Digital Caliper

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Bought this Digital caliper at Canadian Tire for about $12.00 US. When I bought my first caliper, digital ones weren't around and then they were quite pricy. Nice toy.

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They're not bad for home use/layout work. I was pleasantly surprised at how decent they were, especially considering the price.

I have a set of 8" Mitutoyo Absolute AOS Digimatic calipers I use at work.
 
I remember when I got my first digital caliper, I was like all over the shop measuring stuff....‚... now you gotta pick up a micrometer.ðŸ‘

You can get those little button cell batteries cheap from China btw...does yours auto turn off??
 
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They have a power drain even when off so I take the battery out when not in use. Plus I buy a pack of 4 at the Dollar Tree.
 
Originally Posted by clinebarger
Why digital? When you need it most....The battery will be dead! I may just be old & prefer Dial Calipers.

Digital is easier for the younger folks, doesn't require any thought, just read.

I believe my first purchase from Harbor Freight was digital calipers, $6 iirc. I did pick up a dial caliper for backup. Both have seen hours of use at the reloading bench, among other things.
 
I have an almost identical one from HF. I like it. But after a year or two the battery cover will not stay fully shut. Its off by a little bit and no battery contact. I need to hold the battery cover down to get the battery connected.
 
Originally Posted by Mad_Hatter
I remember when I got my first digital caliper, I was like all over the shop measuring stuff....‚... now you gotta pick up a micrometer.ðŸ‘

You can get those little button cell batteries cheap from China btw...does yours auto turn off??


Yes, it does. Thanks.
 
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Originally Posted by LotI
Originally Posted by clinebarger
Why digital? When you need it most....The battery will be dead! I may just be old & prefer Dial Calipers.

Digital is easier for the younger folks, doesn't require any thought, just read.

I believe my first purchase from Harbor Freight was digital calipers, $6 iirc. I did pick up a dial caliper for backup. Both have seen hours of use at the reloading bench, among other things.

I have both . The dial is used almost exclusively . the digital , rarely ( and then , the battery is usually dead :-( ) .
 
Dials are easier for middle age folks, Verniers for aging stalwarts!
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I though Mitutoyo ( though I preferred my Dial Starrett ) were 1/2 decent

then

I bough a new lower end 12" Fowler and I really like how it handles and the repeatability.

I never tried a cheap caliper for home use.

My last job, as a small contractor, was a short bridge to retirement and it involved some QA and Incoming.
 
Originally Posted by Skippy722
They're not bad for home use/layout work. I was pleasantly surprised at how decent they were, especially considering the price.

I have a set of 8" Mitutoyo Absolute AOS Digimatic calipers I use at work.


Nice. I've needed some for home use for a while and a co worker sold me a new in box set of Swiss made Fowlers. Would have much rather had Absolutes, but for $20 I can't complain. Looking them up online, they cost more as well, but you need to have a doctors degree to use them. Push this button for 3 seconds to change units. Push this button for 6 seconds to turn off etc. I can never remember.

The Absolutes are absolutely straight forward.
 
Originally Posted by LotI
Originally Posted by clinebarger
Why digital? When you need it most....The battery will be dead! I may just be old & prefer Dial Calipers.

Digital is easier for the younger folks, doesn't require any thought, just read.


I like digital because of how smooth they are. That is 99.9% of the reason I bought mine. No gear rack to get stuff stuck in.

But one should not be allowed to look at a set of digital calipers till you first learn how to read Vernier calipers, and once you have that down then you can get a set of dial calipers.


Originally Posted by dlundblad


Nice. I've needed some for home use for a while and a co worker sold me a new in box set of Swiss made Fowlers. Would have much rather had Absolutes, but for $20 I can't complain. Looking them up online, they cost more as well, but you need to have a doctors degree to use them. Push this button for 3 seconds to change units. Push this button for 6 seconds to turn off etc. I can never remember.

The Absolutes are absolutely straight forward.


I had a pair of Swiss made Fowler's, they weren't half bad at all. But yes, I agree on needing a doctorate degree for them
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Originally Posted by atikovi
Always had a Mitu digital caliper and mike but wonder if those cheap ones are really just as accurate.

They are. The electronic readers in them are all a generic product. And most all of them are produced in the Pacific Rim. That is the heart of the instrument. I have several sets of the expensive models from Mitutoyo, Starrett, and Brown & Sharpe. As well as cheap digitals from Harbor Freight and the like.

When I was working and had to have my tools calibrated every 6 months, the cheap calipers passed certification every time. Just like the high dollar models did.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Always had a Mitu digital caliper and mike but wonder if those cheap ones are really just as accurate.

If you're measuring the thickness of a brake rotor or pad, you don't need super accuracy. If anything, take 3-4 readings and average the results.

If someone is machining multiple parts and especially if there are "fits" between them, no one will be using $12 digital calipers.
 
Originally Posted by LotI
Digital is easier for the younger folks, doesn't require any thought, just read.

You "read" dial calipers too
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I learned how to use tools like this before digital ones were either developed or at least readily available. Today, I can't remember how to read them but I'm sure after a 5-minute review with a YouTube video, it will come back to me.
 
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