Manson Gauge Question?

[Bob Brown]

I was hoping someone with a Brownells Manson wall thickness gauge could answer a question for me. I recently bought a used Manson WT tool, but the gauge was lost before I bought it. Would someone please check the make and model number of the gauge in their kit and post it? Thanks.

[Kensal Rise]

The one on my Manson is a Pro-Check, No. 502702

[Bob Brown]

Thanks very much, John. Now to find one and learn to use this thing. I hear they can be a bit tricky to get the hang of.

[Bill Murphy]

I posted a tutorial on the Manson gauge a few years ago. It was on this site or on Doublegunshop.com. A search may turn it up. My purpose was to teach the horizontal method rather than the difficult vertical method used by so many owners.

[Bill Murphy]

If you search "manson" on this forum, you will get two threads with my name on them. There are two opinions on how to use this gauge, but one of the threads has an illustration posted by the Reverend Doctor Drew that will explain. Jon Hosford, the guru of wall thickness gauges, taught me the horizontal method and our own Brian Dudley also recommends the horizontal method. My original tutorial may be on the doublegunshop site.

[Bob Brown]

Thanks for the info, Bill. I found the threads and links to the YouTube videos on the Double Gun site that you mentioned. Great info and answered questions I didn't know enough to ask yet. I googled the ProCheck model 502702 and didn't find any matches. Couldn't even find the ProCheck company website. One answer that I may have missed from your threads was "is the gauge a 0.0" to 1" or 0.0" to 0.5"?" Looks like a 1" stem but I'd like to be sure before I order a gauge.
I also picked up a four gauge Custom Shooting Products bore diameter micrometer, so more to play with and learn from. Too bad they didn't make those in 10, 12, 16, and 20 gauge kits. I don't have or run into many 28s or .410s.

[Bill Murphy]

A Manson wall thickness gauge is a Manson wall thickness gauge. I'm sure the travel on the mic is way less than an inch. I apologize for the doublegunshop.com threads where I tried to be helpful to people who did not understand the use of the instrument. I met some of the most impolite and nasty people I have ever met in the gun world or on a website. To be honest, the worst of them were posting from the UK. They had their own agenda and did not want anyone to help them. To this day, I know that they are buying bad guns and are trying to hang their Manson gauges from the rafters of auction houses because "John Hosford can't tell me how to use a WT gauge." The conversation on the PGCA site was much more intelligent.

[Kensal Rise]

Originally Posted by Bill Murphy

I apologize for the doublegunshop.com threads where I tried to be helpful to people who did not understand the use of the instrument. I met some of the most impolite and nasty people I have ever met in the gun world or on a website. ... The conversation on the PGCA site was much more intelligent.

A more accurate assessment could not be stated. You have my second Mr. Murphy. The PGCA site is in a class by itself. And I do mean class.

[edgarspencer]

I think you will find that almost all 1" travel dial indicators will work. The barrel diameter is pretty much standard. Ordinarily you wouldn't even need a 1" travel gauge, except the barrel length is proportional to the travel, and a shorter barrel won't work.

[Bill Murphy]

Edgar, we're talking wall thickness gauges. No wall thickness needs anywhere near 1/2" or 1" travel. Thanks so much to John Campbell and others for recognizing that Mr. Murphy is trying to assist other posters and the doublegunshop posters were not receptive and in fact quite impolite. Yup, PGCA is a friendly group. Bob Brown is a man of my own taste. He can't own enough measuring devices. My favorite bore mic is the five gauge set that Galazan sells, or did sell, for about $500. With a little modification, it will measure 28 to 8 gauge. In its factory condition, it will measure 28 to 10. I bought one at a gun show for much less, but it beats a pair of Skeet's micrometers, which won't measure a ten gauge. However, I still own my pair of Skeet's mics which I bought from Tony.