Oh No! I dropped my calipers and now they won’t open!
This set actualy belongs to the school i’m attending - and I’m not
excited about buying a broken set for $125.
If you have a suggestion, site or youtube that might help please
send me a note
Thank you!
Don’t panic just yet. They may not be broken. If they fell end on,
the anvil could have cause the rack to jam with the pinion gear (the
small round gear behind the dial assembly). They can be disassembled
cleaned (not the dial itself, just the major parts) and returned to
working order. As I recall, most often you can pull the anvil
firmly, and release the mechanism that way. Starret makes a special
oil for indicating equipment, but some 3 in 1 works well too, to be
sure everything is smooth working. GOOD LUCK.
Dan Culver
They may not be broken! Let’s hope it’s just that the ‘inside
measuring’ blades have crossed over. (The blades that look like a
pair of scissors or nippers). Gently pry them apart sideways with
your fingers while sliding the jaws open.
Possibly the calipers landed on the tips of the 'inside measuring’
blades and one of the tips has bent in front of the other. This will
prevent the calipers from opening once they have clicked into the
closed position. Pry them apart while opening the jaws and inspect
the tips under magnification. A bent tip may be carefully
straightened using pliers or a few taps with a small hammer and
anvil.
If it is indeed a bent tip, the worst case is that one of them breaks
off at the very tip. They can be restored by grinding them to the
original profile but they will then be a little shorter than the
were. Do not do any grinding on the straight faces! Only the curved
thicker back part of the blades. The school mechanic should be able
to do this routinely. He/she should also leave the tips of the blades
thicker and stronger to resist getting bent in a school environment.
Regards, Alastair
Check Amazon
inexpensive, less than twenty bucks.
John
Indiana