Dial Calipers - Digital or Mechanical

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kyleb

Final Approach
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My inexpensive dial caliper died. It seems to be slipping a gear internally. $9.95 down the tubes...

Anyway, I plan on buying a new set and expect to buy another mechanical unit, because it is a tool I use infrequently, and there is nothing like pulling out an infrequently used tool only to find a dead (and probably unique) battery.

Two things:

-Any push back on the choice of a mechanical unit?

-Any recommendations on a brand/model? I'm looking for decent quality at a reasonable price.
 
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I need a higher quality than you maybe wanting but I love my mitutoyo. I have calipers and mics I prefer the mechanical ones because I have a better feel than with the digital ones. However I have both styles and they work great.
 
MotoFlier said:
I need a higher quality than you maybe wanting but I love my mitutoyo. I have calipers and mics I prefer the mechanical ones because I have a better feel than with the digital ones. However I have both styles and they work great.
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Agreed.

I am a machinist and been one for 40+ years...

Mitutoyo for the dial caliper and nothing but Starrett for mics....
 
MotoFlier said:
I need a higher quality than you maybe wanting but I love my mitutoyo. I have calipers and mics I prefer the mechanical ones because I have a better feel than with the digital ones. However I have both styles and they work great.
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Same same except I prefer my digital over mechs. I bought a cheap set from harbor freight, but they drifted.
 
For what you're describing, a Harbor Freight digital caliper would probably work ok. The batteries last well enough and they are a common one so they are easy to find when they do need replacement.

They are no replacement for the Mitutoyo calipers though. If you have the money and want a nice tool these are what I'd be looking for.
 
kyleb said:
My inexpensive dial caliper died. It seems to be slipping a gear internally. $9.95 down the tubes...

Anyway, I plan on buying a new set and expect to buy another mechanical unit, because it is a tool I use infrequently, and there is nothing like pulling out an infrequently used tool only to find a dead (and probably unique) battery.

Two things:

-Any push back on the choice of a mechanical unit?

-Any recommendations on a brand/model? I'm looking for decent quality at a reasonable price.
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This is the one I use. Its not the most expensive. But, its worlds away from Harbor Fright:

RCBS Electronic Caliper

899293.jpg
 
I think you're right... would like to see under the RCBS label, and at over 3X the price of Harbor Freight.... I have the harbor Freight one at home and it works fine.
 
baboss said:
Sure looks identical to the Harbor Freight one...... other than the RCBS branding
http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-digital-caliper-47257.html
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Hmm... Just looked it up on their website. And, you're right, they do look the same.

I've bought 1/4" drive air ratchet, a high speed pneumatic drill, and a die grinder from HF in the past, and they were all junk. They've since been replaced, and I don't shop there anymore.

But now, I'm thinking I'm gonna go check out that $19 caliper just to see for myself if I paid $47 more for something just because it WASN'T Harbor Freight.
 
I use them every day. I don't like digital because most of them have a lag. My favorite is a black faced Browne and Sharp. I also keep a couple of cheap SPI's around for scribing and rough work.
 
Standard and Metric, no batteries, never has to be zeroed and, as previously pointed out, NOBODY will ever ask to "borrow" it.

DSCN3604.JPG
 
When I was younger I used to re-learn this lesson frequently. Now older and somewhat wiser, I re-learn it much less often:

Do not buy cheap tools.

Some patient lurking on CraigsList will probably yield a Mitutoyo, Starrett, or other quality caliper in your preferred flavor.
 
MotoFlier said:
I worked at a machine shop that made a lot of huge turned parts on a vertical boring mill. We had verniers up to 12' it took two guys to measure parts hahaha.
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Holy Schmoley!!!!

What kind of resolution did you get with those?
 
I have a vernier caliper I don't use much anymore. My cheap digital gives far better resolution and my old eyeballs see those numbers way better than the tiny vernier scale. I go crosseyed trying to figure out which two lines are in alignment and have to find the reading glasses to do it.

I recently bought a second digital caliper that was slightly lower quality than the first one. The difference in readings between the two is .0005". Half a thou. Try getting that close with your vernier caliper.

Dial calipers are a pain. Little bits of dust or metal chips derail the gear and throw it out of whack.

I have Chinese micrometers that are as accurate as my Mitutoyo.
 
I wouldn't buy a batteried one unless I was using it every week - otherwise you will go to use it and; ugh it's dead.
 
baboss said:
Sure looks identical to the Harbor Freight one...... other than the RCBS branding
http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-digital-caliper-47257.html
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That's what I was going to say. Same thing, only cheaper looking. I have one of the Harbor Freight models my brother gave me. It actually works pretty well for general machining. I do wish it had an auto off function to save the battery though. You will go through a lot of batteries with this thing.

If I were buying one, I'd likely get a Mitutoyo, but I'm not in the market because the HF one I got for free isn't dead yet and it works well enough for my purposes.
 
I use my digital caliper infrequently, so I remove the battery when I`m done and place it in its recess in the case for storage. It`s lasted at least 5 years operating that way.
 
Silvaire said:
Standard and Metric, no batteries, never has to be zeroed and, as previously pointed out, NOBODY will ever ask to "borrow" it.

DSCN3604.JPG
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I might borrow it. That's what I grew up with. I prefer the dial, or digital, but that's exactly what I did many a project with.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
Holy Schmoley!!!!

What kind of resolution did you get with those?
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We would use them for +/-.001, The first guy would take a measurement and write it down than the other guy would measure and write it down, if both were within .001 part was GTG.

One guy left them on a part and turned on the machine it hit him in the face and knocked out a bunch of teeth. I don't know the numbers but word was it cost more to replace the calipers than the guys medical bills.
 
It is well known that calipers are not all that accurate, not by their design or make, but by their usage.

any tool is only as good as their user.
 
Same goes for everything. I could tell you a story about how a sophisticated electronic fuel flow sensor is only as smart as the idiot who told it how much fuel it had to begin with.
 
With most precision instruments: "You get what you pay for"...buy quality!!!:yes:
 
MotoFlier said:
We would use them for +/-.001, The first guy would take a measurement and write it down than the other guy would measure and write it down, if both were within .001 part was GTG.
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I would think that on a 12 foot scale, even a few degrees of temperature difference could make at least a thousandth or two difference.

One guy left them on a part and turned on the machine it hit him in the face and knocked out a bunch of teeth. I don't know the numbers but word was it cost more to replace the calipers than the guys medical bills.
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Ouch.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
I would think that on a 12 foot scale, even a few degrees of temperature difference could make at least a thousandth or two difference.


Ouch.
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Yea they had it figured into the drawing it was also noted "as measured on machine" because once it was unclamped and moved into the climate controlled inspection dept it would measure different.
 
Silvaire said:
Same goes for everything. I could tell you a story about how a sophisticated electronic fuel flow sensor is only as smart as the idiot who told it how much fuel it had to begin with.
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The only fuel flow systems I've worked on actually monitored fuel flow and didn't care about fuel quantity.
 
Maybe that's why aircraft cable tensioning (on large aircraft) is required to be accomplished inside a hangar or at night with temperatures stabilized.
 
Assuming the caliper is made of the same material (probably steel), a 12 ft measurement will be off about .009 inch assuming a 10 degree F temperature discrepancy. The same 10 degF temp discrepancy measuring aluminum with a steel caliper would be a .018 inch error - abou 1/64 inch.
 
nrpetersen said:
Assuming the caliper is made of the same material (probably steel), a 12 ft measurement will be off about .009 inch assuming a 10 degree F temperature discrepancy. The same 10 degF temp discrepancy measuring aluminum with a steel caliper would be a .018 inch error - abou 1/64 inch.
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Is that why I always measure right and cut wrong?

No matter how many times I cut it, it was still too short.
 
Measure with a micrometer, mark with a crayon and cut with an ax.
 
nrpetersen said:
Assuming the caliper is made of the same material (probably steel), a 12 ft measurement will be off about .009 inch assuming a 10 degree F temperature discrepancy. The same 10 degF temp discrepancy measuring aluminum with a steel caliper would be a .018 inch error - abou 1/64 inch.
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I'm sure starrett took this into account when picking the materials used to make them. I don't want to just throw numbers around but I was under the impression these were upwards of $60,000.

I also don't think there would have been a 10deg difference. It is usually common practice to allow the part to cool before taking measurements. The bigger issues were warping when you release the part they would spring and measurements would be all over.
 
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