I'm a hobbiest that does some side work now and then so buying a set of new mitutoyo/starret mics is more than I want to spend. I've found that certain cheap import things are ok, others not so much. I do have a 0-1 digital mic that I bought from harbour freight about a year ago and it has been fantastic. Believe it or not, but it will nail single microns all day long. I do have a decent set of gauge blocks for qualifying. I tried again with a 60 dollar set of 4 vernier mics (0-4") and they are garbage. The surfaces were ground out of parallel so it's not possible to get consistent measuring better than a thou or so. Luckily harbour freight has a no questions asked return policy so I dont mind trying out their stuff, sometimes you get lucky.
Im currently rebuilding/modifying part of my machine and I need some precise measuring greater than an inch. Right now I really only need to add a 1-2 mic and can get more later. I think I would pay probably 75 bucks for one. Question is, should I try some other higher quality imports, or go with a used mitutoyo or starret? Ive already found a couple on ebay in the price range I'm willing to spend. I would really like the ability to measure within 1 micron consistently (roughly half a tenth) Any advice on this subject?