Digital Caliper Recommendations

Mitutoyo makes the best digital measuring tools. The 6" ones are $178.60 in the current 2016 winter sale flyer.
 
I use mitutoyo dial calipers for most stuff, except when using my Forster datum dial kit or the Sinclair comparator kit, then I use the mitutoyo digital because it's nice to zero them on the attachment. When I want +/- 0.0001 accuracy I use the micrometer.
 
I have the matitoyo (or however you spell it) dial calipers and I'm glad I paid the premium.

That being said even cheap princess auto/ Canadian tire/ harbour freight digital calipers are accurate.

The difference is the "feel" and machine finishes on the units themselves. Cheap ones will have sharp edges, poor metal. The closing will feel mushy, the slider will feel gritty or just cheap. Once you use quality you can tell why they are priced the way they are.

I've seen brand new cheapo calipers so warped you would think they would be inaccurate but they aren't.

All in all, for a home-gamer cheap tools will do you just fine. Just like a princess auto wrench will turn a bolt like a snap-on wrench.

And with that being said in the professional world i buy the most expensive tools I can afford even if the difference between mediocre and professional is marginal. If money is tight and you're a home-gamer just buy the cheap caliper take your measurement and move on. If you're a professional, or are blessed with lots of disposable income and have a fetish for quality buy the mitiyoyo or whatever it is lol.
 
This guy does a review of cheapies against the Mitutoyo. Comes up with a $50 US set that he says compares favorably with the Mit's. Think I'm going to give a set a try myself.

Agree with Cleftwynd, I use a dial caliper now, but would like the ability to zero out when using comparators etc.

 
wanos said:
This guy does a review of cheapies against the Mitutoyo. Comes up with a $50 US set that he says compares favorably with the Mit's. Think I'm going to give a set a try myself.

Agree with Cleftwynd, I use a dial caliper now, but would like the ability to zero out when using comparators etc.

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I use a digital Starret caliper and a Mit dial tubing Mic. A thousandth here or there makes a difference to me.
 
It's just my opinion but I honestly believe, and have seen no evidence to the contrary from all the experienced reloaders I have spoken to and all of the forums I read, that spending more than $40 or $50 on vernier calipers is a waste of money.

I have a digital one from Princess Auto that I spent $40 on and occasionally test it against a RCBS dial caliper and I never see a difference that I would consider to be noteworthy as a reloader.

Again, just my opinion.

Edit: There are the ones I use: h ttp://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/6-in-metal-fractional-digital-caliper/A-p8372062e
 
Best value for digital calipers is without a doubt the Mitutoyo.

If you have more money to spend, go with Starett or Tesa ( Brown & Sharpe ).
 
GunsNotPuns said:
It's just my opinion but I honestly believe, and have seen no evidence to the contrary from all the experienced reloaders I have spoken to and all of the forums I read, that spending more than $40 or $50 on vernier calipers is a waste of money.

I have a digital one from Princess Auto that I spent $40 on and occasionally test it against a RCBS dial caliper and I never see a difference that I would consider to be noteworthy as a reloader.

Again, just my opinion.

Edit: There are the ones I use: h ttp://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/6-in-metal-fractional-digital-caliper/A-p8372062e
Click to expand...

I have the same ones. I think I got mine on sale for $25. Checked them against a set of certified gauge blocks and they were bang on.

Auggie D.
 
I have been using calipers for more than 30 years for my work and at home and you can't beat Mitutoyo. The slide is much smoother. I also only use an 8" dial caliper, it has a better balance than a 6" unit. I have 3 sets and the one that I really like is a 20 year old pair that I use on my loading bench.
There is cheaper units but they are hard to slide and the material is not as hard.

Just what I have found.
David
 
I owned a 8" Mitutoya dial caliper for years now, never had a doubt about accuracy. Picked up a set of digital ones from CT and found I could never trust them. They always seemed to drift and the they would always flash even with new batteries and I always took them out after every use.(batteries) So I picked up a set last spring and once again never looked back. Mitutoya a brand you can trust. Last fall I picked up a tubing mic also and a 0-1" mic also when they came on sale. Here's a family picture.
Oh by the way the CT mics are dead on. I picked up a set of them on sale last summer.
 
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