anyone know where to get a decent brass caliper?

[Zaylor]

I can't find a decent one anywhere.

I have had several of the Empire brand. They are good but the sticker wears off long before the caliper wears out, rendering it useless.

The "General" one has terrible QC and the markings are not fine enough.

Ideally it would be like the Empire one but no sticker.

Here is a picture of a good one. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thank you.

 

[mbshop]

I have had one for a loooong time. It may be a general. But for what accuracy I need with it, it works well enough.

 

[Zaylor]

none of the ones General sells seem acceptable anymore

 

[454ragtop]

Pic not showing. Why brass?

 

[Zaylor]

Doesn't have to be, I suppose.

 

[nelstomlinson]

How about a vernier caliper divided for decimal inches rather than 1/128ths? The General calipers I have read in fractions and I need decimal fractions.

 

[kelpaso1]

Lee Valley sells good quality tools.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?cat=1,43513&p=72846

 

[Zaylor]

I really would prefer mm on one side and fractional inch on the other, hopefully split to 32nds.

 

[Zaylor]

Lee Valley sells good quality tools.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?cat=1,43513&p=72846

Thank you, that looks perfect with the exception that I wish there was 32nds instead of just 16ths.

Probably the best I am going to find though, thank you!

 

[Rubiman14]

If you’re good with not using brass, I like my Starrett verniers. Although, to me they’re a novelty item. I use my Brown & Sharpe dial calipers all day everyday.

https://m.mscdirect.com/mobileweb/p...MIoZDLu8bY1gIV27rACh0tDgmpEAQYAiABEgIS2fD_BwE

 

[Zaylor]

The Starrett looks nice. I see they have a version with both metric and inch. I am not sure I want to carry something that expensive around with me as these things take a beating.

I also use a more accurate caliper frequently, but I like to carry a small caliper in my pocket.

 

[Rubiman14]

That's perfectly understandable. Just depends on what you're using them for. I play with CNC's and other various machines during the day. We can't afford to skimp on metrology tools, and because of that my personal measuring tools are all high end. They're expensive, but I do trust them.

Comes down to the same debate we see here every day. Snap-on, MAC, etc. vs HF and the like. And are the non-professional versions perfectly suitable for your intended use.

 

[OutsideMachinist]

A good ones expensive. I tried the empire or general ones and they were always off. Depends how accurate you need it to be but I wouldn't recommend either of those for sure.

 

[Zaylor]

What do you prefer for mics? Need to buy some soon.

 

[Rubiman14]

What do you prefer for mics? Need to buy some soon.

Manual or digital? My favorite mics of all types (and I’ve had some from all makes old and new) are Brown and Sharpe No.1 with slanted increment lines. My pair are from the late 60’s. I measure parts down in the .00005” range, and for that I bought a pair of Mitutoyo absolute digital mics that are certed for .00005” measurement. They’re very expensive, and don’t get used often. After years of use, I can “guess” within a few .00001” using my old B&S manual mics.

When it comes to mics, it’s in your best interest to get a ** or even *** certified gauge pin. Doesn’t really matter the size, but being a nominal number helps. I.e .125”, .250”, .500” etc. You’ll be able to accurately calibrate them, as well as get a feel for them. The feel for taking the measurement IMO is almost as important as the quality of tools your using.

 

[Zaylor]

Still haven't found a great simple caliper.

All of the numbers have worn off on my Empire.

I would buy a used Starrett, but I need a caliper that has both inch and metric.

The one from Lee Valley has a clunky inch scale. The markings aren't really set up correctly, and it doesn't have 32nds.

Currently I will be trying one of these

 

[Zaylor]

Here is the problem with the Empire caliper. No numbers don't make for good measurin'

 

[Metalio]

Mitutoyo has nice vernier calipers with metric+inch scale, for example the 530-104. They are a different style of caliper than the brass ones though so I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for.

 

[Zaylor]

Mitutoyo has nice vernier calipers with metric+inch scale, for example the 530-104. They are a different style of caliper than the brass ones though so I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for.

I am really looking for a 4" caliper to carry in my pocket

 

[Doug Arthurs]

Have you considered a hook rule instead. I carry one in my shop apron. Tough as can be I use it for over things besides measuring and I can be accurate to .010". Starrett has them available with different scales on them. Lighter and easier to carry then a caliper. Here is the one I like but they have a bunch of different scales available.

http://www.starrett.com/metrology/product-detail/CD604R-6

 

[leg17]

Why not digital calipers?
Metric and inch.

 

[Zaylor]

Have you considered a hook rule instead. I carry one in my shop apron. Tough as can be I use it for over things besides measuring and I can be accurate to .010". Starrett has them available with different scales on them. Lighter and easier to carry then a caliper. Here is the one I like but they have a bunch of different scales available.

http://www.starrett.com/metrology/product-detail/CD604R-6

Thank you for the suggestion! I also have a hook rule and like it.

However, I consider it not as good of a general purpose measuring tool for me. I often have to determine whether a round thing is 1/4 or 3/16, and thats a lot easier with a caliper because of the circle shape.

 

[6PTsocket]

Lee Valley /Veritas has one branded Chesnut tools and sold under Lee Valley. The markings are laser etched; the moving part rides in a dovetail groove; it is marked in metric and SAE (inch); no label to fall off. The etching is clean, not crudely stamped. What have you got to loose? It is only $7.50 plus shipping. To be clear, Lee Valley is stuff they sell and Veritas is stuff they make, themselves. Lee Valley stuff is usually pretty good quality. Veritas is first rate.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[scarrylarry]

Lee Valley /Veritas has one branded Chesnut tools and sold under Lee Valley. The markings are laser etched; the moving part rides in a dovetail groove; it is marked in metric and SAE (inch); no label to fall off. The etching is clean, not crudely stamped. What have you got to loose? It is only $7.50 plus shipping. To be clear, Lee Valley is stuff they sell and Veritas is stuff they make, themselves. Lee Valley stuff is usually pretty good quality. Veritas is first rate.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Veritas is high quality for sure and Lee Valley stands behind it !
scarrylarry

 

[mrborohachi]

Ive seen Japanese made short plastic calipers on Amazon. Sorry I don't know the mfg name

 

[Zaylor]

Lee Valley /Veritas has one branded Chesnut tools and sold under Lee Valley. The markings are laser etched; the moving part rides in a dovetail groove; it is marked in metric and SAE (inch); no label to fall off. The etching is clean, not crudely stamped. What have you got to loose? It is only $7.50 plus shipping. To be clear, Lee Valley is stuff they sell and Veritas is stuff they make, themselves. Lee Valley stuff is usually pretty good quality. Veritas is first rate.

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My problem with this caliper is the clunk inch scale. This is a big deal because 80% of the time I measure in inches.

Problems:
1) the scale is only divided to 16ths and I often use 32nds
2) the markings for whole inches (1, 2, etc) are shorter than they should be to stay consistent with the other divisions
3) there are no markings for 1/2, 3/4, etc, which make reading it much more convenient. This is something that the Empire and the Starrett.


That said, the Lee Valley is the closest to what I want of what is available on the market and I will be buying like 8 of them (shipping to Alaska) unless I find something better soon.