ELECTRONIC DIGITAL CALIPERS

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Bullard4075
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ELECTRONIC DIGITAL CALIPERS

Post by Bullard4075 »

First off isn't the words electronic and digital redundant?
http://www.brownells.com/reloading/meas ... 54259.aspx

Reading the Metallic Cartridge Handloading book (an incredible book by the way) and am in the market for
a digital (electronic?) caliper. the RCBS one http://www.brownells.com/reloading/meas ... 54259.aspx
is $64.99 (less shipping) and the Frankford Arsenal one http://www.midwayusa.com/product/604242 ... less-steel
is on sale for $19.99 (less shipping). Why would I pay three times as much for the RCBS? I know the old saw that you get what you pay for so I am asking
opinion here.
I have and used for years an dial caliper so I don't really NEED a digital one but when has lack of need ever stopped me before. All say accurate +/-.001
so is quality the difference here. Anyone have either of these?
"Any man who covers his face and packs a gun is a legitimate target for any decent citizen"
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Chuck 100 yd
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Re: ELECTRONIC DIGITAL CALIPERS

Post by Chuck 100 yd »

Plain old dial calipers are the way I go. Now that I am retired and my tools are at home, I find I have three 6" dial calipers. The high end ones do seem to slide more smoothly and read more accurately than the cheap Chinese ones . And no batteries to go dead or leak / corrode and ruin the tool.
M. M. Wright
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Re: ELECTRONIC DIGITAL CALIPERS

Post by M. M. Wright »

No digitals here just 3 or 4 dial calipers from Brown & Sharpe to cheapies. Of course I still have my Craftsman 6" Vernier caliper that I've had since I was about 20. That makes 'em 56 years old.
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mikld
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Re: ELECTRONIC DIGITAL CALIPERS

Post by mikld »

I've owned 2 digital calipers and I went back to good old dial calipers. The first digital wouldn't stay on, idle for more than 30 seconds. It also would jump from SAE to Metric by itself and ate batteries. The second digital would "auto shutdown" as I was using it (or rather when I put it down to maneuver the part being measured). It was trashed when a battery leaked and "green fuzzed" the interior. I mostly used these when working as a Heavy Equipment Mechanic/Electrician working on construction equipment and they were kept in a tool box drawer and would sit, unused for up to 3 weeks. My present dial caliper, an inexpensive, though American made, caliper has never bounced between Metric and SAE, has never used a battery, and is accurate to .0005". Besides, I like to see a pointer move on a dial rather than some numbers appearing in a display, seemingly at random...

Not sure, but I believe most digital calipers innards are made in China and re-labeled...
Mike
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92&94
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Re: ELECTRONIC DIGITAL CALIPERS

Post by 92&94 »

Personally, I wouldn't expect either one to be better than the other. Since both are re-labled products, both are probably the cheapest they could find :evil: -- if RCBS was going to sell you a Mitutoyo, they would tell you all about how Mitutoyo made this one specifically for reloaders.

Those are both probably the same caliper from the same factory in China. Probably cost under $5 for the company willing to buy them in the 100,000 + kind of quantity.

All that said, either one (or any of the $20 calipers on Amazon) would do fine for your purposes. One thing I do like about digital units is the easy conversion from SAE to metric and back, but you won't need that for reloading.
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cas
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Re: ELECTRONIC DIGITAL CALIPERS

Post by cas »

I've had at least a half dozen digital calipers of various brands and price range and they all crapped out.

I gave up and bought a cheap Pittsburgh one at Harbor Freight (or as my dad calls it, "China Town"). :D I figured if it's just going to break, why buy a good one.

Well it's about outlasted all the others at this point, so I certainly can't complain.
Slow is just slow.
perry owens
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Re: ELECTRONIC DIGITAL CALIPERS

Post by perry owens »

Part of the 5 years I lived in the US was spent managing teams of mobile calibration engineers who traveled the world calibrating industrial test equipment. The Mitutoyu certified calipers they used were always getting lost or stolen so we spent some time evaluating lower cost alternatives. We found that most makes were capable of 0.001 inch accuracy, which is a pretty coarse measurement in the world of metrology, but there were serious mechanical defects in some of the lower cost offerings. Parallelism errors of the external jaws shows up when measuring a thin gauge block with the tips of the jaws and then full depth. Also, when the external jaws are closed and zeroed there should be no discernible gap between the internal jaws - if there is then internal measurements will be out.
We did find some quite reasonable calipers in the $30-50 price bracket but in the end we stuck with Mitutoyo because of their reputation and proven quality.

Perry Owens
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flatnose
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Re: ELECTRONIC DIGITAL CALIPERS

Post by flatnose »

Buddy of mine goes through a electronic caliper once a year on average. Had my dial caliper for 30 years.
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Tycer
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Re: ELECTRONIC DIGITAL CALIPERS

Post by Tycer »

I bought a used set of Mitutoyo on eBay many years ago and had never needed anything else.
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Griff
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Re: ELECTRONIC DIGITAL CALIPERS

Post by Griff »

Dial, 3, a NSK (no longer made), a RCBS and a cheapie from Harbor Freight, all are very good. The NSK is at least 35 years old. The RCBS are the easiest to read, and the cheapie, well... it sits in a drawer a lot!

None have ever needed a battery.
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Bullard4075
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Re: ELECTRONIC DIGITAL CALIPERS

Post by Bullard4075 »

Thanks gentlemen for your input especially cas,perry and Griff.
For years and years I have had my fathers Helios 6" vernier calipers but have drifted
away from them after getting a (AEROSPACE) dial caliper. I think I've been
looking for something easier to get the 4th place to the right of the decimal. The eyes
are not what they were and the vernier is harder and harder to read. Justified or not
I don't have the confidence in the accuracy of the dial. Kidding myself I may be.
"Any man who covers his face and packs a gun is a legitimate target for any decent citizen"
Jeff Cooper
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