed spanners
though
You're young yet. So I'll cut you some slack on that "go big or go home"
comment. In time, you will realize that doesn't always mean what you
assume it does.
Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
You're probably right that most of us don't work on cars as much as we
used to. That doesn't mean we can't, don't or haven't. Just keep that in
mind.
You're young yet. So I'll cut you some slack on that "go big or go home"
comment. In time, you will realize that doesn't always mean what you
assume it does.
On the first part, correct, but it does mean that you are no longer in the mindset of caring all that much about it. Between my car, my parents' cars, my brother's car, all of my friends' cars, the house, all of the electronics a person could possibly own, etc, I'm breaking my toolset at least 2 or 3 times a week, and many weeks almost every day (speaking of which, just took out the rear and front passenger parts of my cars interior...can't wait to pick up the replacement stuff tomorrow - one trip with my car, put in the rear and front passenger stuff in their lot, then go to my dad's place to get the *sigh/ugh* SUV to pick up the rest of the stuff). Steam cleaned the part of the carpeting that is under the stas already too). Also, sometimes people don't know what they're missing if they've never had it.
On the second part. Fine, I'll change it so it does mean what I (apparently) assume it does: Buy the best, suckers can buy the rest.
Comments
& over 25
My dad is probably older than you are. He still checks and takes care of evreything on his cars.
I bet this one is probably pretty accurate
http://www.cdoc.com/detail.asp?id=11553&str=4000-2525-1003&name=Digital+Tire+Pressure+Gauges
spending big money on tire gauges is about the stupidest thing you can do. Just sayin'... I have a standard in the lab, and I checked once: a $2 gauge was just as "accurate" as a $50 gauge on multiple measurements (that's what counts repeatablity). There's a difference between accuracy, and precision. Your $300 gauge may be precise as all get-out, but who the hell cares if its not accurate. Do you need to know if your tires are inflated to 25.15 or 25.16 psi? No, you don't. Hell, w/modern tires +/- 3psi is a drop in the bucket. You don't have an F1 car, worry about better things in life.
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
No, I don't...which is why I didn't buy that model. But, I will challenge that +/- 3psi doesn't matter. I know I can feel the difference in 2psi in my car. Note my issue wasn't getting uneven wear, it was wondering why every manufacturer recommended too low a pressure, which would be witnessed on the first set of front tires after a few thousand miles and from then on those tires would be inflated noticeably more than manufacturers recommendations (or so the gauge would report), My brothers BMW is even more sensitive, especially when the front:rear ratio is concerned. 5psi gap (recommended) = understeer and 2psi gap = noticeable oversteer.
I know the Intercomp ones are thought to typically be more accurate thant the Longacre ones. Every time you use a torque wrench do you bench test it? I think there is some trust that the good ones bench test them at the factory (of course, the good torque wrenches come with slips of the test results of that particular wrench).
I've never seen a tire pressure gauge that doesn't give repeatable results btw.
would that be for garage or home use?
Watch it. I'll be passing through your area (presumably, though I don't know where in VA you are) this weekend :nono
Um....is that a come on?:tuesday
Wait a sec...bigwebGUY...I'm a guy....
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
Out of curiosity, who do you use for calipers? I already have the only one I think I'll ever need...though I do feel a little guilty about using it since my grandfather bought it about 70 years ago, back when Mahr Federal was called Carl Mahr...shows the quality since he was always using it and it's still fine, not one spot of corision, even though it spent about 10 years in our basement in a leather sheath.
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
Ah, Mitutoyo I knew about (Mahr actually recommended them to me when I was trying to find a replacement for this old caliper I have that would be a cheaper than their only current offering in a vernier style caliper with a pincher for brake discs which cost something like $340) but Starrett I didn't. Are those actually better than Mahr Federal, Scala, and Tesa, or is it just those those are the readily available good brands that everybody in that line of work in this country uses?
Most machinists I know won't touch anything but those two brands. Mitu for the digi- and Starrett for analog.
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
Hmm, interesting. The Starretts are certainly cheaper than the Mahr, though I'm guessing some of that has to do with import tarriffs, and the rest has to do with high-priced German labor. I just wonder if people don't touch other stuff because the other stuff isn't as good or if it's because the other stuff just isn't popular this side of the atlantic (my grandfather was an engineer with Siemens, which would explain why his stuff was Carl Mahr...this is the only piece left though, because it was always with him in his coat, the rest was lost, quite sad, he apparently had literally an entire roomful of tools and calipers and loupes). I.e. I wonder if it's one of those things like Snap-On where it's good, and by far the most popular stateside, but not the best when compared globally.
I want someone to have first hand experience with everything dang it! Is that too much to ask?
BTW, does Starrett have a contract with GM or something? What's a "gage"? BAH! They don't have what I want anyways (slide caliper where the side for measuring outside diameter is a pincher instead of two blades).
I believe this piece is from pre-WW2, so any recall he would have taken care of....you got to wake up pretty early in the morning to fool me
Man dont even think about using it on a car for gods sake.
Indian"
I know it's attractive and desirable to have all the coolest stuff but really,
you should focus on the job you need to get done and the quality of the
work you need to do.
There's another saying that one of the CFO's I worked for used from time to
time. Mostly when engineers were asking for stuff. Paraphrasing, he said
that you didn't need to fly first class when coach would get you there at the
same time. He also said that it wasn't that you couldn't fly first class but that
you needed to evaluate the request every time. Smart guy he was.
In otherwords, don't waste your money on two sets of tools just because one
of them won't be so slippery when you spill something on it.
The two sets is just for phillips and flathead screwdrivers, and I didn't really buy two sets anyways. One my brother had bought, the other I had bought (he's been out of the house for a few years now...I got the microfinish btw), and then the conclusion I came to was that the microfinish is better for mechanical work and the soft finish is better for around the house/construction work (more comfortable, but less functional, but the function it loses is not something that matters in construction).
Trust me, I know what it's like the use sub-standard tools like Husky and Craftsman. No thanks. Even when the cruddy tools get the job done, they have you cursing the whole time, whereas nice tools work well and work easily, and it just makes life enjoyable. Also, I don't think you all are working on cars as much as I am (except Zac). Maintaining 4 cars, especially when one is a 13 year old Oldsmobile and another is a Porsche, involves quite a bit of tool time, it's worth the money. You can buy a whole bunch of nice tools for the price of one L lens.
While other kids are blowing their money on booze, going out for meals, movie tickets, the latest cap to wear backwards like an idiot, I'm buying good products that I use regularly and are not consumable and probably spending less money. Which makes more sense to you?
I have a saying as well: CFO's are a bunch of bean counters who ruin life. Well, it's not really a saying, just something that rings true for the few CFO's I've met.
The saying is go big or go home. This good enough attitude is why shitty stores like Walmart exist. You can get anything you want in this country, but because most people here are slack-jawed idiots who don't give a damn about anything, all you can find in local stores is junk.
You're probably right that most of us don't work on cars as much as we
used to. That doesn't mean we can't, don't or haven't. Just keep that in
mind. Just as you are not a professional mechanic working on cars for
a living. I suspect that if you were, you'd have a set of left handed spanners
though
You're young yet. So I'll cut you some slack on that "go big or go home"
comment. In time, you will realize that doesn't always mean what you
assume it does.
On the first part, correct, but it does mean that you are no longer in the mindset of caring all that much about it. Between my car, my parents' cars, my brother's car, all of my friends' cars, the house, all of the electronics a person could possibly own, etc, I'm breaking my toolset at least 2 or 3 times a week, and many weeks almost every day (speaking of which, just took out the rear and front passenger parts of my cars interior...can't wait to pick up the replacement stuff tomorrow - one trip with my car, put in the rear and front passenger stuff in their lot, then go to my dad's place to get the *sigh/ugh* SUV to pick up the rest of the stuff). Steam cleaned the part of the carpeting that is under the stas already too). Also, sometimes people don't know what they're missing if they've never had it.
On the second part. Fine, I'll change it so it does mean what I (apparently) assume it does: Buy the best, suckers can buy the rest.
You don't see them a lot anymore, but occasionally you do see them. Today, I found 2 of them.
www.ivarborst.nl & smugmug
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
http://www.videosift.com/video/Top-Gears-Reliant-Robin-Space-Shuttle
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
What's that in the windscreen? If you look on the Eurovan in back, you can
see the same thing.