Ah, thread gages: the unsung heroes in the life of a machinist and manufacturers-just quietly chugging, making sure nuts and bolts fit just right. What happens if they will not come out in top shape? Poor Bob in the machine shop scratches his head, and definitely not something we want. How do we help poor Bob keep away from disaster? Let us dive into this rather odd world for storing and using these kinds of tools.
Gages strewn about a workshop like party streamers on New Year’s Eve after the bash went on a little wild. The poor thing’s a mess. Most any professional will tell you that a disorganized workplace riddles nothing but problems. Thread gages have a place to go home and sleep at night-dry and cozy. Their arch-nemesis, humidity, could very much easily turn them into rust buckets faster than it would take to say “rust bucket”; thus, anti-rust coating or desiccator will do.
Think about the family heirloom. Would you ever just throw the old brooch that belonged to Granny out into some dark corner of the garage so it could collect dust and cobwebs? Nope, you’d proudly put it in the good jewelry box. Thread gages, too, have to be stored in a safe manner, like labeled bins or drawers. Remember, organization is the key. You label the drawers like a librarian on Dewey Decimal. Save lots of time; keep gages in excellent shape.
It’s a habit checking the calibration of your thread gages. Let’s face it-we all sometimes need to reassess our bearings, and so do these little measuring masters. The routine inspections catch the possible problems before they mushroom into colossal headaches. The calibrated gages will prevent inaccuracies from happening and help in keeping your projects right on course.