doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com anyone use th e"Shotgun COmbo Gauge?"

I have Brownells tuning fork. In my opinion it is next to useless. The rods are so flexible I don't know how you can get an accurate measurement. If I recall correctly, threads in the past have discussed machinging in a spring to keep the barrel to one side and dangling the barrels from a wire or string from above. I would love to hear opinions and ideas for this unit.

I wonder if the Galazan unit is better. It looks more strongly built but at 4 times the price it seems out of reach for most.

Builder, how nice to hear from you and how nice to have met you at the Stamford Show. The Manson "tuning fork" wall thickness gauge sold by Brownell's at such a reasonable price does take some patience and is better used when hanging from a doorframe or raised tailgate of an Explorer or other SUV. The Galazan wall thickness gauge is a wonder, but can't be conveniently used at a gun show. As difficult as it is to get an accurate wall thickness measurement from the Manson tool, it is a good alternative at $90.00 to paying $6500.00 for a shotgun at a gun show and not measuring anything but the bore. I only own a Manson tool, two Galazan bore micrometers, and a "small hole gauge" and micrometer for .410 bores, and a 36" tape. I will never get screwed at a gun show because of bore problems and my total investment is about $300.00. I have lent these tools out at shows for prospective purchase of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of shotguns and no one is complaining.

Thank you. It was a pleasure to meet you. I couldn't believe you recognized me as the "man in black" from my picture with Ken Hurst.
Although I don't use them in my business I have familiarity with the use of Vernier Caliper and micrometer from my youth living in the same house with an Uncle who was a tool and die maker. I wished I lived there longer since the basement was filled with lathes, milling machine, etc for his off job use.

In any case, I have a Stan Baler bore gauge that I use but it is hard to carry at a show. I would think it wise to leave it in the car and go back and get it if I am serious about a gun. I usually carry a mini-tape and fold up magnifying lens with me at show.

I imagine it is impossible to use the tuning fork wall thickness gauge at a show although I imagine a guy might let you take the gun out to your car.

I bought Manson a few months ago from an ad on this BBS. I finally pulled it out a few days ago to try to tackle the elusive skills necessary to use it. Not being a machinist, I devised a builder's solution. I put a piece of 1/4" self adhering weatherstrip tape along the lenght of the "barrel" bar. Seemed it would be a similar solution to the spring I have seen installed near the top. It seemed to work but it is going to take a lot of practice to get the feel. Maybe impossible with my solution but worth a try. I have tried putting it in a vise and thread the barrel down on it and then I put the barrels in the vice and pushed the gauge down into the barrel. The second seemed to work better. Maybe I will get the hang of it in a few weeks and resist the urge to throw it out the window.

I hope so!

The ridiculously expensive Robert's gauge seems like the only thing you can take to a show and it has limited use. Murphy's Law, ya know. The thin part of the barrel is gonna be more than six inches away if you have one!

Milt

You can get by with two Galazan or Skeet's gauges and a zero to one inch micrometer. That's really all you need to keep your nose above water and the total investment would be less than $200.00. I bought over four hundred shotguns before I even owned a Manson gauge and never bought a bad one. I bought the Manson gauge only because it was $90.00.

Sorry if I was a little conufsing. This is what I was looking for feedback on:

http://www.shotguncombogauge.com/combogauge.html

The same company has other tools, but this is the actual "combo gauge."

I have seen the Galazan thickness gauge in action and really like it. I just don't do enough with shotguns to justify it at this time. If I were to start doing shotgun work to any extent, then I would get the Galazan tool and never look back. I thought about making one, but with the time and materials it would take me, I would just as soon buy it.

OK, that makes a lot of sense. When you refer to two Skeet's gauges are you talking about ones for different bores?

The one inch micrometer (I think I have a small one too that my Uncle gave me in 1953)and the skeet's gauge would give you the average thickness of the barrel since you are subtracting the ID from the OD. Is that the idea?

Easy to carry, just need to bring my super spectacles.

Yeah, Skeet's or Galazan gauges in the two available sizes and the micrometer to measure the outside diameter of the barrels. No fuss, no muss. Most barrels are concentric enough to keep you in the ball park. The larger size of gauge will not measure ten or twelve gauge chambers, but you can do that with a machinist's scale.

The Manson (Brownell) W/T gauge is hands-down more portable than a weighted-base table top model and easier to manipulate to achieve repeatable results with the Oscar Gaddy-recommmended method of use. When I built mine (tuning fork similar to Manson w/ addition of "Gaddy spring") I found a British tuning fork model for sale on EBay which had a second, sliding yoke obviously intended to optimize rigidity at shallow depth measurement but also retain 15-16" depth capability. With arm protrusion limited to 6 or even 9" from the yoke, a tuning fork model has no more deflection than the Louis "Boremaster" caliper. For the price of a Harbour Freight dial indy (15$) and a few bits of steel and aluminum, the tuning fork CAN BE a precision measuring instrument IMO. The Skeets bore mics work for me. The cumbersome "combo" gauge is the last thing I would invest in as is not much more than a straitedge with a machinist's bevel on the end.

jack