Precision Measuring Tools for Engine Rebuild

[aspekt9]

Please, people with experience only, I want factual information not hearsay.

I'm going to be building my motor this coming winter and I'm looking for good brands for precision measuring tools, I know Starrett, Mitumoto, Fowler are good brands, is there anything else above ebay quality that's a tad cheaper than those brands? I was looking at PowerHouse tools, is anyone familiar with them?

Powerhouse: Outside Micrometer Set: 0-4" .0001"

Also, for measuring bores I know dial bore gauges are the most accurate and next in line is an inside micrometer or outside micrometer and telescoping gages, would I be okay to use the outside micrometer and telescoping gages when measuring piston to wall, bore size, main bores, etc. will they be accurate enough?

Any other tool suggestions or tips?

 

[scotyu]

Outside was always good enough for us in the machine shop. You get what you pay for when it comes to the quality, so if you know a brand that is known to be good your prob better off in the long run to spend the extra bucks and get the goods . It's been awhile, but I think powerhouse is what we used and we used to beat the crap outa those things and they worked great!

Something with a straight edge is good for outside diameters though so that you can feel better about knowing that your hitting the maximum curcumference.

 

[TFFC]

Don't cheap out on measuring tools, think about it, some things only have a .0005 tolerance, and if you have the cheap stuff that sometimes measures right, your going to be spending more later than now. Also if your only doing 1 rebuild, you will be wasting money on measuring tools tools like a bore gauge ect. I would def. invest in a set of venier calipers and a set of 0-1 0-2 0-3 0-4 dial calipers usually comes in a set. but you can leave the big stuff up to the machine shop.

 

[GooeyGus]

I am the head of calibration for a large aerospace company. Trust me when I say to not skimp on the tools. I have people bring in their tools from home to get calibrated so they can be used at work and most are complete junk. The only brand that has really never ceased to impress me is mitutoyo. Their equipment takes a beating and still has amazing repeatability. Other decent ones are starrett and fowler, of course. Also there is this cheAp china brand called "Aerospace" which is halfway decent. Better than I expected it to be anyway, and I think they are fairly affordable.

 

[DSMunknown]

If you need some help, just let me know. I may be moving the 2G shell + moda to Oxford to my uncle's new shop location. Very nice place. 3125 square feet, including two offices. 2000 square feet of shop space. A nice upgrade from the 1000 sq.ft. that the old shop was.