Remove ratchet on Hejnar rail with Mitutoyo micrometer?

[dlg]

Just got a Hejnar 25 mm micrometer rail with the 20% off Memorial Day sale. The Mitutoyo micrometer screw has a ratchet at the end, but as the torque forces to move the stage are much higher than for micrometer measurement applications, it is useless. I can unscrew it to make the whole device a bit more compact, but then there is a hole at the of the micrometer device. Is that an issue with dirt? Should I find a blank screw to plug the hole? Anything to else to consider?

Thanks!

[lothman]

...I can unscrew it to make the whole device a bit more compact, but then there is a hole at the of the micrometer device. Is that an issue with dirt? Should I find a blank screw to plug the hole? Anything to else to consider?

Thanks!

If this Link shows your micrometer screw, then there is no "open" hole for the ingress of dirt. But due to optics I would close the ratchet hole by an appropriate screw or a small plug.

[goto10]

I too have the Hejnar 25mm rail (one sexy hunk of metal) and removed the ratchet for the same reasons mentioned by OP. I did some research and concluded that the thread size of the screw is not something standard, though I could be wrong. Ended up using a little bit of gaffer tape to seal the hole.