where to buy pin gages

[carlsbad]

buy the sets on ebay. Make sure you get a set that is individually marked.

 

[Oleg S]

buy the sets on ebay. Make sure you get a set that is individually marked.

Any suggestions on brands?
Thank you

 

[hoz53]

Many years ago when I first had a need for "a" pin gage, I decided to buy the set (0.250" - 0.500"). Cost me at the time I think just under $75 shipped. Current price is just over $100 free shipping. I use them frequently for a wide variety of tasks. Later I added the smaller set as well. If it is anything like bushings for a die, I always need just one more.

i bought a couple sets a few years ago to. everytime i open the box i think- oh my gosh just imagine if i dropped this open case. talk about 52 pickup-- i mite just order a new set instead of picking them up and try to get them in the right spot im very careful where i set them thats for sure.

 

[oley55]

McMaster Carr got back to me very fast. only about 8 bucks to ship them. Sweet, I am making a call !
Thanks all !!!

hope that works as they said, I very recently ordered a #25 count of miniature SS outside C clips (I only needed 2 but couldn't find them elsewhere) from them and shipping ended up being $15 for a $16 purchase. These are were really miniature clips and could have been mailed in an envelope with a single first class mail stamp, but instead came in a 4"X4"X6" box with a lot of air filled bags. Their process of ordering and then blindly waiting for shipping costs seems arcane at best.

All my whining aside, they did have what I needed and shipped pretty fast.

 

[McHaggis]

I got mine from https://www.suncoasttools.com/crm/VendorPages.aspx?Vendor=VermontGage
May not be the best local option for you but they had everything I needed in stock and they shipped to New Zealand at very reasonable rates.

 

[zap]

hope that works as they said, I very recently ordered a #25 count of miniature SS outside C clips (I only needed 2 but couldn't find them elsewhere) from them and shipping ended up being $15 for a $16 purchase. These are were really miniature clips and could have been mailed in an envelope with a single first class mail stamp, but instead came in a 4"X4"X6" box with a lot of air filled bags. Their process of ordering and then blindly waiting for shipping costs seems arcane at best.

All my whining aside, they did have what I needed and shipped pretty fast.

I was quoted at $8.00 when I asked by email. I told them exactly what i was getting, 15 pins total.
Well, i got my bill this morning by email, and it is $15.00 shipping !! A little in the fact that it nearly doubled from my quote. Oh well, this seems to be typical these days.

 

[Clark]

In the shop with the mill and lathe I have pins from 0.050" through 0.625".

But in the reloading room in the basement, I only have the one set 0.250 through 0.500".

 

[Lucky Shooter]

I ordered from a well known supply house and they soaked me on shipping cost
by shipping in several packages from several locations-----no more of that stuff.

If you live close to a Grainger store, they'll ship to the store at no cost. The only
downside I've had with Grainger is that they don't show the half-thousandth increments
in their inventory.

The price and availability are unpredictable with Amazon-----my best deals have been when they
had what I wanted, when I wanted it, at a good price.

Sometimes a little homework will get you a deal.

A. Weldy

 

[dgeesaman]

I’ve had great luck buying used tools on eBay. Functionally similar to gage pins, I picked up a 6-8mm digital bore micrometer for 1/3 the cost of new. I bought a used xxx grade .2500 setting ring for $25: this is normally a few hundred.

I have not bought gage pins on eBay but I imagine sets could be had without calibration for very low prices.

 

[mike06]

Where are you guys buying the pin gages at ?
I see them on eBay for around $3.00, but they want to charge 4 or 5 dollars to ship each one, and I want to get 8 or 10 different pins.
Are you asking the seller if they can combine shipping ??
are you buying them from a different vender ?

https://www.suncoasttools.com/ $2.75 each and their shipping is cheap. Check Florida Stock from menu.

 

[coldboreshot]

I bought mine at Amazon.
Tarey

+1^^^^^ Vermont Gage and HHIP. I have several from each vendor. Exact measurements on all.

 

[zap]

I got 3/4 of my pins today. I did not see what carrier brought them. The other 4 pins are coming from a different warehouse in Chicago. Maybe i am paying twice for shipping than what they quoted me at because they are coming from 2 places.

On a good note, i put one of the pins in the Hornady cam puller, ran my .223 brass up in it, and they turned out great. .002 press now for my bullets, and no doughnut on the inside. Im going to get these doughnuts turned off the outside and should be good for a while. Hopefully groups get better with a more consistent neck tension.

 

[dgeesaman]

I got 3/4 of my pins today. I did not see what carrier brought them. The other 4 pins are coming from a different warehouse in Chicago. Maybe i am paying twice for shipping than what they quoted me at because they are coming from 2 places.

On a good note, i put one of the pins in the Hornady cam puller, ran my .223 brass up in it, and they turned out great. .002 press now for my bullets, and no doughnut on the inside. Im going to get these doughnuts turned off the outside and should be good for a while. Hopefully groups get better with a more consistent neck tension.

Did you grind a chamfer on the end? Most gage pins have square ends and require heavy hand grinding to insert.

I’ll be honest - I no longer use gauge pins for expanding, mostly for this reason. It was easier for me to buy bullet nose expanding mandrels than to get into serious contouring on my pins.

 

[zap]

Yes, i rounded the end, chucked in drill. It was easy to do. It does not take too much to do this, just a small radius will do the job. I started with 100 grit paper and stepped down to 1200. Worked perfectly !
Also, i checked runout on neck to body prior to running them in the die/ pin , and no change in runout, after running brass through the die.

 

[Robert Weidler]

Bought three sets of pin/plug gauges from Amazon -- 0.011 to 0.500. Yes, they are made in China but they are not crap. They are minus gauges (+0.000, -0.0002 tolerance) and all check very good for their intended purpose. Don't remember the cost but was less than $200 for all three.

 

[dgeesaman]

Yes, i rounded the end, chucked in drill. It was easy to do. It does not take too much to do this, just a small radius will do the job. I started with 100 grit paper and stepped down to 1200. Worked perfectly !
Also, i checked runout on neck to body prior to running them in the die/ pin , and no change in runout, after running brass through the die.

That’s basically what I did but the pins are harder than coffin nails and so I gave up around .03” of chamfer. I had to be careful that my case was perfectly centered on the pin when I lifted the ram.

I see the guys who sell them typically put 1/8” chamfer, which has to be much easier.

The other reason I went with Sinclair style mandrels is the float. Hmm, I could do a dimensional comparison between the two expanding systems using my bore mic and runout fixture... but I’m one of the fortunate ones now who doesn’t have much spare time.

David

 

[zap]

My press, shell holder, etc, must be luckily, aligned pretty good. I am not having any issues with my brass necks getting out of concentricity. Thank goodness. Im sure that the brass floats around a bit in the shell holder to kinda self align also. I just tried some 6 br brass and so far, so good.

Yes, they are extremely hard. I am getting away with a very small radius, maybe .020, and the pin slides into the brass with no alignment issues.