Mitutoyo Serial number

[Handloader101]

Hi all!
I had a need to purchase a ball tubing micrometer and wanted to buy Mitutoyo as I have several other of their instruments and have been very happy with them. However, I balked at the price for something that would not see much use so I decided to buy used on eBay. I know…big mistake. But maybe not. I found a 395-733-10 for sale that looked very clean based on the pictures. There were only 2 photos taken from the front, none on the rear. Well it was delivered today and I have to say that it operates every bit as smoothly as my recently purchased Digimatic and I made a bunch of comparison measurements and they seem to be spot on. My question is where is the serial number? On my Digimatic it is on the back of the sleeve.All there is in the back is a label that only says “Made in Japan”. No where does it even have the model Number. The label in the front is the typical Mitutoyo with the resolution, etc.
I am inclined to keep it but am wondering if I have been taken. It is an older model with the smaller lcd display and has a data out port which I don’t care about. I have 30 days to return it. I paid $125 for it. What do you guys think?

 

[L Vanice]

Quite a few years ago, I bought some new Mitutoyo black plastic plates for 0-1" micrometers from a local Mitutoyo dealer/repair shop. I used them to replace worn or previous owner marked plates. The new plates did not have any model or serial numbers because they were meant to fit many different models. So that is one possibility.

If you have a Mitutoyo repair shop, they might be able to tell if you have a genuine item or a Chinese copy.

Larry

 

[Handloader101]

Thank you Larry. I will check into that

 

[westcoastr]

A word of warning, lots of fake mitu’s on eBay in the past few years. Also “grey” market one’s made in China, mostly the 6” digi standard caliper. Called into mitu to confirm, they said they try to clamp down but it is nearly impossible. Best to buy from an actual machining-related dealer.

 

[Handloader101]

A word of warning, lots of fake mitu’s on eBay in the past few years. Also “grey” market one’s made in China, mostly the 6” digi standard caliper. Called into mitu to confirm, they said they try to clamp down but it is nearly impossible. Best to buy from an actual machining-related dealer.

Thanks for the advice. I went into the deal knowing the possibility but it came with a 30 day return so I knew I could back out. I contacted the seller directly after buying and it turns out he was the original purchaser and the mic had an interesting history so I have decided to keep it.

 

[Zeuserdoo]

@Handloader101
So, are you going to share that history? I'd bet I'm not the only one interested in reading about it.

 

[Handloader101]

@Handloader101
So, are you going to share that history? I'd bet I'm not the only one interested in reading about it.

Ok, here you go. Pasted from a portion of his email to me.



“I primarily used it while we developed a ferrule crimped hose over rubber tubing.
Note: the first 200 production Dodge Viper fuel rail assemblies were made by me and checked with that mic.“

 

[Zeuserdoo]

Ok, here you go. Pasted from a portion of his email to me.



“I primarily used it while we developed a ferrule crimped hose over rubber tubing.
Note: the first 200 production Dodge Viper fuel rail assemblies were made by me and checked with that mic.“

That's a cool story, It's nice when you know what exactly a part does. I've seen so many parts that I look at and think "What the hell do they use this part for?"