Repairing Dial Indicators - Diagnosing, Fixing, and How They Work!

[@JohnFleshman]

The Lock picking Lawyer intro was excellent!

[@AnthonyHandcock]

It was but what sort of tool restoration video doesn't have a sandblaster being turned on with a headbutt?

[@stanervin6108]

@@AnthonyHandcock Or an overnight soaking in a vat of Evaporust?

[@AnthonyHandcock]

Not even a hint of a "I make new one" either.

[@mcsmith82]

You had me at, “…and what I have for you today is…”. :). Wow the technical nerd-end of the KZbin internet is small and quality!

[@IBWatchinUrVids]

I find it interesting that machinists, or even enthusiasts tend to have similar interests. Anything mechanical, anything electric, I'm in.

[@ElliotNesterman]

OMG! How did Quinn know I'm wearing a shirt? I'm freakin' out here, Man!

[@crichtonbruce4329]

I was changing my shirt... What could this possibly mean?? I'll check with my local Wizard.

[@amanofmanyparts9120]

At least she didn't mention my dressing gown ... The one I've worn for 3 days consecutively!

[@stanervin6108]

@@crichtonbruce4329 👕🧙‍♂️

[@richardnelson4704]

I wasnt wearing my shirt.

[@sungear]

Many youtubers should learn from this presentation. Voice over narration and no rock music.

[@JamesPotts]

That into earned an immediate "like."

[@BeenThrDunThat]

Loved the LPL reference too

[@splackism]

LPL!!!

[@dobrzpe]

same! even before the intro.

[@zodak9999b]

That Novus #2 polish is miracle level stuff. I used to use it to make scratched CDs playable back in the day.

[@joels7605]

I have Novus #1, #2 and #3. They're great, but DON'T use them on polycarbonate. I've had polycarbonate components explode (high stressed, in tension) because they came in contact with Novus. There's a little note on the back of the bottle about how it's not compatible with polycarbonate. They weren't kidding.

[@Milkmans_Son]

@@joels7605 Whut? Half the stuff they have on their suggested uses list are polycarbonate, the first being cd's and dvd's, the second being auto headlamps, etc etc.

[@joels7605]

@@Milkmans_Son Right from the label printed on the back of the bottle: "Removes heavy scratches and abrasions from most acrylic surfaces. Contains abrasives, not for use on eyeglasses, polycarbonate, or coated plastics." I didn't read the label and destroyed about $1000 worth of oceanographic equipment. We did break tests on polycarbonate after the failure. We tried exposing samples of polycarbonate to a number of different contaminates and oils, one of which was Novus. Novus was the only sample that destroyed the polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is normally extremely flexible and has high mechanical toughness. Novus soaks into the polycarbonate and makes it shatter like acrylic under low stress.

[@nicholashacking381]

I've always avoided the eBay indicators listed as "for parts / not working" because I assumed that restoration was beyond me. Now, I feel that I might have a fighting chance... but, so does the rest of the Internet, thanks to this, so the price of them is going to soar. Never mind, I still love your channel and the LPL reference made me smile.

[@alexleighty9892]

I appreciate the thorough explaining, liberal sprinkling of cautions about this and that, and the split screen for depiction of detail is perfect.

[@ScrewySquid]

I had to watch the intro 3 times! I love when I watch a creator and they nod to another one of my favorite creators. Chef's kisses

[@machinistmikethetinkerer4827]

as a pocketwatch repair hobbyist, I approve this message. I saw your magnifying visors you had on. to the rest of your subbers, trust me-you'll need them! Nice work!

[@DenysSene]

but is the machine oil ok? Isn't that to thick for such a sensitive mechanism?

[@mikes1345]

Heck, I need the visor magnification to read my med labels!

[@omniryx1]

@@DenysSene Machine oil is not the ideal choice. The weight is not the issue. Even the best indicator gearing is crude by watchmaker standards. The real issues are oxidation, which can make the oil gummy over time, and quantity, where virtually everyone, Quinn included, uses wayyy too much. Ideally, one would use a purpose-made synthetic oil. Fortunately, for a device like this one, what she did was fine.

[@machinistmikethetinkerer4827]

@@DenysSene try entering the world of horology and repair. Mention oils and watch the fur fly..and you wouldn't believe how expensive watch lubricants are. But for this application Starrett used to sell instrument oil for indicators. I don't know if they still do. I have a little left in the original oiler from 30 years ago. I use it on my micrometers and calipers, indicators etc. Quinn is right tho-less is more.

[@machinistmikethetinkerer4827]

Just checked-yep they do. Starrett 1620 instrument oil. Also Starrett M1 but a spray can can cost over $100 bucks or more.

[@philipquinlan1045]

Wonderful to see the internal mechanism of these indicator tools. Thank you for sharing and explaining how they operate. Really enjoyed that.

[@BM-jy6cb]

11:55 was tense - I was anticipating the o-ring snapping back under the pointer and bending it up. Also would the slightest smear of silicone grease on the o-ring (after fitting) make it feel smoother?

[@KevinWoodsWorkshop]

I didn’t realise there were so many parts in an indicator, you demonstrated some great skills in fixing that.

[@lesmaybury793]

A steady hand helps so best tackled sober.

[@componenx]

@@TheEvertw Yeah, a cheap .001" indicator might have almost nothing inside, especially if it lacks a "turns" dial.

[@KevinWoodsWorkshop]

That's why tenths clocks are expensive.

[@ronnyfurst5511]

after watching the full vid I have to make a second comment. Hey Quinn its really nice to see what you can handle. from tiny things like this up on to big stuff on a lathe or mill. big thumbs up from me, because I really honor what you show us here. I got some old imdicators from my gramps and some of them are a bit sticky... your vid gives me the faith and believe in myself to try fix them. thx quinn. its always a pleasure to see you workin

[@Flightdevildoc]

Wow, what an excellent video instruction. I am a retired military vet and started woodworking as a hobby, and love it. My Dad’s was a mechanical and civil engineer besides an avid woodworker and electrician, unfortunately, passed away 2 years ago, but on the bright side, I am so happy (like a kid in Christmas) that he left me so many tools with his engraved initials, so he is still with me. Some of the tools or accessories, I didn’t know what the heck there were for and one of them is a Vintage Sheer-Tumid Dial Indicator, in good condition, except, noticed dial was slightly sticky so your video gave me the confidence to take it apart, clean the plastic cover as well as the small rusted screws and dial works well and looks good. I am going to use it to calibrate my table saw blade and fence for the first time this week. Later on plan to disassemble it like you did as I saw some light rust creeping in. Again, thank you so much for your video. New Subscriber. Like the comment: “use your hands until they get tired” 😂 Keep those video coming. 😊

[@smellsofbikes]

This is very welcome. I've spent years buying old Etalon DI's off ebay and now it's time to get more of them working.

[@WatchmakerErik]

I am a self taught student watchmaker and machinist, and I loved this. In fact once I have a home machine and watch & clock shop going I may take dial indicators on as an income stream. Wonderful video as always!

[@willgallatin2802]

LOL! Quin, you've been watching my favorite "lawyer" I see. Great content. TYVM

[@BrianB14471]

Love the LPL homage at the opening!

[@MegaLostOne]

One other thing that will cause the needle not to come back to the same position is you need to put a preload on the hair spring, I have done several Federals and everyone of them as I took them apart had a preload on the hair spring as well. Before placing the idler wheel back in I place the large hand back on and turn the hand two turns, then with the rack in the fully extended position I replace the idler wheel which now keeps the preload on the hair spring.

[@Paddington60]

Thank you for the polish steer! Received mine with some lint free and polished my hazy headlight. While it is not tip top it does not look like an equipment failure anymore. Live long and prosper 🖖🏻

[@pilgrimm23]

Quinn: regards your 3330 platter balancer: I am an older computer geek who worked as a Main frame IBM operator in the 1970s. Also a retro computer geek (Apple II Forever!) Yes, you are correct. That is EXACTLY what that gismo is. I have not seen one in 40 odd years. Your take-off on the Lock picking Lawyer was LOL. Also I have a drawer FULL of dysfunctional indicators and really appreciate your instructions...Thank you lady.

[@Blondihacks]

][ Infinitum!

[@NewtoRah]

Two things: 1) Thank you for this, made me much more comfortable with the idea of taking apart the dial indicator I picked up on facebook marketplace 2) I do *not* recommend Etalon swiss indicators if you think it needs maintenance. The body was one piece, so I had to take off the hands and file down a screwdriver to take out the worlds smallest flat head screws to get the face off. Luckily it didn't have any damage, just needed to be deep cleaned and have the jewels cleaned. Works great now, but not as easy as other options

[@cyrucom]

What a coincidence!! I happened to bump an indicator in my machining class this past Thursday and it stopped working. My Instructor gave it to me to take home and try and fix it, and I've been messing with it the last couple days. Unfortunately there was nothing I could do to fix this indicator as it had stripped some teeth on one of the gears, but this video was still educational and enjoyable as are all of your videos. Thanks Quinn!

[@paulthomas3782]

Thanks Quinn for the insight into the internals of dial indicator.

[@VincentGroenewold]

I'm totally going to do this when I built a bit of a shop. You learn a ton doing it, sometimes may be destroying a thing, but it's cheap! And like you say, save it for another day. So many ppl don't see how much they actually can do.

[@markenna5955]

Great video, it brought back memories I especially appreciate your description of what tasks can be done and which are best left to professionals.

[@magiclarry7688]

Love the LPL reference in the beginning.

[@2STROKESTUFFING]

We seem to watch all the same stuff so I've got to ask - are you watching my stuff too Quinn? Did you steal the "hacksaw builds character" from me, or did I steal it from you? These are important questions. Very important. Veryvery.

[@2STROKESTUFFING]

Or did we both come up with it? The plot thickens.

[@lesmaybury793]

Does Quinn play a guitar and sing? Now that would be spooky. 😁.

[@espenschjelderup426]

Jeg abonnerer på kanalen din. Så at du plutselig kommenterer her? Og en referanse til LPL som jeg også følger 🤔 Jeg aner en konspirasjon her😁

[@2STROKESTUFFING]

@@lesmaybury793 spooky indeed.

[@2STROKESTUFFING]

@@espenschjelderup426 Ugler i mosen😁

[@radardoug]

My father spent many years collecting and repairing pocket watches so this was like a trip down memory lane for me. The only part you missed was spending hours on your hands and knees with a magnifying loupe searching for the screw that invariably gets dropped into the deep pile shag carpet.

[@charleshettrick2408]

This was a good video and well documented. I have recovered over 50 mechanical and about a dozen digital indicators from scrap drawers for emergency gages. 1.) Use Starrett instrument oil. Great to have in the do-it-yourself shop for lots of other stuff. 2.) Pry indicator hands off. Place 2mil cellophane over the dial and hands. From the outside of the cellophane, use opposing blunted small flat blade screw drivers to gently pry at the base of hand hub. Do not slip and hit the hand!, 3.) Frequently the indicators in our factory had bent stems. Most of the time the stem can be patiently wiggled out with slight force. If not, press out the short bearing and pull out the back. (Slit brass tubing, place around the stem inside the case, pull the tubing with needle nose against the bushing. If bushing glued, scrap the indicator.) The following is NOT recommended by the manufacturers. But, the stems can be straightened for emergency only. Place on a flat reference surface (surface plate, plate glass or similar) and roll. Note where high. Using blocks of wood, one as an anvil, gently tap the stem back straight. Then using a fine Arkansas stone, gently stone the stem to remove burrs.

[@davidwalz1371]

That LPL opening was fantastic!

[@benjaminbutton50]

Just love this woman describes everything so clearly makes me feel more confident to tackle tasks,thank you so much,don't ever give up.

[@springwoodcottage4248]

How interesting. I inherited several indicators all troubled by opaque glass & I thought they would need the plastic replacing, but happily not. Thank you for sharing & educating me!

[@MrDLWheeler]

You've done it again. I now feel a bit more confident trying to sort out the dicky indicator I was using to measure guitar tops. Content like this easily justifies my modest patreon contribution. Thanks for the excellent work.

[@MikkelBachmann]

Top tip: for fine polishing, you can use toothpaste. It works great on headlights, plastic “glass”, final polish for knives and in wired etch cases it can be used to clean teeth.

[@cooperised]

Also as the last step for polishing scratches out of CDs and DVDs, if anyone still uses those...

[@danielabbey7726]

Valuable information, Quinn! Buying older good quality indicators and cleaning/oiling them is a great way to save money.

[@jcknives4162]

Loved the lock picking lawyer beginning!!! Great video too

[@markthompson8656]

thank you . I always wondered how difficult that was. I will definitely clean a few of mine now.

[@Chrissi33004]

Thank you very much, your knowledge and detailed walkthrough really helped me getting a used, broken indicator to work again!

[@nathanweese3812]

Thanks Quinn. I really enjoyed this and I love hearing how easy this can be, repairs are intimidating until you try it, nice to hear positive encouragement. I re-use and fix anything I can, often for fun.

[@ypaulbrown]

Quinn, you are amazing.....great job showing all the steps...cheers from Florida, Paul

[@bostedtap8399]

Excellent job, definitely a good quality instrument, nice caveat on oils, up there with dry or lubrication on torqued fasteners. Another check is to test if the plunger performs as well when inverted. Thanks for sharing.

[@ducksauz]

Another great video. It's great watching this kind of tiny restoration. Also, as a Rhode Islander, I was surprised to just now learn of Federal through this video. We all grew up hearing about Brown & Sharpe, but Federal never made the news. Suppose they didn't have the labor disputes that B&S did in the 80s.

[@jczeigler]

Just received a box of five old .0001 DI…. Great timing!

[@jimsvideos7201]

Well if I didn't adore you before now, I definitely do after an intro like that 😊

[@bobvines00]

Quinn, now that I've seen this video I think I'll open up a 10-inch Starrett indicator rescued "from the trash" at work ~20 years ago when they still sold stuff like that. It had failed calibration, so went out as "scrap/trash." I've even got the original Starrett wood box it came in. :) Maybe I'll get lucky and find that it only needed cleaning and re-lubrication! I've always had a fantasy of using it as (part of) a poor man's DRO on either my mill-drill or lathe and even being "out of cal" it may still be more accurate than either piece of machinery!

[@dass1333]

Great job at keeping all the sproing on the inside. Kind of like keeping the magic smoke in electronics.

[@rochekeh]

Great timing i picked up a bunch of indicators at auction recently and they all have some form of stickage. Can actually attack them with some semblance of not-terrified about it. Thank you !

[@jebowlin3879]

Yet another lesson I will likely never use, LOVE IT! that was well done and fairly easy to understand, thanks Qinn

[@TheCatanzaroShop]

Thanks for sharing Quinn! This was an interesting and different video. Keep it up!

[@deeiks12]

You have a good sense of humour.

[@MawoDuffer]

I love this, I’m just starting to look into gears and how lead screw scales work on machines.

[@firebird8600]

Yay! It's Blondihacks time! [Was so enamored with the intro I forgot to comment]

[@cravenmoorehead5636]

That LLL intro was marvelous.

[@codprawn]

Awesome video - never had the time to take any of mine apart - they all actually work! Very interesting to see the insides!

[@creswick]

Thanks for sharing! I have a stack of auction indicators that have these symptoms, but I've been afraid to dive in and try to fix them myself.

[@AmateurRedneckWorkshop]

That was an indication of multiple skills. Thanks for the video. Oh I watch the lock picking lawyer also.

[@MarkSWilliams27]

As always, a very informative video. I actually (try) to work on clocks and yes, the mechanisms are quite similar. Interesting. I won't be intimidated to work on one of these now. I also enjoyed your video on mortise locks. Best to you, Quin.

[@Pappaoh]

Great vid Quinn. I have a couple indicators needing some serious and hopefully just some cleaning. Keep up the great content!

[@josefkrakel9136]

Very useful. I have several ancient indicators wasting away as I seek the time to disassemble them.

[@guye7763]

Love the LPL reference. A nice and funny bit of " dog-whistling " aVe would have been proud of. Cheers

[@AdamAugustPhoto]

As a hobbyist watchmaker this is some great work & something I'd like to try. I'd probably disassemble the whole thing and clean all the components in a naptha bath then an IPA bath in an ultrasonic before reassembly though as old lubricant will still be in the running gear. Some polywatch would also work well on the crystal if you don't want to go out and buy big bottles of polish. It comes in a small tube that lasts for ages (I must have done 20-30 watch crystals with it so far and there's loads left). Nothing will take out the yellowing though. But with careful measuring and an inexpensive crystal press it would be quite easy to swap it for a pocket watch crystal of the same size.

[@redrockroger]

Not only work on a soft surface to keep from scratching, but even better is to work on a large terry cloth towel. If a part happens to "jump" out of the assembly, when it lands on the towel it will not bounce and end up somewhere on the floor where it cannot be found. Been there, done that.

[@MrLukealbanese]

Excellent video. You might also like to see the series that Bob did on Doubleboost a couple of years ago on the subject of indicator restoration. You have to get past his incredible Newcastle upon Tyne accent but its super informative and quite entertaining.

[@Stefan_Van_pellicom]

That was less than a year ago, no ? Covid has made time warp …

[@MrLukealbanese]

@@Stefan_Van_pellicom indeed it has!! I stand corrected.

[@richardspees841]

This is helpful, thanks a lot. I have an indicator I haven't used in probably 20 years, and had a use for it the other day, and it has a case of maximum stickies. I think I know what I'm doing this afternoon.

[@vincentciulla7305]

Topol tooth polish works very well for removing scratches as well. I even used it ti remove scratches from car windshields. And yes, it works on headlights also.

[@martinpanev6651]

Glad i finally have an excuse to fix my ancient mitutoyo! Thanks

[@Teklectic]

Thanks for this, I've got an indicator that was sticky from the factory, I think I'll give this a go!

[@Evolucion7]

LPL-style intro was an absolute delight!

[@schm4704]

Nerves of steel! I just took apart a pencil sharpener with four moving parts and felt pretty smug about it, but this... 👍

[@martyzielinski1442]

You ought to check out the old dude who swears a lot while rebuilding Hamilton model 22 marine chronometers.....

[@marekpaul6110]

Another excellent informative video. Thank you.

[@MaineHomeShop]

Channeling your inner LPL, Nice!

[@KWGochenaur]

Conversely, headlight restoration kits also work great on indicator lenses.

[@schublade4]

Thank you so much for this video! I just successfully repaired a used Swiss-made Compac 213G dial test indicator which I got for 30 bucks online and it works again wonderfully.

[@craigpuetz7020]

It would be overkill for this mechanism, but when I have something more complex with a assortment of unique screws (laptop disassembly, for example) I draw a sketch of the unit and stick each screw in its place on the picture (using tape, clay, whatever). That way each screw finds its way home at the end of the project. I also take a lot of pictures as I disassemble.

[@tommycheshire5508]

I am impressed!

[@realnutteruk1]

I used to work on DEC disc drives from a similar period, and never saw a tool like that! If you were going to balance a disc pack, you'd want to do it dynamically!

[@JamesPotts]

How big were those platters? And what type of system? PDP?

[@realnutteruk1]

@@JamesPotts yes PDP11 era drives... 10 14" platters in a pack... They had about 1hp 3 phase drive motors to get them up to 3000rpm.

[@TheSmokintbird]

Fantastic! Repaired my own weak/sticky indicator (broken spring)

[@FinnoUgricMachining]

Two things I would like to add to Your encouraging presentation on fixing these. One: The plunger should NOT be oiled at all. Any oil in there will only create the sticky stuff that makes the dial indicator to fall into coma. The plunger and the bushing it is running in should be cleaned thoroughly though. Oil is ONLY needed on the bearings and the correct amount is really miniscule. So no oil in gears or the rack. One can use a needle to deliver the oil. Squirting it into there is bad. Two: The hair spring in there is to eliminate the backslash. Before the plunger is put back to it's place, the clock arms should be turned clockvise so that they become slightly tensioned. The number of turns depends on the dial indicator, some need more pretensioning because of the bad workmanship. Usually one turn of the arm is sufficient. Edit: In Your case the pretensioning was "automatic" as You turned the arm to it's original position without taking the arms off.

[@speedbuggy16v]

Nice, I have a few of those federal gauges that could use a good cleanup!

[@rodbennett4790]

G'day Quinn, great video! I've dabbled in this realm before but I wasn't aware of the backlash adjustment capability. Thanks!

[@dennisallport5704]

I gotta say, I'm pretty impressed that you have taken the chance to provide this video to the public. I've not watched any of your other videos, and I possibly wouldn't seeing this one. The chance you take is someone like myself seeing it. I am a dial indicator repair technician of over 30 years. Will I be critical? Of course, but I will not post a critique on your comments section. You've given this a try, and have filmed all of it, and without any training, and I sure hoped you would've exclaimed that you are not an expert. You didn't, so I view this as pure entertainment. If you're interested in getting a bit of expert guidance, I would be happy to help. This way you could retract the misinformation in this video and possibly produce one with better ideas as to show folks how they could correctly clean and adjust their measuring instruments. If you reply to this comment it will show up in my email and I will share some better tips to help your viewers.

[@ronnyfurst5511]

holy moly....lady blondihacks:-) you really rock!

[@brianscott1898]

Thanks you🎉 All your videos really take the intimidation out of this adventure

[@danapatelzick594]

Well done, thanks.

[@outsidescrewball]

Great discussion/demonstration/repair

[@daveb1177]

I think I speak for many others here when I say: Please make your next build project be a lock to send in to LockPickingLawyer.

[@djaydeved]

*built with absoloute S tier precision

[@drswamp8629]

ClockPickingLawyer?

[@umahunter]

That plastic cleaner is good stuff I use it on my welding helmet shields makes them like new and on my machine shields 👍👍👍

[@Engineerd3d]

Use starrett instrument oil on the plunger. Do not oil the jewels with an oiler. Too much oil makes it sticky. Use a needle to oil them.

[@Blondihacks]

Indeed I did

[@articjackal]

I like the LPL intro. Good video, never seen the inside of an indicator before

[@paulmorrey733]

Thanks Quinn Great video. Doubleboost`s mate Bob did a good series on working on Dti`s

[@Miguelito63No1]

hi this is Miguel again, Ihas learn a lot from YOU, GOD bless YOU

[@lazarjovic9948]

I wish I knew about the novus stuff! I recently restored a mitutoyo dial caliper, and I thought the dial glass was glass, but it turned out to be some type of acrylic. I used isopropyl alcohol to clean it, which clouded the plastic. Luckily a replacement was only €7 so it wasn't too bad

[@bradthayer6782]

Impressive restoration, these things were always scary and mysterious to me.

[@ronmccabe7164]

My $0.02 - my general experience with moderately gummy indicators is that they generally don't need to be disassembled, just degreased and reoiled. Especially those that have laid around without much use. Alcohol on the bearings, then relube. Explanation - most oils contain a mix of molecular weight hydrocarbons. Over time the light weight molecules evaporate and leave behind the higher weight hc's. There may also be some crosslinking making even bigger hc molecules. These have higher viscosity and of course are gummier. Now I've got me wondering if some synthetic oils may have a more narrow range of molecular weights or lower vapor pressure. Like ATF fluid, silicone oil, ???? HMMMMM?

[@LaserFur]

I just took the back off the ones I had and sobered them with air tool cleaner and then oil.

[@Mike-zu5xj]

Awesome thanks!!

[@bulletproofpepper2]

Thanks for sharing !

[@OchoMiniatures]

another amazing video with a great intro!

[@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

Oh my, I honestly don’t think I dare have ago 😢 Even though I have a couple of old dial indicators in dire need of this treatment.

[@dans_Learning_Curve]

Just put a shirt on! Hello Quin! You are amazing!