Stores that sell machine tools

[Query]

This is a continuation of a discussion started in a vaguely related thread at
  https://skatingforums.com/index.php?topic=8866.0#msg106632

There are stores that sell precision machinist's tools over the counter.

I might have just found two more or less local ones, by doing the obvious and Googling "stores for machinists" and "machine tools", Maryland

Grainger
Norman Machine Tool/

At the very least, they charge a lot more for their measuring tools than Harbor Freight, Home Depot, Lowes, 84 Lumber, tractor supply, and the like.

And, especially if I go non-local, there is some information about the tools on some such store's websites. E.g., it never occurred to me to wear gloves while using a calipers or micrometer, but it makes a lot of sense in retrospect. I guess serious training information is available in books or online.

I have noticed that the employees available at the general hardware stores generally don't know all that much about the tools and supplies they do offer. I guess they mostly can't afford to hire the best experts, maybe not even retired ones.

[Query]

I can't figure it out for myself. E.g., I bought a countersink center punch. I used it in a very inefficient way. Bill_s and tstop4me mentioned better tools, with springs. I finally dug the tool up again, realized it could be taken apart, and - surprise!  - there are springs and different spacers inside, that could do what they said. Presumably almost anyone in the trades who would buy such a tool already knows what it can do and how to use it.

Most of us don't really need ultra high precision and/or accuracy tools. E.g., it's not hard with some work and thought and practice to sharpen your skates better than most professional skate techs. I did that back in the day. No one else here seemed interested. I bought measuring tools to try to do even better, but then people here with engineering and/or machine shop experience have far surpassed my techniques. I've neither the tools nor experience to do what they do, and had a much longer learning curve, with mistakes along the way.

[tstop4me]

Grainger is a large supply house, similar to McMaster-Carr, with multiple warehouse locations, at least some of which have pickup counters for customers who live nearby.

[Bill_S]

I'm a big fan of McMaster-Carr. They never have sales or promotions but I have never had an out of stock item. Their shipping is fast, if expensive.

MSC Direct is another online company with a host of tools for engineering and manufacturing. I've purchased some measuring instruments from them in the distant past.

[tstop4me]

I'm a big fan of McMaster-Carr. They never have sales or promotions but I have never had an out of stock item. Their shipping is fast, if expensive.

MSC Direct is another online company with a host of tools for engineering and manufacturing. I've purchased some measuring instruments from them in the distant past.

Query is looking for a retail store in which he can browse items.  And have helpful, expert staff who will educate him on what tools are available and how to use them properly.  And he wants Starrett quality at Harbor Freight prices.  AFAIK, no such place exists.

[Bill_S]

OK, I see.

In larger cities that might be a possibility, but not likely outside that.

[tstop4me]

OK, I see.

In larger cities that might be a possibility, but not likely outside that.

Certainly not Starrett quality at Harbor Freight prices.  Except maybe a back-alley operation that deals in tools that have fallen off delivery trucks. 

[Kaitsu]

Some advice's how to use adjustable precision square to check edges evenness from the aluminum chased figure skate blades.

https://youtu.be/2Z8sCri8wzA?si=7jLnFWAl-O3iL3cG

[tstop4me]

Some advice's how to use adjustable precision square to check edges evenness from the aluminum chased figure skate blades.

https://youtu.be/2Z8sCri8wzA?si=7jLnFWAl-O3iL3cG

Very good presentation.  I'd just like to clarify that Ultima uses "tapered edge" to refer to a dovetail edge, but Wilson and MK use "tapered edge" to refer to a blade in which the thickness varies longitudinally, thicker near the pick and thinner near the heel.  Just more confusing terminology, unfortunately.  That's why in another post I said that certain tools could be used with flat tapered edges; I was following the Wilson and MK usage.

[Query]

Certainly not Starrett quality at Harbor Freight prices.  Except maybe a back-alley operation that deals in tools that have fallen off delivery trucks. 

Not necessarily. But I want to understand what the higher end tools do differently than the lower end tools. And which tools are actually better.

For a non-professional like me, perhaps mid-priced tools would be good enough. I don't need extreme durability, and even extreme accuracy isn't all that necessary - for my purposes, short term precision and consistency is more important.

But if I go to places like Amazon and eBay, price sometimes doesn't reflect that sort of thing. I need some level of expertise from a store to figure out what brands and models do a reasonably good job. And a decent return policy if something doesn't work right.

E.g., for the most part, most hand tools from companies like Sears Craftsman will do what I need well enough, for woodworking. Sometimes thrift store and garage sale tools do too. Even sometimes the more expensive Harbor Freight tools.

But doing a reasonably good job of sharpening skate blades seems to require somewhat better tools than most things - fairly small defects can make a noticeable difference, and I wanted to measure how much metal I was taking off.

[Query]

Some advice's how to use adjustable precision square to check edges evenness from the aluminum chased figure skate blades.

https://youtu.be/2Z8sCri8wzA?si=7jLnFWAl-O3iL3cG

Looks very nice. Fortunately, I eventually figured out to use the Pro-Filer tool, and, though I don't use them much, the Berghman sharpening tool (which I ended up using with a Pro-Filer stone, because the original 1920s to 1930s stones were coarse and crumbly), in such a way that edge evenness wasn't a problem, because the gap rests against the runner. Basically, I reversed the orientation of the blade in the Pro-Filer, so any asymmetry (e.g., failed centering) in the Pro-Filer would be compensated for. And I did things to adjust gap width.

It helped that my (first generation) Matrix had parallel sided runners - and there is an uncovered part of the runners that goes much higher. (The chassis that holds it is severely concave, and couldn't be used.) If my cameras were better, I would show you. The Matrix 2 blades in the video look much harder to sharpen. Maybe that helped them sell Ultima blade holders?

It also helped that the Pro-Filers were made, I think, in a machine shop with some care. I've tried a other (cheaper) hand sharpening tools which were junk.

Someone said MK and JW Phoenix blades have a chassis that isn't smooth, and the stanchions tilt left and right. How would you sharpen them?