🔍 Key Concepts

• Difference between measuring individual part thickness vs. checking a gap/clearance between two parts • What a feeler gage is commonly used for in engine or machinery work • What an outside micrometer is designed to measure compared to an inside micrometer

💭 Think About

• Are you measuring the thickness of the shim itself, or the size of a gap that the shim will fit into? • Which tool is normally used to slip between two surfaces to see what clearance exists? • Which tool is designed to measure outside dimensions (like plate or shim thickness) rather than holes or internal diameters?

✅ Before You Answer

• Be clear whether the question asks about shim thickness or clearance between parts • Recall that an inside micrometer is for measuring internal diameters or inside distances, not flat stock thickness • Think about which tool you would actually hold the shim between, versus which you would insert into a gap