How To Read a Micrometer 

You are a natural teacher, along many other qualities I think someone like you should consider teaching in your retirement years. People with your knowledge, skill and talent are desperately needed today. Excellent video!

When I was about 8 years old my father found me "playing" with his 0"-1" and told me it was not a toy & if I was going to handle it I would learn how to read it, so he taught me. When I started my 5 year apprenticeship as a Fitter/Turner at 16 years of age I bought a Starrett 0"-1" No. 113 the same as you have in the Video that was back in 1965. I have used this Mic on a regular basis and am still using it to this day. Thank you for you Videos which I enjoy very much.

As an Aussie Metric man i absolutely loved this video and appreciate how much it all just comes down to what your comfortable with. I think its valuable to learn both measurements if for nothing but the sake of understanding and not just saying that either one is better than the other. they both have their place as much as we want one or the other. Cheers for a great tutorial Adam!

As a 67 year old man who lived in a British colony as a child, I started off using the Imperial system and before I left school we went to the metric system. So, I'm happy with both - for human sized things I used feet and inches and pounds and for small things I use millimetres and grams! Best of both worlds!

Thank you for doing basic stuff like this. There are a bunch of people (me included) that are very interested in machine work,but are afraid to ask basic questions in most groups because of the flaming we will receive. The machinist groups on facebook are almost as bad as the equipment operator groups.

Adam, not only good information but a clean and simple title so folks can find the information easily, today and 10 years from now. Some of the RU-vid idiots would have named this "greatest measuring tool ever" just to get the clicks and money today... then the video is useless to searchers in 2 weeks. You are a good teacher with a future, Mr. Booth. And thanks to Abby for the visual graphics.

43 year old tradesman from the UK and always wanted to know about micrometers. Thank you Adam.

I've watched the whole video even though I know how micrometer works. I like the way you explain things.

As a metric guy with only a loose understanding for imperial, that was the best explanation I've seen. I'm sure I've got an old imperial mic laying around at work some where I'm going to have to get it out again and have another look at it. Thanks man Keep up with the good work.

I'm a precision mechanic student from Costa Rica(17 years old), I think your videos are cool and I'vd learned a lot from you!

Metric freak here (as AvE would say it ! 😁 ), this actually usefull for for me as i sometimes use imperial measurments . Thanks for this one ! 👍

I inherited a mic many years ago but was never able to figure out how to use it. Thanks for the showing me how!! I got my mic out and followed along and just so you know, my BIC pen is .319 o.d.

Great job Adam. Made imperial crystal clear thanks to Abby's help, us metric guys get confused with all these decimal places!!

Thanks for the refresher course! Not sure why anyone would thumbs down this video. If you didn't learn anything, it's on YOU... Only thing missing was how to properly hold the mic.

Years I worked at a factory that made compress gas valves mostly from brass, anyway I was new and they had me unload brass rod stock and had to measure it with a micrometer and was never given any training and made fun of because of it but I eventually got the hang of it, needless to say that factory is no longer in business, great video.

Looking forward to more of this basic stuff. GREAT learning material for the sorry bunch of us that didn’t get the opportunity to learn this in school, but had to do accounting, law and orher boring stuff instead ... Now we get the other boring, on a lathe. :)

Good one! Keep up with the basics, there's a lot of folks like me who know essentially nothing. Thanks.

very very well thought out as you teach this. You are ROOTED in the DEPTH of what is required here. I could only imagine the things you machine..thank you

Thanks alot man! Used your video to show my 9 years old son how to read mic. Clear and easy. We are back from the shop playing with mics. and vernier calipers. What's sad is they don't teach the vernier scale at school anymore. Thanks again from Ontario Canada.👍👍👍

I like it. Great video Adam. Some of us have done this for so long that we forget about how difficult it can be to learn the basics without a good teacher. Thank you for filling that role. Thanks to Abbey for adding to the videos, she will give TOT a run for his money soon if she puts her marketing skills into your video production. If i could add a tip for guys learning on a budget, grab a set of feeler gauges from an auto parts store and practice your mic feel on them. They are stamped with the actual measurement. Friction thimble or not it is a great effective way to develop muscle memory on a mic. Best, Ryan

Perfect training. Nice teamwork on the edit. You have the ability to slow these youngsters down and get them to listen as there are no wasted words or comments. Truly effective training. You are keeping alive the missing ingredient from modern machining, understanding. That is the difference between a machine operator and a machinist.

Best how to read a mic video on RU-vid! Simple and easy

I was bad at math but you just made me realize that like 7/16 is 7 divided by 16. Here I was always looking at an inch chart trying to figure it out. I guess it's never too late to learn lol

Yes! More of this please Adam. How to video's on the very basics of machining would be incredibly valuable for beginners

Man Adam, this is an absolutely fantastic video! I have tried several videos to learn how to read a micrometer and none of them helped at all. Your explanation was so clear and easy to understand (go thank Abby right now please!), now I know how those things work!! Thank you!!

My favorite vid yet. I love the entry level tutorial. I’m just trying to get into metal working and these vids help out a ton. Keep them coming!

A great tutorial Adam, brings me back when my dear old Dad demonstrated how to use one when I was a kid ... great to refresh my memory... he would had loved your channel, he was a machinist in the AeroSpace industry... 🇬🇧🇬🇧

Very clear instructions - I honestly didn't know about the tenths lines! (not a machinist by trade).

As a qualified electrician you have made me feel like an apprentice machinist. Keep these up mate they are much appreciated.

I learned to read micrometers 55 years ago and I STILL enjoyed this!

Love this. Dad was a maintenance man in a factory for almost 40 years. They made a lot of parts in the machine shop over the years. He never went to machinist school and was for the most part self taught. And now that he has retired we got a small shop in a garage but now his knees keep him out of it and I am an ex-electition and heating and air technician turned truckdriver that loves to do things like this. In my off time I relax by hobby working in the shop. Eather building things on our small mini-lathe and an old heavy duty drill press turned mill we got for $30 with a kurt vise on it (yea I didn't even pay for the vise at that auction) or just mechanical work. Mainly on small engines and mowers. But dad was not able to teach me much before his knees went all the way out. So I look to RU-vid channels like this one to help me out. I plan on hanging up my keys very soon to see if my hobbies in this shop will make enough money to pay the bills. Mainly the mowers.

Was a Tool & Die maker for 45 years. Clear and precise explanation of how to read mics. Also, for a 40 year old pair of mics, that is in great shape. Obviously well taken care of.

What is so damn cool about this kind of video is that it really helps your viewers/fans who have zero knowledge of machining to understand more of what you do. I am a computer programmer with zero machining experience, but I love watching what you do. I would expect that many of your viewers are similar to me and have no actual experience and don't even work in this trade, but enjoy watching the process (as a form of escapism from what they or I do as a trade). Recently I saw another excellent video along the same lines by ThisOldTony explaining what a Sine-Bar is an how to use one. I find these nuggets of info utterly fascinating even though I don't work in this trade. However, the more machinist vids I watch, the more I wanna buy a lathe! ;) Keep up the amazing work, Adam! ;D

More please ! For those of us who are clueless on machining !

Great explanation. I've read several how to's, but this video really demonstrates the process well. Thanks!

I'm glad there are people like you who are so willing to explain everything. It's like having a good old fashioned learning from grandad, if my grandad were a master machinist

Thanks. One of the best videos out for mic reading.

great video i am getting a new job and needed to brush up on my micrometer skills this was very helpful.

Great refresher for stuff learned a long time ago and forgotten. I really like the way you present information, keep it coming!

Excellent video Adam! Love the color graphics to highlight the numbers etc. Good job!

Thank you Adam and Abby for your hard work!

That is awesome thanks alot very useful. I've been helping several kids that want to get into the trade but their high school has shut the machining program down. This will help me teach these guys better. Thanks for sharing.

thank you to both you and abby for putting together these videos for those of use who are new, those the needed a refresher (like myself as its been 15 years or so since i had shop class in HS) or those that may have been taught wrong.

Thanks for this video MR Pete222 had me a little confused but you are very good at explaining things you go slowly and don’t jump every where explaining 5 things at once thank you

Abom - Thank you ! The way you explained this was perfect and simple. I appreciate it.

Like that micrometer, this video is a timeless tool for future machinists. Special thanks to Abby, for the explanatory graphics, they are helpful for teaching visual learners. It is great that you can share this with each other. While sensational or time-sensitive videos may pull a lot of attention right away, contributions like this will age more gracefully, and gain views indefinitely. Yours is a wonderful example of what a RU-vid channel can be. Thanks!

Reminds me of one of the first things I was told about these at community college. "This is a micrometer. It is not a c-clamp. Be careful with it."

I have been waiting for this video for so long! Now I understand how they work, thank you so much! Beautifully explained, please do more of this!

Thanks Adam. I really enjoy your videos. I've learned so much in the years I've been following you. You've gotten me this far!! I managed to get myself in a machine shop, without actual schooling bc of what I've learned from you and a couple others.

That was the best tutorial on reading micrometers I have seen on youtube, thank you so much.

Great video man!! I learned all this back in high school, 20 years later and ive bought a vintage starrett but forgot how to use it. Ive gotten the refresher course right here, thanks man!!

Ive been confused on micrometers for a long time and Abom you have cleared things up marvelously! Great video my man. Keep up the good work, You help ALOT of people.

You are an excellent teacher, really appreciate that you take the time to share this knowledge with us. Unfortunately my grandfather passed before he could share this with me, so finding a skilled machinist who's willing to share is wonderful. Would love to see how you use a depth gauge and inside micrometer.

Nice video ! I'm waiting from you many more. Teaching us how to make with safety accurate measurements, protecting your instruments and taking care about them. So to keep instruments for next generations like your micrometer ! Starting from basic tips like how you must hold micrometer with 3 fingers and how you move micrometer with thumb micro movements to make accurate measurements.

Many, many thanks, Adam for this short tutorial. It was a great help. Keep them coming please. All the best from the UK 👍🏼

Nice and basic. Right to the point and well-explained. This is going to help a lot folks just getting their feet wet.

Took the complicated and made it simple. Thank you!

Very cool refresher for those of us who took machine shop in high school and are wanna be's- but have some equipt to some day do cool stuff- Back to the basics is always the best way to keep in touch with those skills!! - Thank you!

Wow, I did not know about the vernier lines for the 0.0001 readings. Thank you so much Adam.

Been watching you use those for years, and now I know how! Amazing video, even a bricklayer can understand it 👍🏻

Thank you for understanding that all of us are a novice at one point. This is an excellent video for the beginning Machinist thank you again. -Will

Hello Adam, thank you for this lecture on thumb reading on a constructive micrometres. I'm looking forward to your next A + videos A hello from Belgium

Good Job Adam. Well organized, well staged. Thanks for all you have taught so many including me!

Excellent job Adam. People learn in different ways and seeing, hearing and reading the information on the screen covers all the bases. To see that tool used by a third generation machinist warms my heart. Best regards, Daniel

That was a good tutorial, you sure covered all the need to know basics of reading a mic. I prefer mics with a vernier scale over the sleeve too. It means the difference between 0.001 and 0.0001 high resolution. Mind you +/- two or three hundred-thousandth wouldn't negate any job unless its microelectronics...nice though. I just acquired an antiquated Moore & Wright 965B that'll need servicing but has the quintessential vernier scale, beautiful, well used with acquired verdigris (commensurate with age) and tons of character.

Thanks Adam, this was very informative and I learned a lot. Please do more videos like this for those of us in the "absolute beginner" category, particularly those of us that may not have access to tools.

Very good explanation. Abom excellent tutorial. Every Roughneck Drilling Rig should view this video on calibration. Measuring OD/ID drill pipe, casing, drill bits, cross over subs. Thank you.

Very good information , and very well explained . Thank you.

thanks Adam for the explication ; i understand 0.25 and 0.25 but after ....to mutch number !! lol i am french here it s a metric gauge thank for your intsructive vidéo , eric from France

I’m a millwright apprentice and this is very helpful just to understand a specialty tool that I’ve never used. Thank you

Brilliant. Wonderful how-to. This should be used to train teachers in how-to teach properly.

Veneer calipers would be a nice how to video

This really helped me out. Thank you for taking the time to make such an informative and easy to understand video

Thank You. I’ve been hoping for exactly this subject!! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Great content as always. A special "Thank You!" to Abby for the infographics.

Well done Adam!! If you ever get tired of doing machine work I believe you would make a great teacher!!!

Haven't used a mic in decades and am slowly building up my measuring gear before going for a lathe and building a little hobby shop, a bit like Chris' from clickspring not a huge production plant so it's great to have a quite reminder/recap on the how to's. It's a very slow project for my retirement so got at least a decade or so to pick and choose what I would like...... great video as always.

Thanks for your teaching. Love your video's

Great teaching video, Please keep them coming.

I always remember which numbers to read on a 3 decimal place micrometer as “Behind, Behind, Aligned”. Nice and easy.

Abby brought a smile to my face ;-)

Excellent tutorial Adam, learning to read a mic is the first step in matching.

Thanks for the refresher. It's been 34 years since I've read one of those.

Thankyou so much for the heads up Adam. That was very helpful. I feel like I learned something valuable today.

Nice job I like the way you explain what ever it is your talking about. Thank you for helping us along.

Having use the mic often in my career as a mechanic I thought you explain it very well

Very helpful video thank you God bless you and all your family around you From Nick Ayivor from London England UK 🇬🇧

Adam, I already know how to read a mic but this video is awesome. It is sure to help a lot of people. Good job!

Really, really looking forward to more of these. While I know how to read and use a micrometer, it's always nice to see tips and tricks from someone who uses them a *lot* more than I ever will!!!

Thank you. Your a great teacher.

Of course you get a thumbs up ole buddy. Thanks for taking the time and showing this. I got one identical to this on in a wooden box with brass hinges and a brass latch from my dad 25 years ago its out of spec and a Lil rough to turn but it's a special piece for sure.

Enjoyed the video. Back in 1976 I was in the Navy in Fire Control School at Great Lakes, IL. Fire Control as in aiming the Guns. The OM/IM or Opticalman and Instrumentman School was in the same building. If a student was caught spinning the Micrometer by it's shaft the punishment was to carry a 5 foot wooden Micrometer out of the building and away from the school on the sidewalk in full view of the 3rd floor Building 616 classroom. It was pretty funny to see.

I just found your channel about a week ago (not sure what's taken me so long, been a fan of TOT for years!). I benge watched your welding table playlist and started this list soon after. Love your channel so far! Thank you for this instruction and all the rest. Please keep this good information coming for all us new hobbyist

Mr Abom, amazing video SIR. I taken numerous classes for using micrometers, YOURS WAS THE BEST. Great job. Amazing video.

Thank you so so so much. You explained it better than my school teachers.

That was an excellent explanation on how to read a micrometer. Thank You

Very Cool, thanks for for teaching the basics

Adam another great educational video, please do more of them! I am an amateur hobby machinist in Australia and enjoy every video you produce. Abbey is a great asset to your productions ,and all ways looks so happy,a great couple!😊

Very well done without confusion like some instructions ... how about a short vid on calibrating a mic that's off 0

Thank you Abom. I just like watching the lath turn and enjoy your videos. This is helpful. I do like learning, even if it is just basic tools.