Micrometer Refurbishing
 

Has anyone gotten their micrometers refurbished?

A new set of Starrett 436s is pretty pricey and I don't really trust used eBay mics unless they've been inspected and tested. It sounds like by buying used ones and having them refurbished I could fill out my set with like-new USA-made mics for about half the price of new.

You're right not to trust "used" eBay mics. There is a lot of junk for sale and it's all to easy to get caught out.
As far as refurbishment/calibration I know Starrett provide this service but it wont be cheap and you need something decent to start with.

What about a local B&M Tool shop? They may have some decent second hand gear for sale.

Would you consider Mitutoyo instead?

Why not buy some calibration blocks? Or a calibrated Chinese micrometer?

I have a very acceptable Mitutoyo from a pawn shop. It was about $8-15. Flawless condition. If I needed to be perfectly precise, I would buy some calibration blocks or have it checked out. For what I have needed so far, it is fine. In fact, if I were measuring something like piston rings, I would simply zero it and trust it. It is a nice tool.

What do you mean by "refurbished?" Do they just need to be calibrated or is there something else wrong? You can buy standard blocks to calibrate with if that's all you need.

I have a company I use, it's part-owned by a buddy from high school but I didn't realize that until I had been doing business with them for years.

We can calibrate and check out own instruments, but sometimes they need repair and that's when we send them to Repair Services | Accurate Instrument Repair Inc.

There are similar companies like that around the country.

"refurbished?" Usually means cleaning, checking and replacing worn parts.
Then they are calibrated using gauge blocks. A flat hard surface helps.

There really is an art to precise measurement it IMO and with the loss of manufacturing it's a skill that's disappearing unfortunately.