Calipers

CrownCityCorey

CrownCityCorey

Sock it to 'em!
Silver Member
I bought a set from Harbor Freight that was about $10 and I overpaid for sure! These things eat up batteries too fast, are flimsy plastic, and on occasion the digital readout goes haywire.

I've seen the metal/plastic ones that are about $20, but the seem like pretty poor quality too; although I know many acuemaker that is satisfied with these.

If I were looking to spend about $40, what do you reccomend?
 
CrownCityCorey said:
I bought a set from Harbor Freight that was about $10 and I overpaid for sure! These things eat up batteries too fast, are flimsy plastic, and on occasion the digital readout goes haywire.

I've seen the metal/plastic ones that are about $20, but the seem like pretty poor quality too; although I know many acuemaker that is satisfied with these.

If I were looking to spend about $40, what do you reccomend?
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Just get a vernier dial caliper from a place like Enco. I have like 3 or 4 of them and they are fine.
 
For around $40 you can get a pice pair at Home depot. I think the brand name is General. Worth the extra money in my opinon. Comes with one extra battery too!

Larry
 
Mitsutoyo from Ebay. I have bought a couple and been happy. One had a hitch in it and I think I decided it was because it didn't affect me. The other 2 pair were fine. Paid like $35 on average.
 
I bought a good pair of Mitutoya's digital calipers about 20 years ago. They still work great and the batteries last much longer( about a year and I never shut them off). During this 20 year period I've bought at least 20 of the cheaper ones just to have extra ones around the shop and I can seldom find a pair of the cheapies that work. I'd recommend biting the bullet and investing about $120 in a pair of Mitutoya's. You won't be sorry unless you lose them.
 
I have used dial calipers since the beginning and am unlikely to change now. I have a digital set that has been in my drawer for years.
 
cueman said:
I have used dial calipers since the beginning and am unlikely to change now. I have a digital set that has been in my drawer for years.
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I agree with Chris about using Dial Calipers. I have a Digital pair and although they are a bit easier to read I just don't trust them (if they were Starrett I might but they are a little expensive). Veneers are not really all that accurate anyway. When you only have to be within a thousandth or 2 they are fine but not for something that needs precision. Just remember to calibrate with the same feel you normally use... which should be rather light, especially when measuring with the tips.

I like Mitutoyo, Brown & Sharpe and Starrett. Don't buy cheap calipers. Unless you're doing auto work and they'll constantly get dirty, buy a decent brand and they will last you a lifetime.

I've had my Starrett calipers for over 30 years and they are still reasonably accurate.

Mitutoyos are my favorite.

Couple suggestions:
Try littlemachineshop.com, the Starretts were on sale.
Get one where each revolution on the face is .100 I find the ones that are .200 per rev. a little hard to read.
Get yourself some Standards to calibrate them ( they also come in handy for setting up your machines)
If you can't afford Pin Gages then think about picking up a set of Telescoping Gages to check bores. Then again, Dial Bore Gages aren't really all that expensive any more. Personally, I prefer Pin Gages.

Oh, if you have to stay within that $40 budget then try Peacock. I had a pair years ago and liked them. The only issue with them is I think they only come with a .200 Dial.
 
calipers

I like dial calipers best. I have a set of Mitutoyo dial calipers that I use the most.

I drop them on the floor sometimes and then I have to get the little pin out and reset them to zero.

One problem you might find with the dial calipers is that they sometimes get sticky and won't slide because sawdust gets in the little gear. Blow them out occasionally to prevent that.

I have a set of $20 harbor freight digital calipers that read the same as the dial calipers. The digital will also read in mm and that is an asset. The battery has lasted almost a year.



Kim
 
quality costs

Hey guys,
Just thought I'd chime in here. I have a little bit of expierience with precision tools. (I'm a 15 year tool and die maker) Buying the cheap $10 -$40 calipers is just asking to buy it again, and again,and again. there is a reason that auto mechanics buy snap-on, matco, mac, craftsmen tools instead of harbor freight and other cheap tool stores. they rely on there tools to last and perform. precision tools are no exception. Starrett, mitutoyo, brown and sharp, fowler ect. cost more for a reason. THERE WORTH MORE! When your using a tool to make a living, ( or even just pad your income:D) it has to perform. I personally have about 15 grand into precision measuring tools (mostly starrett) alone. you wont find a single harbor freight tool in my box, because you can't trust it. I deal in tolerances of +-.0002 all the time, and couldn't trust the cheapy tools for that. As far as accuracy goes, the same starrett, vernier, dial, digital caliper is just as accurate as each other. ease of use is the big difference. old timers seem to like verniers, (probably cause thats what they learned on) I like dial myself. The young kids up and coming seem to like digital. (fast and simple) But they will do the same job, with the same results. So, personally I like the idea of "buy a tool for a lifetime, not just for today". To the OP, if $40-$50 is all you can spend, pawn shops are another goldmine for good tools. And they usually have a set of gauge blocks so you can check the tool out as well. A used ugly 40 year old starrett will beat out a china harbor freight crap any day.
Just my .02 minus taxes
,Tom
 
POOLGODBEWITHME said:
Hey guys,
Just thought I'd chime in here. I have a little bit of expierience with precision tools. (I'm a 15 year tool and die maker) Buying the cheap $10 -$40 calipers is just asking to buy it again, and again,and again. there is a reason that auto mechanics buy snap-on, matco, mac, craftsmen tools instead of harbor freight and other cheap tool stores. they rely on there tools to last and perform. precision tools are no exception. Starrett, mitutoyo, brown and sharp, fowler ect. cost more for a reason. THERE WORTH MORE! When your using a tool to make a living, ( or even just pad your income:D) it has to perform. I personally have about 15 grand into precision measuring tools (mostly starrett) alone. you wont find a single harbor freight tool in my box, because you can't trust it. I deal in tolerances of +-.0002 all the time, and couldn't trust the cheapy tools for that. As far as accuracy goes, the same starrett, vernier, dial, digital caliper is just as accurate as each other. ease of use is the big difference. old timers seem to like verniers, (probably cause thats what they learned on) I like dial myself. The young kids up and coming seem to like digital. (fast and simple) But they will do the same job, with the same results. So, personally I like the idea of "buy a tool for a lifetime, not just for today". To the OP, if $40-$50 is all you can spend, pawn shops are another goldmine for good tools. And they usually have a set of gauge blocks so you can check the tool out as well. A used ugly 40 year old starrett will beat out a china harbor freight crap any day.
Just my .02 minus taxes
,Tom
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Good post. You are correct about Harbor Freight tools, I bought a couple pairs of their 6" digital calipers when they ran a half off sale. Both pairs ended up in the trash, they were junck! I will stick with my Mitutoyo calipers, they are about 6 years old and still operate like when they were new.
 
I have several starret dial calipers and one digital and about 5 digital cheapies....I keep the cheap ones around the shop for roughing work. But don't leave your starrets laying around. Leave them in your tool box away from dust and grim. Take them out to measure and then clean them and put them back. You can't beat starrets....
 
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