On the other forum that I am a member of (The Home Shop Machinist) that would rate a "you suck" and rightly so.

I have a set at the museum that required a little tlc before using, I had to scrape the rust off of 90% of them. Still they are better than nothing and I am glad to have a set.

Far better than throwing them in the skip. I was given something the other day, a glass surface plate dated 1944. In a fitted wooden box. Looked on tinternet and it said glass surface plates were made during the war to save using metal.

Very nice!

I'm continually surprised by what gets thrown in skips, such a waste.

I recently retrieved a few face mills from a skip which were going to the recyclers (marginally better than going to landfill). 2 were brand new unused Kennametal, and the other was a 300mm Iscar complete with inserts (it'll probably just sit on the shelf but I couldn't bear to see it go to scrap).

Unfortunately, keeping stuff has a cost too. And selling bits piecemeal is hard enough when its your hobby stash, for businesses it's often more cost effective to bin rather than sell. And that's before you consider what the accountants say.

The business had a closing down auction a few days later and the shims would have sold as a set (all different sizes needed when servicing). This is how the storeman's gaff came to light as people were asking if the shim set would be in the auction.

PS I'm an accountant! the shims had what we call a high net realisable value.

" I did not know until recently that if you rub them together they should stick together and that it is a way of telling the quality ! "

It's called " Wringing " and in use, you always dismantle the stack after setting whatever as the blocks can " Weld " themselves together.

Only thing that looks to be missing is the piece of Shammy leather that covered them in the case also used to clean the block wringing faces.

Wonder how many, outside toolrooms NEED slip sets? A sine bar can be set using a screw jack and Mics/callipers. Not Nasa or RR standards but much cheaper, excepting the OP's set.

Regards Ian.

Imperial a problem ? Divide metric dimension you want by 25.4, Simples.

Edited By Circlip on 11/06/2019 11:14:23

That's the argument for keeping a stock of spares; it keeps customers happy!

But the dreaded accountant takes a different view: he asks 'what's the value of doing this'. To answer that question he compares the cost of doing stuff against the cash it brings in. Accountants care little about customers, engineers, salesmen, or public relations. They only look at the numbers.

In my experience accountants don't make business decisions. Instead they use a spreadsheet to show the boss which parts of his business are profitable and which are losing money. It's the boss who actually makes nasty decisions, and its very convenient for him to blame the accountant.  It is traditional to shoot the messenger.

On the shop floor and in the warehouse the lights may be burning bright, everybody convinced they're doing a good job. The balance sheet might tell a different story; maybe the business has been borrowing money to keep going for years. Maybe the company has to cut costs because they are suddenly competing for sales with someone who is more efficient.

Friend of mine got a high-paid job as management accountant to a moderately well-known furniture maker. Started with a quick tour of a bustling cheerful business with lots of new cars parked outside. In the canteen he got the first whiff of trouble when he overheard a chap moaning about not being allowed to replace some cheap kit. After lunch he looked at the books and within half an hour found the company was bankrupt, totally on the rocks, with no way out. He was in the job because his predecessor had jumped ship rather than manage the collapse. The brand-name still exists. Local rumour has it the firm was bought by a rival for £1.

Lesson learned, it's all about money.

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 11/06/2019 13:25:30

The quest to maximise profit is insatiable.

Dave W

LUCKY man. Not needed daily, but vital when accuracy is needed.

My former employers , at one time were headed, not by Engineers (when strangely, the Company always did well ) but by an accountant who inspected the maintenance stores. he insisted that shelves were cleared of the boxes of brand new BSW and BSF Taps and Dies, despite protestations that they were for making parts to repair the machine tools.

Sadly, I was too late to gain from the edict given three weeks previously!

Apologies to sensible accountants, but many others seem to know only the cost of everything, but the value of nothing else.

Howard

A few years back I picked up a couple of sets of slip gauges in the automobilia section of a classic car auction, for not a lot of money. (Would not have bid else ! )

One set I am keeping, the other is up for grabs to the first contact. I live just north of Winchester. The box without packaging weighs 4lb 10oz on the kitchen scales (or 2.1Kg Napoleon) so probably wants collecting rather than posting. Coffee available.

They are not the prettiest set on the planet, and there are 7 missing, but by careful selection will still do a job. Matrix Pitter slips in a Coventry case.

Missing .1005 .118 .120 .050 .100 .250 .800

Mike

PM in first instance