The L.S. Starrett Company Factory Tour Part 1

[@slartybartfarst9737]

Im a retired engineer 44 years in big auto world wide still have my Starrett 6" rule, micrometers, vernier calipers, scribers, square the list goes on. Those tools were hellish expensive on a 16 years olds wages but wow still using them now in my home workshop, now thats value. So good to see how our favourite tools are made after 50 years of using them, brilliant video thank you.

[@annacalise8336]

Definitely, I cringe at the prices sometimes but they're worth it cause if taken care of will out live you and are something that we take pride in and can pass down will be just as accurate and elegant as the day you bought it, you definitely do get what you pay for and with tools made of the highest standards you only buy them once! They're an investment!

[@FishFind3000]

Good quality tools last, I can’t remember if it was Rolls Royce or Bentley but one of them said “long after the price is forgotten the quality remains”. I ended up picking up an old pair of Mitutoyo dial calipers and doing a deep dive into their logo history I found that they were made 1962-65 and still work great.

[@johntatro37]

The L.S. Starrett plant is about a mile from my childhood home. My dad worked for them for 53 year.

[@Himmler17]

Spent my career in the hydroelectric industry here in Northern Ontario. Starrett was vital to the precision required in our industry. Love. My 120. Thanks Adam.

[@slicedbread9003]

A big thumbs up Adam. I love Starrett stuff even if I can't always afford it. I hadn't been there but having spent several years in New England I knew exactly what the building would look like and that it would be next to a river with a water fall. The old machines were run with water power. Those old mill buildings had big windows to let the natural light in. I love seeing all those tools getting made. I can't wait for part 2.

[@rustbeltmachine]

Shout out to Debbie! You’re the best. Thanks for keeping the quality high out there, Starrett.

[@Ujeb08]

there's nothing like the quality of Starrett tools that you can see and feel with an experienced toolmaker or machinist! Thanks for sharing your joy of the tour.

[@MrKeithsplace]

Wow, what awesome company. What America used to be, and needs to bring back.

[@DoctyrEvil]

This is where quality starts. Without toolmakers like this we'd all be in big trouble! Thanks for sharing this.

[@garbo8962]

Starret just got a priceless free U tube 40 minute best in class presentation. Thanks Adam and looking forward on the jobs at the new shop.

[@davidt8438]

You can see how proud and contentiously the workers go about their work. It shows in the products. America was built from these products and like everyone watching this video, I also hope Starrett stays around for another 140 years producing the same high quality for talented American workers to keep this country going.

[@RobertKohut]

One thing I noticed was how well kept the building has been over the years. Nice paint, clean rooms and so on.... :-)

[@peterparsons7141]

I am aware of the tremendous history of fine tools that Starret makes. They are the bench mark for quality,,, Recently I purchased some new tools to add to my collection. There was a small problem with one tool. Starret customer service went above and beyond, to fix this small issue. Incredible service, but that’s what I expected, but I need to tell everyone,, Starret always was and still is a first class tool company. The price, the quality,the customer service, the selection of tools,,,, absolutely without peers. There’s a reason Starrett is number one.

[@SPDLTD]

Amazing coverage of a genuine American icon. People don't realize how much of their lives is reliant on the work done by the people at this company. Thank you Abom!

[@dwtim172]

Kinda leaves ya speechless. American craftmanship at it's finest. Thanks you two

[@willb3018]

Great opportunity. Thanks for sharing. Love to see those old industrial buildings. Such character.

[@ckane510]

My favorite. I’ve had mine well over 40 years. Toolmaker/Engineer.

[@jimclarkintheshed]

What a magnificent factory

[@jeff-w]

I just love the old brick factory with all the old manual machines still in use. It makes me nostalgic for a time before I even existed. I'll have to make sure my next caliper is a Starret.

[@daveb3910]

That caliper lady was cute. What a wholesome lady. Wish her the best

[@edmedlin2936]

This is totally amazing and great. I really like the American flags so prominently displayed. Good job Abom!

[@logmeindog]

If I need a tool and Starrett makes it, I always go with them. Their tools have never let me down.

[@JoyfulJapaneseMaples-us7on]

Confirmation that the one who didn't want to be on TV, and acted in disbelief when told that we'd love her - yes ma'am, we do! Thanks for your hard work in Bea part of American manufacturing!!

[@dDoOyYoOuUtTuUbBeE]

Can't imagine the workshop smell in here. Love that.

[@toddavis8603]

I have a few Starrett tools for my woodworking shop here in NYC. Great tour Adam.

[@richanway5204]

As always, an A+++ from the Abom Team! Fantastic to see you two go through all of this and present it too us the way you do. Congratulations on all your accomplishments Adam.

[@Lyndalewinder]

Very interesting video of how factories used to look. I can't believe that this company is making a profit - we saw 1000 machines and 10 employees working!

[@yokomzare201]

Back in 1968 I was in 8th grade and took some what of the same tour. The machines back then were even older. No CNC or lasers. The thing I remember the most about the visit was the use of light to calibrate the solid steel squares. Very similar to what they still use on the scale production. Great Vid.

[@mdvener]

FASCINATING. Love to see how things are made. Something you will always remember.

[@bryanharrison3689]

what an amazing experience that must of been good old school and modern manufacturing at its best.

[@D.Hozzie]

Crazy how much weight must be on that level of the building. Good good stuff!

[@jakebronger3568]

from Australia. dont have many Starrett tools but what I do I like a lot. Thanks Abom AAA+

[@johnhollyfield1458]

Hey Adam, while you are that far North; you should check out the American Precision Museum in Windsor Vermont. the building is the Old Robbins & Lawrence Factory from 1846. IT's COOL! The first place that in the U.S.A. where a factory used precision interchangeable parts.

[@RMRockstar]

They have a C-Head Bridgeport in there from 1937 i think

[@HGitTFC]

@@RMRockstarthey also have Bridgeport serial# 1 there as well

[@tristanbuckoke9121]

Great video Adam . It's great to see you proudly showing your grandfathers and fathers mics. Cheers mate from Australia 🇦🇺

[@transmitterguy478]

Great job Debbie and the other workers!

[@phalcon23]

I'm only 12 minutes in, but that would be an amazing place to work in!

[@AlisterGaull]

Great video very tidy and clean we also have Starrett here in Scotland been here since the 1950s I think

[@Bunk599]

This is just great! Wonderful American manufacturing....a dying breed.

[@jeffshowers1006]

I finally got to finish watching. WOW, what a feeling you must have had to not only invited, but welcomed.

[@thecanadiantradesman7916]

This is the kind of content I love. Domestic manufacturing with people you can relate too and looking like they love and care about what they do. No matter how small the task it is all a crucial part of the finished product, rightdown to the packaging. It's to bad we can't all afford to have the best of everything all the time but when you can it's sure a treat and we usually take the best of care of it, not because of the cost but the pride in quality and what it represents, usually because of the hard work it took to earn it

[@oldpup2182]

This is something I could only dream of doing back when I was a machinist. I still have a couple of Starrett scales I bought back in the 70's. Thanks Abom.

[@MrMojolinux]

Guy's, Mr. Starrett and his office people at the very beginning of Adam's presentation laughingly said it all, said it all! Starrett's hand crafted and quality made tools are made to last forever .....but the few today, who are even thinking about entering into ANY profession where precision tools are used, can afford Starrett's prices today as compared to other brands today!

[@floridaflywheelersantiquee7578]

Adam great video Thanks for sharing

[@angelramos-2005]

Great video,Adam.Thank you.

[@Kev7325]

Thanks for sharing this; it's very enjoyable for me to watch and learn more about Starrett.

[@REVNUMANEWBERN]

Working in the QC department at the Snapper mower MFG plant in McDonough Ga. we used the Starrett tools, loved their tools & it brought back great memories, thanks to you & Starrett for allowing this to be produced!

[@falklan]

Exciting indeed! I've always wanted to see their operations since I was about 12 years old when I saw some of my father's Starrett precision measurement tools. At that age, I simply could not believe the engineering of such things as micrometers that could actually measure two ten thousands of an inch. Thank you Adam!

[@deltamike4971]

This was a terrific episode. Thank you for taking us there. I have so many of those same tools. Neat to see the folks make them. Looking forward to part 2.

[@wouldntyaliktono]

The Mass accents in this video are like a family reunion for me.

[@mikekellam365cid]

Glad to see you FINALLY made it!! I toured there 3-4 years ago and found it absolutely FASCINATING!! Beautiful old building.

[@ProudMary53]

Fantastic tour. I'm from Oz downunder and love the way they still are manually checking and doing the fine adjustments. It's a credit to the Starrett company. Pity these type of manufacturing businesses are slowly dying out. Starrett do make wonderful tools though.

[@markbandy4142]

Thanks, Adam. Totally amazing tour. You're a kid in a candy store ! 😂

[@workingshlub8861]

born and raised in mass and i have starret stuff my dad bought back in the 70s that is still working perfect....

[@heardashot]

Incredible! Enjoyed every minute of that! So well put together! Thank you so much for sharing!

[@robbiedrummond4513]

Great video! Nice to see craftspeople take pride in their work!

[@michaeljgraff]

as ave has said. i appreciate watching over the shoulder of giants. thank you so much Adam for sharing your knowledge and experience with us. i remember watching your stick welding of huge pats and making my welding do much better. thank yo0u so much for helping a crap welder .

[@NSResponder]

Would love to visit there myself someday. What a privilege.

[@jimihendrix5576]

I love STARRETT tools. The quality and function is better than every other brand I've tried. Especially their digital calipers that turn on and off automatically.

[@Garth2011]

What amazes me is that those many levels of floors can hold all of the weight of those big machines !

[@backspacecows01]

Fantastic Video. Thank You.

[@josephcote6120]

Videos about tools and toolmaking are my favorites. There is nothing worse than fighting with your tools to get your work done; whatever the price it's worth it to have tools that help and not hinder you.

[@houndogbbq]

American at its finest!!love it

[@a.bakker64]

I live in the Netherlands and bought a Starret scriber. Even that breathes quality. Love it.

[@petem6291]

Adam what a great video….

[@jeannankeefe845]

Wow! So much history. The old wood tool boxes, wood floors etc...

[@guillermogiacobbe7052]

Beatifull Abom ,for my Starrett is the best ,thanks fron Argentina,

[@AndrewCalhoun]

I moved to Western MA in late 2022, and toured the factory in Athol 4 months ago. While I was there, I couldn't help but wonder if you had ever been there or not. Glad you made it.

[@macass6077]

Wow! Adam; what a fantastic tour of the Starrett factory! And another part to come! Great work!

[@pflqr]

I used to be a Browne & Sharpe guy. I love starrett.

[@Schmidtyamaha]

I was brown and sharpe until Hexagon bought them. Hexagon messes anything it buys

[@mrpete222]

Awesome Video Adam. Wish I had been with you to tag along

[@jameswood9764]

Hope the private equity firm that bought the company keeps the company alive!!!

[@craigbates178]

That announcement was sticking a fork in it. The name will live on but not the local manufacturing.

[@samuelagboola]

You will hope in vain. They bought a brand. They will milk it for profit and strip it for parts. Its the entire model.

[@jonathandurfey]

Quite the gift you got to have there seeing that place. Awesome.

[@shannonelliott6116]

Abom is very respectful to the employees as he tours this facility...wish all factory tourists would learn this etiquette...remember, employees have specific duties and need to be completed in specific time parameters, your tour messes with that, and the tour guides rarely visit the floor to understand the issue...also noticed a mostly GENX workforce...

[@charlesblanton1008]

Some younger even, which is encouraging.

[@Airman..]

Starrett and mitutoyo are the names that I always trust

[@scind2585]

They make the BEST TOOLS out there.

[@williamMay-e7l]

Well, they USED to.

[@stephenhart8981]

sure, 30 years ago.

[@ericktorres9509]

Nice, great work, I love their tools

[@musicalBurr]

Great to see this tour. I’ve been a longtime Starrett fan, not because I need that precision, but because if I’m going to use a tool then I like them to feel good and look good and I’ll know they’ll last, and for the few times that I might need that precision, i know it will be there. Anyway, I enjoyed your front entryway display case reveal. I’m all “Oh oh! I’ve got one of those, and that, oh! and that one, and that one…” Fun!

[@DMR67442]

I live about 30 minutes away or less from this place. It's always great driving by and seeing this factory.

[@NotAFrog]

I guess this factory looks very similar as it did 80 years ago. Wild.

[@normangarland6558]

My first career was as a machinist in the 1970's. All my tools were Starret! When I left that field I gave all my tools to a very good friend that was racing and rebuilding engines. After I retired I decide to get back into hobby machining. I made sure all the tools I gathered were once again Starret. As was said the problem for the company is that the tools they make are indestructible and impervious to wear. Good for the user but no planned obsolescence. Thanks for the insight of a company that truly "Built America"!!

[@СергейДетиненко-ч2е]

Спасибо Вам за великолепную экскурсию.

[@mike-carrigan]

First off, that is an amazing place. I don't own a lot of Starrett, I actually own a bunch of Sherr-Tumico. 2nd, I wish I could meet Tim. We are creating a Continuous Improvement Manager position for me to move into. I would love picking his brain. That's awesome you got to tour the place.

[@REVNUMANEWBERN]

When you see CIM such stuff, with Team Building, Group think training be prepared for you job to end in the near future

[@rw3dog]

Fascinating tour, thanks for sharing ….., Made in USA is the best

[@daveash9572]

Thanks for making this video Abi and Adam. Brilliant to see all this.

[@jameskoch7780]

They were just sold to an investment group. That usually is not a good sign, hopefully they don't go downhill and start offshoring more production.

[@mm9773]

Pretty much: they went private with the help of an investor, and it’s being sold as a move to be free of restrictions that come with being listed on the stock market. Sounds fishy, of course. My guess is that there will be a new line of affordable tools, i.e. crap, and the price for the good stuff will go up even further.

[@wbfaulk]

The current portfolio of that investment company (MiddleGround Capital) doesn't read to me as if they have a history of cheaping out on their investments, but I could certainly be wrong.

[@kurtarmbrust]

My dad was making aircraft deicing pumps during WWII. He later trained and worked as an aircraft mechanic in the army. Ended his working career managing precision sheet metal manufacturing. Most of the tools I inherited from him are Starrett.

[@mm9773]

@@wbfaulk I don’t think the goal is to break the company up and sell the divisions for profit, but for a huge investment to make sense otherwise, they will probably require growth, and achieving growth will be difficult without exploiting the brand name somehow. They already sell a carpenter’s square for 10 bucks that isn’t right: I once checked a few against each other in the store: oh boy. It’s dangerous to put your stellar reputation on the line like that.

[@wbfaulk]

@@mm9773 The Starrett privatization was announced a month ago and hasn't even taken effect yet (the stock is still traded on the NYSE), and you're blaming a product that's already in stores that you perceive as poor quality on the sale? Personally, I'd argue that public ownership is more likely to drive them to make a quick buck than private ownership, and may be why they decided to go private. The company was taken private for $122 million. That doesn't feel like a huge investment from an investment company, and it feels like Starrett can make that back in profits pretty quickly. What I'm saying is that I feel like this move is actually positive for Starrett continuing to make high-quality tools. I realize that goes against the grain of "corporate investment group bad", but not all of them are corporate raiders. I could definitely be wrong, but I don't think it makes sense to write off Starrett yet.

[@louisspataro278]

Nice to see some young guys on the team. I was afraid that this kind of precision was becoming a lost art. I guess there's still hope. Thanks again, Adam.

[@ericrichards5862]

Thanks for the tour Adam, The V block surface grinders are almost the same as the one I have in my shop, same manufacturer for sure. on another note I just bought two series 61 Monarch lathes like the ones in the video, and know of at least 3 more Monarchs and 1 Axelson lathes for sale in Santa Rosa California.

[@yambo59]

Good thing ya went now, I heard they are selling out and wont be made in US before long. Great tour, love seeing such beautiful work still being done here in America by Americans.

[@kevinreardon2558]

30 years ago when I finally scraped up enough cash to setup a hobby shop, I only bought Starrett measuring tools. I sometimes doubt my measuring capability, but never theirs.

[@annacalise8336]

One day id love to take that tour! The way sod of the employees were acting it almost seems like they had a talking to before hand and were told not to interact with them or something lol, the last two people seemed like they were just being themselves, amazing place though!!

[@cmholmes1067]

No that is not the case

[@codeblue2112]

Very cool

[@Poksutin]

i like how the tour guide had an instatn answer to everything. usually when ive seen some factory tour the guide has to ask others :)

[@andrewmattson3299]

The whole series is most excellent.The PE hopefully will not ruin what is essentially a niche manufacturer.When the free lit and repair services go away then that is the end

[@MyLilMule]

Very cool tour. Looking forward to the next part.

[@bondie9150]

Fascinating. Thanks for the tour Adam. It did seem somewhat incongruous that at the inside micrometer calibration station, there were a good number of Vice Grips on show.....

[@stephenoffiler8024]

Sometimes you are not supposed to look that carefully at how the sausage is made...

[@G1951-w1y]

Abom, you should have taken Mr. Pete with you on that tour.

[@williamellis3961]

Very interesting tour of LSStarrett

[@swedishpsychopath8795]

Did a little background check of L.S. Starrett Company. Turns out it was just recently (march 2024) SOLD to a private company "MiddleGround Capital" that says the following about themselves: "We partner and align ourselves with management teams to execute a customized value creation program that drives equity value back to our investors as well as management". What I read from that statement is: CHINA here we come, make room for all our production facilities to maximize profit to us in a transition phase where customers still think they are getting US made quality tools while we charge the full price until they realize the product is made from tinfoil in China and the company plummets.

[@notalizardperson]

I mean, I know that's the fear, but it looks like MiddleGround is acquiring US and European companies to keep them where they are, and separating them from Wall Street. Can't have investors pushing a race to the bottom to meet quarterly earnings expectations if you're not a publicly traded company. As best as I can tell, they haven't yet saddled a company with the debt that was used to acquire it and then liquidate it. On the flip side, I could certainly see them moving the factory somewhere else and then converting the factory into apartments. If I'm right about the purpose of the company, though, look forward to them buying a US-based semiconductor company or two in the future.

[@piteralvarado1028]

Hermoso trabajo asen allí en esa fábrica buenos instrumentos de medición yo tengo un micrómetro de 0a25 milímetros Starret

[@Brian55126]

It's cool that the tools I own are made at a shop that just looks like any other shop I've worked at.

[@ruperthartop7202]

Great video both, thank you for sharing