Digital calipers...

[Ledd Slinger]

I have 3 sets of calipers. No matter what digital caliper you choose, always keep a good mechanical caliper on hand just in case. If you tear up a mechanical vernier caliper you are being rough as hell on your equipment. The beauty of the igaging caliper is that it uses a 2032 battery which can be found everywhere in town. But I would ONLY recommend the “OriginCal”absolute zero model. The other igaging calipers aren’t as high quality.

Be very gentle with mics. I treat them like they are glass because I want them to maintain their ultra high level of precision. Have seen many mics fail because people throwing them around on work benches like they are a wrench or getting them excessively dirty.

 

[INTJ]

I'm from the great pacific NW, home to a lot of machinist and engineers...(had a couple of aero/machinist in the family, my job was to shovel metal chips out of the shop in high school )
If you think about what they need to keep within .0000someththing tolerances for jet engines and so fourth. And then what the average top end competitive reloader is trying to do...NO dis-respect intended.
Two totally different things, if you have a bridgeport and lathe in the garage then spring for the better stuff like a gunsmith would use. An extra hundred $ is no issue, for my bench i went with several of the I-gauging mics and calipers because of really good reviews. They work well and I don't pay a lot of attention to anything past .000 avg. cost $60-70 each.
My old mitoya hand me downs bit the dust
Have fun
Larry

That is very true, and even those of us who have a lathe and a mill in the garage don't need aerospace precision. I have Mitituyo digital calipers--one for reloading and quick machining measurements, then a Mitituyo 1-2" digital mic and Mitituyo and Interapid dial indicators for machining.

While I like to think I can measure consistently to .0005" with the calipers and down to about half that with the mic, its probably more like within .001" with the calipers and .0005" with the mic. That is enough even for chambering barrels on very competitive LR BR rifles. The only exception is the need to get down to .0001" with the dial indicators for dialing in the barrel.

When it comes to even the most precision reloading, aiming to be within .0005" with a dial caliper, and understanding it's more likely you are within .001", is more than enough to reload match winning ammo for any shooting discipline.

That said, the Mitituyo digital caliper is not a lot more expensive than an Igauging or Fowler over the life of the tool.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Here’s a video on the igaging speed mic I use. My favorite by far. Even comes with a ball bearing adapter for continuous measurements on round surfaces like bullets or brass.

 

[TrxR]

I found the greatest help to using mics is a mic stand to hold them.

 

[Juppe12]

I have use Mitutoyo digital calipers at work for over 20 years. those calipers are best what you can get. Reliable and accurate, what else you can want.

 

[Will Henry]

I have dial calipers (3 six inch, one twelve inch and one 24 inch) digital calipers (six inch) and two verniers (six and twelve). I have one 6 inch Mititoyo which I bought in 1976 and have used constantly up until about two years ago. It was about then that I was measuring some stuff I had made thirty years prior and realized everything was a couple thou small. So I got out some gauges and started checking. The old calipers measured about -.002 from 0 to four and about -.001 at five inches. Best I can tell, either the rack or pinion has worn. Probably a bit of both.
The second 6 inch caliper is one which KBC gave away to people who ordered a bunch of stuff. They are not half bad and measure within + or- .001 from 10 to five inches. I question the longevity but, for now, they are a perfectly usable caliper.
The third set is an Etalon (Swiss) 6 inch and it is damn near perfect everywhere. About .0005" total error at any length.
The six inch digital is another Mititoyo, about thirty years old, which is also nearly perfect. The only thing I don't like is that it needs a battery. Also, these have to be zeroed each time you turn them on.
Both verniers are very accurate but are more difficult to use and read for my fading eyesight. I use the twelve inch quite a lot though.
The current digital calipers are probably better than my beloved dial calipers and also less affected by dirt and debris.
It is instructional to measure a 4 inch rod at room temp. then measure it again after holding it in your hands for a couple minutes. Then hold your caliper in your hands for a while or put the caliper in the fridge. WH