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Who makes good calipers?

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Greywolf74

Greywolf74

I'M TO BLAME!
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I'm in the market for a new 6in digital calipers. The old generic eBay ones I currently have are intermittently acting up. Id like to buy a quality pair that arent stupid expensive. Something in the $25-$60 range. or round about. If its really top notch I might go higher but I'm hoping for something quality and reasonably priced. Suggestions?
 
Starrett, Brown & Sharpe, Mitutoyo, or SPI are about the only ones I would consider to be quality. Starrett has an economy line made in China I believe, which are still good tools. Brown & Sharpe and SPI used to be Swiss made (no idea where they are made now). And Starrett's main high end line should be made in Athol Massachusetts. Mitutoyo used to be Japanese made.

Granted, a lot of companies have moved production around to remain competitive, but in the machining industry, machinists don't settle for shite tools, so these companies would always stay up with the Jones with regards to quality, no matter where their tools are made.

My personal preference for digital was Mitutoyo, but the other brands are nice too. Just the slide and feel on the Mitutoyo is a bit more comfortable and smooth.

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/62529482

You can find better prices than this, but this caliper has been cloned, and the cloned ones are crap. So buy from a reputable source if you decide to buy these. I know they are out of your budget, but really, if you buy anything less than this, you might as well go buy Harbor Freight. There really isn't a middle road here.
 
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grey take a look at estate sale around you.. you will find some very good deals if you look by me I see sales weekly.. 1st day is usuallyestatesale.net put in some search info like zip and range.. 1/2 the retail value and will drop day by day from there.. gone 2 a few a dollar a bag 1s..
 
tntpoof said:
grey take a look at estate sale around you.. you will find some very good deals if you look by me I see sales weekly.. 1st day is usuallyestatesale.net put in some search info like zip and range.. 1/2 the retail value and will drop day by day from there.. gone 2 a few a dollar a bag 1s..
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Thats not a bad idea.
 
After doing some looking around, I came across these on Amazon...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HKDF71C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apan_glt_fabc_T68JW3SX6AZHDY90WQYK

Based on a couple reviews by actual machinists (had to read through a bunch of them to figure out who's who), I am betting these are pretty nice. They look great too. Going to buy a set myself to leave at my computer desk.

The only low star reviews I see on them are people complaining they don't display fractions. I had a really good laugh at those reviews let me tell ya! 🤪🤗😝😜
 
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WickedFog said:
After doing some looking around, I came across these on Amazon...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HKDF71C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apan_glt_fabc_T68JW3SX6AZHDY90WQYK

Based on a couple reviews by actual machinists (had to read through a bunch of them to figure out who's who), I sm betting these are pretty nice. They look great too. Going to buy a set myself to leave at my computer desk.

The only low star reviews I see on them are people complaining they don't display fractions. I had a really good laugh at those reviews let me tell ya! 🤪🤗😝😜
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Awesome. I went ahead and picked up a set. I'm sure for what I do they will be fine. I was kinda bummed that they dont use LR44 batteries though as I already have a bunch of those for my old calipers lol. oh well. :)
 
after coupon clip on amazon they were 20.79 I think ill pass. the several I have picked up at estate sales do me good...
 
tntpoof said:
after coupon clip on amazon they were 20.79 I think ill pass. the several I have picked up at estate sales do me good...
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Estate sales are good places to find machinist tools, for sure. But not really a Johnny-on-the-spot solution.

Pawn shops are great as well if you go in there armed with a little knowledge and info to back it up. I scored a $266 Mitutoyo 1" travel blade micrometer and a Brown & Sharpe 1" dial indicator valued at $125 for a grand total of $145 after haggling them down, and they were both brand spankin new. I left with a big smile on my face that day.

The best time to buy used machinist tools is at the ends of semesters when engineering students are finishing up classes. I have mentioned I used to buy and sell a lot on ebay. This is the stuff I bought and sold. Doing so, I accumulated over $30,000 in personal measuring tools at one time in my toolbox, and made a lot more than that selling them in the machine shops I worked at and on ebay 😉
 
Yeah, $3. I missed it too til tnt mentioned it. Amazon coupons are great, but more often than not all they do is piss me off when I notice them after paying. You can however cancel the order and reorder it 😉
 
sign up for coupon alert then you never miss 1..id add a perlative but will not..oh me bad.LOL cancel 1st order go back get cupun lol. and say the 3
 
tntpoof said:
sign up for coupon alert then you never miss 1..id add a perlative but will not..oh me bad.LOL cancel 1st order go back get cupun lol. and say the 3
Click to expand...
Where is the coupon alert? I have bought a few items like this, missing the coupon, and I never got an alert. So I must not have it turned on either.
 
Glad someone said that...not only was there a coupon but there was a "lightning deal" started on it right after I bought one @ $27.99. So yeah, i cancelled that one and rebought it at the lightning deal price of 23.49 with a $3 off coupon! Saved me $7.50!

Gonna have to look in to this coupon alert.
 
all I know is that I got a popup on amazon a while back (well over a year ago) that asked me if I wanted to activate that option
 
biggman100 said:
I have both Starret and Mitutoyo, and, for what i use them for, that is the one place i wouldnt go cheap. For RC stuff though, they might be a bit of overkill.
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I agree, but there are times when I use them measuring parts for reverse engineering to design 3d parts, and accuracy does matter to some extent. But for genersl RC use, within .005" is usually gonna be close enough. And even the cheap Harbor Freight ones I have are that close.
 
I have these... for RC stuff, they work ok for me.
https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Caliper-Micrometer-Measuring-Tool/dp/B075QYH914

One thing I did do is modified the depth gauge to be thinner for about 40mm so it would fit in a M3 hole. Nice for checking depth for skid plate screws and whatnot after adding aftermarket skids or making your own, then you can use the longest screw possible without bottoming out.

They also work well for checking bearing sizes.
 
olds97_lss said:
One thing I did do is modified the depth gauge to be thinner for about 40mm so it would fit in a M3 hole. Nice for checking depth for skid plate screws and whatnot after adding aftermarket skids or making your own, then you can use the longest screw possible without bottoming out.
Click to expand...
Thats a good idea!
 

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