Calipers-Inside and Out

[Eric Smith]

I was doing a little internet shopping at MSC Industrial for some inside and outside calipers, a handy tool to have I think if building from a blank as I soon will attempt. I think a 6" variety should cover the job, but I notice a great disparity in prices. The Starrett line seems to carry a larger price. I know the old saying about cheap tools. How much of that applies to calipers in your own experience? Also any other advise on this matter would be welcomed.

[Don Getz]

As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.    However, years ago I was in a Grizzly store and saw caliper, 6", and
it was rather inexpensive.    I knew it was not top quality, but, it has served me well.   I use it on every gun I build, from
measuring diameter of barrel pins, to drilling holes for barrel pins, referring to placement of them.  They have so many
uses.   Wouldn't be without it.........Don

[FALout]

The cheap ones can do very well unless your gonna do machinist work.  I have a good one that only comes out when working on the lathe or mill.  I have two inexpensive ones that I abuse when general working.  I perfer the old style dial calipers, but most of the cheaper ones now are the digital ones which can leave you stranded if the battery dies.  If you do buy a really good one like the Starrett, take care of it and keep it cased.  I learned first hand how they can be damaged easily.

[coutios]

  Starrett like many others has both made in U.S.A. and Imported tools.. If you want Americian Made you have to ask for it and expect to pay more.. Mitutoyo is the same waye. Both Starrett and Mitutoyo have tools made in Brazil..

Regards
Dave

[ddoyle]

Quality measuring tools are one of life's great joys. It so happens that 'used' stuff of german machine shop quality can usually be had at or under the price of today's middle of the road stuff. Take a little time to shop around if you are not in a rush.  The better the quality the more likely they are to survive the little brushes on the bench top that will leave a cheaper tool nicked or marred.

[billd]

I prefer Brown & Sharpe verniers.

Bill

[Don Getz]

A vernier or caliper is useful in many ways when building a gun, but a good micrometer is better when measuring something being turned on the lathe, or machined on a mill.  One can easily see the quality when you buy something good
as compared to a cheaper piece.........Don

[bluenoser]

Is it possible we are discussing two different tools?  I understood Eric to be referring to divider head calipers.  Some of the replies refer to slide calipers.

I find both pretty much indispensable in the shop.  For the divider head type, I think 6" is a good choice and, as others have said, you get what you pay for.  For years, I used cheap brands and found them functional, but not great.  I usually took the time to tune them up a bit before first use.  I have since been able to upgrade to Starrett and B & S, and they are truly a pleasure to use - smoother operation and much more precise contact points.  I acquired nearly all of my quality calipers on EBay and ended up paying only slightly more than I would have for a cheap brand.

I have both vernier and digital slide calipers and prefer the verniers because I do not have to rely on batteries which, I am sure, plot against me and go dead at the most inopportune times.  Having said that, my tired old eyes prefer the digitals.  I have a good set of verniers and an inexpensive set of digitals - and spare batteries  .  I would not buy used slide calipers over the internet because I think they are too susceptible to abuse.

Laurie

[Bob Roller]

What do you mean by "Vernier"calipers? Is it a dial caliper or a true Vernier which is entirely different? The true Vernier has 10 lines trying to line up with 9 and only ONE will align and that is where the final reading is taken. I have fine 14" Vernier by George Scheer&Co. of St.Cloud,Mn. and a combination Vernier and height guage by Mauser in Germany (pre war).
When I was active in the machinist trade,I would have other machinists ask if I had a Vernier caliper and I would hand them the Mauser and they would ask if it used a dial and my answer was no and told them they needed a VERYNEAR caliper if they wanted a dial. I also had to show some of them how to "zero"a depth micrometer which few of them knew how to read.

Bob Roller

[P.W.Berkuta]

I was doing a little internet shopping at MSC Industrial for some inside and outside calipers, a handy tool to have I think if building from a blank as I soon will attempt. I think a 6" variety should cover the job, but I notice a great disparity in prices. The Starrett line seems to carry a larger price. I know the old saying about cheap tools. How much of that applies to calipers in your own experience? Also any other advise on this matter would be welcomed.

If you do machinist work or work with very tight tolerances then by the best you can afford - if you want to do general measurements then get a "OK" import in either dial or digital. You will be abusing them anyway. A six inch is about the standard size. I bought some Grizzly calipers some months back and on one the dial needle fell off the first time I used it - I sent it back. My suggestion is buy a digital and when not in use take the battery our and keep it in its box. I have a Harbor Freight digital I paid $15.95 four years ago and it still works good .

[bluenoser]

What do you mean by "Vernier"calipers? Is it a dial caliper or a true Vernier which is entirely different? The true Vernier has 10 lines trying to line up with 9 and only ONE will align and that is where the final reading is taken.

Bob Roller

Bob

I can't speak for other folks, but I was referring to a true vernier.

Laurie

[B.Habermehl]

I have a set of Grizzely dial calipers and a better set from my machineist days. The Grizzley set works just fine for muzzleloader work and general shop use. Unless you plan to do some rather precise machine work these are all you need. If you need to be more precise use a micrometer.  BJH

[Kelhammer]

I may have some extra sets in a few weeks.  Just saying.

[Dphariss]

Love the "verynear" caliper thing.
I buy good calipers and when they get too beat up and/or inaccurate I pitch them in the trash. The vernier is far more durable but slower for me to use.
Digital makes math easier.
If I REALLY want to know within .001 or less I use  micrometer.

Dan

[Lucky R A]

    Having built more than a few guns, I find that I have one good set of calipers (digital).  I am math challenged and do not have a mill or lathe.  BUT, I have three sets of quite inexpensive inside outside calipers that I use on every gun.  The important thing about these is that they all have a wire depth gauge of about .80 wire coming out of the bottom.   I use them constantly in layouts to determine where the bottom or the barrel is, where the bottom of the RR channel is etc.  This thin wire gauge fits easily through a small hole in the botton of the barrel channel.  It slips down into the tang bolt hole to measure it's depth.  They are much more useful than the wide depth gauge found on the premo brands.   Just some food for thought. 

[mattdog]

Dan said  "Digital makes math easier."

Once you learn how to use a digital there are hiddeen benefits.  Set it to a known dimension, zero it and move it to "0" and you have subtracted the difference without a calculator.  Also one of the best benefits is my Mitatoyo has mm reading too.  So, if something calls for a hole or other dimentions in milimeters I can set the caliper at, say 2 mm, then punch the button and it gives me that same dimension in thousandths of an inch.  

I have two of them and don't know how I would get through the day without them.  I do also have micrometers for the really important precision stuff.  Funny that many that I know don't have a clue how to use a micrometer.  I learned it in Shop Class way back in High School and they were the only game in town during my elevator mechanic days.  

[Dave Waters]

For What it's worth, I rigged up digital calipers - two - 6" ones and one - 12" on my vertical mill and VOLA  I have cheep digital readouts on my mill. They work great! and since they read out in .0005 I can repeat locations very accurately. Like mattdog said it really makes the math easier.

[kutter]

I still use a Midway brand dial caliper that I've had for probably 20 yrs.
It's still accurate to +/- .001 according to the old Sterrett mic.
Good for general gun building stuff, measuring the things that need measuring while building.
I use the Starrett mic along with an older Mitoyo (sp?) mic for closer stuff. But I ain't no machinist, I just get buy doing repairs and my restorations.

I pull out an old B&S 6" vernier too sometimes just to see if I can still remember how to use it.
An old friend that taught me much some years back showed me how.
He was a machinist by trade and he too used to toy with the younger set by handing the vernier to them when they wanted to 'borrow' a caliper.
Kind of like handing someone a slide rule..