# What type of calipers should a Home Shop Machinist buy?



## HMF (Apr 29, 2011)

Hey Guys,

We all know that expensive calipers like Mitutoyo's are the best:

http://www.google.com/products/cata...i=XA66TcLmNMagtwev1eTeBA&amp;ved=0CFQQ8gIwAg#

But are they the BEST for Home Shop guys like me? I mean, they will get abused, dropped, misused- it's normal.

So what should a HSM guy buy for his home shop?


http://www.grizzly.com/products/8-Digital-Caliper-w-Large-LCD/H8059 ?


Opinions please!

Thanks,


Nelson


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## 8ntsane (Apr 29, 2011)

Hi Guys

Calipers are cheap, or expensive.
I have several of both digital, and dial. They both have issues in the shop. Dial calipers dont like getting the grit in the rack. The others dont like oil and coolant. battery life is a problem with the cheapo calipers. 

I have found over the yrs, that if I drop a caliper of any kind. I drop it twice, the second time in the trash can! As 99% of the time they are f  ed. I had the wife pick up a few didgital calipers for me. She is stationed out of Texas, has been for the last 9 months. Anyway, she brings home Snap-on calipers.
I thought holy crap, how much were these? She showed me the bill, and I was shocked. They were cheap over there, compared to what any Snap-on product is here in Canada.

The New Snap=On calipers Ive had now since last fall, have yet to kill a battery, and if you leave them on, they have a auto shut off. Even when I take them out of the case, they also have a auto turn on. They are stored out in the shop, even in winter months, and still the batterys live.

Calipers are good for rough measurment, otherwise I use Mics

Paul


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## GWRdriver (Apr 30, 2011)

I can't say what you _Should_ buy . . I can tell you what I have been using. The calipers I've been using for many years are dial types first made by a Swiss company called Tesa Metrology (Tesa model 05.20002). My first set was by Tesa. This exact same caliper was later sold in the USA by Brown &amp; Sharpe (model #599-579-5). I have two sets of these one Tesa, one B&S, one on my workbench, one on my drawing table. They are crisp, precise, easy to read, and have never failed me. I've had two sets of electronic calipers, not cheap ones either, and both were occasionally erratic, imprecise, and eventually failed. I never felt confident in the electronics.


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## GWRdriver (Apr 30, 2011)

Ed,
They have served me well so far . . . and I figure they have 20+ years yet to go. The burden will be put on me not to DROP them! The price wasn't all that bad, less than $70 when I bought them, but still pricey for the time . . . but the pain of price stings but once, the joy of a fine tool lasts forever ( . . well almost.)


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## pjf134 (May 2, 2011)

mnmh,
 My brother-in-law uses mics for rough measuring and sets thickness by radio waves, of course he has to set the crystals for radio frequency by thickness. This is not a standard for regular machinist though. He does have some odd ball equipment at work, something not too many shops have. Maybe some radio guys here can relate to this.
 Paul


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## Tony Wells (May 2, 2011)

Used to be that Amateurs tweaked their own crystals regularly. Lapping is one way it is done in the shack. Micrometers get you close, but you must oscillate them and check the frequency, typically with a GDO. OT, of course.


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## pjf134 (May 2, 2011)

Tony,
 His lapping machine is 6'-0" dia. I just use dial calibers for everything, works good for what I do. I bought those years ago and still work great, I used to get them checked offen because of ISO9000 and never had a problem, but don't remember the name of them. I used to desigh tooling for the shop that I worked for and also design and modify equipment for the shop. Retired now so they don't get too much use until I get my lathe back together. Mic's are ok if you need them.
 Paul


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## Tony Wells (May 3, 2011)

Paul, calipers - both dial and digital - have their place. I find that in my work, I use my 12" dials more than anything. When I need to work closer than I trust them, I have other instruments to use. Sometimes though, calipers of any kind aren't up to the task. Inside grooves, for one example. But then, that's why our tool boxes tend to get larger and larger. 

What type of lapping does he do, when he's not working on crystals? That's a fair sized machine.


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## pjf134 (May 3, 2011)

Tony,
 He just works on crystals mostly, but sometime he does flywheels, clutch plates ect. He runs the place so he does what he wants. I hate to work with him because he takes too long, everything has to be perfect, which is good in a way, but there is a limit. He should work for NASA, the space shuttle would still be in the shop (the first one) LOL
 Paul


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## Tony Wells (May 3, 2011)

Well, hey.......maybe there wouldn't have been O-ring problems if he was involved! Sometimes it's good to be a perfectionist. I remember an early job I had where the foreman would get mad because I took an "extra" pass to bring a part closer to nominal when it was already in print. In is In, he said....which of course is true, but Closer is Better, I say!


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## Tom Griffin (Mar 15, 2012)

Gordon has likely had more experience with different brands of digital calpers than I , but I have personally had very good luck with Mitutoyo. I bought a pair of Digimatic calipers when they were first introduced in the early '80s. There were other brands available but Mitutoyo was the only one with a fast enough clock speed that they wouldn't lose count with a quick move of the slide. At that time I was a full time machinist and used that same pair of calipers every day for the next 15 years. They never failed but eventually got so beat up that it was hard to read the numbers and I replaced them with the pair I'm using today. From my experience, I would rate them on the same level as my Etalon micrometers, the best money can buy.

Tom


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## jgedde (Mar 15, 2012)

http://www.longislandindicator.com/p11.html

This pretty much says it all...  I know these guys and I learned the hard way they're right.  I bought a B&S dial caliper and a Compac DTI from them and haven't looked back.  I've yet to break either after having gone through countless cheapos.

John


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## ScrapMetal (Mar 15, 2012)

jgedde said:


> http://www.longislandindicator.com/p11.html
> 
> This pretty much says it all...  I know these guys and I learned the hard way they're right.  I bought a B&S dial caliper and a Compac DTI from them and haven't looked back.  I've yet to break either after having gone through countless cheapos.
> 
> John




John, I used that link to research before buying my mics and calipers.  Eye-opening to say the least.

Thanks,

-Ron


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