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Which calipers - Vernier, Digital, Dial?

Shadowdog500

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I like dial indicators the best. No batteries to go dead.

I have several cheap pair laying around my shop. HF doesn’t seem to stock dial calipers anymore so I picked up the pair in the link below and like them. They have both standard and metric.

Anytime Tools Dial Caliper 6" / 150mm DUAL Reading Scale METRIC SAE Standard INCH MM https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B5XJW7I/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I wouldn’t go crazy getting an expensive pair for checking brake rotors and clutch play. Calipers are precision instruments, and I you drop them they could easily be ruined. I keep my good stuff in the drawer and they only get pulled out for stuff that has to be dead nuts on.
 
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240zip

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Apr 10, 2007
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I picked up two calipers at a local garage sale. A Starrett (6") with a decimal inches dial and a Brown and Sharpe with a metric dial. There was also a Laco square tossed in. $50 for the lot. They all seem to work. No boxes or anything but these were purchased to be used. I'll try and find some protective cases for them for my tool box. The Starrett looks to be a 120 but there's no model number anywhere. It shows that it's made in the US which is really what was important to me. The B&S is Swiss made.
 

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seber

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I have both in the shop as well as the hobby room. The digitals are great when I need to go from inch to metric or the other way. But most of the time I pick up the dial. It is more intuitive. Comparing digital measurements is easier if you have a linear scale.
 

Farmall450

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As a DIY guy who rarely needs the precision of fine-detail work (it's been a long time since my Starrett and vintage vernier stuff came out to play), I've found a caliper like this plastic one with dial is really quite good. More than sufficient for 0.5 mm precision.

In fact, calling it "plastic", while accurate, sells short the high quality injection molding of the engineering thermoplastic it's made from. Mine is older and made in Switzerland. For all I know they still are.

This basic style is toll-manufactured for a number of brands, including the General branded version shown here from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002E1KHBK/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Polymer has the advantage of ensuring the finish of whatever odd "soft" item being measured isn't marred or scratched by steel.

The HF polymer digital version is OK -- I have a couple of those -- but every copy I've had simply EATS batteries, so I end up taking them out after every use, which is kind of frustrating (although they last years that way instead of weeks).

61L7cUIwgqL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
I've wanted to buy one of these since I was a kid. Not sure why I never did -- dumbly bought verniers. Finally ordered several - where I first saw it, Farm & Fleet, only has the vernier now.
 

Indexmill

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Those of us that prefer dial calipers and clocks with hands will all be dead before too much longer. Then, there will be no more debate.
 

Tools4Me

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Jun 22, 2021
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You aren't really going to be able to do everything you want with one tool. You can come close, but there will be issues or minor frustrations. In general I hate batteries, so I try to avoid needing them as much as possible.

For measuring brake rotors I don't use a vernier caliper, I use a "digital" brake micrometer. It's called "digital", but it uses a mechanical rolling number counter to tell me the thickness instead of me having to read and add together tick marks like a normal style micrometer. Mine is Fowler brand. No batteries, no hassle, very accurate, it works every time, it has carbide contact faces to minimize wear, and it's easy to read when working in darker areas. I use a brake micrometer for one main reason...as brake rotors wear down, small lips form along the outside edge of the brake rotor. Those tiny lips will often prevent a regular *********** style vernier caliper from closing flat onto the main brake rotor surface to get an accurate rotor thickness measurement, especially if you are trying to measure the rotor thickness near the outside edge of the brake rotor. Brake rotor specific micrometers/calipers have the required ***********, but they also have the measurement contact surfaces spaced away from the yoke of the tool. That eliminates the issue with the brake rotor edge lips, but it's also a feature you wouldn't want on something like a general purpose vernier caliper.

For general purpose accurate tasks, I have two digital 6" vernier calipers that have metric and inch measurements. They are the only battery operated measuring tools I use. I don't know the brand, because I got them at a garage sale 5-7 years ago. They are both obviously made in China, but I've had no issues with them as long as they are used in the same room I store them in. If I take them somewhere where there is a large change in air temperature, they will lose their perfect 0.001" repeatability until the digital micrometer normalizes with the new air temperature. I leave the batteries in at all times, but they do require battery change outs about 2x per year. The internal circuitry probably draws more electricity than a high quality digital caliper would, and the batteries will still drain to nothing within 6 months even if I don't use the calipers at all in that time. Not a big deal to me. I buy 10-20 packs of batteries on Ebay for a couple dollars and then I'm good for several more years.

For more accurate general purpose tasks, I have a couple manual rolling number counter style "digital" micrometers (that require no batteries), along with a couple different reference spacers I use for accuracy testing of the tool itself. I happen to have Fowler and/or Mitutoyo for those, but other high and low quality brands make them as well. I don't use them a lot, but I use them enough to not want to get rid of them.

For quick and dirty use, I have several cheap orange plastic 3" vernier sliding calipers laying around my shop. They cost a dollar or two each online. Those are actually the ones I use the most. They are great for tasks like quickly checking a bolt shaft diameter, measuring the thickness of a piece of sheet metal, measuring the head size of a bolt so I can grab the right socket the first try, etc. I like how the sliding scale has both metric and fractional inch markings, so if I am working on a new piece of equipment I can just check a bolt head really quick and know if I need a 12mm or a 1/2" socket.

The only time I prefer a dial type display is when I'm using a dial indicator to measure the runout of brake rotors or to measure the runout of items chucked into my lathe. It's much easier to visualize what's going on when you can watch a dial needle go back and forth while the item is rotated.
 

merkyworks

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Nov 11, 2016
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Texas
I prefer a dial face. A dial provides spacial relation. It's the same reason why I prefer an analog clock.

^ Agree 100%

Must be the way my brain works but with a dial caliper I can better visualize a measurement and how much more/less is needed.

I do have a set of digital calipers which I use when metric measurements are used. They make it very quick/easy to flip back and forth between metric and inch. Been using inches my whole life so spatially i know what 0.010“ is no problem, but when 0.25mm is called out I’m like ummmm :dunno: . Yes I can convert units, but that takes time and digital calipers make it easy to flip back and forth.
 
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seber

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May 31, 2016
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Deep East Tx.
I have both digital and dial in both the house and the shop. I virtually never pull out a digital. A good dial is at least as accurate as a similar priced digital and I don't have to constantly worry about the damned battery leaking. I also don't need to worry about turning it off and winding up with a dead leaking battery. That is not a concern if you use it daily, but if it sits for a week or two, that might be all it takes.
 

American Locomotive

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Jan 8, 2017
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Rhode Island
I have both digital and dial in both the house and the shop. I virtually never pull out a digital. A good dial is at least as accurate as a similar priced digital and I don't have to constantly worry about the damned battery leaking. I also don't need to worry about turning it off and winding up with a dead leaking battery. That is not a concern if you use it daily, but if it sits for a week or two, that might be all it takes.
Any brand-name digital caliper will auto turn-off if not used and the battery will literally last years. My last place exclusively used Mitutoyo calipers and they were never manually turned off. If I remember correctly, the batteries would typically last around 2-3 years before needing to be changed.
 

Xcursion88

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Apr 18, 2013
Messages
785
IMO....

Everyone should absolutely positively be made to learn how to use and ultimately read a vernier caliper.

Then a conventional micrometer

Then Dial caliper...

Then.....who cares. Once you mastered the above who cares.
Get yourself some digital calipers (good brand) but only after you've mastered reading the above instruments properly should your digital fail and you've got to take a reading with a non digital.

The who...
Browne and Sharpe, Fowler, Starrett,
Mitutoyo.....

Any of those are all high quality mfg's.

*****Beware*****
There are lots of digital calipers out there and many cost several times over the HF version yet the same damn thing!!! Might have a certain name like MAC or whatever but it's all the same junk.

If you're measuring rusty exhaust pipe OD or ID I'd actually recommend using the cheap calipers. Who cares if you get debris in/on them as your precision can be less with exhaust. Exhausts are simple nice numbers. 1 3/4 or 2 or 2.5 as example. Your calipers can be off a little bit and you'll still know what size it is.


Good luck
 

M6erfan

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Dec 6, 2014
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'Merica!
I've been using a Mitutoyo 505-730 dial caliper for years. I only work in metric so having the ability to switch between thousands/mm is a non issue for me. If I'm breaking out the calipers, I'm working on clean parts so dirt/grease is another non issue. The 505-730 is about $100 and plenty accurate for engine transmission rebuilding. No batteries, easy to read, accurate. What more does one need? I have a cheap digital that never gets used, I always grab the dial caliper.
 

maplewood

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Nov 24, 2015
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56
Sold by Amazon, fulfilled by Amazon, I'm not sure there's a guarantee. Unless Amazon investigates all it's sources (which it can't possibly do), counterfeits will get sold. I would just monitor the reviews and buy a set.

Most "fulfilled by Amazon" products are comingled, so reading reviews won't help. Seller A sends Amazon stock of an item, it goes into a box for that SKU. Counterfeit seller B sends Amazon items for that same SKU, they also go into that box.

Amazon launched a program this year that's supposed to allow binning per-seller if they opt in, but I don't think its in widespread use yet. The best bet (and what I've been doing), is to just deal with the slightly slower shipping or extra $5 cost and buy elsewhere.
 

Downwindtracker 2

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Jun 13, 2019
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BC
I'm a retired millwright, so calipers were a work tool. At work I relied on a early imported Chinese dial .They are nicer than my Starretts. Mostly now at home, I use a electronic one with big numbers. A 10 year old IGaging ??, And keep a pack of good quality batteries close by. 357 is an easy number to remember. If I want to be more sure of accuracy, I grab a dial caliper. I use a cheap vernier to scribe precise lines.

Calipers are considered to be good to +/- .005

I bought a metric micrometer Mitutyoyo from Amazon, it was one of the made in Brazil ones, it had a plastic ratchet. Certainly a disappointment.
 

M6erfan

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Dec 6, 2014
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'Merica!
I'd avoid AMZN for brand name calipers/micrometers, too many stories of possible fakes. Why chance it? MSI-Viking is a solid source and pricing is competitive. And they have real customer service, based in South Carolina. I've bought from them several times with no issues at all.
 
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