digital caliper with fractional readout

[PhysicsDude]

I have 2 pairs of calipers that I bought off Amazon, and both do fractionals.

These are my favorite out of the 2 for the nice big display. I get about 2 years of battery life out of it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018D9JPPA/?tag=atomicindus08-20

They are $21 calipers, so not as accurate as a Sterret or mitutoyo, but plenty good for my purposes.

 

[DFB]

What's the big deal with battery anyhow? They're cheap enough ...buy a few to have on hand


Eventually they all pretty much can lose the battery over time, even when not using them.

Like others have mentioned I remove the battery during storage, helps prolong life.

As for the HF's for like $10 with a coupon don't know how you can beat it

 

[Aqua-Andy]

Did you miss the fractions part? My Mitutoyo's don't do fractions.

I did see that. Now that you mention it maybe my Mitutoyo's don't do fractional. Maybe I'm going crazy, I'll have to check tomorrow at work.

 

[Bogie1632]

The Husky caliper from HD is actually pretty decent, under $30, 3 modes. Accuracy is +/-.001. I've used it in many shops and have one in my home kit. Is it the most accurate ever? No. Has it given me false or inaccurate readings that mess up what I'm working on? No. Batteries last ~18 months, at least my last 2 batteries lasted that long. Would I buy it again if needed? Yes.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-6-in-3-Mode-Digital-Fractional-Caliper-1467H/206007130

V/R
Bogie

 

[cherrybomb]

I also have a Wixey that I really like.It does both measurements well.If for an example,you measure something at .260 and thumb it tighter,it gets close to .250,the fraction 1/4 comes up.If thats what question is about thats what the Wixey does and why I like mine.It also shuts off,after a time to save the battery. Not at all expensive.

 

[Ign]

Friends don't let friends:
-use calipers with fractions
-build truck racks or camper shells from wood

Just two universal truths

 

[Git]

Friends don't let friends:
-use calipers with fractions
-build truck racks or camper shells from wood

Just two universal truths

You're just showing your ignorance

Wixey is a pretty big name in the woodworking world. I have their digital readouts on my table saw, planer and use their digital height gauge with my router. All use fractions

 

[Hammer1963]

No disrespect intended, but I am still scratching my head over this one.

 

[Git]

Hey, I get it - I scratch my head every time I read a post from one of the many 'vise collectors' on this board -> but to each his own

 

[timmyisme22]

Personally, I'd just use a calculator (even more so if you already have a caliper on hand).

Texas Instruments TI-30Xa Scientific Calculator $8.99

2nd (green button on this model) and the arrow at the bottem left for fraction-to-decimal (and back again!). Much cheaper and it'll last a long time (I'm using mine from middle school... 18 or so years old, with the original battery!). Used it for trade school as well and it's still working well at work.

I mean, if you're set on a fraction caliper, you've probably gotten the best selections you'll find. This'll just allow you to easily have a handy universal conversion, with no thought process required (did I mention it's dirt cheap and could be found in most local stores as well?).

 

[greg13]

Lowes has a 3" general. Fractional, decimal and metric.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/General-Tools-Instruments-3-in-Digital-Caliper/3138565

 

[mowkep]

I have a digital and dial Mitutoyo calipers. Buy a fractional chart or buy several and post them around your shop.

 

[faiee]

blue point sell them

 

[Fcvapor05]

If you're using calipers on wood I fully do not understand your approach... to each their own I guess.

 

[danielbuck]

wanting a longer caliper so I just ordered a 12" Neiko. It has a fraction mode on it, but I can't see why I would ever use that mode. Might be nice to convert fractions to decimal, but I don't think I'd ever measure in fraction mode, but maybe it'll come in handy, who knows.

I didn't know it had a fraction mode on it when I ordered it, it might be a little annoying to have to hit the mode button twice to get to metric, but only once to get back to standard decimal if you end up switching back and forth. Generally I'm in standard, but occasionally I'll work on a metric project.

 

[darkzero]

No disrespect intended, but I am still scratching my head over this one.

Same here. For digital calipers Mitus are the only ones I will buy & use. Just my personal preference though, to each their own. But I don't understand the fractional thing, I wouldn't want that on my calipers. I work with metal though, I never thought wood would need that level of precision.

Only time I use fractions for measurements are common fractions. Like in a pic above, 31/32". That is meaningless to me. Do people really work with those oddball fractions? Not knocking anyone that does, just really curious.

 

[trainer]

I have one from Canadian tire that I bought to use with my thickness planer. It measures in 1/128"increments, but switches to the lowest denominator , which I find to be harder than converting decimals

Ive gone back to using a cheap plastic digital that measures to two decimal places. 1/100" is just fine for planning

 

[WittHay]

The PA pro-point ones read fractions. In 128ths
Seems decent quality.
I use them sometimes for standard size stuff, shafts, metal thicknesses, metal rods/twist drill and random ****.
I dont order a 0.296875" drill.

Edit: pro point calipers. Not titan.

Same here, also have a Pro-Point digital caliper. All metal construction and decent case. Measures fractions, decimals and mm. Use if for measuring stuff like shaft sizes on equipment when a bearing goes out.

The shaft might be 1 3/8" the bearing might be sold in fractions or decimals. Seals are sold in mm to go with shafts or hubs that may be measured in any of 3 ways. Way faster than using calculators, regular calipers or tape measures

 

[sberry]

I was told there wouldn't be any math.

 

[HenryAZ]

Woodworking. We measure stuff in inches and fractions of inches. If I am planing a board to thickness I want it 3/4". If I measure it with a fractional caliper this requires no calculation. If I am 1/64" off I can see that on the dial and then remove that much material.
If I measure it with a digital I read .82". So how much do I take off to get to 3/4"? This takes math and conversion.

If I had to deal with thousandths, I would just experiment and learn how many thousandths of an inch were removed with each 1/8th turn of the planer's crank, and call it good. I never used the scale on a planer or jointer. I only trusted the end result measured with my ruler. For better accuracy, run two pieces and measure the double thickness, then divide by 2. P.S., I never worked with thousandths, or metric. Customers asking for a thickness in thousandths or millimeters were told "we don't do that". Either accept the way we work or go someplace else.