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Posted: 9/23/2009 10:15:56 AM EDT
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I've searched the stickies at the top of the page and couldn't find what I'm looking for, perhaps I missed it.....a hell of alot of info in those pages.
I'm looking for a set of digital calipers, looking for quality, but don't want to spend a fortune. Recommendations? |
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Search ebay or pawn shops for Mitutoyo, Brown & Sharp, or Starret. Trust me, with digi calipers cheap ones will quit working, give false meausurements, freeze up etc...... I've looked at the Miutoyo on ebay.....alot of them are used, what's your opinion of used calipers? I kinda figured it was risky business. |
| I initially bought a $30 digital at the local Ace. Worked reliably with no problems for a couple of years. Decided I wanted a quality tool as backup so bought an expensive Mitutoyo. It also works reliably with no problems and reads exactly the same as my inexpensive one. |
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I have the Kobalt caliper and have been happy with it so far. $30.
Kobalt Digital Caliper at Lowe's |
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I have the Kobalt caliper and have been happy with it so far. $30. Kobalt Digital Caliper at Lowe's Same here. Maybe not the best but I'm not reloading precision rounds either. |
I have used a Dillon dial caliper for about 20 years and it is very good. very easy to read and seems to maintain readings well (re-measuring the same cartridge after several other readings still shows the same length as the first time.) It was about $30. Unfortunately I noticed recently that it is "Made in China".  I think any calipers sold by RCBS, Lyman, Hornady, Dillonese, etc. will be good to go.I've never used a non-firearm related manufacturer's caliper but I imagine those would be pretty nice. |
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Have a Frankford Arsenal - it was like $20 on sale. 100% happy with it. Starrett is insanely high. Same here. 100% happy with my Frankford Arsenal calipers. I won't cry when I eventually knock them off the bench, like I would with Starrets or Mitutoyos. |
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I'm an inspector in an aerospace machine shop and I also handle calibration of measuring equipment. Don't let the name brands fool you, a cheap set is just as accurate as an expensive set. In a shop environment where you are taking hundreds of measurements a day over the entire range of the caliper I would say stick with name brand, generally the rails are harder and they will last slightly longer. For reloading use buy cheap and use the extra on reloading components.
Most folks that generally own Mitutoyo tools don't have an accurate way to calibrate them. FYI... there are 2 screws that hold a brass gibb on the same side as the locking screw, with Mitutoyo calipers they have a tendency to back out causing your caliper jaws to go out of parallel, keep an eye on them by holding them up to the light and look for light passing through on the outside edges of the jaws. If you see light snug down those small slotted screws and back them off approx. 1/8 of a turn. I haven't seen this happen with B+S or Starrett calipers but Mitutoyo it seems to happen all the time. |
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I'm an inspector in an aerospace machine shop and I also handle calibration of measuring equipment. Don't let the name brands fool you, a cheap set is just as accurate as an expensive set. In a shop environment where you are taking hundreds of measurements a day over the entire range of the caliper I would say stick with name brand, generally the rails are harder and they will last slightly longer. For reloading use buy cheap and use the extra on reloading components. Most folks that generally own Mitutoyo tools don't have an accurate way to calibrate them. FYI... there are 2 screws that hold a brass gibb on the same side as the locking screw, with Mitutoyo calipers they have a tendency to back out causing your caliper jaws to go out of parallel, keep an eye on them by holding them up to the light and look for light passing through on the outside edges of the jaws. If you see light snug down those small slotted screws and back them off approx. 1/8 of a turn. I haven't seen this happen with B+S or Starrett calipers but Mitutoyo it seems to happen all the time. As someone who professionally repairs, calibrates and sells micrometers, calipers, force gages, almost all of the common dimensional measuring equipment in an ISO 17025 lab, I have NOT seen any good, name brand calipers do this, in any significant quantity - be in Mitutoyo, Starrett, B&S, Mahr Federal or any of the others. Not saying its not possible, but after 10 years, its extremely uncommon and not something to worry about. As far as calibration goes, a quick and dirty, but accurate enough for a caliper is to purchase a set of class X plug gages or gage blocks. Have them professionally calibrated (typically 50 cents and $2.25 each respectively, at my and my local competitor's places) and they'll be accurate to within a few millionths. class ZZ plugs are cheaper, but are within 2 ten thousandths accurate, as opposed to the tighter tolerance of X, XX, Y, Z and other gages. No matter what you go with, just don't go with the "Made in China" crap, most of my customers don't bother with ordering more of them once they compared it to their better name brand ones. |
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As far as calibration goes, a quick and dirty, but accurate enough for a caliper is to purchase a set of class X plug gages or gage blocks. Have them professionally calibrated (typically 50 cents and $2.25 each respectively, at my and my local competitor's places) and they'll be accurate to within a few millionths. class ZZ plugs are cheaper, but are within 2 ten thousandths accurate, as opposed to the tighter tolerance of X, XX, Y, Z and other gages. . What is the company that calibrates gage blocks for $0.50 to $2.25? Are the an accredited lab? What are they certified to and are the NIST traceable? I may be interested in transferring a very large portion of my calibration over to you guys depending on above requirements and average turn around time. I currently pay from $5 - $10 per block or $200 per 81 pc set . As far as reloading is concerned any class pin or gage block is going to be close enough, you are not working within millionths while reloading, drop a couple decimal places and it's a little more like it. |
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Search ebay or pawn shops for Mitutoyo, Brown & Sharp, or Starret. Trust me, with digi calipers cheap ones will quit working, give false meausurements, freeze up etc...... I've looked at the Miutoyo on ebay.....alot of them are used, what's your opinion of used calipers? I kinda figured it was risky business. I would not buy a used caliper, particularly electronic versions, unless I held them in my hand and verified that they worked properly first. With precision tools, you get what you pay for. |
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I would not buy a used caliper, particularly electronic versions, unless I held them in my hand and verified that they worked properly first. I wouldn't purchase used either. The majority of the employee owned calipers that get rejected at calibration are put on Ebay after 
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I have used a Dillon dial caliper for about 20 years and it is very good. very easy to read and seems to maintain readings well (re-measuring the same cartridge after several other readings still shows the same length as the first time.) It was about $30. Unfortunately I noticed recently that it is "Made in China". I think any calipers sold by RCBS, Lyman, Hornady, Dillonese, etc. will be good to go.
I've never used a non-firearm related manufacturer's caliper but I imagine those would be pretty nice. My RCBS dial calipers are too.. 
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Quoted: Honestly I really prefer a Dial caliper to a Digital one. No batteries, straightforward and reliable. +1 The Harbor Freight digital or dial calipers will work fine for reloading at home. I have six sets, three of each strung out all over the house. Pick up a one inch standard to be sure they are calibrated. |
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wtf aerospace ,iso supe calabrated ,go to the moon , its ALL BULLSHIT go china cheep while you can and get 2 one for a back up , its over we lost as in tools ,you to.. eta you only goinr to the thounants I was the aerospace but for reloading I still recommended the cheap ones  What do I win?
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wtf aerospace ,iso supe calabrated ,go to the moon , its ALL BULLSHIT go china cheep while you can and get 2 one for a back up , its over we lost as in tools ,you to.. eta you only goinr to the thounants I was the aerospace but for reloading I still recommended the cheap ones What do I win?My undying gratitude 
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Get dial calipers and you wont be sorry, it's much easier to get a good measurement than with digital. I have 5-6 sets of dial calipers ranging from expensive to cheap and they all read the same, but not all digital calipers are going to be as good at a low price as the dials will be. My Fowler micrometers came with little gauge blocks to check the calibration and this is what I use with all my calipers to make sure they are dead on at 1".
And FYI, all the dial calipers branded RCBS, Lyman, Frankford Arsenal, & so on are all made by the same China company, I have them all and even the serial #'s start with the same code, so don't let brand sway your purchase because they are all created equal, so buy the cheapest ones and you will be good to go. I use mostly Phase 2 dial calipers since that's what we use at work and they hold up great and aren't that expensive either. Phase II dial calipers |
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harbor freight $16 workes great .i know this wont fly on afcom .just saying +1 Harbor Freight. Last I saw, the sale brought the price down to about $12. It's "good enough." Hey, we aren't building an ICBM here. But, I ususally reach for the old dial caliper. Because, it doesn't need batteries. The downside........the lines are getting smaller or my eyes are going. LOL. Aloha, Mark |
| I bought a "General" brand set of stainless steel digital calipers from my Ace Hardware for $39 and so far I LOVE it! The added bonus is it will display in .XXX inches, fraction inches (1/64) or in mm. So its useful for other projects other than just reloading. Its been extremely accurate so far and very easy to use. Worth every penny and I didn't have to wait days for mail order..... |
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So, to somewhat resurrect this topic...
I do not reload ammo but I do sometimes want/need to measure gun parts. If I have someone asking for a dimension in thousandths, I need a caliper that is accurate to less than one thousandth, correct? Without breaking the bank, what's a decent caliper that will allow me to give measurements to someone who is going to machine gun parts based on my measurements? This tool will not get heavy use or be exposed to harsh conditions but I will need to be sure of its accuracy. Thanks for any input that you might provide to this micro-measuring newbie? |
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Harbor Freight has a coupon to bring the price of thier 6" digital caliper down to $9.99.
The coupon is available on HF's internet mailings or try............. http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/common/displayPage.do?pageFile=magurl1.html Aloha, Mark |
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Any dial caliper that will measure to 0.001" will work just fine for your application. just make sure they are made from metal. Never buy one constructed from plastic.
As far as calibrating your dial calp. The jacketed bullets you're loading are very precise (diameter) and make good cheap standards until you can find a decent set of standards. Or, clean the jaws very well, close it all the way and adjust the dial to zero. MLG |
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Quoted:
I'm an inspector in an aerospace machine shop and I also handle calibration of measuring equipment. Don't let the name brands fool you, a cheap set is just as accurate as an expensive set. In a shop environment where you are taking hundreds of measurements a day over the entire range of the caliper I would say stick with name brand, generally the rails are harder and they will last slightly longer. For reloading use buy cheap and use the extra on reloading components. Most folks that generally own Mitutoyo tools don't have an accurate way to calibrate them. FYI... there are 2 screws that hold a brass gibb on the same side as the locking screw, with Mitutoyo calipers they have a tendency to back out causing your caliper jaws to go out of parallel, keep an eye on them by holding them up to the light and look for light passing through on the outside edges of the jaws. If you see light snug down those small slotted screws and back them off approx. 1/8 of a turn. I haven't seen this happen with B+S or Starrett calipers but Mitutoyo it seems to happen all the time. Yep. I was a toolmaker and after I got a chip caught in the rack of my expensive Mitutoyo dial calipers and rolled over it, they were shot. I bought a cheap Harbor Freight digital to replace them...and you know what? I like them better than I ever did the Mitutoyos, they're going on 7 years old, still work perfectly, and are just as accurate. |
| I use a Lyman dial caliper that I bought 17 years ago and it's great. It looks just like the other calipers that are sold by RCBS and others, the only difference is the little plastic brand logo glued on the end. I use a cheap digital caliper at work that I bought from Home Depot, but I'm not a tool & die maker nor am I in the aerospace industry so it works fine for what I need. |
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