Paper Thickness Measurement Tool?

Can anyone provide guidance on locating a good tickness measuring gauge? Are electronic ones suitable for stamps?

Gilles I had thought about this myself. I've used various high quality instruments during my days but with any of the gauges or calipers I have just the slightest bit to much pressure and readings would be pointless. I would imagine for this to be succesful you would almost need a 40-200x scope to detect exactly when the tool touches the paper before it squishes into it. I'd be curious as to how its done in an expertising lab?

Days ago I used to work in a calibration lab repairng and calibrating electronics and physical and dimensional instruments. Depending on just how technical you would want to get. You could use micrometers or scales or paper mill measurement gauges. The instrumentation is endless. Here is a quick link to some down and dirty measurement instruments for mills.
http://www.baypressservices.com/aca..._Gauges.html

Looks like this would fit the bill:

http://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Thickn...f=pd_cp_hi_1

It's the same as the one at top left in the link in 1775mac's post, but at about 1/3 the cost.

electronic micrometer find these on

www.dealextreme.com

tikithindi

I have found the ones that are all plastic or carbon fiber to not be very consistent in the measurements that they give and have to all the time reset to zero. Ones with a more solid metal type rod and anvil seems more consistent to me because the metal is harder than plastic.

It would seem one would need a gauge which is accurate to 0.0001" to measure difference between wet(.0030 to.0034 inches) and dry(0.0037 to 0.0042 inches) print stamps, i.e. Liberty Series. It would seem those that are accurate to 0.001 inch would not be of any use for anything but measuring postal stationery. So far most I have seen are well over $200. Dose anyone use such a measuring paper instrument?

I use a Mitutoyo digital micrometer. It is certified to be accurate to 0.00005 in. It has a ratchet stop that slips at a calibrated torque so the paper isn't crushed.

Fortunately I have a friend who does quality control that gave me lessons on how to use it properly for measuring paper. It works well.

I don't recall how much I paid for it but I am sure it was under $200.

Dan

I would love to buy one, but aren't they deceptive..I mean if you remove a stamp from an envelope and there are traces of paper still on the back, wont that throw off your readings..Its ok for mint stamps.

A well-soaked stamp shouldn't have paper traces on the back. Regardless, it is customary to take more than one measurement in different parts of the stamp. If done correctly, the measurements should give you a tight enough range to determine the thickness.

Take Albert's example above. If you consistently got measurements greater than 0.0034 inches and less than 0.0037 inches you need to start looking for errors. It could be gunk on the back of the stamp, a mis-calibrated micrometer, operator error or a combination of the three.

I found a well done repair on an 1843 Brazilian Bull's Eye stamp because I kept getting a clunky measurement on one part of the stamp. Sure enough, there was a patch.

It takes practice but the method works well.

Dan

I find the digital micrometers to be a better choice for most users. The analog type require the skill of interpolating the reading and interpolation is mostly a lost skill in the digital age.