When you are working to accurate tolerances within your workshop or other engineering environment it is important to be able to measure items precisely.  With high quality and accurate micrometer tools, you are able to measure items to a fraction of an inch in order to guarantee the best possible fit of whatever you are working on.  Modern engines are highly delicate and refined items, and the slightest imperfection in any work that you carry out on them can have long term consequences in terms of the reliability of the unit, as well as causing damage to the structure.

The most common micrometer tools come in the format of a caliper.  These items, known as outside calipers are designed in a number of ways; however they always have the same basic format, which is to measure an object on the outside edge.  The system works by fitting the object that needs to be measured into the caliper and then tightening the screw tightly against the item.  Once the gauge is tight against the object that is being measured, you can read off the dimension from the gauge and know the exact size down to the level of accuracy of the particular micrometer tool that is being used.

Although micrometer tools have been available for many years, they have traditionally used a rotating scale that can be difficult to read and cause problems for people who are not full cognizant with the system.  I the last few years, a number of manufacturers have started to produce digital displays on their gauges.  These combine the same levels of accuracy that you would expect from a precision tool with the ease of use that comes from a much more user friendly measuring system.  When it is important to get the most accurate possible measurement, you also need to be able to understand the readings that they provide; otherwise the purpose of the work is completely undermined.

One of the most common areas that you will need to have a micrometer tool to measure in a workshop is