It's like Christmas around here at the moment, which is nice

Gotta love payday....
So, this afternoon, this turned up:

Now.... I've heard it said that, for our level of machining, you simply don't need the accuracy of slip gauges. You can either go rummaging around the workshop looking for something that's the right size; or, just machine down a block of aluminium (or wax, even!) to the correct height, and use that. And that's all very true. But..... surely it's quicker just to have a set of slip gauges? Especially when they're only 50 quid for a complete set...
Once I'd taken the rather scary looking "Not calibrated - do not use!" sticker off the front, and checked them out, I'm suitably impressed. Mind you, they're supposed to be accurate at 20 degrees C. I don't think it's ever been that warm in my workshop! So I guess I'll just have to put up with undersized measurements

The gauges came complete with a laminated sheet indicating how worn they are, measured in 100/1000ths of an inch. So, for example, the 0.124" block is worn by 0.00005". I'm pretty sure you can put that sort of wear on something by just looking at it funny....
Just to show there's life in the old dogs yet, here's the 0.950" block stuck to the 1.000" block, with nothing more than the pressure of the air:

There's no trickery there, just rub them together gently until you feel them bind up, then they'll just stick like that. It's quite bizarre.