Digital caliper purchase help

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

Hey guys. Looking for a decent set of digital calipers. Nothing too expensive, they won't be used a ton. But I don't want something that will be giving me different measurements each time I open and close them. Any ideas?

 

[rice rocket]

Any budget under $100, just get the cheap Harbor Freight ones. Anything above, get some Mitutoyo. I've heard Starrett's quality has nosedived as of late.

 

[Flat-rate]

I'm not a machinist in sense of the word. Had several including the cheapo electronic ones.. My go to always reliable never needs battery is a Kanon I bought 35 yrs ago.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=kanon+dial+caliper

 

[AceofSpad3s]

I have the hf 6 inch ones that I got for $9.99. I saw one of AvE's videos about cheap calipers vs expensive ones and he cleaned the hf ones up, I would recommend doing that. Managed to get it back together but nearly shat myself when a plastic bit fell out but it works fine.
http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-digital-caliper-47257.html

 

[383 240z]

If you want them to repeat, buy once and cry once. Get a set of Mitutoyo. I use mine all day, 5 days a week and they ROCK!!!! I did pony up and get the coolant proof ones, but for most people the standard ones will be fine.

You dont have to buy new either. I bought a second set, as a backup on eBay cost me about $75 after shipping. As long as they run smooth from closed to full travel. I will say to replace the battery with the correct one. It will affect the measurements!!!! Keith

 

[furbyj1]

I'm using a no name brand from eBay that has worked very well for over a year! paid about $10 shipped for it.

 

[zkling]

Mitutoyo are the standard. A previous employer used to buy the HF yellow/black ones by the box full and send them through the calibration lab. Amazing how few of them failed.

 

[todd_fuller]

Decent video showing the pros and cons of a couple mainstream calipers:

I bought a pair of iGaging Absolute Origin calipers and have been happy with their performance. A big step up from HF.

 

[theoldwizard1]

iGaging IP54 Electronic Digital Caliper 0-6" Display Inch/Metric/Fractions Stainless Steel Body - Amazon $27

 

[ninjamunky85]

If you're a hobbyist buy the HF ones. If you're buying them for work get something nicer like Mitutoyo,.. Personally though I prefer dial calipers, have a set of Helios and Mitutoyo myself.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

I saw mitutoyo but I don't want something that expensive (125$). Unless they're well
Above a 60$ set.

 

[hautpot]

Mitutoyo, Igaging

 

[Avplayer]

Decent video showing the pros and cons of a couple mainstream calipers:

I bought a pair of iGaging Absolute Origin calipers and have been happy with their performance. A big step up from HF.

Thanx for the link...just ordered the iGaging Absolute Origins aswell

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

Yes, I think I may as well.

 

[ryanm]

not suggesting these as "decent" by some peoples standards, but for $15 or so my pair from harbor freight has been great. a co-worker has a mitutoyo caliper and one day we were comparing readings and my HF caliper read accurately to .001 same as his. for the price, they are tough to beat

 

[dr_clyde]

I have Mitutoyo calipers, 6" and 12". I prefer dials, though. No batteries to deal with and they are easier to read, IMO.

I have used cheap calipers, and while they may measure accurately, the build quality and ergonomics of them are horrible.

 

[doojus]

Picked up the iGaging micrometer/caliper set for $60, they get the job done.

 

[Steinmetz]

The cheap ones are typically battery hogs. The Mitutoyo digital calipers generally have superior battery life.

 

[ryanm]

didn't mention but that HF caliper held up well also, in my opinion. already had grease, oil and grime spilled on the slide and display and after wiping it all down everything was good.

never had an issue with batteries, although it wasnt used very often.

 

[sometoyotaguy]

The HF ones seem to hold up ok. Mine died after about 5 years in a damp basement. Battery life so far has been decent.

Mitutoyo if you can afford them, otherwise, the rest of the cheaper ones are the same as HF as far as I can tell.

 

[uart]

Digital callipers are such a useful tool, and the low end ones so inexpensive, that it's pretty justifiable to have more than one. What I mean is that even if you you buy something nice like a Mitutoyo, it's still good to have a cheap set for the rough and tumble of workshop use. Especially when you can get them for about $10.

I got a cheap set from Aldi for about $15 here, they're probably about the same as the $10 ones you can get from HF there in the US. They're not as smooth as my old Mitutoyo's (verniers), but they do the job and give quick an repeatable measurements. Every time I've compared their reading with a better instrument it has always been good to the nearest one or two thousandths of an inch, which is good enough for the tasks I use them for.

As for batteries, the LR44 alkaline batteries mightn't work as well as the better silver oxide ones, but they're used in so many cheap toys and gadgets that you literally buy them for cents. I've bought them online at 10 for $1 delivered, and one 10 cent battery lasts over two years in my cheap callipers.

 

[Mpower5266]

Picked up the harbor freight ones today on the way into work. I use identical ones to the hf ones at work they are just rebranded and they have held up great to daily abuse. If I were a machinist or something I would spring for better ones but for what I do these are great.

 

[Git]

Here is a "Mitutoyo ABSOLUTE 700-123-10 Digital Caliper, Stainless Steel, Battery Powered, Inch/Metric, 0-8" Range, +/-0.005" Accuracy, 0.001" Resolution" from Amazon Warehouse with some packaging damage

They have two - one is $70 and one is $79 (ZORO price = $150)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...024&sr=8-1&keywords=700-123-10&condition=used

 

[doan]

I'm not a machinist, I've had good luck with the cheap ones. I have one that has an option to read-out in fractions which is nice when measuring for drill bits, bolts, screws, etc.

Or when the print on the drill bit is too damn small.

 

[leaftye]

I hope necro bumps are tolerated around here. I wanted to share my experience with some of the tools and brands discussed here.

I bought a pair of iGaging Absolute Origin calipers and have been happy with their performance. A big step up from HF.

I bought one a few weeks ago and use it in a cnc machine shop. I tested it with pin gages, a block gage, and compared it to an Insize caliper and the results were as good as could be expected with a caliper. In hand it feels the same as a Mitutoyo to me, although I haven't tested the Mitutoyo caliper yet, and the Mitutoyo caliper. Not sure it would really be fair since that Mitutoyo was IP65 rated instead of IP54 for the iGaging. I also tested a couple digital Mitutoyo micrometers and a vernier Insize micrometer, and the caliper was very close for a caliper. Fwiw, the iGaging SpeedMic mike performed as well as the Mitutoyo's and Insize. If you're into SPC, they use the same plug. I'll be checking if their compatibility extends further.

My biggest problem with iGaging is that the company is incredibly slow to communicate. They have no catalog online, so I contacted them to find out that they really have no complete catalog. I want to order a few things, so I have to give them my dream sheet and hope that they have what I want. I'm still waiting a week later. That's really bad for sales, and that makes me hope I never have to deal with their customer service.

So I'll recommend Insize as well. If you use SPC, their tools appear to use a cheap USB cable that can be hooked up directly to a computer without the ~$100 interface cable that the tools from some other companies require.

I recommend against Pittsburgh from Harbor Freight. It's gritty, has way too much flex, the battery covers aren't secure and the screen is easier to crack. It can take precision measurements, but you'd do well to practice taking measurements against something like a gage block to verify how much pressure to apply with this flexible caliper.

 

[JoeFin]

LMAO seeing people say the HF calipers hold up well

Had a pair of HF calipers on top of the bench so the kids won't go digging out the Starrett or Mitys - one drop the HF calipers are dead.

I use calipers a lot. Hard to get even the name brands to repeat within 1 or 2 thou as it takes an experienced hand to use them properly. The HF calipers would have trouble repeating within 6 - 10 thou on a good day.

So it depends on the work you do and the accuracy you need to maintain. If you just need to measure stuff and get ball park close - you might be able to get by with HF calipers. If you need to accurately check your work and compensate for tool-distortion or back lash then you'll want to go with Starrett if you can afford them

- and No, the quality of Starrett calipers has not gone down as of late

I have calipers from 4" to 36" and they are a mixture of Starrett and Mitutoyo. Altho I prefer the feel of the Starrett Digital over the Mitutoyo, I don't see any discrepancy in their accuracy

 

[Mikerodrig27]

I use the cheap Kobalt digital caliper from lowes. I've compared it to a couple of other calipers and a micrometer and I saw .001" difference.

 

[bobdell]

Just a tinkerer here, rarely need super accuracy.

I have a Central dial, Kanon, HF digital, and 3 HF plastic calipers.

I use the plastic ones constantly, not so much the other ones.

 

[Adam.C]

lot of good advice here. Using digi calipers accurately requires technique more than expensive tools.

I have a wide range of these things and use them all. The nice ones are nicer to use. Totally agree about Starretts being much improved as of a few years ago. New Starretts are every bit as good as mits in my opinion.

But you can get the right answer from $10 HF calipers. And the grit can be cleaned, scale smoothened to improve feel. But they will never be Mitutoyo. If you are okay with cheap *** **** tools, these will be fine. If you like nice stuff, don't waste your time.

I can't reocmmend ANY of the mid priced calipers. Either get Mits or Starretts, or go with HF. Don't rule out plastic calipers. I have a Wiha set that uses B&S/Tesa electronics and has a (somewhat fragile) depth rod. They are very nice for jobs where you don't want a metal caliper. You will never get much better than a couple thou of accuracy tho.

 

[zhaddock]

I have a set of HF ones. We're ISO 9000 and twice a year we have an outside company come in to check all our measuring tools. The HF pass every time just like the expensive ones.

 

[M4A1Carbine]

Decent video showing the pros and cons of a couple mainstream calipers:

I bought a pair of iGaging Absolute Origin calipers and have been happy with their performance. A big step up from HF.

I agree. I also bought the iGaging absolute origin calipers and have been impressed with them.