Anyone have recommendations for a set of calipers

[oldgeek]

That dont break the bank? I would like to spend no more than $60
I have several Harbor Freight sets that have been good but now they are not repeatable.

[FrankenMech]

Forget the electronic ones. I have a 6" set of almost 50 year old Mitutoyo dial calipers I still trust and use. I have looked at the HF electronic ones a couple of times and I could never get them to repeat a zero even new in the store so I never looked again. I have looked at a couple of electronic ones in other stores but they had the same problem. I suppose high $$ ones from Starrett or similar may work but I still don't like batteries in tools.

[oldgeek]

Oct 9, 2024 21:08:51 GMT -5 FrankenMech said:

Forget the electronic ones. I have a 6" set of almost 50 year old Mitutoyo dial calipers I still trust and use. I have looked at the HF electronic ones a couple of times and I could never get them to repeat a zero even new in the store so I never looked again. I have looked at a couple of electronic ones in other stores but they had the same problem. I suppose high $$ ones from Starrett or similar may work but I still don't like batteries in tools.

I am no machinist, the HF calipers worked good enough for what I do. I love the conversion feature, press button to convert between mm, inches, fractions. Life changing for me!LOl

[FrankenMech]

I am not a machinist either, just a bumbling hobbyist. I have forgotten how to do most things. I do have a 6" set of micrometers in a box and a few spares and many specials in tool boxes. I keep a conversion chart on the wall at each machine and a light/solar powered conversion calculator in a drawer at one machine and in my office.

I have enough laser levels with those damn primary cell batteries in them. I don't like batteries in tools, they either leak or are dead when needed. The rechargeables in cordless tools are always dead when needed too Even though I have a shelf full of chargers, -but it is always in another part of the house. You can find conversion charts online, and some tool stores give them away. If I want real strange conversions I have a Machinery's Handbook in a drawer in the machinist's tool box and my office also. I do have to remember which toolbox though. Some of those middle drawers have tools in them...

When working on parts for projects always decide what units you are using, -it makes things much easier. Sometimes the project or part is produced either in metric, SAE, or fractions which makes the decision for you.

[90GTVert]

I bought this one somewhat recently because it was one of the top rated on amazon with tons of ratings :
amzn.to/3NluFWA

Works OK. I actually like the iGaging one that I bought 10 years ago better, but the model I have is no longer available so I can't say if it will be the same. They feel better to me and have a large display. They do sell newer models on amazon, so maybe check those out.

Both the Neiko and iGaging calipers have been close to my Mitutoyo, NSK and Fowler micrometers when double checking stuff. Surely good enough for day to day reasonable precision. 10 years of use on the (at the time) $20 iGaging unit before it feels like maybe there's a little play is impressive to me. I still use it, but the replacement was basically because I was paranoid that I needed to get rid of it. Still seems to measure fine, but occasionally I'll have some zeroing error where I 0 and then it will be 0.001" or 0.01mm off when rechecked or it seems like I have to do it a couple of times almost like a warmup to get it to act right. 10 years with the amount of use mine get and being improperly used at times is better than I ever anticipated.


As far as conversions between inches and mm, that's easy to me as long as I have a calculator. Just remember the number 25.4. 25.4mm in 1 inch so multiply inches by 25.4 for mm or divide mm by 25.4 for inches. If you need quick and dirty math for non-precise things, 25mm in an inch works well enough. So 10" is 250mm. Really 10" = 254mm, but it's a super quick way to estimate something roughly. Every 4" is 100mm that way and so on. For some reason my brain still processes larger stuff in inches better so it's helpful there.

[FrankenMech]

Years ago an Inch was: 1.000" = 25.400000000000...00003mm and then they just truncated it to 25.4mm because for all practical purposes it didn't matter. Now the inch and all the other length measurements are defined by the metric system.

-Sorry I don't remember how many zero's there were...

I was raised on inches, fractions, decimal inches, feet, yards, miles, etc. Somewhere along the line they started teaching the metric system, then politicians got involved to stop teaching the foreign, un-American dimensions and they stopped. Somewhat later they started again and the US was ready to convert to metric and I was used to it in 1976 then the AARP stopped it again. We have slowly crawled forward since, moving towards the light and the metric system. I much prefer the metric system but my brain still thinks in feet and yards and miles etc. I will never forgive the AARP for the damage they did to the USA which continues to this day.

[oldgeek]

Oct 10, 2024 16:21:48 GMT -5 FrankenMech said:

Years ago an Inch was: 1.000" = 25.400000000000...00003mm and then they just truncated it to 25.4mm because for all practical purposes it didn't matter. Now the inch and all the other length measurements are defined by the metric system.

-Sorry I don't remember how many zero's there were...

I was raised on inches, fractions, decimal inches, feet, yards, miles, etc. Somewhere along the line they started teaching the metric system, then politicians got involved to stop teaching the foreign, un-American dimensions and they stopped. Somewhat later they started again and the US was ready to convert to metric and I was used to it in 1976 then the AARP stopped it again. We have slowly crawled forward since, moving towards the light and the metric system. I much prefer the metric system but my brain still thinks in feet and yards and miles etc. I will never forgive the AARP for the damage they did to the USA which continues to this day.

I am old enough to remember that mess, prolly why I am so effed up now LOL. The metric system is infinitely easier for me, and I like pressing buttons! If it was not for that button and spell check yall would really know how ignorant I am.

[oldgeek]

Oct 10, 2024 8:16:50 GMT -5 90GTVert said:

I bought this one somewhat recently because it was one of the top rated on amazon with tons of ratings :
amzn.to/3NluFWA

This is the one I settled on last night after looking at oh, 100 or so. Hoping the larger display will help my failing eyes.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076DS19WQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

[FrankenMech]

Good choice for a digital. I can sympathize with OLD eyes. My shaking hands make measuring very difficult. Just don't use your caliper as a scribe to make marks on rotating parts etc. I see that on videos all the time and it makes my skin crawl... there are tools for that purpose and to see people abuse their measuring instruments in that way is nauseating.

[oldgeek]

Oct 11, 2024 2:23:02 GMT -5 FrankenMech said:

Good choice for a digital. I can sympathize with OLD eyes. My shaking hands make measuring very difficult. Just don't use your caliper as a scribe to make marks on rotating parts etc. I see that on videos all the time and it makes my skin crawl... there are tools for that purpose and to see people abuse their measuring instruments in that way is nauseating.

Oh! I never do that.........very often

[FrankenMech]

Grrrrrr

Buy yourself a set of hermaphrodite calipers made for that purpose. They are only $10-15.

And NEVER do that again!