Calipers - Advice

T

Twud

Guest
I have reason the suspect my calipers of giving inconsistent readings and want to purchase a new pair. I'd like to have a pair of Sterretts, but at $168 they are a little pricey. A $38 pair from Cabela's not what I'd like either.
Any suggestions on brand and source.
 
They are easy to learn to use

the most accurate, and will last you forever if taken care of, "vernier calipers".
The new Brown and Sharpe are great. They are made Swiss made.
 
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Look at the Mitutoyo digitals........they are accurate and are a good value for a "real" measuring tool. Watch the industrial suppliers, they put them on sale regularly for less than 90 bucks.

-Dave-:)
 
Suggest you google up Long Island Indicator Service and spend some time wadeing around their site. You may very well decide that you don't need the very best Swiss measuring tools, but there's a LOT of info there to help you decide what you might require, what's made where, what's repairable, etc. I've found them to be helpful on the phone or by email as well.
 
Its hard to believe

but the $20 harbor freight ones work pretty well and seem pretty accurate. I bought 10 of them on sale for $10 each a while back. I zeroed them and then checked a 1 and 2 inch standard and all of them read within .0005. I only trust a caliper to .001 at best anyway and use a mic if I really want the right answer, so they seemed like a pretty good deal. I leave one on each machine so I am not looking for one all the time.
 
calipers

I have two.

One is the Mitutoyo Digimatic which will measure in in/mm and can be reset to zero any when along the scale at about $135

The other set is marked Midway made in China. This is the everyday go to set. About $25 or less.

Calipers are not micrometers. I believe either one of these calipers will measure to .001, but I don't use them to measure tight necks etc.

Then there is the drop factor...........If you drop an expensive set :-(

I really like the idea of buying several of the inexpensive ones.

Any caliper that does not "roll" smoothly is junk.
 
This reminds me ...

stiller said:
but the $20 harbor freight ones work pretty well and seem pretty accurate. I bought 10 of them on sale for $10 each a while back. I zeroed them and then checked a 1 and 2 inch standard and all of them read within .0005. I only trust a caliper to .001 at best anyway and use a mic if I really want the right answer, so they seemed like a pretty good deal. I leave one on each machine so I am not looking for one all the time.
Click to expand...

of a story. A guy was traveling up the North Carolina coast one day and stopped off at a little General Store. As he walked in he noticed three piles of gunny sacks with a sign over each pile that read: "Clams" $10, $15, and $20. He also noticed that the $20 pile was smaller then the rest and asked the proprietor which dollar denomination he sold the most of. The store owner replied: "The $20 bags." Then he asked the owner what the difference was in the quality of the clams. The proprietor replied: "Not a thing. Some people think that because they are paying more they get a better clam." End of story !!! Art
 
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abintx said:
of a story. A guy was traveling up the North Carolina coast one day and stopped off at a little General Store. As he walked in he noticed three piles of gunny sacks with a sign over each pile that read: "Clams" $10, $15, and $20. He also noticed that the $20 pile was smaller then the rest and asked the proprietor which dollar denomination he sold the most of. The store owner replied: "The $20 bags." Then he asked the owner what the difference was in the quality of the clams. The proprietor replied: "Not a thing. Some people think that because they are paying more they get a better clam." End of story !!! Art
Click to expand...

That's like saying this box of Remington actions for $400.00 a piece is no different than the box of BAT actions next to it that sells for more than 3 times the price. As is the case for most things in life, you get what you pay for.
 
Lower cost measuring tools

I have three of the Midway USA (Frankford Arsenal) calipers----two digital and one dial.

One digital and the dial unit read dead on with 1" and 2" standards. The other digital unit reads .0005" low on both measurements.

I don't kniow how long thes units will last but I've had them a while. I got all of them on sale at Midway and haven't been disappointed----yet.

I've found some good buys at pawn shops on micrometers and test indicators. One shop owner gives me a few days return privilege that allows me to have a machinist friend look them over----a definite confidence factor.

I've found that most local pawn buyers tend to place more value on Starrett tools than B&S. This might make the equivalent B&S tools a slightly better buy.

Good deals on quality calipers have been hard to find but I did recently find a like-new B&S 0-6" dial caliper for $60.

There are some good buys at pawn shops but you have to be patient.

A. Weldy
 
Rs ...

RStiefel said:
That's like saying this box of Remington actions for $400.00 a piece is no different than the box of BAT actions next to it that sells for more than 3 times the price. "As is the case for most things in life, you get what you pay for."
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. A Consumers Report Buying Guide will refute that last sentence over and over based on actual purchases by real people. People everyday pay more for inferior products and many times pay less for superior products.

To make the point of that little story applicable to shooters, vice clam buyers, let's put Bat actions in each one of those gunny sacks. Now, based on human psychology, which pile would be the smallest ??? That's all the story was about. Art
 
It's the old apples and oranges.
To guys at work.
I am not a "marksman".
This other guy is.
He shoots his gun, twice a year. Once to shoot a deer. And once to clean the gun. I guess a muzzle loader.
In season. I shoot.
Benchrest for score. Every Tues. 2nd place this year.
Bowling pins. Once a month.
Varmint shoot. Once a month.
But, I am not a "marksman". I am NUTS. :D
 
Enco sale

ENCO is running several calipers on great discounts in their December HOT DEALS catalog. Go to pages 46 to 59. They have the Mitutoyo Digimatic for $89, I like that one the best they hold zero constantly and I trust their accuracy. When I spend $250+ for 1000 bullets $89 for a caliper to measure them accurately seems cheap. They also have FREE UPS this month. Check it out. http://www.use-enco.com

AL
 
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For

what it is worth, the cheap harbor freight ones I been getting hold zero day to day and dont need reset every time used. I have a set of SPI that need zeroed every time I use them, HATE EM. Whatever you get, get the ones that hold zero.
 
I used a cheap set of dial calipers from Midway for years until the dog knocked them out of my hand one day. I`d take them in to work every so often and have one of the guys in the metrology (sp?) lab run a couple machinist blocks through them (0.25" & 0.50"), they always checked out dead nuts.
I saw a good deal after mine was damaged in Encos flier and bought a set of Mitutoyo dials for a few $$ more then Midways tool, and have been happy with them so far.
The actual measurment you get from one isn`t the most important thing when reloading, the repetability is what counts. If you are 0.02" off the true size/lgt but your caliper shows the same reading everytime you measure it you should be fine. An AOL you think is 2.555" that is really 2.553" is not hurting a thing when you tooling is reading 2.553" as 2.555" consistantly.
 
Despite the European sounding name, I think SPI is asian manufacture.
 
Bought Em

Bought a set of Swiss made Fowlers, digital, 5 year warranty and guaranteed accuracy to 4 places. They can be returned at any time for a calibration check for $10. They were regularly $168 and were on sale for $109 and a bag of clams. They also gave me a line on where to buy standards.
 
Try E-Bay...

Some sellers are selling clear outs at good prices. I bought a Mitutoyo tubing mic, brand new from an estate sale for $20.00 on E-Bay. It looks like the mid range $30-$4.00 are the best buys. Mitutoyo, Starrett, etc. I'm certainly no machinist, but I prefer the dial VS digital. These retail fo $100 +. I once had a pro photographer Tell me that my Minolta camera was fine for several hundred rolls of film per year, but he used 10,000 plus rolls per year with his Pro Nikon. I couldn't afford Nikon lenses, which was the optimum at that time. If you aren't a pro using the calipers every day, the cheaper ones have served me very well.

"Snuffy"
 
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Old School

I guess I am old school. I avoid using dial calipers unless it is some operation where they are handy, such as measuring case shoulder bump. Come to think of it, that is about all I use them for.

I don't trust digitol tools either. I know that they are accurated, and I know this is the 21st century. I just like something I can see, without the fear that some little electron inside that LCD display might be pissed off at something. I guess when it comes to precision measurments, I trust real micrometers, not a glorified "monkey wrench".

Since I am no big fan, I can't find much difference in any of the brands. Heck, the same factory in China might be cranking out all of them for all we know.

(Does my contept for these things show through too much).:D.....jackie.
 
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