Digital Calipers

[Rook]

In case anyone is looking for some digital calipers that won't break the bank, that have a large digital readout for old eyes, that are made out of stainless steel and that are accurate, I found some on Amazon for $20.99 that I like. And they came with a battery already installed.

How durable they are time will tell but out of the box they keep their zero.

I trimmed some .30-06 brass with my Lee trimmer that cuts the 06 casings to the min. dimension of 2.484" and the Lee trimmer appears to be cutting with in a couple of thousands on every case with majority of them hitting right on the number as in the photo below.

I also checked the calipers on a number of feeler gauges and they read correctly on all of them.

I ordered them late on Tuesday afternoon and they arrived this morning on Thursday less than 48 hours later so they ship fast too. And with Amazon Prime the shipping is included.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016JZFYN2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've been using my old dial calipers for many years but evidently they are messing up because the numbers kept getting smaller and smaller until I need glasses and a magnifying glass just to read them now. []

 

[Mus408]

I'd say they will do the job fine.

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

Cool ! I have a couple like them. Amazing how they can produce a product of decent quality and sell it so cheap. I guess if one is willing to work a 14 hr. Day for a bowl of rice and a fish head it can be done.

 

[Cholo]

They look pretty nice! I have a digital Mitutoyo that doesn't even have the auto shut off. I'd still buy a couple of spare batteries and tape them in the case.

 

[Mus408]

Cool ! I have a couple like them. Amazing how they can produce a product of decent quality and sell it so cheap. I guess if one is willing to work a 14 hr. Day for a bowl of rice and a fish head it can be done.

Better buy them now before the 35% increase! :wink:

 

[NikA]

Inexpensive calipers like these are great for reloading and basic measurement tasks. It drives me crazy to be away from my workshop working on items that need to be measured and not have something like them. When case trimming, I'll measure one case and lock them down to use as a basic measure to check my setup every so often.

That said, these don't even come close to the quality of the precision ones from manufacturers like Mitutoyo. I rehabbed a digital Mitutoyo set that some shop student left a battery in until it exploded and even though it started out frozen, the action on those is smoother than I would have been able to imagine having only the inexpensive ones. That set is also too old to have the auto-off feature, but testing of the new Mitutoyos versus inexpensive (or even more expensive fake Mitutoyos from China) knockoffs shows that the true auto-off on quality sets will reduce battery usage, while the inexpensive ones just turn off the screen.

These have been within the measurement error for me every time I've used them, but if you're looking for real quality, I'd look for used sets on eBay or a similar site. Rehabbing used measurement tools is a thing I've gotten into and it's amazing the deals you can get if you know what to look for. Often it's as simple as cleaning contacts and making sure you've got a good battery (though it's not fun to discover that after you've taken literally every screw out of a piece of precision electronic measuring equipment).

 

[Rook]

...fake Mitutoyos from China

I was reading some of the reviews on Amazon from people that purchased Mitutoyos digital calipers and it appears that the fake ones from China are a big problem. I would estimate that about half the reviews were of people complaining about receiving the fakes ones instead of the real thing.

 

[Mus408]

I still use my old dial calipers...Brown & Sharp and so on from my tool making days.

 

[BucolicBuffalo]

I also use an old Brown & Sharpe dial caliper. Bought it used, sent it in, had it refurbished and calibrated. Comparing it against the common inexpensive calipers sold for reloading, I found that the cheaper ones flexed a bit.

 

[Twoboxer]

They will work fine.

These calipers are always on - the ON/OFF switch only turns off the display. One piece of advice with "inexpensive" digital calipers . . . they will normally eat batteries like candy. This is easily resolved by removing the battery between uses.

Unlike my inexpensive set, the Mit that I have seems to solve that problem somehow so the battery stays in.

 

[mikld]

Nobody asked me for my opinion/experience, but I'll drop it off anyway. :roll: As a lifelong machinist/mechanic I've used a bunch of different measuring tools (measuring parts down to .0005", +/- .0002"). I've tried a couple different digital calipers with regrets both times. The first I paid around $100 for and expected it to last a very long time. But, after 6 months or so of occasional use (3-5 times per week) it would wander between metric and SAE. Did not like a bunch of numbers popping up on a display seemingly at random. I changed batteries every 60-90 days just to make sure. The second was a cheaper model, mebbe $40.00 and it was not to e trusted either; auto shut-off too short and each time it shut off I had to "re zero" it, During a 3 week period of being idle, battery leaked and ruined it. My Mititoyo 6" dial caliper I purchased in 1976 is still working, accurate and easy to read. BTW, I haven't replaced a battery in it ever...

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Yeah, I will keep my dial calipers and my balance beam scale and my manual powder measure, no offence.

 

[Clovishound]

Well, I'm not building race cars or nuclear weapons, so an inexpensive dial caliper works well for me. I can easily tell the difference between a .357 jacketed and a .358 cast with my $15 dial. No battery hassles to deal with.

A trip to the concrete floor will render even the high dollar calipers unreliable.

 

[powder smoke]

I'm with mikld I'm old fashion I guess mine needs No Battery I like that way. ps

 

[RandyP]

I dunno, they look good to me - Will they deliver accuracy to the 4th decimal place? Probably not, but I suspect very few of us average reloaders could tell the difference.

I have shot, and sometimes still shoot factory ammo. Ever take your measurement tool of choice to a box of 50 rounds of any caliber? Were they all within .0001 OAL? or even .001? Did you fret over that detail? I know I don't. I long ago gave up bullseye shooting, handgun and rifle, and find SD 'accuracy' to more than suffice.

I find digitals kind to my old eye balls, and most all types 'close enough' for my meager needs.

 

[RandyP]

I dunno, they look good to me - Will they deliver accuracy to the 4th decimal place? Probably not, but I suspect very few of us average reloaders could tell the difference.

I have shot, and sometimes still shoot factory ammo. Ever take your measurement tool of choice to a box of 50 rounds of any caliber? Were they all within .0001 OAL? or even .001? Did you fret over that detail? I know I don't. I long ago gave up bullseye shooting, handgun and rifle, and find SD 'accuracy' to more than suffice.

I find digitals kind to my old eye balls, and most all types 'close enough' for my meager needs.

 

[Clovishound]

I like being able to pick up my calipers without having to worry about whether the battery in it has died. I also like to be able to interpolate beyond .001. With a digital, it just rounds off. I know the dial aren't accurate to much more than .001, but for a differential reading I think it has some value.

Again, for most applications in reloading, accuracy to .001 is probably overkill. There are times when it does come in handy.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

I have a Lyman dial caliper, Swiss made out of some kind of plastic/fiberglass stuff, which does well enough. Seems it cost $10-$12 used. It's lasted several times longer than the $20 Harbor Freight version of the "Universal Inexpensive Dial Caliper from the Giant Chinese Caliper Co." everybody sells under their own name it replaced. It's calibrated to 0.001" and the markings are far enough apart to do some eyeballing into tenths, but when $100 plus Starretts and Mitutoyos claim accuracy to +/- 0.001" or +/- 0.0015" (in other words, a 0.002" to 0.003" spread), I'm certainly not gonna fret about getting things to tenths with it. Nor am I inclined to drop several hundred dollars for a certified tool to measure ammo I'm gonna shoot in a Ruger, ferhevvinssakes! What's the sense of trying to make ammo within 10ths of thousandths when the gun has parts which are barely held to 1/2s of hundredths tolerances?

A buddy who's worked with precision measuring tools for around 40 years gave me a good suggestion some years back, too: add an "old school" vernier caliper to the tool box (if possible, one that can be locked on a setting) because, barring damage from carelessness or an accidental gravity check, it won't go out of adjustment, have to be re-zeroed every time you use it, or need a battery. Then take a different approach to many of my measurements. That approach is "go-no go": most of the things we measure in reloading are done to be consistent, and stay within tolerances, not to hit a dead nuts number. I followed his advice, and sure enough, listening to a guy who's done something for 4 decades paid off better than listening to that guy on the barstool down at the end once again! Only "maintenance" cost on the caliper I got was to buy a magnifying glass when the numbers started disappearing. And it works nicely on the dial, as well!

Rick C

 

[mikld]

I'm not anti-digital calipers, I just found them to be less than what I needed. Yep, they read to .0000", but after a while I didn't trust them beyond .002" or .003". I guess if I removed the battery every time I put it away or had a +/- of .003"-.004" they would work. I'm not old fashioned, just the "older" technology works better...

 

[vaguru]

I'm not anti-digital calipers, I just found them to be less than what I needed. Yep, they read to .0000", but after a while I didn't trust them beyond .002" or .003". I guess if I removed the battery every time I put it away or had a +/- of .003"-.004" they would work. I'm not old fashioned, just the "older" technology works better...

I agree 100%. Dial and vernier for me.