Calipers

[russ808]

What type/kind of calipers do you use?
I bought a Mitutoyo dail caliper and had it for about a year. I like it. I have tried others and the needle wanders a bit. The problem is I dropped the Mitutoyo and the dial went to the bent 9 o'clock position. Well I called them and they said just send it back to their shop in California and we will fix it a t no cost. Its been about a week. Will see how it goes from here.
Russ

 

[6mm Remington]

I have a Central Tool Company Vernier Caliper - inside-outside - from 0-7". It does not have a dial, but I like it. It works. Nothing fancy.

 

[nvbroncrider]

Starret 6" dial. It's awesome. Accurate easy to use.

 

[Oldtrader3]

I hae a Mitutoyo dial caliper. I was too cheap to buy a Starret. I have had mine for at least 45 years and have never dropped it.

 

[russ808]

Me too. I was to cheap to buy a Starret. But I do like the Mitutoyo's and they work well. They just don't do well when dropped.
Russ

 

[Mortis]

Calipers....something near and dear to my heart considering what I do for a living.....

One thing I noticed in the comments prior to this one is everyone is using dial calipers verses digital. Bless you one and all!!!

We do not allow digital calipers in the shop for several reasons....

1...... battery life.... as they wane down, errors are possible.
2...... they do not like the solvents and oils we use daily and usually do not survive the environment.
3...... Reset or Zero Buttons. Unless you have a standard gauge block to check against almost daily, it is possible to have an erronous setting...or a false Zero, and then all readings will be in error, thus bad parts being produced.

I could go on, but I hope you see my point.

Now I use Fowler calipers in 6 in, 8 in, and 12 inch. Have a 6 in Mitutoyo in my desk in the office. All told, we have approximately 20 sets of dial calipers throughout the shop, ranging from 6 inch to 24 inch. And several sets of vernier calipers in the Inspection room.

At home I use a set of 4 inch and 6 inch dial calipers for reloading.

One thing I have noticed in all these years....... the price of a set of calipers does not insure quality or accuracy.

Some years ago, we purchased 6 sets of calipers at $19.00 a piece. Made you know where. Five sets are stilll in daily use in the shop and are holding up as well as my more expensive ones. The one lost was do to being dropped and landing on the blades.

I've destroyed 2 sets of Starrett calipers over the past 22 years and determined I was tossing money away for names sake. And I got a good buy on the Fowlers.

As with any tool...... take care of it.

 

[FOTIS]

From what I know this is the TOP GUN

309 bux though

 

[FOTIS]

Starrett 799A-12/300 Electronic Caliper, 0 to 12"
Availability: Usually ships same day
Stock No: T9FB679342
FREE Shipping within the contiguous US
Price: $309.95

 

[Oldtrader3]

Actually Mortis, my 1 inch micrometer is the old line read type, not even dial or digital. I do have a digital scale but eveything tht I own else is analog, like me!

 

[Mortis]

Actually Mortis, my 1 inch micrometer is the old line read type, not even dial or digital. I do have a digital scale but eveything tht I own else is analog, like me!

Oldtrader.....

All of our micrometers are also vernier style.... like yours... goes back the problem with digitals.

And we have a vast selection of micrometer types....

 

[ScreaminEagle]

I run Brown and Sharpe dial calipers as I don't like the thumb roller that Mitutoyo and Starrett have

 

[HomerOz]

G'Day Fella's,

Russ808, I have a series of Mitutoyo calipers from the best waterproof digital models, to plain dial calipers that I use for my machining work!
All I rely on for my reloading related work, is a $40.00 Chinese made dial caliper!!!

Hope that helps

Doh!
Homer

 

[.300winmag]

I use Etalon dial calipers in my work and for my reloading and like them a lot. I don't like digital, for all the reasons that Mortis mentioned.

 

[ridgewalker]

Take care of your Mitutoyo calipers and they will do the job for many many years. My oldest calipers are maybe 60 years old and work just fine still.

Most of mine are inherited from a long gone uncle, but some from my past life (retired engineer): 1", 2", 4", 6" B&S micrometers, 4" Mitutoyo dial caliper, 6" Starrett dial caliper, 4", 6", 8" B&S verniers...I think that is all. Also gage set that I check them each occasionally.

Great old uncle that left most of these to me. He was a veteran of the Batan death march where he went from a 6' 3" 240 lb monster to 120 lb twig. One of the nicest people in my memory.

 

[Oldtrader3]

I bought my Mitutoyo dial calipeters when I completed drafting trade-school in 1964. Before I went to engineering school. The Mitutoyo's are still going strong and still correlate to my Vernier micrometers. I still have a pocket (Pickett Aluminum) slide rule!

 

[DrMike]

I still have a pocket (Pickett Aluminum) slide rule!

Now, that is impressive. I have two hiding somewhere around here--a Pickett Aluminum and a bamboo of indeterminate make.

 

[Oldtrader3]

I think that speaks more to our age than anything else. I still remember when a 4-function calculators first came out and cost $125 (HP). Now they are less than $5.

 

[DrMike]

I think that speaks more to our age than anything else. I still remember when a 4-function calculators first came out and cost $125 (HP). Now they are less than $5.

Charlie, (I'll really show my age with this), My lab received one of the first four function calculators TI produced. They were selling them to labs at the University of Texas for the sum of $800 (purchased through bids from grant moneys). We got the deal early because one of my profs was married to an engineer working on that project at TI. Prior to that, all calculations were performed with a slide rule.

 

[Oldtrader3]

DrMike, when I was working on the 737 wing design (1965) after I got out of the Army, we were still paying $150 each for the TI's and they were 4-function. We got a special deal on price through Boeing (based on quantities) with Texas Instruments. That was a week's salary for a Design Draftsman then, I was on a student Co-op partnership program. I was still an engineering undergraduate student. We built the first 737's on a slide rule. When the HP's came out with root functions a couple years later, I paid $180 for an HP 58 Scientific while I was a design engineer on the F-111.

My wife just bought a portable PC for about $400 with 5 meg of RAM and 80 Meg hard drive.

 

[ridgewalker]

Oldtrader3, my dad retired from the Fort Worth, TX division of General Dynamic after 36 years in 1978. He was a manager in the tooling dept. The last plane he did work on I believe YF15. Geez you're an old geezer! :roll:

Tools/guns are beautiful mechanical instruments.