digital calipers - Page 2

ugotit33x · February 6, 2010, 05:47 PM

I have a few Digital Caliper expensive to cheap.
If your battery is good and you have a zero in on the caliper,
the cheap is as good as the expensive. Be your own judge.
The calipers I have all have an output connector slot on the top.
Looks like it can take some sort of cable to hook to a computer
or palm pilot.
Does anyone know of this or has one or knows where to get a cable.
Thank you
Robert

drail · February 6, 2010, 05:54 PM

Starret user here. They cost more but if you take care of them they will not go out of cal. I would never trust a digital caliper. They're just wrong.

Glock.45 · February 6, 2010, 08:12 PM

I was in the circuit board plating industry once apon a time and my Dad taught me how to use dial calipers. Long story short we had a high end pair and a low end pair.The only differences I remember were quality of materials and having to zero the cheepos more often.

For your situation. If you have the means I would say buy the $220 pair and buy a $20 pair of digital's and compare your results. Most places have a 30 day return If you want to deal with that.

OR you could find a machine shop, plating shop, ext. ext. and ask them if you can try what they are using.

thats my .02

Hey_Allen · February 8, 2010, 08:49 PM

I first bought a Frankford Arsenal digital set from Midway, and it worked fairly well.

Then I bought a digital from Harbour Freight, and it worked well (in the garage projects).

After a couple of moves, I noticed that the two appeared to have been manufactured by the same source, with the labeling and color of the plastic being the only difference. Then I remembered that I'd paid $19.99 for the Frankford when it was on sale, and $12.99 for the one from Harbour Freight.

I've since given a friend one of the Harbour freight ones when he needed a caliper, as well as adding a dial caliper for those times when the digital looses it's battery and I didn't remember to replace it after the last one. (The mechanical one also came from Harbour Freight, to the tune of ~$13 as well.)

grubbylabs · February 8, 2010, 08:58 PM

Like a few I have the Harbor freight ones, I have checked them a few times and they seem to be right on. Plus I got mine on sale for 6.00 or something like that.

qwman68 · February 8, 2010, 09:00 PM

I got mine at lowes for 29 dollars and had issues with them till i bought a good battery. Now they are great. I used to back them up with dial calipers till i got faith in them.

Hog Buster · February 8, 2010, 09:55 PM

Brown & Sharpe Dial (Swiss Made). Too much digital junk on the market.

CJ7365 · February 8, 2010, 10:13 PM

you do NOT need a $200 caliper

Glock.45 · February 8, 2010, 10:38 PM

I bought the $20 dial's at cabelas and the work fine

colospgsAVID · February 9, 2010, 04:12 AM

Dial caliper all the way! Just as said before in this post... keep the rack gear clean. These will never waver. Mechanical is the way to go. My Brown & Sharpe dial caliper is way sweet. As most if not all dial type calipers, you can turn the bezel to zero for temp/ other conditions. Electronic stuff needs to come to a regular temp to be accurate. Just like digital powder scales... Mechanical(dial) IMHO is head and shoulders above digital.

EDIT: As far as a micrometer I have an old Starrett. I've posted pics of my measuring tools on another thread on this forum.

colospgsAVID · February 9, 2010, 04:36 AM

My measuring tools.. They are ancient but accurate. I have full trust in them.

tes1900 · February 9, 2010, 06:31 AM

I asked a friend of mine that very same question; he is a draftsman and has been all his life. This isn’t an exact quote but in general he said that only a weenie would use a digital but I have been using a dial vernear calipers for over 50 years so maybe it would be best for you to start on a digital, well it was something like that.
So I got a digital and I love it; it’s always right on, the same number each and every time. When I compare it to my dial calipers I get several differing results.

Tom

aerod1 · February 9, 2010, 05:06 PM

My "Fowler" digitals have been good calipers.

James R. Burke · February 10, 2010, 07:29 PM

I never had a digital one. But I am glad to read all the feed back on them Thanks.

MOREAMMO · February 10, 2010, 08:27 PM

That is a SPC output on the digital calipers for data management. We get them from Mitutoyo. I have digital and dial and I will admit I usually use the dial calipers. I have had no issue with the digital calipers though. I work for a calibration company and find that dials are by far more common but they need to be cleaned more often. The rack is sensitive to debris if you want to keep your counting hand where it belongs. I feel very confident in digital calipers and see on a daily basis that they are more than capable of doing the same job as a dial. A vast majority of companies now are going to the "cheaper import" calipers instead of the major brands. We check them both to the same tolerance and I personally find that one may not be better than the other. I have one Mitutoyo Digital and one SPI digital and a SPI dial, and I will admit I always check them with either a gage block or length standard prior to use. It may be an overkill for reloading but I have access to them. Long story short the digitals seem easier for a novice to use but more seem to like dials,like myself. And I don't think you need to spend big money on a caliper to achieve accuracy. I've had preety good luck with MSC as a source for measuring equipment.

jamesicus · February 10, 2010, 09:15 PM

Due to my "old age eyesight" I bought a Frankford Arsenal digital caliper for ease of reading. I frequently check the zero and measuring reliability against my old Starrett caliper -- works very well so far.

johnjohn · February 12, 2010, 09:54 AM

I have digital and dial both cheap. I have checked them agains my Starret 0-1 mike on bullets and all 3 get the same result.

TimT · February 12, 2010, 04:13 PM

I had some electronic ones - FA to be exact.

I got them out, zeroed them, and used them. I got a reading that I didn't expect. Did the process again, and still got a reading that I felt was wrong.

I checked them against a quarter, and it was off by about .10.

I changed the battery, and they measured as I felt they should, and the quarter was +/- .001 what it should have been - which I think was my error.

I didn't like that a low battery could change how they measured, so I got some regular dial ones. I'd hate to have that happen and me not catch it. It's certainly something to be aware of, IMO.

The Tourist · February 12, 2010, 04:20 PM

My Dad started his career as a draftsman, and I always asked him for calipers and micrometers. I still have the Vernier Dial Caliper he got for me +25 years ago, and it hasn't missed a tick.

He did alert me to the fact that "uniformity" is more important for tolerances.

My calipers might read 2.62 for my 22-250, and at that measurement the cartridge is placed properly to the leade, there is no powder compression and the bullet is seated far enough for good case neck retention.

In other words, the "perfect" handload.

However, if I handed you the cartridge, you might mike 2.64 everytime on your instrument.

As long as our reloads hold to our individual uniformity, we have achieved the right goal.

Scrapperz · February 12, 2010, 05:21 PM

I've been using this one for a long time in a rough environment and it stands the test of time. Nothing like a Browne & Sharpe Dial Caliper.

Blue Grass · February 12, 2010, 11:29 PM

I have a Browne & Sharpe dial caliper I bought from a retired machinest 25 years ago. It still works perfect. No need to worry about batteries .

February 6, 2010, 05:47 PM	#26
ugotit33x Junior Member Join Date: December 25, 2007 Posts: 1	Digital Caliper output connector I have a few Digital Caliper expensive to cheap. If your battery is good and you have a zero in on the caliper, the cheap is as good as the expensive. Be your own judge. The calipers I have all have an output connector slot on the top. Looks like it can take some sort of cable to hook to a computer or palm pilot. Does anyone know of this or has one or knows where to get a cable. Thank you Robert

February 8, 2010, 09:55 PM	#32
Hog Buster Senior Member Join Date: October 26, 2009 Location: Pointe Coupee, Louisana Posts: 772	Brown & Sharpe Dial (Swiss Made). Too much digital junk on the market. __________________ Those who beat their guns into plows, will plow for those who don't.-Thomas Jefferson

February 8, 2010, 10:13 PM	#33
CJ7365 Member Join Date: May 3, 2009 Posts: 42	you do NOT need a $200 caliper __________________ http://www.olskool4x4.com "A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have." Thomas Jefferson

February 8, 2010, 10:38 PM	#34
Glock.45 Member Join Date: January 23, 2010 Location: North East NH Posts: 44	I bought the $20 dial's at cabelas and the work fine __________________ Support the little local shops

February 9, 2010, 04:12 AM	#35
colospgsAVID Senior Member Join Date: January 2, 2010 Location: Colorado Springs Posts: 188	Dial caliper all the way! Just as said before in this post... keep the rack gear clean. These will never waver. Mechanical is the way to go. My Brown & Sharpe dial caliper is way sweet. As most if not all dial type calipers, you can turn the bezel to zero for temp/ other conditions. Electronic stuff needs to come to a regular temp to be accurate. Just like digital powder scales... Mechanical(dial) IMHO is head and shoulders above digital. EDIT: As far as a micrometer I have an old Starrett. I've posted pics of my measuring tools on another thread on this forum. Last edited by colospgsAVID; February 9, 2010 at 04:26 AM.

February 6, 2010, 05:54 PM	#27
drail Junior member Join Date: February 2, 2008 Posts: 3,150	Starret user here. They cost more but if you take care of them they will not go out of cal. I would never trust a digital caliper. They're just wrong.

February 6, 2010, 08:12 PM	#28
Glock.45 Member Join Date: January 23, 2010 Location: North East NH Posts: 44	I was in the circuit board plating industry once apon a time and my Dad taught me how to use dial calipers. Long story short we had a high end pair and a low end pair.The only differences I remember were quality of materials and having to zero the cheepos more often. For your situation. If you have the means I would say buy the $220 pair and buy a $20 pair of digital's and compare your results. Most places have a 30 day return If you want to deal with that. OR you could find a machine shop, plating shop, ext. ext. and ask them if you can try what they are using. thats my .02

February 8, 2010, 08:49 PM	#29
Hey_Allen Member Join Date: October 14, 2008 Location: NW Washington Posts: 39	I first bought a Frankford Arsenal digital set from Midway, and it worked fairly well. Then I bought a digital from Harbour Freight, and it worked well (in the garage projects). After a couple of moves, I noticed that the two appeared to have been manufactured by the same source, with the labeling and color of the plastic being the only difference. Then I remembered that I'd paid $19.99 for the Frankford when it was on sale, and $12.99 for the one from Harbour Freight. I've since given a friend one of the Harbour freight ones when he needed a caliper, as well as adding a dial caliper for those times when the digital looses it's battery and I didn't remember to replace it after the last one. (The mechanical one also came from Harbour Freight, to the tune of ~$13 as well.)

February 8, 2010, 08:58 PM	#30
grubbylabs Senior Member Join Date: October 11, 2009 Location: Hansen Idaho Posts: 1,465	Like a few I have the Harbor freight ones, I have checked them a few times and they seem to be right on. Plus I got mine on sale for 6.00 or something like that.

February 8, 2010, 09:00 PM	#31
qwman68 Junior member Join Date: May 10, 2009 Location: Crimson Tide Country Posts: 359	I got mine at lowes for 29 dollars and had issues with them till i bought a good battery. Now they are great. I used to back them up with dial calipers till i got faith in them.

February 9, 2010, 06:31 AM	#37
tes1900 Member Join Date: November 8, 2009 Location: Gardnerville Nevada...Free America Posts: 35	The answer I received I asked a friend of mine that very same question; he is a draftsman and has been all his life. This isn’t an exact quote but in general he said that only a weenie would use a digital but I have been using a dial vernear calipers for over 50 years so maybe it would be best for you to start on a digital, well it was something like that. So I got a digital and I love it; it’s always right on, the same number each and every time. When I compare it to my dial calipers I get several differing results. Tom __________________ Amendment 28…Congress shall not be exempt form any legislation imposed on the rest of America. Patriotism has no expiration dates but too many politicians do! Clinton ruined a dress…Obama ruined a nation!

February 9, 2010, 05:06 PM	#38
aerod1 Senior Member Join Date: April 12, 2000 Location: Garland Texas U.S.A. Posts: 734	My "Fowler" digitals have been good calipers. __________________ NRA Life Member, TSRA Life Member, C&R 03 FFL, Texas LTC Recreational Reloader U.S. Navy Veteran (USS Midway V-1 Division)

February 10, 2010, 07:29 PM	#39
James R. Burke Senior Member Join Date: January 3, 2009 Location: U.P. of Mich/Quinnesec Posts: 1,897	I never had a digital one. But I am glad to read all the feed back on them Thanks.

February 10, 2010, 08:27 PM	#40
MOREAMMO Senior Member Join Date: October 5, 2009 Location: Southeast WI Posts: 144	That is a SPC output on the digital calipers for data management. We get them from Mitutoyo. I have digital and dial and I will admit I usually use the dial calipers. I have had no issue with the digital calipers though. I work for a calibration company and find that dials are by far more common but they need to be cleaned more often. The rack is sensitive to debris if you want to keep your counting hand where it belongs. I feel very confident in digital calipers and see on a daily basis that they are more than capable of doing the same job as a dial. A vast majority of companies now are going to the "cheaper import" calipers instead of the major brands. We check them both to the same tolerance and I personally find that one may not be better than the other. I have one Mitutoyo Digital and one SPI digital and a SPI dial, and I will admit I always check them with either a gage block or length standard prior to use. It may be an overkill for reloading but I have access to them. Long story short the digitals seem easier for a novice to use but more seem to like dials,like myself. And I don't think you need to spend big money on a caliper to achieve accuracy. I've had preety good luck with MSC as a source for measuring equipment.

February 10, 2010, 09:15 PM	#41
jamesicus Member Join Date: January 25, 2010 Location: Tucson, Arizona Posts: 56	Due to my "old age eyesight" I bought a Frankford Arsenal digital caliper for ease of reading. I frequently check the zero and measuring reliability against my old Starrett caliper -- works very well so far.

February 12, 2010, 09:54 AM	#42
johnjohn Senior Member Join Date: November 6, 2009 Location: Baton Rouge La. Posts: 122	I have digital and dial both cheap. I have checked them agains my Starret 0-1 mike on bullets and all 3 get the same result.

February 12, 2010, 04:13 PM	#43
TimT Senior Member Join Date: March 6, 2009 Location: Iowa Posts: 147	I had some electronic ones - FA to be exact. I got them out, zeroed them, and used them. I got a reading that I didn't expect. Did the process again, and still got a reading that I felt was wrong. I checked them against a quarter, and it was off by about .10. I changed the battery, and they measured as I felt they should, and the quarter was +/- .001 what it should have been - which I think was my error. I didn't like that a low battery could change how they measured, so I got some regular dial ones. I'd hate to have that happen and me not catch it. It's certainly something to be aware of, IMO.

February 12, 2010, 04:20 PM	#44
The Tourist Junior member Join Date: June 20, 2005 Posts: 2,348	My Dad started his career as a draftsman, and I always asked him for calipers and micrometers. I still have the Vernier Dial Caliper he got for me +25 years ago, and it hasn't missed a tick. He did alert me to the fact that "uniformity" is more important for tolerances. My calipers might read 2.62 for my 22-250, and at that measurement the cartridge is placed properly to the leade, there is no powder compression and the bullet is seated far enough for good case neck retention. In other words, the "perfect" handload. However, if I handed you the cartridge, you might mike 2.64 everytime on your instrument. As long as our reloads hold to our individual uniformity, we have achieved the right goal.

February 12, 2010, 11:29 PM	#46
Blue Grass Senior Member Join Date: August 12, 2009 Posts: 398	I have a Browne & Sharpe dial caliper I bought from a retired machinest 25 years ago. It still works perfect. No need to worry about batteries .