Lyle, as I stated in the past it bothers us inside that anything mechanical doesn't work, we have to fix it. I think it was instilled in me by my father. A job well done Sir.

Best break free fluid I found is homemade. Equal parts ATF and acetone. Better than anything store bought

You bringing the vise grips close to the thimble raised my heart rate a little

In the UK, I found paraffin (you call it kerosene) worked; sometimes 3in1 oil diluted with paint thinners. You had me fooled with mare’s urine!! 😂😂😂 👍🇬🇧👍🇺🇸👍

Thank you Mr Pete. Kan-O-Kroil has amazed me many times. It smells like top job.

I do this similarly, but put the jar in an ultrasonic bath, running several times over a few days. The ultrasound gives a bit of heating and the vibration helps the penetrating oil.

I'd be pleased to have either micrometer in my tool set. Thanks for another informative and entertaining video. 😀

I got a Mitutoyo digital micrometer that was not stuck but was very stiff, turns out it was probably dropped and the nut was bent so that the anvil was rubbing on the hole in the frame, I fixed it by figuring out which way if was bent and giveing it a few taps with a dead blow hammer in the opposite direction. It now moves very smoothly.

Lyle - Thanks for more good edutainment for the first cup of coffee on a Sunday morning. Been there, done that - just don't have the Starrett tee shirt. LOL.

I learn so much from you, Lyle! Crocus cloth... never heard of it but what I need to clean a metal piece!

Nice job. Since probably around 20 years younger so I still hoard them. That said I pass tools on to young fellows who don't have the means because they are just out of schools or or a new parent that won't be able to afford them. By the way when I was charged way back for bachelor parties I would give the attendees a list of tools they could give him. Women had parties and got gifts, the groom usually didn't get anything to keep his house and vehicle running.

I grew up using Sloan's Liniment as a penetrant. Not sure why. Don't remember it working either. Sure remember the smell. Thanks for this very interesting video. Always something to learn!

Well, i just turned the coffee maker on and per my weekly routine it's time watch an episode from Lyle. Good morning everyone.

Thanks Mr Pete I went and checked out my mics after this video all good 👍

I just love it when a plan comes together

Ahh, now I know what WD40 is made from! great tutorial Mr Pete,,,cheers

That's a beautiful lathe in that catalogue. I wish you could buy them for $63-50 nowadays.

Thanks Mr Pete. I really enjoyed this video. I have a stiff mic and I’m going to give it a soak. And know I feel like it’s not taboo to disassemble it.

Off to see if I can loosen up Dad's old 230. Thanks for this one Mr. Pete!

I was taught not to store them fully closed not due to seizing but thermal expansion. When the temp fluctuates and the materials change size it can really load up the threads and damage them. Not sure if that's true or not but it stuck with me. I've packed away most of my mechanical measuring deices as my eyes got worse and now use digital but I know they are all still free, Cosmoline is a wonderful thing.

For a rusty and stuck hardware I use a mixture of half automatic transmission fluid, half acetone. It works wonderful. I keep it in the spray bottle. Anytime I buy something rusty and corroded. I give it a couple sprays the night before I take it apart. Great video. Thanks for your generosity of your time.

another great video . nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say . the outcome was great . I have used straight mineral spirits to lubricate things to get them working again , followed by lubricant . WD-40 has it's place . I don't think you would have had the same effect with trying them dry , I am convinced the lube helped.

Great job in showing that a little finesse works better that force. I have a needle oiler that I use on all tools that need oil ( joints, threaded and slides ) about every two weeks or so.

this is timely, I Have 2 Micrometers that need some repair....thank you Lyle.....Paul

I use brake fluid and acetone (about 50/50) and I put it in a square-shaped glass Pyrex bowl, so the mics lay flat. Next, I place the bowl on the dash of my old truck (roll the windows up) in the summer time and leave it for a week or two. This gets the brake fluid/acetone mixture very hot and almost always frees-up the mic. Once the mic is free I clean everything in a small ultrasonic tank and after removing the mic I dry everything by disassembling the mic and VERY BREIFLY running my propane torch over the parts to ensure that they're completely dry. Lastly, I apply a few drops of sewing machine oil to the parts.

Thank you so much mr pete for sharing this!😊

Somebody gave me years ago a seized depth micrometer. I used penetrating oil on it. (Liquid wrench or other type). Within a couple days, it loosened. If I recall, seizure was in the threads. (Probably dried lubricant). To hold up thimble in the process on 0 to 1 in, I would use a lathe collet mounted in lathe spindle and lock spindle.

Good Sunday Morning Mr Pete!!! The Tennessee Mole Man 👍🇺🇸🍊🍊🙏✝️ My yesterday comment disappeared. 🤔

Good morning Mr.Pete. I found a starrett 1inch micrometer im my uncle's toolbox when he passed away. Soaked it in wd40 and now its my favorite pair to use at work...soooo smooth!! Thanks for the video and for saving those beautiful tools!! Take care.

Very nicely done. Thank you Mr. Pete

I learned how to use the little wrenches and you got 2 more micrometers.Thank you mrpete.

Thank you for sharing Pete.

The best penetrant I have used, especially on things like gummed up electric motors, is Rust Buster in a plastic bottle with a pull out zoom spout (same container as Turbine Oil) Very thin, very little oil, with electric motors after they are free oil must be applied since the Rust Buster will evaporate. It says made by PG Products Mfg Co. Inc. of New York. I got it off the counter of my local HVAC/Appliance Parts store

Nice! Soaking corroded things like that in "Marvel Mystery Oil" is another good choice. (It's one of the things people used to do before WD-40.)

Great how to.... and I love your humor. Oh, and 40 tpi. Yeah, I Googled it, but at least I know now. 😁

Thanks for your videos. I have always loved shop and the knowledge the shop teachers always gave us.

PTFE teflon based libricants like Slick50 works a treat. When the tiny high spots rub the teflon melts due to friction, then friction is bugger all. Spill some on the lathe bed and the tailstock won't lock until some abrasive removes the teflon. Been using this stuff on most things for 40+ years. 😅😊 Great on micrometers.

process, but I finally got the mic working as well as it was prior to disassembly. I think the proper advise would be to not touch the lock when the spindle is removed. Also the Starrett lock mechanism is a very impressive design. Might make a good "How it Works" video, if you feel so inclined. Thanks so much, I really enjoy your videos. Keep them coming.

Blacksmith home made micrometer from around 1930 my grandad made and engraved, I still have it and it works, he said he used the steel from the half shaft from a lorry. I have photos of the shaper and thread turning lathe and in one photo you can see him shoeing a shire horse. If I put a photo link here in the comment YT will delete the comment.

thats a good result mrpete ! cheers ben.

Tarnished and beat. Just like all of us. The older I get, the less I know. I didn't know any of this. School never stops unless we do. Crazy interesting video to me!

Can't believe I'm up to watch this, Good morning Mr Pete! Micrometers should be 40 TPI. Have to wonder if one of them newfangled Ultrasonic cleaners with say a really thin solvent ( like acetone) would loosen one up But do give you credit, never would have tried that approach

Sea water - Diving in Scotland on wrecks if you found any brass threaded items the trick was to unscrew them ASAP when everything was still wet; if you waited until you got home they would seize up. I guess any non ferrous large items might work for freeing up moving parts. However there are better "solutions" just cost a bit more than salt per gallon.

Mr. Pete, you always present some very interesting and funny stuff and I always enjoy listening to and learning such things. My question today though is this: how in the world does one collect mares urine without getting kicked, trampled or contaminated from head to toe. ..I guess that this question should best be directed to your neighbor with the big old horse they call Lady. ..LOL!

Mare's urine 😂 that was so funny Mrpete 👍👍👍 good job sorting those micrometers out 👍👍

Our maintenance man was Joe Miller. CR36 was Joe in a can. Soak them in CR36. Joe never fails.

I have a mic that's stuck. Now I'll have to dig it out and get it unstuck. Thanks MrPete.

Thank you Mr Pete

Dear Lyle.....this is too Weird......2 years ago, I bought a Kennedy machinist box [the big one] from an older gent with his machinist tools...he had changed trades...his Last name was Kelly, and 2 months before, I bought a large lot of machinist tools from the 50 year old architect son of a machinist who had passed whose name was Jensen........ I feel as if both men are in the shop with me every time I use their tools......I did get the deal of the century as most were Starrett.... .thanks for the informative video on unsticking a stuck Micrometer......best wishes.....Paul

Well the WD 4- came to the rescue instead of needing to head over to the mare! Good tips on repair that precision instrument.

I just got x3 starrett micrometers 7-8, 10-11 & 11-12" I found them on eBay. They are boxed and look like new but are stuck with standing. So i will be trying out this method, Mr Pete 👍🏻

When I worked in aerospace, electro-mechanical actuator dept. this was such projects as the ISS cadram unit, carbon dioxide removal apparatus, abram tank and FA-18 vapor cycle cooling systems etc, us "technicians" and the engineers thought up a test. penetrating oil, we all thought up the way to test, we machined them, the other dept rusted them all up after tightening them all exact, nuts and threaded holes, all exact, long story short, we found aero-kroil actually creates more rust, but it sure is popular, and funny you mentioned it, 'liquid wrench' won under many test criteria. we didn't try atf & acetone however, fun times, made cool stuff, we were not production but machined prototypes and parts for one off and units under test. "Liquid Wrench" won

Thanks Mr Pete 🖖

I have a stuck one that I've been holding on to for 25+ years. I'm going to try this.

Did the same with a rusted one, though I did use electrolysis to do the rust removal, and it did come free after a while, and a coat of oil did help keep it that way.

Hmmm working horses with Jim has a horse that fits that horse description! LOL

Well done, perfectly useable now for most applications, like welding clamps, gluing clamps, LOL.

Over 30 years of racing on the Bonneville Salt Flats I have used every known trick and solvents there are. A 50-50 mixture of Acetone and ATF is the best thing to use.

I used ATF fluid and some minutes later, magic, now it works as new, mine is a Brown & Sharpe No. 8

Good job 😊

Great job 👍🇺🇲👊

Thanks again

I can't imagine your tool "karma" keeping you from fixing a broken tool. You have kept quite a few tools from the landfill, so you must have very good tool karma. ... However, you might have very bad toothbrush karma. Don't be surprised if one day you find your wife using your toothbrush to clean the grout on the bathroom floor. 🙂 ... Love your videos!

Draft horses are awesome, I'd love to see the Belgian. I was surprised how much crud was in them

Repairing a stuck micrometre is like a play game of luck. For get things unstuck I have used kerosine, it is similar as aka wd 40. Good luck!

am almost done making a bolt from aluminum. it is 2" x 16 thread, with a 12 point 2 1/4 head. I bored the shank out to a 3/16 wall. I cut off the cap, and i am boring it inside to 2 x 16 tpi. Once its done the threaded section will thread into the cap, and appear to be a large plain bolt, but it will have a 1 5/8 stash inside it. i am cutting the cap flats on the mill with a spindexer. Once i get my chuck mounted on the rotary table i should have better accuracy, but it looks good so far! Great channel!!

A work colleague asked if I could free up his stuck 0-1” mic. I put it into a tin of machine oil and boiled it. On cooling, it opened up and with a little cleaning has worked ever since.

When I was a Senior Engineering at a power plant, the GE rep was having trouble breaking one of the nuts, 2", loose on the upper half of the turbine shell. No matter how hard the slugging wrench was hit the nut would not move. He had as call around until we could find pure oil of wintergreen, It had to be pure, not man made. Put oil on the nut and around a hour later the nut was off. Since then I have kept some in my shop.

thanks for sharing

Hey Mr Pete. Good video. I came across a large mahogany box while dumpster diving at a major lithography company. Inside the box I found a full set of Starrett C micrometers. Apparently they were changing to digital and just threw everything out. They WERE in perfect condition. But I had to put them in storage for 7 years. Now they are rusted and stuck. Is there any hope? There are 10 of them ranging in size from about 14” to about 3”. I wish I could send you photos. Also got a set of linear calipers 6, 12, 18” in mahogany box. You would not believe the stuff I found in their dumpsters over the 3 years I worked there. Thanks, Paul

Nice work glad the horse piss worked figured it would mr pete .had to do that to one I got from a flea market got it thrown in on some other stuff.

There's no doubt the WD40 helped free up the molasses old dirty oil/lube that dried up on the friction points. The best method was performed, even if it might take 7 days and nights or 14, soaking those in a solution meant to free up gunk. Even some of the home brew liquids were used as noted herein, time to soak is the least collateral damage method.

good morning. Crack detection fluid is a wonderful penetrant for tightly toleranced parts.

👌🏼

A product I have little faith in, that's why I buy it by the gallon. lol

My way of unsticking mics. was to soak in penetrating oil, then leave it on a running machine for a few days in a position where pumped oil is constantly flooding it along the spindle. te heat, vibration and oil flow usually do the job.

Would be interested in a video showing how to make and use the mare urine collector...

Trying to get penetrant into small parts? Use a trick from the wood turners to get resin into porous wood. Vacuum. Even a couple of PSI from a bicycle pump would pull the air out and let the penetrant in. Do that a couple of times and the tightest spaces will be coated.

“Secret blend of herbs and spices”… AAAAAHAHAHAAaaaa!

👍

What a funny video with that highly secret rust-busting mixture. Question nobody asked. “How many threads per inch in a metric micrometer?”

Retired Navy Aviation wrench thrower here. I was MetCal Manager for my last squadron. I was the person who hauled all the calibrated tools like micrometers to AIMD for servicing. I learned there that micrometers and the natural environment of the Navy is not great for micrometers. The discoloration is due to plating loss from corrosion. So long as you keep it oiled, and clean, it'll be fine. For stuck-stuck micrometers, and I mean STUCK, SOP was putting the stuck micrometer into a heated ultrasonic cleaner with something like WD40 set at 120f and leaving it a few hours. 120f you can handle with bare hands, and if that doesn't work? wrap the C-Frame with a rag, and pack the spindle in Dry Ice for a minute. The temperature differential should shrink the spindle enough to break it free from the thimble. If that doesn't work, its assumed something got bent... which, can happen in the Navy.

I use a Harbor Freight, heated ultrasonic cleaner, filled with tap water. The offending object is placed in a Zip lock bag, with enough ATF ( Automatic Transmission Fluid ) to cover the part. The now sealed Zip lock bag, is now placed into the heated water in the ultrasonic cleaners tank, and run through a few cycles, about 15 to 20 min per cycle. You will be amazed at the penetration ability of ATF, especially when it is heated a bit!!! As the micrometer is cleaning in the bath, you should see a faint stain trail of rust, or what ever, coming out of the frame, where the spindle passes through it. This is where they tend to freeze up, because moisture gets wicked into that very tiny space, where is does it's chemical rust formation. This chemical process creates FeO2, Iron oxide, which expands to tightly close the precision lapped space around the spindle. The O2 atom is, by its nature is larger when combined with the Fe atom. Given the small area, the bond created is very strong. Automotive lug nuts have the same problem, so despite the manufacturers warning to not use anti seize on lug nuts, the anti seize, with it's copper or Nickle micro particles in graphite and oil, the space is reduced between the lug threads, and the lug nut threads to prevent the egress of moisture, thus preventing rust seizure. Tim

Thank you, Mr. Pete, for another informative video! I was wondering if using WD-40 with an ultrasonic cleaner would aid in loosening the barrel?

I have a Starret 436 that I got off eBay. It came in the original box with a price tag marked $10.75...

I would have gone with the vice grips for sure!

The problem is Starrett Mics. I was QC manager in a 7-acre precision machine shop, and we had hundreds of Mics. We used Browne and Sharp, Starrett, Mitutoyo, and a few Fowler. Hardly a week went by that a Starrett Mic didn't seize. It was the threads, that seized, not the shaft. I blamed it on the metallurgy, because none of the other Mics, ever galled and seized. Sometimes you get lucky and they would come off by hand with a lot of twisting (the threads actually get hot from the friction!) A little anti-seize made them feel great, but once cleaned and oiled, they would eventually seize up again. I just totally stopped buying them.

lol Hoppes. The ol' number 9 is absolutely my wife's least favorite of my colognes.

I was waiting for the video of the 98 year old man convincing a horse to pee in a jar .

WD 40 may be the cause for them sticking. The company where I worked for years would spray adjustable reamers with WD40 before they put them in storage tubes. If not used for mouths, the blades would refuse to slide. Many blades were broken and others were put in the dumpster. It took a lot of soaking to get them loose. Today I would soak in a warmed CRC rust removal product.

Neighbor has been using that WD-40 gallon can to collect his boar's urine for months just to get even with you for those mower slurs. That boar really looks forward to collection time.

What sticks 'em? Old lube combined with sweat & dust & smegma, turn into a super glue? Is there any oil/lube that doesn't dry out & leave a hard/semi-hard residue?

I prefer a ten inch pipe wrench for loosening any mic up to two inch. A twelve works better for three inch and up. Steve

A cup of mare's sweat? Wait, that was a joke in "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum" with Zero Mostell

Thanks for another cool video . I have a No. 436 -1 too , very smooth until it gets to .7 , then it drags a bit . Back to smooth after .85 . Is there a fix ? Thanks .

The technique used by squires to clean the rust from their knights armour was to put the armour in a sack of sand and donkey urine and drag it behind a horse for a while.

Could you strain the used WD40 through coffee filter paper to remove the sediment?

Hey, Mr. Pete. Would never-seize be ok to use on reassembly? Do you think Boeing T9 would help prevent further rust? ⭐🙂👍

Aha! Lady's secret sauce is petroleum based. Now it all makes sense.

The best penetrant that I have found is model engine fuel.....😁👍👍