I know many of you use feeler gauges for setting the action on your guitars. I was wondering if you could use a Micrometer to set the string height? It measures inside and outside measurements so I think you could set it for string height.
Thanks
You can use anything you want to measure the items in a setup as long as you can get it between the strings and the frets or pickups.
The micrometer you pointed to would not work since the tips would not get under the strings without hitting something else.
People have used rulers, business cards, coins or anything that is of a known thickness.
It's the wrong tool for the job, as Nils explains, but may of course be useful for many other things. Feeler gauges are much easier to use for setting up small gaps -- they were designed specifically for this purpose.
BTW, despite what it says, that is not a micrometer; but it is a caliper (as it also says) -- they are not the same thing.
A micrometer:
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What he pointed to is a vernier caliper - a type of micrometer, and you can get them in analog too:
Feeler gauges are easier to use, though. Vernier calipers are better for measuring distances between hard things, like the inside of a pipe. Since the string can bend with pressure from the caliper jaws, your measurement might not be accurate.
I've used them in a pinch, though.
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These I thought are kinda cool.
This is based on a low-cost, DYI nut file system: Buy a set of feeler gauges for 4 or 5 bucks, then use a file to scuff an edge on each blade, creating a sort of saw edge. Viola! You have nut files. Only thing is that it is surprising how hard feeler gauge spring stainless is -- requires a lot of filing effort to get a good saw edge.
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