Dial gauge with 3D printed tool

After some tinqering with wood and trespa I decided to make a better and more accurate tool with my new 3D printer. So here is 3D tool number 1.

It looks like some kind of bench screw. A printed block in the middle of the tool shifts the mouthpiece excactly one millimeter with each turn of the lever. In this way it is possible to position the mouthpiece accurate under the dial gauge.

Measuring the chamber

For measuring the chamber heigth I let the point of the dial gauge touch the top of the chamber. With each turn of the lever a plastic block pushes the mouthpiece 1mm to the left resulting in a new measurement.

It is important to keep the table flat to the bottom of the measurement tool.

The results are quite accurate. The graph below is the first measurement of the chamber of a selmer S80 c*. It gives a reliable impression of the angle and also of the length of the baffle.

Measuring the facing

By providing the test probe of the dial gauge with a wide block this tool can also be used for measurement of mouthpiece facings. During the measurements the mouthpieces rests with the two rails on the top of this 30mm wide block. 

The picture below shows the two rails of the facing resting on the block.

With the tool it is possible to measure the opening of the facing in step of 1mm with an accuracy of 1/100 mm.

The chart below is the first quick attempt to measure the facing of selmer s80 mouthpiece.