Digital Calipers

[spectra]

Thinking of getting one and wondering what everyone uses? I have a Lyman dial one I use now but was thinking the digital one might be a little easier on the eyes.

Read More

 

[stavros4570]

Reader glasses can be had at Bi-Mart for 10 to 12 bucks!!

 

[spectra]

Reader glasses can be had at Bi-Mart for 10 to 12 bucks!!

Thanks for that informative post

Oh wait I already wear glasses FYI

 

[Mark W.]

Since your not working on something that requires .0001" tolerances etc. Just save you money and go to Harbor freight and pickup one of their cheap 6" Digitals. I have one and have checked it against my Starrett 1" micrometer and its within 1-2 tenthousands every time.

For reloading its excellent easy to read great battery life with an auto shut off inches or mils

Search results for: 'digital calipers'

 

[Don H]

I have the Harbor Freight ones as well and they work great. Look for a coupon as they go on sale all the time.

 

[BAMCIS]

I put in an order with Santa for a caliper because I ran over my 40 year old Starrett caliper in the garage. (Long story) The message must have gotten through and I must have been good (enough) all year because that jolly old fat man left this in my stocking last year:

​

It's WAY, WAY better than I deserve or what's needed for reloading. It helps when Santa's blonde helper (AKA the wife) has a nephew who's job requires precise measuring so she got a helluva deal on it. Otherwise I'd have done as other have suggested and made a trip to Home Depot or Harbor Freight.

Anyway, like Ralphie you might consider talking to that jolly old man. Especially if you've been good all year. Who knows may you'll find something like this on Christmas morning in your stocking.

 

[Otter]

Get the Harbor Freight ones and see for yourself. Ten bucks or so with the coupon. They measure just as good as my $50 Cabelas and $150 dollar Mitutoyo brand. In fact they measure darn near as accurate as my Mitutoyo micrometer. I doubt they are very durable, so if you dropped them they could be toast, but for $10 bucks you can get another one. Actually amazing what the Chinese can make for a fraction of the price these days.

I actually like dial calipers better, and a dollar pair of reading glasses from the Dollar store makes it quite easy to read them.

 

[orygun]

I, too, like dial calipers. There is never a potential for an electrical problem.

A side benefit of the digital calipers? Most of them can flip between SAE and metric displays at the push of a button. Kind cool for conversions.

 

[spectra]

I do not have a problem with the dial calipers. I would like a digital set for comparison and also it will make it a lot quicker to sort through brass. Had 500 pcs of brass to sort through. Have about another 1500 to check.

 

[ripcity]

I have the mitutoyo calipers. I kept them from my last job where they were used daily. Love those things.

 

[MarkAd]

dial calipers are the way to go. I just wish I had some cal blocks.

 

[Rick4070]

We have a set of Accupro Gold gauge blocks here at work, but I don't see them listed at MSC, where we bought them.

Here is another set:

<broken link removed>

We also have to have our set sent in yearly to have them calibrated, how they could ever be "off" by them sitting in their box for the whole year, other than taking them out on occasion to check mic's, calipers, etc., is something I have wondered about...

 

[spectra]

Well just looked at the HF adds and they have one with coupon for 10 bucks. I think it will work for what I want it for. Still have the nice dial one for the precision work.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Papa Jon]

​

I have a set of these that I use for work. I have had these for about 20yr and like them the best

The ones I use at home are the Helios Dial. The dial is only a half revolution for a tenth and I would prefer a full revolution for a tenth as they are more accurate

If I can't locate the dials in a pinch I will use these cheap beading calipers. most likely comparable to the Harbor freight set

Lastly there are my Twin Rhombie Vernier caliprs. One side reads sae and the other side is metric. They take some time to read and maybe fairly accurate but are a pain to use

 

[10 Spot Terminator]

Another vote for the Mitutoyo digitals . I use them for more than just reloading and in applications at times where that fourth digit will split hairs where they need to be split . No looking at the dial and saying " kinda looks like it is close to " ....

 

[usagi]

Harbor Freight digital calipers will be way more than sufficient for any reloading need.

 

[the4thshake]

I'm gonna throw in another vote for the Harbor Freight calipers. The set I have has to be at least ten years old and still goin strong.

 

[KalamaMark]

Huge difference in feel, smoothness, fit and finish between the HF calipers and my Mitutoyos. Using the HF calipers is like driving a 1950's IH Snowplow after vs. driving a racing Acura.

No discernable difference in repeatable measurement accuracy between the two.

That said, I've purchased a couple extra HF models to be placed at different locations where a caliper is frequently needed, so I can save time carting the good ones hither and yon.

A HF caliper is on my reloading bench, and I'm perfectly fine with that.