Ah, thread plug gauges, those little beauties that keep your fasteners up to snuff. Still, like that rusty old Pontiac in the driveway, periodic fits and starts do tend to happen along. Thread plug gauge troubleshooting just about goes as smoothly as braiding hair on a cat. Ever have things where the gauge just does not seem to fit? Sometimes, the gauge and the threaded hole are like two different animals speaking different languages. That is pretty normal, and a very good starting point for fixing this would be cleaning. Yes, just good old cleaning. Maybe it’s dust, dirt, or maybe even leftover machining oil acting like a wrench in the works. Before you MacGyver it, make sure all it really needs is a good wipe-down with a cloth or even some compressed air.

But wait, there’s more. Picture this: you’ve just tested a thread, and the gauge goes in too easily. Isn’t that supposed to be a good thing? If it slides in like butter, the hole might be too large, and that’s its own can of worms.

The solution may be in the checking of the calibration of the gauge. It could just be a smudge off, but in this line of business, that’s a mile. You may have to crosscheck your gauge against a reference gauge to see who’s lying. For Pete’s sake, who knew even gauges can be such a fibber? Another pickle you may find yourself in is that of a gauge that looks a little worse for wear. Chips or scratches on the gauge face render them about as useful as a chocolate teapot. Regular inspection for damage saves a lot of trouble later on. Pro tip-if possible, store them in their special boxes like the royalty they are.