[extanker59]

I agree with the notion of high accuracy needing micrometers instead of calipers. That said, I have both dial and digital calipers. My dial calipers I bought in the early 90s and have never been sorry. They are my second dial calipers. My first ones wore out the tip from my being rough and inexperienced. The second one has carbide tips on both the ID and OD measuring surfaces. I highly recommend them (Mitutoyo). They are still accurate (within calipers' limitations). Most of my coworkers' calipers have worn tips and they replace them fairly often (1-2 years).
I bought a digital caliper a couple of months ago because the price was CHEAP and I like using comparative measuring (lazy). Maybe it's just familiarity, but I always go for my dial calipers first. The battery thing annoys me too. There is no auto shut off on these.
Chris

[JDAR]

DIAL CALIPERS ARE THE BEST, DIGITAL ARE A PAIN, BATTERIES ARE ALWAYS DEAD. YOUR GET BAD READINGS IF NOT ZEROED EVERY TIME. DIRT IN THE RACK OF DIAL CALIPERS IS A SIGN OF MISUSE BY THE OPERATOR. FOR CLOSE TOLERENCES USE MICROMETERS.

[JDAR]

I REPAIR ALL THE CALIPERS THAT HAVE BEEN MENTIONED, STILL THINK DIAL CALIPERS ARE BEST!!!!!!!!!!

[handlewanker]

Hi all, on the subject of batteries for calipers, don't buy the cheapies, been there done that!

I got pissed off changing batteries after three months of not all that often use, and actually put the caliper in a drawer in favour of the Mitu dial type, but one day got the digi one out, and yes, the battery was dead, so I just happened to have a new battery I bought for a timer I used in the kitchen, and fitted it.

Well now this battery was bought at the local supermarket on the battery counter, and the others for the caliper were bought at the local market.

The thing is the local market variety were almost half the price of the supermarket type, but they don't for some reason last long, probably made with half the material content.

Long story short, the battery was fitted in August 2007 and almost a year later it's still working, so the false economy speaks for itself.

This is not to be likened to the dumb arsed kid that reasoned if he didn't look at his watch too often the battery would last longer LOL.

I went back to the digi type because I got browned off with the dial type needle occasionally taking up a different position relative to the zero when you rapid move the slide down the scale.

It's a time consuming job and a pain to have to use that thin shim to coax the needle to take up a vertical position on zero.

Why don't the dial type makers have a quick set device, like on clocks, that enables you to move the needle round to zero if it jumps the rack.

All it would take would be a friction grip on the needle to spindle fit and something on the face to enable the needle to be rotated as required.

This would enable you to also zero the needle when you want to make comparative readings somewhere down the dial like you do with a push of the zero button on the digi type.

I toyed with the idea of making the needle a friction fit to the spindle using a nylon bush, and if the spindle had a screw driver slot in it and was accessible through the centre of the front cover you could then use a small screwdriver to move the needle around, better still if the spindle end had a small knob in it that poked through the cover you could move the needle at wiil.

D'ya hear that Mitutoyo? Gotta be an easier way than that bloody thin bit of shim thingy.

Maybe the Chinese have got one already with this method, going for $10, no competition.
Ian.

[tr4252]

I work in a job shop, and we deal with a variety of customer supplied drawings. The ability to read both inch and metric is very handy for our machine operators, since they aren't exactly journeyman level skilled labor.

I use both dial and digital in my own work, where appropriate. One thing I can't do with a digital instrument is whip up a calibrated mylar disc on autocad, put a sexy photo of my girlfriend on it with Photoshop, and have my co-workers asking how much a special custom dial face costs.

Tom

[samco]

are they still certified when you change the dial face?

I use both dial and digital in my own work, where appropriate. One thing I can't do with a digital instrument is whip up a calibrated mylar disc on autocad, put a sexy photo of my girlfriend on it with Photoshop, and have my co-workers asking how much a special custom dial face costs.

Tom

[tr4252]

Yes, the two I've done passed QA certification, though it was implied that I was certifiable for pulling such a stunt.

Tom

[extanker59]

Cool

[MFassler]

Well I dont wanna start any flame wars or anything but I honestly gotta say,I really dislike digital calipers and mics,for one they are overly priced,usually alot bigger than their standard counterparts and are just generally ugly in design.I guess im just old school that way,I like my plain jane brown and sharpe calipers,they are so smooth to operate. I also agree that its not hard too keep standard dial calipers clean but I am very anal about taking care of my stuff.I guess the best thing the digitals are good for is teaching clueless operators how too measure something.(chair)

[hkrok]

There are also good caliper in China, but you miss them.
All the world think China products rubbish products. but they forgot that products like Apple, Mitutoyo, Mahr are made in China and out of Chinese hand.

[hkrok]

[handlewanker]

Hi All, it doesn't really matter whether or not the caliper is electronic digital or rack and pinion with an analogue dial, just so long as it indicates the distance accurately between the two measuring faces, provided you haven't inadvertantly squeezed the faces hard against the job to make it read better.

I used a 150mm/6 inch NSK (Japanese made) vernier caliper for a number of years from about 1962 untill 1984 when I got a worn out 150mm Mitutoyo dial caliper, and can say most emphatically that the ease of use with the dial caliper over the vernier scale of the NSK caliper was without comparaison.

Then in 1996 I got my first electronic digital caliper, (made in China) and apart fom the battery going dead at the wrong moment, due to buying cheap market batteries, I would not be without it.

When the batteries were going dead after about three months quite regularly, I put it into the drawer and went back to the dial caliper, even though it had an error reading of .05mm and regularly hopped over the rack so that the dial read zero at 3 o' clock instead of 12 o' clock.

Then one day I bought a regular sourced battery, full spec, and now after a year and a half the electronic digital caliper is still coming on when I want to use it, and that's all I want it to do.

The accuracy goes without saying as it's built into the scale and that is untouched by hand and so never varies.

I wouldn't schoose a micrometer over a digital caliper, they both have their uses, and each has characteristics that suit the occasion, and I wouldn't be without either of them.
Ian.

[Astonlee]

Not going digit is just plain stupid in my opinion, especially when you can switch it between imperial & metric mode, and get an instant conversion! Good quality is the trick, not cheap Chinese ones that the batteries run flat in days. Only buy them from top quality brand leaders and you will wonder how you ever manage to do any work without it!

[Kipper]

I don't have a dial or vernier anything....for the last 10 years I've had only digital Mitutoyo measuring devices. The micrometer has 6 decimals on it and the calliper 4 and both still read 25.4 on the original test bar that came with them....so accuracy is not an issue.

Also I can't see the scale on a vernier and have a dislike of the dial type.