Which Calipers to get.......?

Shrike · January 25, 2002, 14:11

Im going to build a kit this summer (G1). I read that i will nead a good set of calipers. I want something digital, and reasonably priced. Something simple to use, primarily!

Uncle Buck · January 25, 2002, 14:47

The primary concerns are accuracy and reproducibility. Simplicity and cost are distant secondary issues. A used Starrett, B&S or Mitutoyo vernier caliper would be better than a cheap digital one.

Sophicles · January 25, 2002, 16:31

Ive been pleased with my Mitutoyo. Altough a true machinist might consider them junk they do an excellent job for gunsmithing purposes. I try not to skimp on quality when it comes to tools as Uncle buck has suggeted. Beleive me it will come back to bite you in the ass then you will be out the money it cost to buy the cheap tools, plus the cost of buying good quality pieces, plus the buggered parts you just toasted, plus the aggrivation....

Snakeshot · January 25, 2002, 17:53

Try the pawnshops.

I bought a Fowler&NSK (not the best known of brands) for $30 and it functions flawlessly.

Take your pin gages, feeler gauges or some drill bits with you to try it if you want to buy used.

Rule .308 · January 25, 2002, 18:25

You can get good dial calipers for 75-125.00 from Mitutoyo, B&S, or Starrett. The LCD display will run 90.00 and up. Myself I have always used the set of Mitutoyos that my brother gave me when he got out of being a machinist, they're dial type and they work well.

Shrike · January 25, 2002, 18:41

Thanks for the advice guys.
Mike

BRM308 · January 26, 2002, 08:45

I agree with everything except fot the used tools. Sorry Uncle Buck.Unless you know who used them and how they were used its better for a first timer to stay away from used stuff.( I have literally been in shops where the crew,irefuse to call them machinists, used mics for c clamps)The stuff that winds up in pawn shops and flea markets usually hasnt been treated very well.
Don't overlook the cheaper non-dial/non-digital calipers once you develope a "feel" they can be just as accurate as a .001 micrometer. They are not that hard to learn to read.

Uncle Buck · January 26, 2002, 16:38

Quote:

Originally posted by BRM308:
I agree with everything except fot the used tools. Sorry Uncle Buck. Unless you know who used them and how they were used its better for a first timer to stay away from used stuff.

You do have to be careful about buying used precision tools, but that is why I recommended a vernier type caliper if you are going to buy a used set. There isn't anything that is going to go wrong with a vernier caliper that you won't be able to see. No dials, no digital; just what you see is what you get. Like you said, accurate to .001 too.

Templator · January 26, 2002, 17:21

I'm a tool and die maker,.. trust me,.. nobody in the trade considers Mititoyo's junk. Everything that's made by Mititoyo is top quality. I've been using the same pair of Mititoyo dial calipers for 12 years now. They function as new.

HD99FXR3 · January 26, 2002, 17:34

I agree with Templator Mitutoyo are very nice
calipers, Travers tool,J&L,Enco all have web sights and web only specials, and Mitutoyo makes there entry level digital calipers called MY-CAL LITES for about $80 from any of the above mentioned companys. I have used them for over 15 years.

DJ · January 26, 2002, 17:47

I also use a set of Mitutoyo's at work. They're checked for calibration every 3 months and we've had very few problems with them. I've used this particular caliper for 6 years now. They are as new.

medicmike · January 27, 2002, 08:35

Buy the best you can afford. Mitutoyo is great but agree if you are going to buy used be very careful, this is an instrument that is easily damaged.

ulfrikr · January 28, 2002, 04:10

For those of you who haven't ever done it before, here's a pretty good basic description of how to read a Vernier caliper and a micrometer.
This is from the Mechanical Engineering Department at MIT. I found it by doing a google search for "vernier caliper".

http://me.mit.edu/lectures/machine/measure/intro.html

Now, if I could just find some instruction on -using- a caliper correctly. . . .

~Rick

Shrike · January 28, 2002, 08:12

Thanks Rick, hopefully that will help.
Mike

Charmedlyfe · January 28, 2002, 15:18

Granger has the Mitutoyos for less than Brownell's dealer price. Mine ran about $100. Excellent, and the digital is extremely quick and easy to use. The extra money spent is worth it in ease and time.

Sophicles · January 28, 2002, 16:26

Well I feel much better. Glad to know my Mitutoyo calipers are A-OK!

srgreg1 · January 29, 2002, 18:49

I bought an Accupro digital from MSC Industrial for around $60 and it has worked great for two years now. I work in Aviation and it has passed two yearly calibration tests.

January 25, 2002, 14:11	#1
Shrike Registered FALaholic #: 4611 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 1,174	Which Calipers to get.......? Im going to build a kit this summer (G1). I read that i will nead a good set of calipers. I want something digital, and reasonably priced. Something simple to use, primarily!

January 25, 2002, 17:53	#4
Snakeshot Registered FALaholic #: 909 Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Non Harry Reid Nevada Posts: 4,044	Try the pawnshops. I bought a Fowler&NSK (not the best known of brands) for $30 and it functions flawlessly. Take your pin gages, feeler gauges or some drill bits with you to try it if you want to buy used. __________________ "When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that justifies it." Frederic Bastiat

January 25, 2002, 18:25	#5
Rule .308 Registered FALaholic #: 51 Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: fountain valley, ca Posts: 450	You can get good dial calipers for 75-125.00 from Mitutoyo, B&S, or Starrett. The LCD display will run 90.00 and up. Myself I have always used the set of Mitutoyos that my brother gave me when he got out of being a machinist, they're dial type and they work well. __________________ Rule .308

January 26, 2002, 08:45	#7
BRM308 Registered FALaholic #: 32 Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Batavia,IL. USA Posts: 786	I agree with everything except fot the used tools. Sorry Uncle Buck.Unless you know who used them and how they were used its better for a first timer to stay away from used stuff.( I have literally been in shops where the crew,irefuse to call them machinists, used mics for c clamps)The stuff that winds up in pawn shops and flea markets usually hasnt been treated very well. Don't overlook the cheaper non-dial/non-digital calipers once you develope a "feel" they can be just as accurate as a .001 micrometer. They are not that hard to learn to read. __________________ The Leftist impulse at its heart is the longing to be rid of the burden of freedom. “Don’t Shoot!” he whimpered. “I’m Che! I’m worth more to you alive than dead!”

January 26, 2002, 17:21	#9
Templator Registered FALaholic #: 4460 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Lexington Posts: 1,760	I'm a tool and die maker,.. trust me,.. nobody in the trade considers Mititoyo's junk. Everything that's made by Mititoyo is top quality. I've been using the same pair of Mititoyo dial calipers for 12 years now. They function as new. __________________ I look with commiseration upon the great body of my fellow Americans who, reading newspapers, live and die in the belief that they have known something of what has passed in the world around them. Harry Truman

January 25, 2002, 14:47	#2
Uncle Buck Registered FALaholic #: 678 Join Date: Aug 2000 Posts: 354	The primary concerns are accuracy and reproducibility. Simplicity and cost are distant secondary issues. A used Starrett, B&S or Mitutoyo vernier caliper would be better than a cheap digital one.

January 25, 2002, 16:31	#3
Sophicles Registered FALaholic #: 976 Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: NC Posts: 1,503	Ive been pleased with my Mitutoyo. Altough a true machinist might consider them junk they do an excellent job for gunsmithing purposes. I try not to skimp on quality when it comes to tools as Uncle buck has suggeted. Beleive me it will come back to bite you in the ass then you will be out the money it cost to buy the cheap tools, plus the cost of buying good quality pieces, plus the buggered parts you just toasted, plus the aggrivation....

January 25, 2002, 18:41	#6
Shrike Registered FALaholic #: 4611 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 1,174	Thanks for the advice guys. Mike

January 26, 2002, 17:34	#10
HD99FXR3 Registered FALaholic #: 5260 Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 1,245	I agree with Templator Mitutoyo are very nice calipers, Travers tool,J&L,Enco all have web sights and web only specials, and Mitutoyo makes there entry level digital calipers called MY-CAL LITES for about $80 from any of the above mentioned companys. I have used them for over 15 years.

January 26, 2002, 17:47	#11
DJ Registered FALaholic #: 126 Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Brookville Pa Posts: 2,130	I also use a set of Mitutoyo's at work. They're checked for calibration every 3 months and we've had very few problems with them. I've used this particular caliper for 6 years now. They are as new. __________________ *Proud Air Force dad* I'm a "barbarian" and I VOTE! "He might have gone on livin' but he made one fatal slip, he tried to match the Ranger with the Big Iron on his hip." Marty Robbins, "Big Iron"

January 27, 2002, 08:35	#12
medicmike Registered FALaholic #: 3183 Join Date: May 2001 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 2,259	Buy the best you can afford. Mitutoyo is great but agree if you are going to buy used be very careful, this is an instrument that is easily damaged. __________________ "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." Captain John Parker at Lexington Green

January 28, 2002, 04:10	#13
ulfrikr Registered FALaholic #: 4243 Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: East Texas Area Posts: 380	For those of you who haven't ever done it before, here's a pretty good basic description of how to read a Vernier caliper and a micrometer. This is from the Mechanical Engineering Department at MIT. I found it by doing a google search for "vernier caliper". http://me.mit.edu/lectures/machine/measure/intro.html Now, if I could just find some instruction on -using- a caliper correctly. . . . ~Rick __________________ ================================= "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence in their behalf." ~George Orwell =================================

January 28, 2002, 08:12	#14
Shrike Registered FALaholic #: 4611 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 1,174	Thanks Rick, hopefully that will help. Mike

January 28, 2002, 15:18	#15
Charmedlyfe Registered FALaholic #: 1585 Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: SC Posts: 421	Granger has the Mitutoyos for less than Brownell's dealer price. Mine ran about $100. Excellent, and the digital is extremely quick and easy to use. The extra money spent is worth it in ease and time. __________________ Mad, bad, and dangerous to know...

January 28, 2002, 16:26	#16
Sophicles Registered FALaholic #: 976 Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: NC Posts: 1,503	Well I feel much better. Glad to know my Mitutoyo calipers are A-OK!

January 29, 2002, 18:49	#17
srgreg1 Registered FALaholic #: 4045 Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: NORTH CAROLINA Posts: 41	I bought an Accupro digital from MSC Industrial for around $60 and it has worked great for two years now. I work in Aviation and it has passed two yearly calibration tests.

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