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Choosing a new digital or dial caliper

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RknRusty:
My trusty old Taiwanese dial caliper finally bit the dust. Or more accurately, the concrete. That's getting to be a problem now that my hands have turned into crows claws with age and abuse. So, one day I left an Aldi store with coffee, milk, onions, and a $14 dollar digital caliper... it should have been priced at $3.99, and I could've thrown it away and kept the batteries.

Whatever I buy should be at least a little shock resistant, if that's even possible. I'm now hot on the shopping trail and of course went straight to Google, where the only filter I checked was Stainless Steel, and on one page I checked Dial, on the other, I'm looking at Digital.

I like the dial calipers, but I'd have to buy two of them to switch between inch and metric. So I'll probably choose digital, and it would be nice if it had a hold feature for measuring in low visibility areas.

The big question is price range vs. quality. I don't need contractor grade, but I still want reasonable reliability that'll measure a piece the same every time. I assume stainless is the material of choice over aluminum. How much should I expect to pay for a tool that I use a lot, but won't rattle around in a toolbox or get wet, hot, or cold? Any preferred brand names?

We have a Grainger in town, as well as a couple of other professional tool suppliers. I'm leery of counterfeits and unusually good prices on eBay.
Thanks for any advice,
Rusty

Brett Buck:

--- Quote from: RknRusty on May 18, 2017, 07:02:29 AM ---I like the dial calipers, but I'd have to buy two of them to switch between inch and metric. So I'll probably choose digital, and it would be nice if it had a hold feature for measuring in low visibility areas.

The big question is price range vs. quality. I don't need contractor grade, but I still want reasonable reliability that'll measure a piece the same every time. I assume stainless is the material of choice over aluminum. How much should I expect to pay for a tool that I use a lot, but won't rattle around in a toolbox or get wet, hot, or cold? Any preferred brand names?

--- End quote ---

  I have had my Mitutoyo digital calipers for about 30 years now, and they cost around $125 at the time. Now I find the same thing is on the order of $500! That seems a bit much to me.

   Almost any of them will switch between metric and conventional. You probably don't need calibration certificates or SPC output, so I would search on price point with names you would recognize.


    Brett

RknRusty:
Thanks, Brett. You are correct, no certificates for just for building my own toys, and I'd only want to use SPC output if I had it, and then probably just to recall dimensions to write about for you guys.
Rusty

Chris Fretz:
Do you have a Harbor Freight by you?  They are cheap and will do what you want until they hit the ground.

pmackenzie:
You should be able to get a Mighty-yoyo 8" set for about $200. Normal price at Mcmaster Carr.
For digital that is the only brand I would buy. I have tried others, both brand name and Chinese, they just don't work as well.
Solar powered version is handy, never have to change the battery. A bit more money of course.

Dial you can get a cheap Chinese one, they are generally quite accurate.
 I have a couple of them, for some tasks they are better than the digital. One set is well over 30 years old, and still very accurate.

You can also save a bit by buying 6" instead of 8". Most of what we measure to .001" is less than 6" anyway.

Pat MacKenzie

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