Tooth set dial gauge, repair or replace?

[jimbarry]

20230510 Hand held dial gauge failing - YouTube

[customsawyer]

Yup you need to replace it. You are working with a precision piece of equipment that isn't very hardy. It is attached to more weight so when it gets dropped bad things happen. Hard to ask it to be accurate with that dent in the top. 

[KenMac]

I would think that you can replace just the dial indicator part only, but, if not, Cook's and others have set checkers available for not too much $.

[Ljohnsaw]

Looks like a pretty standard dial gauge. It's what machinists use. Amazon will have them  in varying qualities. The flat disk on the end is threaded on and you should be able to transfer to the new one. Looks like you need to remove it from the current gauge to get it out of the fixture.

[jimbarry]

A little update. All that was needed was a bit of loc-tite (medium strength, for an oily environment) to seat the stainless steel part that enters into the gauge's round housing. 



 

Good as new now. Lesson here is to make a stand for the gauge so that the round housing does not have to make contact with anything like a counter surface. Seems to me that laying it down repetitively has an affect on that contact point.


 

[slider]

Cutting edge calls that thing a truth detector .

[jimbarry]

Cutting edge calls that thing a truth detector .

True enough, so long as its calibrated. I calibrate it once a month, then dial in the gauges on the tooth setter to read the same. Works well, but I still hand check each blade after running it through the setter.