[bianchi2]

got to harbor freight.. get a 6" digital caliper and follow the photos. to grind off a bit of the caliper. this will make it much faster and easyer to measure the shims..

 

[ghnl]

Focus! Now I have a headache!!

j/k - looks like it'd work fine.

 

[bianchi2]

sorry, i tryed 3 diff. times posting these photos.. i guess my digital camera need glasses..

 

[PSk]

I would suggest that just buying a micrometer is easier ... http://www.gagesite.com/calipers-micrometers-micrometers-c-6_650-l-en.html and more accurate. That is what I have always used to measure any shim.

But clever idea .
Pete

 

[bianchi2]

mine cost 9.95$ on sale.mine can go to on the mm scale 0.00 mm on the inch scale 0.000". those are very nice thuo, but at 98.95 to a few hundred, wow!! lots of money

 

[PSk]

Mines a hand me down from Dad ...

Pete

 

[Gubi]

Harbor Freight carries a micrometer for $20. With coupon it's $16. Might as well get the right tool.

0 to 1" Range Digital Micrometer

 

[tubut]

In my opinion, conventional micrometers don't cut it if you have to get through a bunch of shims to find the best fit. Analog or digital thickness gauges with a lever for single-handed operation (which can be found cheaply on eBay) work best.

Anyone who dropped a box of shims and had to sort them back into bins again will probably agree that Bianchi1's tool modification is not bad way to get such a job done quickly and with sufficient accuracy.

 

[bianchi2]

glad i could be of some help..

 

[smestas]

got to harbor freight.. get a 6" digital caliper and follow the photos. to grind off a bit of the caliper. this will make it much faster and easyer to measure the shims..

Brilliant!!

 

[Alfar7]

Measuring shims

Original thinking!
Here`s a post from 2008. Check pic on post 11...

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/spider-1966-up/118946-new-shims-their-sizes.html

 

[Alfisto Steve]

My son got me a thickness gauge from Harbor Freight and a small screw with correct threads to replace mushroom end that was to big to fit inside Alfa shim cap.

See pictures of Cen Tech unit further down in this thread:

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/164...omeo-valve-shim-conversion-chart-mm-inch.html

 

[papajam]

I've used a Starrett 232RL 0-0.5" mic for decades for a couple of reasons. One is that at barely 3.5" long (with the case), it takes up almost no room in the mobile tool box for all the house calls I make. Its small size, for me anyway, makes it easier to use compared to a 1" mic or a vernier. One of the best things about it though is the anvil and spindle are only 5mm in diameter. This makes measuring the compressed portion of the shim (the part that contacts the valve stem) and the uncompressed portion a snap.

 

[bianchi2]

alfar7..no idea that you did this.. i did mine in 2006/7 also.. just did not get a digital camera untill this year..i even sowed andrew this years ago when he worked at sears point raceway. in n.cal.. this was at the time i just instaled my vented disk and 4 pot alumiumn calipers.. he even took photos of the brakes and posted them for me, at the same time, he took photos of the caliper.. sorry.... did not steel your idea.. perhapes we came about this on the same thought.. how to make shim measurment easyer.. just a thought.

 

[Gubi]

Thief! Thief!

Actually if you want a one-handed one, HF has this one for $10. $8 with coupon. Definitely good enough for the crap I'd use it for.

 

[Dragline]

Impressive price!
Accuracy . . . eh . . . not so much.

■Accurate to +/- 0.004" or 0.1mm

 

[tubut]

Original thinking!
Here`s a post from 2008. Check pic on post 11...

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/spider-1966-up/118946-new-shims-their-sizes.html

2 Monkeys down, 98 to go.

 

[bianchi2]

2 monkeys down,98 to go???? i am lost..

 

[Gubi]

Impressive price!
Accuracy . . . eh . . . not so much.

■Accurate to +/- 0.004" or 0.1mm

Hey, what do you expect for ten bucks from Harbor Freight?

Yeah, that's not that stellar. I've got the sixteen buck metal one and it claims accuracy to 0.001

 

[Del]

I was taught to use a standard micrometer one handed. It's easy that way, no two handed fiddling, very quick. You curl your right hand little finger around/through the u of the micrometer and then use the thumb and forefinger to turn the shaft, resting the body of the micrometer on the middle and ring fingers. Don't need one of those fancy electronic ones. I think they are of questionable accuracy. At least mine are digital mechanical readout, similar to what Gubi showed, and easy to zero out, although I can read the purely mechanical ones as well.