What caliper???

Guerra Cues

Guerra Cues

I build one cue at a time
Silver Member
Hello,
I have a cheaper digital caliper but does not seem to be 100% accurate all the time.
Can yous suggest me a caliper of decent quality on a price that I don't have to rob a bank?
Thanks in advance...
 
Calipers

Forget the calipers, rob the bank.

Sound advice from a friend, and I'll drive the getaway car.

Peace

Ted
 
For me Mitsutoyo or is it Mitutoyo.

But many machinists , with Gage blocks swear by the 10-20 USD Chinese made ones. The theory being, it huts your wallet less to drop them.
 
Mitutoyo for pin installation.
The rest, cheap import dial ones.
Digital ones are sacrilege. Plus if they are not as drop-resistant.
 
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BENFICA said:
Quick question...
Any advantages on using a caliper with a dial or a digital one?
Click to expand...

Just in ease of use.
Easier to go from inches to mm by pushing a button instead of
doing the quick math in my head. JMO
I've owned both and neither are drop resistant.

Lee
 
Hi,

When I had my first full time job working for Crane Packing Co., they sent me to 2 night courses (basic & advanced) for certification in Dimensional Metrology at a local college. I learned that you can have the most accurate instrument in the world but if you don't use it correctly the jig is up. Our company had a master inspector that put little stickers on our tools after he checked and calibrated them against a national standard. This is not necessary in cue making but very important when making or inspecting aircraft parts.

I personally don't think you need to spend a lot of money on calipers for cue making. For critical dimensions such as a bore for the pin or A-Joint you will always be a winner if you set up your shop with metal "go" and "no go" gauges for testing fit up. Once you have these few jigs set up for different operations, you can check the calibration of your mics & calipers ect. and verify the accuracy each time you perform one of these operations in your shop.

If you find that your tool is off because the jaws have worn a little, making it defective by .002 for example, take it out of service for critical dimension work. It does not mean that you can't use it for roughing inspection on shaft tapering or rough turning of wood. The key is to put florescent paint on the instrument so you know it is not a dead accurate device when you pick it up.

For me, if I find a unit is off over .001, I throw it in the garbage. Not a problem when it only cost you $30.00.

Rick G
 
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Calipers

BENFICA said:
Hello,
I have a cheaper digital caliper but does not seem to be 100% accurate all the time.
Can yous suggest me a caliper of decent quality on a price that I don't have to rob a bank?
Thanks in advance...
Click to expand...

My main digital caliper is a Mitutoyo 8 inch.
I still have the 1st one I ever brought from 1987.
IMO it is the best.It does not have an auto power off button,but the batteries last close on 2 years.I don't turn it off.
The new Mitutoyo that is coolant resistant,the batteries last less than 1 year. It must be that the memory side of things uses more power.
Last year I brought a harbour freight small caliper.It seemed ok initially.But they are junk compared to my Mitutoyo.
The dial calipers are not really suitable due to dust and chip build up in the rack for the dial. I have a Mitutoyo dial caliper,it is reliable, but only to .002 really.
The other calipers I like are the Sylvac. They have the beveled edges and make the jaws stay in alignment better.
With any calipers, do NOT DROP them.
 
Mitutoyo is the best for the money by far.if you shop around you can find them new for $80,which is way better than paying $40 for a pair of junk calipers.

i bought some SPI digitals from enco that were on sale and supposed to be good.not.they are junk and they just sit now and collect dust.

i like digital b/c you can switch from metric to inch,but i like the dials b/c you can add and subtract better right on the dial without going to the calculator.


if you go digital,DO NOT go cheap.

if you go dial i actually have had zero issues out of the $15 Chinese versions.
 
JoeyInCali said:
Mitutoyo for pin installation.
The rest, cheap import dial ones.
Digital ones are sacrilege. Plus if they are not as drop-resistant.
Click to expand...

I have a Mitutoya, a Starrett and a half dozen of the cheap HF ones (most of which don't work) but the Mitutoya is BY FAR my favorite!
 
I use cheap $25-$30 digital calipers. The trick isn't so much in how accurate they are, but how well you know how to use them. Most all cheap ones are easily accurate to within .001", which is plenty fine enough for cue work. My butts & shafts are never sanded together to blend before finish. They mate up just fine right off the lathe, cut to the same dimensions as measured by my el-cheapo calipers. By the time I apply the finish and sand/polish with the sanding arbors, if there was ever any slop then it's gone. Sure you can say that makes the finish thicker on one side or uneven but we're talking dimensions too small for human eyes to see in the first place so it doesn't matter. The only bennefit I can see to getting expensive calipers would be ease of use, longevity, more options, etc. With cues I simply don't think accuracy is an issue. I know one known veteran builder who buys cheap calipers every couple of months. When the battery dies he buys new calipers instead of new batteries. I have NEVER heard anybody mention the accuracy of his work in a negative way.
 
qbilder said:
I use cheap $25-$30 digital calipers. The trick isn't so much in how accurate they are, but how well you know how to use them. Most all cheap ones are easily accurate to within .001", which is plenty fine enough for cue work. My butts & shafts are never sanded together to blend before finish. They mate up just fine right off the lathe, cut to the same dimensions as measured by my el-cheapo calipers. By the time I apply the finish and sand/polish with the sanding arbors, if there was ever any slop then it's gone. Sure you can say that makes the finish thicker on one side or uneven but we're talking dimensions too small for human eyes to see in the first place so it doesn't matter. The only bennefit I can see to getting expensive calipers would be ease of use, longevity, more options, etc. With cues I simply don't think accuracy is an issue. I know one known veteran builder who buys cheap calipers every couple of months. When the battery dies he buys new calipers instead of new batteries. I have NEVER heard anybody mention the accuracy of his work in a negative way.
Click to expand...


I agree that the difference in accuracy isn't significant, but I bought my Mitutoya's about 18-20 years ago and never turn them off. I think I paid about $110- $125 for them. The batteries last about a year and I replace them. The cheapies I've bought seldom last more than a few months. So I feel it's much cheaper to use the Mitutoyas, over the long haul, as long as they don't grow legs.
 
Thanks for all the info guys. Now I got even more confused. :lol: Just kidding... Eric gave me some good advise before but I will get a Mitutoyo and a couple of cheaper digitals.
 
I have a pair of SPI and a cheap set, the SPI are more accurate. Digital are easier when going from inch's to MM. IMO
 
cuesmith said:
I agree that the difference in accuracy isn't significant, but I bought my Mitutoya's about 18-20 years ago and never turn them off. I think I paid about $110- $125 for them. The batteries last about a year and I replace them. The cheapies I've bought seldom last more than a few months. So I feel it's much cheaper to use the Mitutoyas, over the long haul, as long as they don't grow legs.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that certainly makes sense. I change batteries every few months, had the same set of calipers for probably 11-12 years. Wes Hunter uses those Mitutoyas, too, and never turns them off. They last well. I just never seen the urgency to invest in a nice set. Mine are plenty accurate enough & batteries are cheap. I will say that when the battery is going low, it's a pain in the arse if I don't have a package of batteries handy.
 
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