What Calipers do you like? and what angle measurement tool to get?

Daniel Rohde

Daniel Rohde

Well-Known Member
Hey Guys!
I have been shopping around for a pare of 6" calipers and I have seen everything from $5 ones to $250 and I'm a little confused on what's a good set, I don't mind spending some money on a good pare but would like some advise. I have a par of micrometers(really nice starrett ones) but would like to add a set of calipers to my repertoire

Also, I have been wondering how you do set the angles on you disc grinders or belt grinders(like to put a 25* bevel on a handle scale)? like what tool do you like for doing that?

Thanks Guys!
 
Hi Daniel!

I have several pair of digital calipers in the shop. One of the most popular for knifemakers is: http://www.amazon.com/Mitutoyo-ABSOLUTE-500-196-20-Stainless-Resolution/dp/B001C0ZPNO

My personal favorite is: http://www.amazon.com/Mitutoyo-ABSO...9859183&sr=1-3-fkmr0&keywords=Mitutoyo+mycalc mainly because I had/have a set of these that have been going strong for nearly 15 years.... they have so much use on them that all the lettering is worn off the face, and the readout lens has become very yellowed with age....but they still work. I asked "Santa" for a new set at Christmas, and got them! (same brand/type)

I'm not near as picky when it comes to an angle guage....mainly because I rarely change machine/table angles once they are set/locked in. Any of these would do the job well: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...ndustrial&field-keywords=Magnetic+angle+gauge Personally I have a couple that are similar to the second one down the page.
 
I may be old school but I am a fan of dial calipers. I live in North Dakota and when it gets cold in the winter the screen takes a while to warm up. Plus the batteries don't handle the cold well. Maybe when I get a heated shop I won't care as much.

-Aaron
 
I guess because I'm lazy, I prefer digital calipers.....less wear and tear on my old brain! :) I don't have to worry about the cold, because the shops are heated, but Aaron makes a good point about the cold.
 
Hard to beat the Mitutoyo tools. They are a reasonable value and built well. My calipers are over 20 years old, get used daily and have live in bounced around tool box in my trunk (or belly of a plane) for service calls. I have micrometer and dial gauges from them that take the punishment of field service just as well.

I prefer digital tools because it's easy to convert from standard to metric with the push of a button and they are easy to read. When all my customers convert to metric I'll get analog tools though. ☺
 
Daniel Rohde said:
Thanks guys! Sounds like Mitutoyo is the brand! I have heard allot of good things about there stuff.
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yes Mitutoyo is a good brand, so is Starrett. they are industrial quality assurance tools and priced accordingly. i would look on ebay. i found a no name 12" digital for $30 delivered and have had no issues. no matter which brand you buy, make some calibration blocks(a block where you know the dimensions). tool steel typically has +/-0.001" thickness tolerance. a set of 1-2-3 blocks like these, http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-One-Pai...345705?hash=item25b7f91a69:g:UdQAAOSwEetV8HAV the dimensions are +/-0.0001".
 
I love Mitutoyo tools. Their micrometers are the best.

That being said, I have been crazy surprised by how well my $20 Pittsburgh caliper from Harbor Freight has held up. Almost 10 years later, and the only sign of age on this bad-boy is a bit of oily dust. Seems like I have to change the batteries once or twice a year -- they will lose accuracy (lose zero) when the battery is weak, but are good as new once replaced. Steel seems to be decent quality; no wear or corrosion. I occasionally will use the jaws for light scribing duty on metal (dykem) or wood, and they have not worn or rounded. The resolution is not as precise as the higher-end Mitutoyos... but if I need that kind of precision, I'll generally pull out a mic anyway. The 6" model I own is either the #47257 or #61585 (they look identical... and I can't figure out the difference).

This is just my experience (as someone who is generally dis-trustful of anything that comes from HF)... and I certainly would not turn my nose up at those Mitutoyos either. :thumbup:

Erin
 
Plus one vote for Mitutoyo. I have digital and dial ones at work. They hold up well and the jaws are hard. My HF dial caliper at home has slightly lost the points on the jaws. Given my 7 yr old dropped it jaws first on the cement floor, so that may have something to do with it. For the price it works well.

-Aaron
 
Digital for the reasons stated above... easier to read, easier to zero, and easier to switch between English and metric.

The exception was when I was doing checks during the machining process when there was coolant or oil all over the place. Then I'd use my cheaper dial calipers for quick checks.

Daniel Rohde said:
Do you have an opinion about digital over dial calipers?
Click to expand...
 
You'll be really hard pressed to beat a set of Mitutoyos, but that said, unless you're building watches or looking for .0002" accuracy, a $15 to $20 set of imported calipers will do the job nearly every bit as well for knife making tolerances. Granted, fit and finish won't be great, the action won't be as smooth, and the battery may drain a little quicker, but for as much as things get dropped and banged on around the shop, I'd rather lose $15 than $115.

If you want something a little more "middle of the road" look at products in the "igaging" brand. They're imported, but in my experience they're relatively well made and very consistent and accurate.
 
Just a quick followup... after reading this thread I started looking into upgrading my calipers as well, and I came across these:
http://www.amazon.com/iGaging-ABSOL...id=1460325656&sr=8-1&keywords=igaging+caliper

I actually ended up buying a set that came with a digital micrometer with .00002" accuracy (both cost under $100 together), but Amazon messed up and only sent the calipers, and now they're shipping me the mic seperately. Either way, I've owned as well as used and handled some pretty nice calipers in the past. Currently I've got a $150 set of 12" SPIs, though I've used Mitutoyo and Starrett in the past, among others, and I gotta say... despite being only $35 to $40, I'd put these up against any other set I've used in the past. Especially considering that if and when I drop and break these, I'm not going to cry over having to replace them.

The absolute reference feature seems extremely reliable. I've tried the standard methods to get it to lose reference, and it's stayed dead on accurate every time. Fit and finish is great, operation is quite smooth, and that's without breaking them in or adding any lube to them. I just don't see how you can beat these for the money. Definitely a high value item.
 
Erin Burke said:
I love Mitutoyo tools. Their micrometers are the best.

That being said, I have been crazy surprised by how well my $20 Pittsburgh caliper from Harbor Freight has held up. Almost 10 years later, and the only sign of age on this bad-boy is a bit of oily dust. Seems like I have to change the batteries once or twice a year -- they will lose accuracy (lose zero) when the battery is weak, but are good as new once replaced. Steel seems to be decent quality; no wear or corrosion. I occasionally will use the jaws for light scribing duty on metal (dykem) or wood, and they have not worn or rounded. The resolution is not as precise as the higher-end Mitutoyos... but if I need that kind of precision, I'll generally pull out a mic anyway. The 6" model I own is either the #47257 or #61585 (they look identical... and I can't figure out the difference).
Erin
Click to expand...

http://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-digital-caliper-61585.html

I know I'm in bed with Satan here, :3:but These work more than fine for the tolerances needed in knife making. I have three sets, around the shop when I want to check something there is a set right there by me. If I was making super high end folders, it might make a diff, not on my fixed blades.
 
I have digital and recently dial. Dial is my go to right now, but I do suffer battery issues from the cooler weather so that could be a contributing factor. I heat my garage, but not to room temp. For angles, I use an Angle Cube on my grinder tool rest and a cheap plastic angle finder on the disc sander.
 
I agree 100% with what EVERYBODY has said, from the Mitutoyos being GREAT calipers. I've got a set of Mitutoyo-500-196-30 (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IG46NL2/) and also the really cheap $15 sets. I've used both, and the Mitutoyo are MUCH better, and accurate. The battery lasts so much longer, and they always return to zero. The cheap set, you'll have to reset zero fairly often, but that's only entails closing jaws 'n pressing a button.

For almost 50 yrs I've used a dial Mitutoyo and accepted accuracy to be ±.002" for calipers, get a mic if you want better. With the new digital calipers - they are ±.001", not quite up to a good micrometer, but darn good.

Andrew has a good thought there, if you're going to drop stuff - get the cheap set. Doesn't hurt near as bad for dropping a $15 to $30 set as it does a $100+ set.

Ken H>
 
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rhinoknives said:
http://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-digital-caliper-61585.html

I know I'm in bed with Satan here, :3:but These work more than fine for the tolerances needed in knife making. I have three sets, around the shop when I want to check something there is a set right there by me. If I was making super high end folders, it might make a diff, not on my fixed blades.
Click to expand...

I've had three of these and all of them died on me in less than a years use. every one would jump around as I was trying to read it and give me measurements far off reality. I still have all three and use them when I need to do layout work where I have an example to go off of but none of them are fit for measurements with the lcd. Just my experience with them.
 
Experience has taught me that in general, any digital caliper that is less than $100, is a waste of money. I tried several different sub $100 digital calipers, and they all were either terribly inaccurate, or would simply go "wonky" as mentioned above. The inaccuracy part is sometimes hard to spot/realized.... I can remember when I realized this.... I was building a folder, using a "cheap" set of calipers. I got all the parts to where the calipers measured the thicknesses I wanted, but upon trying to put things together, nothing fit/worked. I scratched my head and was frustrated for a couple of days. Then, just by chance it dawned on me to measure the parts with my "good" calipers.... DUH!! The folder parts were "off" by several thousandths each! It's the old story of "pay once, cry once".

I even picked up a digital caliper from Lowe's ONCE.....figuring that if it went "wonky", I could use their "lifetime warranty" and replace it..... I returned/replaced those calipers 4 times, until my "stubborn" finally ran out, and I just trashed them.
If you can live with possible inaccurate measurements, or don't need exacting tolerances, then I suppose a cheap set of calipers will get you by...but eventually you'll find yourself in the spot of being frustrated with them, and will buy a "good" set.
 
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