Bore and thickness gauge decision made

[ASavageFox]

Looking for a recommendation and source for a bore measuring gauge? What should I expect to pay for a quality gauge?

How about a wall thickness gauge? Worth the investment?

[mc15426378]

Just my opinion but get a bore gauge from Galazan (CSMC). I believe the cost is $450.00 but well worth the $$$ in my humble opinion. This gauge is approx 12-13 inches in length and can reach deep into the bores for measurement. Also seems to be accurate & repeatable. I had a Skeets gauge and was not satisfied with it.

I do not have a wall thickness gauge, yet, but one of the other members does & he'll probably be along shortly to offer his opinion.

Mike

[Silvers]

There's a good thread on the Galazan wall measurement gauge on the Member's Forum. Last post is dated August 25 and thread is easy to find. Short summary: wall gauges are available from about $100. to 5 times that amount. The cheaper ones are like a long tuning fork and when hand held it's easy to deflect one or both measuring rods and get erroneous readings. The Galazan gauge lets the barrel rest vertically and the measurement rods are static. Are wall gauges worth the investment? If you avoid buying one expensive gun with a bad barrel, you'll probably pay for the best gauge on the market. Of course it's more cost effective to find one nearby and pay someone to do the measuring for you. Silvers

[ASavageFox]

I saw the barrel thickness tool on galazans for $550 but did not find a bore measuring gauge. Does anyone happen to know if it measures bore as well?? It does not say.

anyother quality tools on the market? What do most use to measure bore?

[Silvers]

Wall gauge doesn't measure bore diameter. Different technology.

[ASavageFox]

Wall gauge doesn't measure bore diameter. Different technology.

Right, that is what it looked like from the pic but just thought I would check...

[Brian]

I use the Skeets dial gauge and it works great. have both heads and have no issues,
Also have Tonys wall thicknes gauge/stand and its the way to go. Will pay for itself the first time you avoid a gun with barrels too thin.

[ASavageFox]

Does anyone have the Hosford wall thickness gauge... below is a link to a video of it....it looks very well made, the video seems to show it is a quality tool...

I like it over Galazans stand b/c its not so large... I currently have a pretty small house and just don't have room for the Galazan stand right now and the Hosford is portable... couold take it to a shop or gun show...

I did see the Glazan bore gauge and will likely pick it up over the Skeets gauge as the price is not THAT far apart once you get the full Skeet set-up to check 10 through 28 gauge and I am sure its a quality piece.

http://www.vimeo.com/5011609

[Silvers]

Some further info, I mentioned earlier that it's easy to deflect one or both rods on the tuning fork type wall gauge. After measuring a barrel today I deliberately put a side pull on one of the rods of my Galazan gauge, using a precision trigger pull gauge at ~90-degrees, just beneath the dial indicator. Here's the delta in wall readings:

no pull = zero
1 pound = + .001"
2 pounds = + .003"
3 pounds = + .005"
4 pounds = + .006"
5 pounds = + .007"

With the Galazan gauge the barrel rests vertical on a brass centering cone, so there's really no way to inadvertently deflect one or both rods. This test was just to simulate what can happen if you bend a rod while using a hand held gauge.

The Galazan rods are solid steel. Rod material, diameter and length may be different on any of the tuning fork types, and so, as they say... "your results may vary". FWIW. Silvers

[ASavageFox]

Thanks again Frank... and too clarify, I did read your other post in the member's section... actually more than once and did a fair bit of other research.

On the double gun BBS I read bad reviews of the Baker gauge like this one http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?p ... ber=164349
and have also read bad things and seen poor reviews of the boremaster gauge.

I am not sure if you actually watched the video that I linked or not, I know it is quite long at around 12 minutes but he makes a compelling case for his product... he obviously put a lot of time and thought into it and if you check his website he seems to have spent a good part of his life as a metal worker.

What I like about his product above and beyond the stated portability is the fact that you can quickly check the entire length of the barrel with out making numerous adjustments and or marking off every 2" or distance of choice as you stated in your original post. It seems clear that Mr Hosford highly recommends only using the finger ring as attached to the end of his gauge and I am sure this is done so to avoid the error that you speak of by deflecting the gauge.

Price is not really the issue as its roughly the same price as the Galazan product. MY hope was that someone here has either used this exact product or that someone like yourself with a background in tooling and metal work could make a "professional" opinion on this exact product.

I appreciate your time in responding. 3 pounds certainly would not be a difficult amount of side force to put on a product like this and .005 could easily mark the difference between acceptable or not... and if I am thinking about this properly the error will be to give a larger thickness than is reality... potentially leading to the purchase of an unsafe gun. At this time I am still undecided between these two products as each offers unique benefits.

Have you ever tried using the Galazan wall thickness gauge w/o the brass "stopper" by just holding the barrels and watching the gauge as you slowly rotate and raise and lower the barrels? Is there just too much allowable deflection to get an accurate reading this way also. Its seems quite clear that you will get issues as noted in your recent post by pulling directly away from the measuring point but how much difference do you get by allowing the barrels to angle slightly?

Thanks again.

[Silvers]

For those following this thread let me say I really can’t be objective when trying to recommend either the Galazan (G) or the Hosford (H) barrel wall gauge. Both gauges are well designed products that will perform the same measurements on any Fox barrel – working from both ends. I didn’t view the video link because I am acquainted with Jon Hosford and have talked with him in person at three recent SxS events. I’ve tested his wall gauge several times. Lastly, I may have a bias since I own a G gauge myself and have used it quite a lot, having bought it before the H gauge was intro’d.

Some random thoughts: with the G gauge the barrel is supported vertically; it’s horizontal with the H. There is a misconception that the brass centering cone that supports the barrel on the G gauge must be locked in a fixed position for each measurement. In reality each cone has a thumbscrew and with some practice a person can loosen it and allow the cone and barrel to ride down the support rod while measuring along the way. Thus either gauge will allow measurements at an ~ infinite number of points along the length of the barrel. I do like Jon’s holding “ring” concept and it should minimize inadvertent deflection if the gauge is used per instructions. Portability is not a major consideration for me but it may be for others. The G gauge is heavy at about 22 pounds. The table clamp supplied with the H gauge may not work as well at gun shows where tables are normally butted together end to end; it may be more difficult to do measurements while you're standing in an aisle and the barrel is perpendicular, i.e., across a table.

While there are some other minor pros and cons with each gauge they may cancel out. In sum, I'm thinking either one is a good choice depending on your personal criteria. Silvers

[ASavageFox]

So I received the wall thickness gauge from Hosford and am very pleased. The instrument was well packaged and came in a very nice wood case as shown in the picture below. Has nice stickers on the inside of the lid to cover the important points and has a very nice directions book. Also, Jon Included his business card and nice hand written note asking that I call him when I received the unit. He was very polite and professional on the phone and asked that I call any time I had any questions or issues. Here is the gauge as I received it:




I also just received the Galazan bore gauge. I was less than blown away. I am yet to use the actual instrument itself but my initial impression was poor. The wooden box it came in is poorly constructed and will barely even stay closed... if you move it or touch it at all the lid pops open. One latch has a large "ding" in it. The top and bottom do not align properly (by more than 1/8"). The hinge screws are not fully installed and don't match the hinges... on top of that they are too long and stick through the box. You can see where wood glue has leaked out of joints and was not wiped away. It came with no instructions just a single piece of paper that has clearly about the 100th copy in a row of some old document that someone put together... its washed out and hard to read and was just rolled up and stuffed into the box.

I know this appears to be focusing on the wrong thing but as they say... first impressions are everything. I have always been very pleased in the past with everything that I purchased from CSMC but this shows not only a lack of attention to detail but just general lack of professionalism that would make me cautious of owning one of their shotguns. If the gauge was relatively inexpensive, I could understand but it was not... its likely the most expensive option on the market. Pics below:









Am I out of line to expect a case that will stay shut and align properly? I sort of expected a laminated "cheat sheet" that was maybe colored coded for different bores, etc...

Maybe it was b/c I received both gauges at the same time and thus had something to compare to... regardless i was surprised to that CSMC would send that junk out with their name on it...just my $.02

[al]

ASavage Fox you are correct. If I spend that much money I want my monies worth. I can't stand shoddy work. The important part is the tool BUT if care was not taken on a simple thing like a box how can you trust it. I hope Galazan doesn't used the same case maker for his 200k guns

[Brian]

what is web address for Hosford.

[ASavageFox]

Brian,

here is his home page

http://www.hosfordco.com/

Though I am not even sure if the shotgun equipment is listed here. you can follow the link below to a video of him using the equipment, at the end of which is contact information and pricing.

http://www.vimeo.com/5011609

He also sells dent raising equipment that he thinks is an improvement on other options that are on the market. As well, they are working on a bore mic.