User Panel
User Panel
User Panel
|
Posted: 2/7/2016 3:09:51 PM EDT
[#1]
I've had good results with both the Frankford Arsenal calipers and the Hornady Calipers. I wouldn't be surprised if they're made in the same factory. Just one is blue and the other Red. Both of those should be in the 30 dollar range.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 2/7/2016 3:16:07 PM EDT
[#2]
I use the Hornady 6" Stainless Steel Dial Caliper for reloading.
Inexpensive, well built and more than adequate for the job. |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/7/2016 3:23:51 PM EDT
[#3]
Inexpensive 6" electronic calipers are a commodity nowadays.
Even those of us that have "good ones", tend to keep one or two sets of Harbor Freight Specials around to avoid damage to the good ones. Cheap ones are good for hazards and expensive ones stay near more critical inspection work. Remember, the number of digits shown in the window isn't the same as measurement uncertainty. Calipers in general are about +/-0.0015" unless you start spending more for higher quality and accuracy. http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=6%22+calipers Don't sweat over the cheap ones, electronic or mechanical. Save your pocket change and get a good set when you get caught up. |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/7/2016 3:24:42 PM EDT
[#4]
The calipers that Northern Tool sells have been good for me. The stainless ones are the best IMO.
V |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/7/2016 3:37:55 PM EDT
[#5]
There is a Husky brand stainless one at Home Depot for like $30. Works great. I have checked it against my neighbors much more and expensive RCBS one it works the same.
Had it for about 10 months now. |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/7/2016 4:11:23 PM EDT
[#6]
I have a used Mitutoyo that I got 10 years ago.
$25 It has served me well. |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/7/2016 4:38:17 PM EDT
[#7]
I've been very happy with my harbor freight digital set. I use Mitutoyo daily at work and while they are definitely better, I haven't seen the need for the extra expense for my purposes at home.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 2/7/2016 4:41:36 PM EDT
[#8]
I use the Lyman's Stainless Steel Dial Caliper for reloading. Like the Hornady version, they're inexpensive, well built, and more than adequate for the job.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 2/7/2016 4:45:10 PM EDT
[#9]
Should be less than $15.
Shipping is the PITA. |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/7/2016 5:09:44 PM EDT
[#10]
These have a very high rating, and fit Your budget. been looking to get another set for the bench.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 2/7/2016 5:38:46 PM EDT
[#11]
Don't hurt yourself going crazy looking for a vernier caliper.
The Harbor Freight 6 inch Chinese ones are under 11USD with coupon and are more than adequate for reloading needs. Mine have been working for years even when dropped. I see no point getting Mitutoyo, B&S or the like for what we do. |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/7/2016 6:57:55 PM EDT
[#12]
Another vote for Harbor Freight. I did have one set that died on me after 2 years and I took it back for a free replacement, as it had a lifetime warranty.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 2/7/2016 7:31:47 PM EDT
[#13]
Harbor freight is the right tool for the job and at $11 it's at a great price. No problems with mine and I use it with the hornady headspace and bullet comparator tools.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 2/7/2016 9:53:05 PM EDT
[#14]
Pretty any much $20-30 Dial caliper will be just fine for reloading. Most are made in the same factory.
You don't need a $200 Starrett or Mitutoyo for reloading. |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/8/2016 5:37:16 AM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Pretty any much $20-30 Dial caliper will be just fine for reloading. Most are made in the same factory. You don't need a $200 Starrett or Mitutoyo for reloading. I agree. The OP shouldn't over think this because very little of what we do requires that we know the "real" dimension. When we measure shoulder bump, case length, CBTO length, etc. it's not the true actual dimension which is important. It's normally just a number referenced to what we know fits in a particular rifle or a difference in two measurements and most any caliper will give us what we reloaders need to know. |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/8/2016 9:38:51 AM EDT
[#16]
With a $40 budget I'd hit ebay and buy a 6" Brown & Sharpe
|
|
|
|
Posted: 2/8/2016 9:55:51 AM EDT
[#17]
These by Fowler at Amazon are what we use at work for general purpose use. $35 with Prime.
There are a lot of options sub $20 at Amazon as well. |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/8/2016 10:22:03 AM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted: With a $40 budget I'd hit ebay and buy a 6" Brown & Sharpe This. |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/8/2016 5:29:32 PM EDT
[#19]
I had a limited budget when I got mine. I think I paid $30 with tax and all at Cabelas for their branded calipers. Good enough for now until I can get some better ones.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 2/8/2016 6:53:43 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I agree. The OP shouldn't over think this because very little of what we do requires that we know the "real" dimension. When we measure shoulder bump, case length, CBTO length, etc. it's not the true actual dimension which is important. It's normally just a number referenced to what we know fits in a particular rifle or a difference in two measurements and most any caliper will give us what we reloaders need to know. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Pretty any much $20-30 Dial caliper will be just fine for reloading. Most are made in the same factory. You don't need a $200 Starrett or Mitutoyo for reloading. I agree. The OP shouldn't over think this because very little of what we do requires that we know the "real" dimension. When we measure shoulder bump, case length, CBTO length, etc. it's not the true actual dimension which is important. It's normally just a number referenced to what we know fits in a particular rifle or a difference in two measurements and most any caliper will give us what we reloaders need to know. I'm just going to order a cheap set and roll with it. The caliper that some how managed to get ran over was a Starret I bought over 10 years ago when I was taking the machining part of industrial maintenance. Kind of broke my heart to see it all bent up. |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/8/2016 7:54:23 PM EDT
[#21]
I was looking for a digital caliper, something better than the cheap Chinese crap that is so often sold, but still at a moderate price, I did quite a bit of research and found the iGaging OriginCal Absolute Origin. I read a lot of reviews and comparisons of calipers before I ran into these, and I am extremely pleased by these calipers, good precision at a very reasonable price from Amazon. The video explains what Absolute Origin means and why its important.
http://www.amazon.com/iGaging-ABSOLUTE-Digital-Electronic-Caliper/dp/B00INL0BTS This isn't the review I had watched, but this review and comparison came up with the same result:  |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/8/2016 8:52:41 PM EDT
[#22]
I have a digital one I bought from Amazon. This one. The only bad thing I can say about it is it kills batteries. Now when I am done I take the battery out.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 2/8/2016 9:49:11 PM EDT
[#23]
My cheapo Harbor Freight calipers work fine for reloading. They aren't as smooth as Mitutoyos of course but for the price they work fine.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 2/9/2016 11:02:24 AM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I was looking for a digital caliper, something better than the cheap Chinese crap that is so often sold, but still at a moderate price, I did quite a bit of research and found the iGaging OriginCal Absolute Origin. I read a lot of reviews and comparisons of calipers before I ran into these, and I am extremely pleased by these calipers, good precision at a very reasonable price from Amazon. The video explains what Absolute Origin means and why its important. http://www.amazon.com/iGaging-ABSOLUTE-Digital-Electronic-Caliper/dp/B00INL0BTS This isn't the review I had watched, but this review and comparison came up with the same result: Thanks for the link. Ill be buying a set of those |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/9/2016 3:33:42 PM EDT
[#25]
I just have more confidence in mechanical dial calipers than electronic. I have Starrett, RCBS (green plastic) and cheap Harbor Freight. All are standard 6".
For precision, I rely on the Starrett, as when measuring in conjunction with machine operation, such as hole depth or making a critical cut. But for reloading purposes, the Harbor Freight ones are just fine. The plastic jaw edges on the RCBS wears over time. As long as you rezero every time, they are still fine. The Harbor Freight ones are actually better than the RCBS. |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/9/2016 11:21:04 PM EDT
[#26]
Some that I have that work well are Midway, Harbor Freight and some no name digital. These were all in the $10-15 range and made in China.
They all work. As a gift I gave Mitutoyos to my bro and nephew, they're very nice. About $100. |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/10/2016 12:52:39 AM EDT
[#27]
I've concluded I trust my mechanical calipers over my digital ones. My digital gave me some erroneous readings, which is almost impossible even with a cheapy mechanical.
Digital does allow you to zero out when you are using any of the hornady comparator stuff. |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/10/2016 6:32:50 PM EDT
[#28]
I have a pair of Starret dial calipers that I inherited and use them rarely. I have compared them to the digital ones that I have purchased from Northern Tool and the ones from Northern Tool are dead on with the high dollar Starret calipers.
V |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/10/2016 7:25:34 PM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Don't hurt yourself going crazy looking for a vernier caliper. The Harbor Freight 6 inch Chinese ones are under 11USD with coupon and are more than adequate for reloading needs. Mine have been working for years even when dropped. I see no point getting Mitutoyo, B&S or the like for what we do. Agreed. It does all right for reloading duties. In fact, I have semi-retired my Starrett dial caliper. |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/11/2016 1:00:27 AM EDT
[#30]
I've been using a mechanical dial caliper for 50 years, but I have to be real careful or I can misread it, that's what prompted me to get a digital, I don't quite trust the cheapies, so I went just a little bit up scale when I bought mine.
On the subject of cheap stuff, a few years ago I got one of those $2 multimeters at Harbor Freight, I used it to check some DC voltage one day, the reading was way low, I spent a couple of hours trying to figure out what was wrong with the equipment, couldn't find anything, finally wondered if it might be the meter, it was, I hadn't dreamed that meter might be off by 30-40%, it was and wasted a lot of my time looking for a problem that didn't exist, so I fixed the problem, threw the Harbor Freight multimeter in the trash. |
|
|
|
Posted: 2/11/2016 3:02:47 AM EDT
[#31]
I end up using HF calipers for reloading.... replaced plastic dial calipers I used for years. I appreciate good tools and the HF are good enough for reloading.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 2/11/2016 2:18:19 PM EDT
[#32]
My Harbor Freight ones haven't let me down yet (3 years or so). For what I use them for (basic case measurement) works just fine.
|
|
|
Win a FREE Membership!
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.
