Measurement and Quality Control

How to quality check if your parts are actually good, and avoid making expensive scrap.

Tutorials

1. Basic Measuring Tools - Calipers, micrometers, and how not to lie to yourself
2. Surface Finish - What those Ra numbers mean and how to achieve them
3. Geometric Tolerancing Basics - When ±0.005" isn't good enough
4. Shop Floor Inspection - Checking parts without a CMM

Why This Matters

You can't improve what you can't measure. And in machining, the difference between a good part and scrap is often less than the thickness of a human hair.

These tutorials aim to teach you:

• How to use measuring tools properly
• What all those symbols on prints actually mean
• How to check parts efficiently without spending all day measuring
• When good enough is actually good enough

Prerequisites

You should be comfortable with:

• Basic shop math (decimals, fractions)
• Reading simple prints
• Handling delicate tools without dropping them

If you're still converting 0.001" to fractions, start with the fundamental skills section first.

The Golden Rule

Measure twice, cut once sounds like some boomer advice, but it'll save your ass more times than you can count.
The corollary: Never trust, always verify.