Brown & Sharpe VALUELINE

An economical alternative to BesTest Indicators

Very little needs to be said about these Asian imports bearing the all-American name of Brown & Sharpe.

There are only two options: large dial or small dial.

It seems that every major manufacturer has been lured into making something that will compete with the inexpensive Chinese competition. Ironically, the product they come up with is usually made in China by their very competitors. To sound like they're above the fray, the manufacturers will say something like: Made to our specifications in our factory in China or, "globally sourced". And that's why these indicators all look alike.

In this case, the indicators have a superficial resemblance to the far superior Swiss Made Bestest indicators, complete with black dial, orange hand and the All-American Brown & Sharpe trademark name.

Still, even if the origin is Asian, the company you are supporting by purchasing these affordable indicators is to some degree American. Better than nothing. The models were new as of Spring 2016. They currently sell for 1/3 the price of the BesTest indicators.

If you can afford it, by all means take a look at the genuine Swiss made BesTest indicator on page 4. You won't be disappointed.

• Graduations: .0005"
• Range: one revolution .030"
• Dial configuration: balanced 0-15-0
• Dial size: 1.26" or 1.54"
• Contact point length: .70" (caution: replacement points may be hard to find)
• Maximum error: .00012"
• Accessories included: rectangular holding bar, swivel clamp, contact point wrench, plastic box
• Compatible with other Bestest accessories

Q

I need a longer (2" to 2.5") needle tip for my part number 49U622 1.5" face test indicator with .0005" divisions. Do you have these or know where I can get one?

• Sorry, we don’t have any parts for these. Sometimes other manufacturers’ points will fit—depending on the thread diameter—but we have no way of verifying this. Would you like to compare Valueline with other brands? Take a peek at page 37