Turn Over A New Leaf To Gauge Hole Size
By Benjamen Johnson
When you need to measure the diameter of a hole or the width of a slot, reach for a taper gauge. Named for their tapered shape, taper gauges measure hole and slot sizes quickly and accurately. With the Starrett No. 267 taper gauge, you can measure hole and slot sizes from 1/16″ to 1-1/16″, to the nearest 1/64″.
Made from spring-tempered steel and measuring 1″ wide by 5-1/4″ long, the gauge features four different leafs for measuring progressively larger dimensions. Look to pay between $90 and $110.
Taper Gauge [Starrett]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon(B0006J4DSK) [What’s This?]
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:57 am
While you might not want to rely on these if you were doing close-tolerance machining (use: bore gauges - dial indicators - micrometers - small hole gauges - over/under plug gauges, telecoping gauges etc. as the case demands) these are great for a quick check on size and certainly close enough for most wood working.
An alternative for measuring slots is available from Lee Valley:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&cat=1,240,41064,32520&p=32520
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Or, just go to Harbor Freight and buy a cheap dial or electronic caliper. (Be a man, get the non electronic and learn how to read it, its a useful skill.) For less than 20 bucks you can measure outside, inside, depth and offsets.
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Dave you mean $15, they go on sale at hf all the time.
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:37 pm
OK, genuine question here for all the folks who seem to defend high-end (usually American, though not always) toolmakers at all costs: why on EARTH does this cost $100?
The materials are about $10 *max* and making it to precise tolerances would be simple with a CNC cutter and laser engraver. I could set up a factory to churn these things out for about $30-50K in my basement, and if I sold 500 of them at that price, I’d have broken even.
I don’t get the pricing *at all*. Heck, I’d rather buy a Starrett caliper if I was going to spend that kind of money because it would be a lot more versatile.
cl
May 3rd, 2008 at 8:33 am
What Chris said.
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Ditto
May 3rd, 2008 at 11:06 pm
This tool, as well as many sold all over the place, address problems that never really existed. I often times wonder who the rocket scientist marketing geniuses are that develop and market many tools. It is fairly obvious on many products that little market study was really put forth before production was started.
Chris was right on track. This tool could easily be replicated in many workshops across toolmongerland with minimal expense, a little work, and achieve as good of results.
With a little bit of tweaking, this tool could easily be improved upon for more customized practicality.