Tool Mitutoyo adjustable parallels REVIEW

[Dabbler]

There have been a few references to Mitutoyo adjustable parallels. After a bunch of detective work, and a few bad experiences, it has resulted in a strong suspicion that these are some form of counterfeit. This week I decided to do a practical test.

Before I start - I know I can buy aliexpress stiff at a fraction of the cost, or accusize at about half the price I paid. I bought this item in spite of all that.

The item is the Mitutoyo 985-131 a set of adjustable parallels from .375 to 2.50 (9.53 - 57.15mm). Price was 168$ plus 6$ shipping. Yeah, I know.

They come in a vinyl case, and Mitutoyo asserts that they are made in the USA. The small hole gauges and the telescoping bore gauges from Mit also come in vinyl, but it used to always be red... At least the orange vinyl is consistent with the Mitutoyo colour scheme.

I've tried all of the 6 included parallels. Two of them seem to have a little 'roughness', but a quick swipe from my finger removed whatever dirt/grit that was causing it - there didn't seem to be any residue on my finger though. The smallest of the two screw parallels has one thing that its weird. If the set screws are adjusted tight enough to create friction, there is a point where it has a little more resistance than everywhere else. Working it back and forth for 20 seconds seemed to remove 90% of the difference - perhaps a microburr?

Context before judging: I've used brand new Starrett adjustable parallels (20 years ago), made in USA, and they were FAR rougher and inconsistent than these, heck even a set that was used often over 20 years weren't any better than these ones. And the Starrett ones cost 600 USD+...

Verdict: they aren't perfect, but frankly what I was expecting from Mit. You can do far better 'bang for the buck' going Ali, but expect to stone out a thing or 2. The ali ones are fine, these are nicer than the ones I've used. Will I be sending them back? Nope - I'm OK with the price/performance.

 

[ChazzC]

I’m beginning to think that anything we buy now needs “adjusting” if not modifying/fixing before use.

I have a couple of used individuals name-brand B&S and Fowler) parallels that are reasonably smooth, but my set is HHIP brand purchased on eBay (US$25?) years ago. When I received them I wasn’t happy with the feel and when I complained I was told “they’re all like that, they work in.” It wasn’t worth an eBay claim so I disassembled them, went at the mating surfaces with a toothbrush & Isopropyl alcohol, blew them out and reassembled with a drop of Starrett instrument oil and they were silky smooth.

The biggest problem I had was the soft screws: I replaced them with insert clamping screws (fit the countersinks perfectly). My now Starrett (oil) adjustable parallels work as well or better than any I have tried, and I can tighten them with confidence that I loosen them with ruining the screw heads.

 

[Susquatch]

There have been a few references to Mitutoyo adjustable parallels. After a bunch of detective work, and a few bad experiences, it has resulted in a strong suspicion that these are some form of counterfeit. This week I decided to do a practical test.

Before I start - I know I can buy aliexpress stiff at a fraction of the cost, or accusize at about half the price I paid. I bought this item in spite of all that.

You and I are sooooo similar it's scary. I would never pay that kind of money for something I needed. BUT I WOULD to do a test like that to satisfy my curiosity and in the hope that it would benefit others.

The smallest of the two screw parallels has one thing that its weird. If the set screws are adjusted tight enough to create friction, there is a point where it has a little more resistance than everywhere else. Working it back and forth for 20 seconds seemed to remove 90% of the difference - perhaps a microburr?

I have a much cheaper set of Accusize adjustable parallels. They were EXACTLY like you describe. Right down to wiping out the grit and working the smallest ones back and forth for 30 seconds to smooth them out.

Context before judging: I've used brand new Starrett adjustable parallels (20 years ago), made in USA, and they were FAR rougher and inconsistent than these, heck even a set that was used often over 20 years weren't any better than these ones. And the Starrett ones cost 600 USD+...

I've never owned anything else to compare them with.

Verdict: they aren't perfect, but frankly what I was expecting from Mit. You can do far better 'bang for the buck' going Ali, but expect to stone out a thing or 2. The ali ones are fine, these are nicer than the ones I've used. Will I be sending them back? Nope - I'm OK with the price/performance.

I like my Accusize units. Perhaps the worst thing about them is the crummy plastic folder they come in. I'd have preferred a wooden or even a plastic box.

Thanks for doing this test for us! It answers a lot of important questions.

 

[Mcgyver]

I've got Starrett, Lufkin and B&S. All are excellent, but not new so maybe the new stuff is rougher? .... or at least the old stuff is very well made and not rough. My impression is the Starretts and Lufkin commonly go for $100-150. If I didn't have any, that would be my choice.

Edit: agreed that its surprising with the Mits, every other item of theirs I've had has been flawless

 

[1018Machine]

Surprised to hear Dabbler! Usually anything with the name Mitutoyo (and not counterfeit) arrives flawless. It sounds like it was pretty good but still not quite the level they are known for...has me wondering what they would look like from other manufactures if even Mit's has flaws.

and thanks for the review.

 

[RobinHood]

I have a Starrett set. Made in USA. They were NIB from a tool buy. The smallest two were crusty as well. Grinding dust, etc in the slots. Needed a lot of work to get them to even slide half decently. They work now, but not silky smooth like their big brothers in the same set. They will need more work (project #205…)

Seems all the big names are struggling with quality control.

 

[PeterT]

Before I start - I know I can buy aliexpress stiff at a fraction of the cost, or accusize at about half the price I paid. I bought this item in spite of all that.

The item is the Mitutoyo 985-131 a set of adjustable parallels from .375 to 2.50 (9.53 - 57.15mm). Price was 168$ plus 6$ shipping. Yeah, I know.

They come in a vinyl case, and Mitutoyo asserts that they are made in the USA. The small hole gauges and the telescoping bore gauges from Mit also come in vinyl, but it used to always be red... At least the orange vinyl is consistent with the Mitutoyo colour scheme.

You didn't say where you bought them from, but maybe that was intentional. Mine were purchased from ITM, an authorized Mitutoyo distributer. My impression of quality & the prolonged return gong show links are below. Some notes

- I don't think I ever read where 'Mitutoyo asserts they are made in the USA', at least in their own catalogs. But I have also noticed occasionally some distributers like to put their own spin on wording or get it wrong, or use generic model photos... even while linking the main manufacturer catalog which contradicts it. Possibly the CDN distributers draw from different stock than USA distributers, as unlikely as that sounds. Personally, it wouldn't particularly bother me where they are made. I think my protractor & some other less expensive tools (maybe thread or radius gage?) was made outside of Japan, but the quality was not sub-standard as were the parallels

- @Susquatch called Mit Canada on the PN specifically. He said Part number 985-131 is a valid part number and it is a set of adjustable parallels listed at $188.13 in Canada. It is not in the current catalog and .... However, they could not provide me with any technical information on the product and ended up transferring me to technical support. No one answered there so I left a voice mail with a phone number to call me back at. The plot thickens and the saga continues.

It could be you got a Friday model with less QC issues from the same batch than my Monday model with many QC issues. As others have pointed out, even recently manufactured tools from so called brand names like Starrett are inferior to their cousins of 20 years ago. Obviously in some cases, outsourcing is not delivering the same QC. I'm not saying this is your specific case, but just a general observation. Several years ago I returned a Starrett bore gage to KBC (distributer) which was clearly lower quality 'Fowler like' QC vs their prior offerings.

And to be fair to ITM, other Mitutoyo items I've purchased have been perfectly fine - made in Japan, high quality etc. I just got a bad taste in my mouth dealing with them on what should have been a simple return so take my business elsewhere.

https://canadianhobbymetalworkers.com/threads/itm.11532/#post-159610

https://canadianhobbymetalworkers.com/threads/mitutoyo-tools-at-itm-dot-com.6474/

 

[Dabbler]

I had both ITM and DGI supply in on this. DGI was with the inside sales rep for Aberta (he lives in Charleston). The ITM was sales desk only, and DGI was 12$ cheaper. Mine was sourced via DGI.

Both of them were non-stockling, trans shipped from Mitutoyo Toronto.

 

[PeterT]

It does say country of origin is US. The official COA definition for import/export purposes includes specific words like 'grown, produced, or manufactured...'. I know many vendors play fast & loose with this to the point of utter BS. But one would think a big boy company like DGI would not be exposing themselves with legal/customs issues unless it was on what it considered firm footing.

This link references some related opinions. Round & round we go.

Mitutoyo being made in USA more and more???

I've been looking at getting a few things. I noticed that on Amazon the edge finder from Mitutoyo is made in USA... then looking at other Mit tools, found more of them listed as Made in USA... While Starrett has moved some of the items to China, I am curious why Mit moved from Japan to the...

www.hobby-machinist.com

Anyways, if what you received quality wise was commensurate with what you paid, I'm happy that you're happy. Mine from ITM was a POS. I have a badly made clone from China or India that was on par & suspiciously similar.

Country of Origin: What You Need to Know | PCB

Understand the importance of country of origin labeling in Canada. Learn about regulations and compliance requirements with PCB's comprehensive guide. Visit us at PCBCA!

www.pcb.ca

 

[mbond]

I think the legal threshold is 22% modified to be designated as 'made' in

 

[Dabbler]

The way I see it is a probability thing...

I can dredge the bottom, and roll the dice. I'll get the item, and the likelihood is that I will have to fix it to make it good enough. Or buy #2, repeat until I get what I want. At these prices I get 4 swings at that ball. Perhaps more, if the refund goes through.

By spending bigger up front, I get the 'no-go' option: full refund, including shipping both ways if I don't like it. An a much higher probability I won't waste my time.

For the Ali lovers out there, go for it! I don't judge you - your hobby might be finding the very best deal and/or making things work. That is realy good. It just isn't my hobby.

 

[ChazzC]

The way I see it is a probability thing...

I can dredge the bottom, and roll the dice. I'll get the item, and the likelihood is that I will have to fix it to make it good enough. Or buy #2, repeat until I get what I want. At these prices I get 4 swings at that ball. Perhaps more, if the refund goes through.

By spending bigger up front, I get the 'no-go' option: full refund, including shipping both ways if I don't like it. An a much higher probability I won't waste my time.

For the Ali lovers out there, go for it! I don't judge you - your hobby might be finding the very best deal and/or making things work. That is realy good. It just isn't my hobby.

I'm with you: My daily use Digital Caliper is the 1990's (or earlier) Mitutoyo; I keep the new one as a spare. I purchased the new one from Amazon (and at the time sold by Amazon) knowing if there was a problem I had a no-cost option. If I need the left hand Accusize to check something on the lathe, I'm happy with that.

I use the Pittsburgh versions for center-to-center and similar non-critical applications.

 

[Susquatch]

My daily use Digital Caliper is the 1990's (or earlier) Mitutoyo; I keep the new one as a spare.

I have two of these. A recent model and an old one like yours. The old one is a battery monster. They are often dead when I go to use it. There is no auto off. If I forget to turn it off, it is dead a while later. The batteries last forever on the new ones but it has auto off.

Even so, they are both VERY NICE CALIPERS!

But,...... I still prefer verniers. They are fool proof, never need new batteries and never lose Calibration. ! I have two mitutoyo verniers. One that I've had since my last pet Tyrannosaurus died that I keep at the house, and one that @Dabbler gave me that lives on my lathe headstock. For the time being, I can still read them. I don't know for how much longer though.....