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Digital caliper reccomendation

For me, it depends on how much it gets used and what for but definitely after a drop. That's another reason not to spend a great deal on calipers, imho.
+1
The working set versus the guarded set philosophy worked in my shops.
If I told you how many calibrated tools we had in the company you wouldn't believe it.

If one went to calibration and came back as Out Of Tolerance, there was a requirement for an investigation into anywhere that instrument was used and if there needed to be a recall.

Needless to say, I had a reason to not spend money on things that risked going out of tolerance, balanced against the learning curve of the technicians who dropped things while they were still leaning the ropes....
 
When working in aircraft, tooling, and production, calipers and micrometers were Mitutoyo . Usually digital, the younger generation didn't know how to read anything else.

The tools went to the certification lab every 90 days. Invest in some quality standards to double check, both calipers, and micrometers.
 
Just my 2 cents but buy a decent middle of the road set of calipers and a top end micrometer. Calipers are what they are and even the best set is not intended to be used for critical measurements. That's what a good mic is for. Rule of thumb, +/- .001 is pushing the limits of the best calipers money can buy and that's in a lab environment, used by professionals who do it all day, every day. Just look at the spec sheet, don't take my word for it.

Most of what we do, a good caliper is fine for but not everything. Some things, a micrometer is the correct tool and even the best caliper...just never designed nor intended for. Forget resolution! It means notta. Measurements given in tenths(.0001) with a caliper simply tells me the user doesn't really know what he's doing. Just being honest here.

With today's technology, you don't need to spend a lot for +/- .001 accuracy but if you need better, a good mic is the correct tool.

So spend $50-$75 on a decent set of calipers and spend about double that, or more, for a really good micrometer for the critical measurements that you need to rely on being right.

I use calipers every day. I use them for convenience to rough something in but when it gets nut cutting time, I switch to a good mic.
Not being a machinist I use I gaging calipers for basic reloading and I gaging tubing mic for turning brass. Seems to work well, one day I’ll get a good analog outside mic.
 
Personally I would look for the next step up to IP67 (coolant proof) for the sake of reliability.

You use coolant while you're reloading?

I have extensive experience with both, and unless you're going to splatter coolant all over it, the regular ones are just fine.
The only tangible benefit to the IP67 calipers is that they have auto on/off.
 
I have 2 of the igauging and I like them. If I was rich or i was a machinist I would get the mitutoyo. Whatever the error is in the igauging, I don't think I can shoot the difference....
 
Mitutoyo , finally bought them last year after using cheap calipers for years.... Buy a real set be careful there's plenty of crap China knock offs out there and there's actually a web page that tells you how to tell the difference.... When you see a pair and there's plenty on eBay for $20 their FAKE... Once you buy some you will never go back... I may not need the accuracy they offer but almost never having to rezero them is great... The only time it doesn't read all zeros is when they get a speck of dirt on them.... A fast wipe of the jaws and they go right back to zero.... Seriously I don't think $130- $150 is to expensive for a fine instrument... If you're not up for that just stick with a $30-$50 dollar set...

Kinda like a scale , until you hit the $300 range there all about the same after you hit $500 they get real nice... I don't need anything better than a tenth of a grain so I can get off for around $200 but that doesn't mean it's a nice scale it's definitely usable but not in the same league as what a scale that cost double is...Does it weigh sure but does it drift sure it does about the time you get going good you have to stop and deal with the scale again... Like a nice scale the mitutoyo calipers don't need to be constantly messed with to get them zeroed and keep them zeroed.... Plus you get great accuracy... They are worth it...
 
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I'd go here:


I bought from them before. Reputable company and good prices.
Thanks for posting this. Been wanting to upgrade my calipers for a while now and have some on it's way!
 

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