Surface roughness tester reference specimens and sets are used to measure different material surfaces before and after various machining and finishing processes. Reference specimens are gauged metal pieces that are used to calibrate the readings of surface roughness testers. These tools are commonly used to check the roughness of turned, milled, ground, reamed, polished or lapped parts during machining applications. They are also used to check the roughness of spark-eroded and steel surfaces as well as checking the roughness of steel surfaces and the damage of parts caused by nicks, dents, and scratches.

Surface roughness tester reference specimens are a single gauged piece of metal used to calibrate surface roughness testers. The metal specimen provides a single reference roughness or a range of reference roughnesses on a single specimen plate.