Cheap digital calipers... and even cheaper versions

VicHobbyGuy said:
You know this story already.....
I've been using a set of 'Daniu' 6" metal digital calipers for the past couple of years. I bought them from Banggood and with the shipping from China they were about $29CAD. They work OK, don't eat batteries and are comfortable in the hand.
https://www.banggood.com/DANIU-150m...-Zero-Buttons-p-1155851.html?cur_warehouse=CN
I have older and longer Mitutoyo digital calipers which are nicer, but the display is smaller. If they were shorter I might use them more, but they just sit on the shelf most of the time.

I decided to buy a second set of 'Daniu' calipers, but before I hit the 'buy' button I thought I'd look on Amazon to see if there was something 'the same' with a shorter delivery time. Sure enough, I found something that looked identical, at a cheaper price, too! :) And with quick 'free' delivery, since I pay monthly to Amazon for that.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08J2R5Q6B?th=1

The Amazon calipers arrived an hour ago. Two seconds after I picked them up, I knew they were different from the Daniu version. Sharp edges throughout - they felt and looked like Daniu's which had skipped the final machining and finishing steps. Also the display is different; even the screws on the battery compartment are a bit larger and cruder. It's hard to get pictures which show the difference.
View attachment 481026View attachment 481027View attachment 481028View attachment 481029

There's no particular 'moral to the story' - no surprise, you sometimes get what you pay for, there are serviceable tools available cheaply, and the cheaper Amazon calipers would be OK for something like a DIY indicator on a lathe (the reason I ordered them). But for a few dollars more, something which feels good in the hand can be a better value.
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you wasted a lot of time and money on crap in my opinion.
For about the same price the Igaging set has been perfect in my opinion. Those look like garbage.
sorry if I seem harsh, but the igaging have in my opinion earned a recommendation. Large numbers, decimal, fractional , mm.
Absolute and easily 5+ years on a battery.
Cheaper on ebay, but only $5 more on amazon

 
graham-xrf said:
The iGaging OriginCal are the ones I now use, and I have two of them. ......., I would rate them at, or near Mitutoyo class.
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That's good to know. I've owned a few iGaging products. I still have their height gauge and it seems pretty well made. EDIT: But the height gauge user interface is poor, so it is awkward in use. I can't recall the exact problem , but it irritates me every time I need to use it. The other two - depth gauge and 'digital dial indicator' were pretty shoddily made, erratic, ate batteries - so they went out the door. Perhaps they make products of differing quality?
 
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Awhile ago, I did a comparison test with 5 or 6 digital calipers...a Mitutoyo and some cheaper miscellaneous units...HF, iGaging, etc. What I found was that all of them met their basic accuracy spec of 0.001". There is of course a plus or minus half count that is unavoidable, but otherwise they all read within spec.
 
woodchucker said:
you wasted a lot of time and money on crap in my opinion.
For about the same price the Igaging set has been perfect in my opinion. Those look like garbage.
sorry if I seem harsh, but the igaging have in my opinion earned a recommendation. Large numbers, decimal, fractional , mm.
Absolute and easily 5+ years on a battery.
Cheaper on ebay, but only $5 more on amazon
Click to expand...
That's interesting. It will be a while (a long while) before iGaging gets more of my money. And those iGaging calipers are three times the cost to me, in Canada, of the calipers I mentioned. But, it's good that you have had excellent service from your iGaging calipers.
 
Winegrower said:
Awhile ago, I did a comparison test with 5 or 6 digital calipers...a Mitutoyo and some cheaper miscellaneous units...HF, iGaging, etc. What I found was that all of them met their basic accuracy spec of 0.001". There is of course a plus or minus half count that is unavoidable, but otherwise they all read within spec.
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When I was taking the pictures of the cheaper calipers for this posting, I got out my Mitutoyo calipers and Mitutoyo micrometer, and I found the same thing as you did.
 
VicHobbyGuy said:
That's interesting. It will be a while (a long while) before iGaging gets more of my money. And those iGaging calipers are three times the cost to me, in Canada, of the calipers I mentioned. But, it's good that you have had excellent service from your iGaging calipers.
Click to expand...
so here they are $34 on ebay $29.. what do they sell for in Canada?
 
woodchucker said:
so here they are $34 on ebay $29.. what do they sell for in Canada?
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Amazon.com USA $35+$14 USD shipping= $67 CAD
Amazon.ca $70 CAD with 'free' Prime shipping.
eBay is either 'don't ship to Canada' or over $80 CAD with currency exchange and shipping costs.
 
My most-used set of calipers is my Starrett #425 3" that I keep in my pants pocket. After that, it is a Craftsman 6" vernier that is missing the depth gauge and has an inoperative friction lock. I got it for $1.00 at a flea market, and find that it is useful when the 425 isn't big enough, or when I'm looking for a metric readout. In either case, I'm not looking for a quick reference, like is this 1/2" or 13MM?

I bring out the micrometers when I want more precision. A good set of digital calipers is on the horizon, so this discussion is valuable.
 
A buddy gave my cat a Flippty Fish. (I'll get the point in a moment...) He loved it, but after a month or two, the gears stripped out in the gearbox. I went to Amazon, and saw a wide array of Flopping Fish, Wagging Fish, Moving Dancing Cat Fish, etc, including the same brand as my buddy bought, Ontel. Bought a cheaper one, and the cat was happy, for awhile, until the gears stripped again. I took apart the gearbox, but while similar, the parts didn't interchange. Hum, bought another Ontel, actually two, from different sellers, and long story short, the gears are slightly different between all of them. Even the Ontel brand. Moral of the story, the Chinese even knockoff the Chinese. Slight differences, all around. It seems crazy to me, but those calipers that look so similar, may have been made by a completely different factory in a different part of China. They even ripoff themselves.
 
I read a review on Amazon , someone said the battery doesn't fit. They show the tray sitting by the side and a piece of felt lifting the battery into position. Clearly, the review sucks. The battery fits, it needs the tray. It needs the correct battery. Putting the battery in without the tray is STUPID.
Some people claim to be experts, but aren't. They claim their Mitutoyo is better. Well ok, but why did you buy an Igaging if you have a Mit. Why don't you realize that the tray for the battery is needed ?? I read the worst reviews first. I look at some and go. WTF.. others I see merit to their issues.

The Igaging, it's been good to me. I have 3 Igaging items. A digital caliper, a Woodworking analog (fractional), and a DRO that I used on my lathe for my cross slide years ago, but is now on my Dewalt planer. All have been great.
 
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