Cheap dial calipers.....

[Makintrax73]

My "Anytime Tools" 6" have actually been pretty good. Quite accurate (+/-.001") if kept clean.....until yesterday. I was working with a messy bench and when I went to set them down they slid off. Straight onto a concrete floor from 32" up. . and ruined.

Is there any chance pulling these apart will yield an easy fix?

Been looking as used Mitutoyo models on EBay. I see these often state "shock proof". Is there any chance a better quality tool would stand up to my flubs? If this is a buy once cry once scenario I'm ok with that, but I don't want to spend the extra money and wreck an expensive caliper.

 

[mmcmdl]

Shock proof dial calipers ? I've never seen them although they say so on the dial . I use a cheapy set of Scheer Tumicos around the house for junk jobs . Close enough for Gubmint work as they say . My Starretts , B&Ss and others never get used . What broke on your set ? I have a very nice B&S 6" without the bezel and hands if you could save it somehow .

 

[C-Bag]

Say what you will about cheap calipers but I had a dial HF 6” I used at work for 5yrs and they had been dropped and seen rough road work etc. they were easily within .001” and finally dropped them once too many times and broke. I decided because I was home I’d buy a Mit and within a week they got bumped off my cart and were toast. Shockproof yeah right. I went back to eBay and bought one that has duel hands imperial and metric. It’s been great and handy being able to tell at a glance whether the part is metric or imperial and are accurate.

 

[Makintrax73]

What broke on your set ? I have a very nice B&S 6" without the bezel and hands if you could save it somehow .

No idea. I finished the job without them as I was too disgusted to dig into them at that moment.

I sure appreciate the offer, but I tried fixing an old Federal indicator and I just don't have the skills or tools to fix something that delicate.

Probably just admit defeat, go to Harbor Freight and replace them.

 

[mmcmdl]

I have a set of Mititoyos 12" that I bought when starting the shop . Never used much as I had the verniers , but the Mits for some reason will jump .020 on the dial quite often . They slide great and I feel nothing in the gears when it slips . They sit in a box unused to this day . I'm afraid if I took them apart I would do more harm than good .

 

[GeneT45]

I've found my digital B&S to be as durable as anything. Though I bought some Grizzly 4" (yes, 4") calipers perhaps 20 years ago. I think I bought four of them. The two I can still find work great and are easily accurate to 0.001. I keep them in car and truck when I go shopping for bits and pieces.

Putting down some anti-fatigue mat (I like Dri-Deck) provides some extra protection for all of your drop-ables.

GsT

 

[WobblyHand]

I have a couple of calipers, a decent Starrett dial, and a couple of junky electronic ones. The Starrett stays out of the shop except for rare occasions, as I'm fearful of a mishap. I use the inexpensive one's in the shop for non critical use, ie sanity checks. Both cheapies seem to measure my standards pretty much identically. Anyways, doing this has reduced my anxiety over ruining my Starrett. It's irrational to be sure. I bought the Starrett over 25 years ago and still have the receipt for it in the box. It cost me $121, if I recall correctly, which stung at the time. It's in perfect shape. I use it out of the shop to help me design things and always goes back in the box when I am done. The cheapies have a lot harder life in the shop.

 

[cross thread]

My cheap one is a Glow Geek (digital) . OK now that's funny I always thought it was Glow Creek , the grinding and lapping is nice and they would be good except for one thing . The ears for measuring ID have been ground incorrectly , so the measurement is off by .015 .
I haven't dropped them yet but if I did I wouldn't care .
The one that I care about , a Shars . I did drop , it now has a slight resistance at one point but it still is good . I wouldn't call it shock proof .
The Geek I got off the bay , the Shars , I got from Shars . I think that says something .
Mark .

 

[woodchucker]

My cheap one is a Glow Geek (digital) . OK now that's funny I always thought it was Glow Creek , the grinding and lapping is nice and they would be good except for one thing . The ears for measuring ID have been ground incorrectly , so the measurement is off by .015 .

so then a POC.. if it doesn't measure correctly, it's useless.

 

[T Bredehoft]

I've got for or five "Pittsburgh" brand digital calipers, brought from Harbor Freight many years ago, I'd buy one whenever they were under @10.00 on special. I think I've replaced two batteries in the batch since new, but they all work adequately, return to zero whenever I check. I can't imagine Starret being any more accurate.