Did I waste $5 on this Dial Indicator?

BumbleBug · May 23, 2013, 03:53 PM

I went to a garage sale today & I bought this gadget for $5. What I was really after was the dial indicator to use for some hobby lathe work or as a reloading concentric gauge. The platform weights about 10lbs. The gauge only moves about 1/8" & it seems to have no return spring tension.

Gauge says: Fully Jeweled; Federal; Providence R.I.;Mod C71;.0005"
Is it ok to oil the shaft? Did I waste my $5

TIA...

...bug

geetarman · May 23, 2013, 08:21 PM

What you have is a Federal dial indicator with a balanced dial. Without having it in hand, I would guess it is probably dirty.

Most likely the shaft is gummed up. They are actually quite good and accurate. The setup you have would be used as a small comparator. Set up with a gage block to the desired dimension and then pass the work pieces between the platen and the indicator tip and look at the variance from nominal.

If no parts are needed, you have a bargain.

Don't oil the shaft, it will make things worse. You might try a little alcohol and try to move the shaft in and out.

Take off the back and you should see the movement. There are two screws on the baseplate.

Don't loosen them. If you do, you will disengage the movement from the rack and you will lose the pretension on the hairspring.

Send me a PM if you want to know how to take it apart for cleaning. It not difficult but you do need to be careful.

You have a precision instrument and it should NOT have much return spring tension. There should be some. If you have the back off, you should see a long spring that provides return tension. It might have become disengaged.

Good luck!!

BumbleBug · May 23, 2013, 09:25 PM

geetarman, you are a genius! A little alcohol & a minute or two of in-n-out & it seems to be working great!

Thanks!

...bug

armabill · May 24, 2013, 09:48 AM

Glad that you got it working. You got a great deal.

Gunplummer · May 24, 2013, 04:51 PM

The base would have been worth $5 to me. Good deal.

May 23, 2013, 03:53 PM	#1
BumbleBug Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 2013 Location: Near Heart of Texas Posts: 870	Did I waste $5 on this Dial Indicator? I went to a garage sale today & I bought this gadget for $5. What I was really after was the dial indicator to use for some hobby lathe work or as a reloading concentric gauge. The platform weights about 10lbs. The gauge only moves about 1/8" & it seems to have no return spring tension. Gauge says: Fully Jeweled; Federal; Providence R.I.;Mod C71;.0005" Is it ok to oil the shaft? Did I waste my $5 TIA... ...bug

May 23, 2013, 08:21 PM	#2
geetarman Senior Member Join Date: November 18, 2009 Location: Arizona Posts: 3,157	What you have is a Federal dial indicator with a balanced dial. Without having it in hand, I would guess it is probably dirty. Most likely the shaft is gummed up. They are actually quite good and accurate. The setup you have would be used as a small comparator. Set up with a gage block to the desired dimension and then pass the work pieces between the platen and the indicator tip and look at the variance from nominal. If no parts are needed, you have a bargain. Don't oil the shaft, it will make things worse. You might try a little alcohol and try to move the shaft in and out. Take off the back and you should see the movement. There are two screws on the baseplate. Don't loosen them. If you do, you will disengage the movement from the rack and you will lose the pretension on the hairspring. Send me a PM if you want to know how to take it apart for cleaning. It not difficult but you do need to be careful. You have a precision instrument and it should NOT have much return spring tension. There should be some. If you have the back off, you should see a long spring that provides return tension. It might have become disengaged. Good luck!! __________________ Geetarman Carpe Cerveza Last edited by geetarman; May 23, 2013 at 09:00 PM.

May 23, 2013, 09:25 PM	#3
BumbleBug Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 2013 Location: Near Heart of Texas Posts: 870	yippie! geetarman, you are a genius! A little alcohol & a minute or two of in-n-out & it seems to be working great! Thanks! ...bug

May 24, 2013, 09:48 AM	#4
armabill Senior Member Join Date: August 16, 2001 Location: Glenolden, Pa. USA Posts: 250	Glad that you got it working. You got a great deal.

May 24, 2013, 04:51 PM	#5
Gunplummer Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 2010 Location: South East Pa. Posts: 3,364	The base would have been worth $5 to me. Good deal.