KATSU Tools 401125C Universal Engineer Magnetic Dial Indicator Base Stand Holder 360 80 KGN

I’m a firm believer in “buy cheap, pay twice” however, there are exceptions and this product is one of them. For £15 I thought is was worth a punt and at the very worse I can just send it back. There was no need. This is basically a NOGA clone and looks to be every bit as good but £100 cheaper. The magnet is super strong and the arm locks into place and is extremely secure. The only negative is the plastic knobs (and I’m not keen on the red colour) but I’ll machine some new ones as a project. An absolute bargain for £15, I’d happily pay £75 for this.

This is a great and versatile Magnetic base for Holding both Standard form Dial gauges and the smaller lever arm finger indicator in a range of applications including, Lathework set ups, Miller set up work and a wide range of inspection table uses. Strong Magnet and nicely moving adjustable arms which can be clamped in a single operation. A quality tool for a great price, I have several of these and leave them set up for regular operations around the toolroom / factory floor.

Thought people would be interested in a comparison with the much more expensive Noga DG1030 (about 130 euro). I own the Noga, and two of this product. Magnetic strength: Basically equivalent. More than you should need. Arm locking: You have to crank it down a little bit harder than the noga, and the noga ultimately holds a little stronger, but it's plenty strong for indicator work or other light utility stuff you might find use for. Fine adjust: Probably the biggest difference. Not even close. Only a small portion of the fine adjust's travel is useable (it is just barely enough). The fine adjust thumbscrew, and 8mm/dovetail locking thumbscrew are both very stiff and unpleasant. It will eventually clamp down well enough though. The noga travels forever in comparison with no effort, and clamps down very easily. Magnetic mating surface finish: Not great. With the noga, I gave it a very quick pass of a stone. With these guys, I had to file, cut off chaff, deburr, and stone. It was only about 5 mins per holder though. General finish: Pretty trash, but not in a way that impacts performance. Overall: I give them 5/5 for 15 quid. I'd have given them this rating in the review's score, if I didn't think there was room for improvement with the fine adjust. I'm going to continue using the noga for all of my precision work, and have plans to just use these guys as magnetic utility articulated arms. Very useful. However, if you don't want to break the bank, these guys would absolutely work for dial test indicator use. Just remember to deburr!

There are lots of very similar gauge holders out there with huge price variations- and you get what you pay for right? Well not always. This holder was as cheap as chips and as solid as a rock. Ok the on/off switch for the magnetic base was a bit graunchy but it works. In fact that’s what you can say about this holder, it does a simple job- and it works well.

Complete junk. The part that grips the dial indicator wobbles around on its cheap pivot due to bad machining tolerances so it's effectively useless - unless you make your own end piece. The magnet is however quite strong and the arm reasonably rigid. The product is let down by bad QC and I have two of then with the same defect. I modified them but shouldn't have had to.

this is a really nice little dial holder and is smooth in operation - locks up all three joint balls with the one large central knob. base and back are well machined and well within specs to be used by most machinists. base is good cast iron and the magnet works ok - all in all a great buy!!!

This base may be just ok for a lightweight DTI however the magnetic clamping force was nowhere near as strong as expected from specs. I have welding magnets and speaker magnets way way stronger. Tested on different steel types and thicknesses and it doesnt take much lateral force to dislodge it. Its a pity since the arm seems well constructed.

bargain price and suprisingly well made at this price point and functions perfectly. Some have said magnet base lacks strength compared with high end price units, not had an issue with this at all. Done multiple jobs with this without glitches