To use the indicator, remove the screw from a micrometer which is known to be accurate, and, with the aid of a brass bushing, chuck it in the lathe so that the thread end will project. Now gear the lathe to cut 40 threads per inch and apply the indicator. When the lathe is started, the point of the indicator follows along in the thread of the micrometer screw, and any variation in the lead will be noted by a movement of the pointer over the dial. If, on the other hand, no movement takes place, it is an indication that the pitch of the lead-screw is correct.[[12]]
Micrometer Attachment for Reading Ten-thousandths of an Inch
Fig. 24. Micrometer with Attachment for Reading Ten-thousandths of an Inch
Fig. 24 shows an attachment for micrometers designed and made for readings in tenths of thousandths of an inch. With very little fitting it is interchangeable for 1-, 2-, or 3-inch B. & S. micrometers. The idea is simple, as can be seen by the illustration. The diameter of the thimble is increased 3 to 1 by a disk which is graduated with 250 lines instead of 25, making each line represent 0.0001 inch instead of 0.001 inch. A piece of steel is then turned up and bored and cut away so as to form the index blade and a shell to clasp the micrometer frame, the whole thing being made in one piece. The thimble disk being just a good wringing fit, it can be easily adjusted 0 to 0. The attachment can be removed when fine measuring is not required.[[13]]
Special Micrometer for Large Dimensions
Fig. 25 shows a 6-inch micrometer caliper designed for measuring from 0 to 6 inches by half-thousandths. The sliding micrometer head travels on a cylinder barrel through which a hole is accurately bored to suit three plugs, one, two, and three inches long, as shown in the engraving. These plugs serve to locate the traveling head at fixed distances one inch apart. The micrometer screw itself has a travel of one inch, like any standard micrometer. A locknut is used to hold the screw in any desired position. A thumb screw at the end of the barrel bears against the end plug, and zero marks are provided to bring the screw against the plug with the same degree of pressure at each setting. When the head is clamped by means of the locking nut, it is as rigid as though it were solid with the barrel, and the faces of the measuring points are thus always parallel.
Fig. 25. Special Micrometer for Large Dimensions
Combination Micrometer