A play on micrometer for an estimate made by looking, used for rough cuts, layout checks and deciding whether a part is worth measuring at all. Experienced hands can eyeball surprisingly close, which is why the joke works. Using the eyecrometer on a finish dimension is a different story and earns a lecture.
Heard on the job
Eyecrometer says that bracket's about an eighth short, don't bother with the calipers, cut a new one.
Also heard as
- eyeball
- calibrated eyeball
- approximeter
Related terms
Kentucky windage
Adjusting by experience and feel rather than by the numbers, borrowed from riflemen aiming off for wind.
Gnat's whisker
Clean shop term for a tiny, unmeasured amount, smaller than anyone bothers to put a number on.
Mic
Short for micrometer, pronounced mike, and the verb for measuring a part with one.