2" Starrett Dividers

[Denny]

There is a guy selling some 2" Starrett Dividers on ebay right now. These are the 2" ones that Starrett does not make anymore (model 277-2). I love the 3" version but have been looking for the 2" version for quite a while. I thought those of you who like this kind of divider for layout may be interested. Ebay item number 260774753808

 

[Sam]

$30 is fair but $14.41 shipping????

 

[Denny]

Yes the shipping did sort of take my breath away too. My shipping came out $12.12 to Utah. I wanted them bad enough to just do it.

 

[Sam]

He's making an extra $10 or more on the shipping.

 

[Roger Bleile]

I can beat that. When I was in Reno in 2009 I ordered one graver blank of the latest metal from a company displaying there . They sent it to me and charged me $16.00 shipping. It could have been put into a letter envelope and mailed for .47 cents. When I complained they said they would take it off my next order but because of the high shipping charge I haven't ordered anything since then and likely never will.

RB

 

[mitch]

the 2" round leg Starretts are my favorites. i own 4 prs and it's not unusual for me to use them all on a complex layout. i'd suggest contacting the ebay seller and see if he'd consider a volume discount on the tools & shipping (you never know, he might have a case of 'em). dividers are like clamps to a woodworker- you can never have too many!

one of my recent (lack of) customer service stories: i needed to order a replacement compressed air filter element and a) the mfr has a $100 minimum; and b) you have to buy smaller quantities thru your specific regional distributor (mine is in Charlotte, about 100 miles away). i only needed an $8 part, but the distributor still had a $20 min, so i ordered a few odds & ends fittings, etc. (total weight was probably about 2-3 oz.) THEN I SPECIFICALLY INQUIRED ABOUT SHIPPING COST??? "Oh, it'll only be about five bucks." -but it ends up being like $9.50 PLUS a TEN DOLLAR "ORDER PROCESSING CHARGE". when i called to complain, the woman (who took the order) snottily said, "Well, yeah, that charge is standard, but I don't know what you expect me to do about it." so i said, "How about next time somebody SPECIFICALLY ASKS about shipping charges you don't play ignorant about that fee?" and that's when she snapped back, "Don't call me ignorant!" and slammed down the phone. Ironic, huh?

Her boss was more reasonable about matters when i called back...

 

[Denny]

Somebody must have taken Mitch's advice and bought the remaining 8 pairs of dividers in bulk. They are all gone now.

 

[Glenn]

I was trying to get my points closer together on my 3" round Starretts, no cigar! So I bought an old 3" Starrett set of inside calipers on Ebay. About 3/4" up from the curved tips the legs of the calipers touch. I then ground the legs off to the point where they touch together then I individually rounded the outside of the legs so that one was slightly longer than the other. These calipers are heat treated and my finished set of calipers close with legs touching each other. Now I have a set of calipers that begin at zero inches and opens from there.
I hope I have not been too confusing on what I did to develop a closed set of small hardened calipers.

 

[pilkguns]

I'm going to ask again since I never got an answer when Chris had a thread about a deal on these some months ago. Why on earth would any engraver want to use these when far more precision instruments (NOT TO MENTION ADJUSTBLE) are available for much less money . I mean I would pay double or triple for the extra usefulness of drafting dividers yet since computers have basically made them obselete they are available on feebay for virtually nothing.

To me using these Starret dividers is the equivalent of using a cole chisel and a sledge hammer that costs $10,000 when I can buy a Lindsay Palm Control or GRS Air Tact for under $3000.

What am I not understanding about their usefulness? Serioulsy?

 

[mitch]

well, Scott, speaking only for myself, i primarily use them for scribing border lines. on more complex layouts- say a double line/thick-thin gold border- i might have one set for the outer edge of the first border line from the edge of the part, another set to mark the inside edge of the first line, then the other two dividers set for the second line.

i'm not aware of anything better suited for this task on the myriad of flat & curved surfaces encountered on guns & knives. so perhaps it is WE who should be asking YOU what you use that is so technologically superior to a simple pair of well made machinist dividers?

 

[pilkguns]

i'm not aware of anything better suited for this task on the myriad of flat & curved surfaces encountered on guns & knives. so perhaps it is WE who should be asking YOU what you use that is so technologically superior to a simple pair of well made machinist dividers?

As I said the post above, the most useful things are drafting dividers. Advantages over the Starret type, are finer adjustment screw jack threads, legs that parallel to each other(important for doing precision border layouts that are truly parallel) adustable leg points so that you can change the height as necessary to account for rounded surfaces. They legs are not only adjustable, but replaceable, so if you need a thicker one for some reason to follow in a channel, a very fine one to track in a graver cut that you made to make a parallel line following a cut such as in lettering.

I don't see much on ebay today in this category, I've bought 3 or 4 at time for 6 bucks. Today all i see on ebay is a bigger set with some extra non useable dividers for 14 including shipping
http://cgi.ebay.com/Staedtler-Compa...193?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item23104e19a9

So if you are scribing border lines, get a set of these, and you will putting your Starrett thigns on ebay before the days over.

 

[mitch]

oh, i have a handful of those, too- including a couple pairs that i modified specifically for ultra-precise fine spacing. i use whatever works best for the job at hand, but day in, day out i prefer my little 2" starretts for most stuff. so, no, i won't be selling them before this, or any other day, is over...

 

[Sam]

I have a wonderful pair of 2" dividers made by Consolidated Tool. They are quite old and belonged to a friend's grandfather who was a machinist. They're my best pair and never leave my bench. My traveling pair are 3" Starretts.

 

[Troy]

I hate to revive an old thread but does anyone know where I can find a 277-2 divider.
Thanks
I'm new here. I'm Troy from Va. 41, 2 kids.

 

[graniteguy52]

Troy,
Ebay is you best bet, as the Starrett 277-2 divider is no longer being made. The 3" is still being made, and fairly easy to find and order.

 

[Sam]

Troy: They're not easy to find, but occasionally they pop up on eBay as Gordon said. The 3" are just as good and readily available. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

 

[mrthe]

Like engraver i like when people post interesting things in ebay, like ebay buyer that try to win an item at decent price the question is different is hard to find now a 2" divider under 60$ plus shipping haha

 

[LVVP]

I bought Starrett 277-2 from jeweler store for $45

 

[Jim Kelso]

I missed this. I'm dying to replace my 3" that I had since 1975 and lost in a fire years ago. I could just never cough up the $60. If anyone has an extra pair of 2 or 3" I have lots of cool stuff to trade. Rare woods and other materials. Old books. Lots of mother-of-pearl, .040" (1mm) and up.
PM?

Jim