# I did the unconscionable



## Eyerelief (Sep 29, 2021)

I have 2 Mitutoyo digimatic calipers that I have had since the early 2000's.  Purchased at the same time, the serial numbers are are only 3 numbers apart.  I use both constantly and they have been good.  Lately, I have found myself resetting zero more than I thought I should on one of them.  I finally decided to send the questionable one back to Mitutoyo for calibration.  While surfing the net looking for what it would cost, I found a video showing how to replace the display.  Ive always wondered if they were getting dirty inside so I thought I would take the flaky one apart and clean it.  Upon disassembly, I did not notice any dirt to speak of, but did see traces of oil or cutting fluid, not much and on the stainless only, not the electronics.  I went ahead and wiped down the circuit board and bar with some rubbing alcohol.  After reassembling, the unit worked perfectly, and was displayed within a half thou of the other ( I know they really cant resolve a half thou).  After cleaning the other unit, both work and give the exact same readings, and both correlate to pin gages and my Mitutoyo digital micrometer.  Good enough for me and certainly more consistent than they were.


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## alloy (Sep 29, 2021)

I've got 3 mitutoyo calipers I bought 20 years ago and all but one of them has died.  I called  a repair place and they quoted me almost what a new one would cost.  I really wanted to keep them, but it just wasn't cost effective.  

So I bought a 6" IP67 caliper off ebay for $75 shipped.  It looks brand new and feels nice in my hand.  Seems a little heavier than my old ones, has auto power off and supposedly a 5 year battery life.   

My 8" is still kind of working and hopefully will last.  The 8" is much more expensive than the 6" is.


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## brino (Sep 29, 2021)

Eyerelief said:


> After cleaning the other unit, both work and give the exact same readings, and both correlate to pin gages and my Mitutoyo digital micrometer. Good enough for me and certainly more consistent than they were.



That's a win!
Good work and thanks for sharing this.

-brino


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## MrWhoopee (Sep 29, 2021)

I have 2 pair of Tesa 6 in., 1 pair of Etalon 6 in. and 1 pair of Interapid 12 in., all dial calipers. I've had them all at least 30 years. Can't remember the last time I had to re-zero or replace batteries.


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## MrCrankyface (Sep 30, 2021)

Sounds like I need to do the same to my mitutoyo, it's only a few years old but it's owner is a bit careless with it... 
Hoping for the same results as you got!


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## SLK001 (Sep 30, 2021)

Eyerelief said:


> I have 2 Mitutoyo digimatic calipers that I have had since the early 2000's.  Purchased at the same time, the serial numbers are are only 3 numbers apart.  I use both constantly and they have been good.  Lately, I have found myself resetting zero more than I thought I should on one of them.  I finally decided to send the questionable one back to Mitutoyo for calibration.  While surfing the net looking for what it would cost, I found a video showing how to replace the display.  Ive always wondered if they were getting dirty inside so I thought I would take the flaky one apart and clean it.  Upon disassembly, I did not notice any dirt to speak of, but did see traces of oil or cutting fluid, not much and on the stainless only, not the electronics.  I went ahead and wiped down the circuit board and bar with some rubbing alcohol.  After reassembling, the unit worked perfectly, and was displayed within a half thou of the other ( I know they really cant resolve a half thou).  After cleaning the other unit, both work and give the exact same readings, and both correlate to pin gages and my Mitutoyo digital micrometer.  Good enough for me and certainly more consistent than they were.



I didn't know this was a "no-no".  I've had to do this to my Mits a couple of times.  I don't know how, but oil creeps into the mechanism under the display and causes the calipers to go "wonky".  The only thing that I don't like about doing this, is that you have to pull the sticker with all the information on it off the calipers.  Sticker never goes back on properly after that.


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## Eyerelief (Sep 30, 2021)

MrCrankyface said:


> Sounds like I need to do the same to my mitutoyo, it's only a few years old but it's owner is a bit careless with it...
> Hoping for the same results as you got!


The video I watched on youtube was called Mitutoyo digital caliper repair is easy by long island repair service. It is an older model caliper, but mine was assembled exactly the same. The video only takes a couple minutes and the actual work takes less time than the video takes. SLK is correct, you do have to use a razor to remove the back label but it is robust and with a little care can be put right back on using the residual glue. Keep a fresh razor blade low and against the stainless. The video shows you how and a sequence. Well worth a try if your caliper is giving you trouble.


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