Dial Calipers

Rob Keeble

Member
Messages
12,633
Location
GTA Ontario Canada
Like Glenn i am tackling my to do list. One thing i have on the top of the list is buying a new caliper. I am going back to analog dial indicators. Had enough of the zero digital nonsense and not knowing if it is or inst.

So I know Starret is the ultimate and i am seriously looking at this one

http://www.starrett.com/metrology/p...nd-Tools/Slide-Calipers/Dial-Calipers/1202F-6

But LV also has this one

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=46036&cat=1,43513,43546&ap=1

And naturally price is way difference.


What i really would like is a dial that does metric and imperial but i aint seen any. Does anyone know of a unit that does fractional and metric on the same dial ?


Anyone got any experience with either the Starret or LV version of the Starret.

Thanks all comments would be welcome .
 
Rob,

Click on the pdf button on the Starrett caliper page. Then scroll down and look at the tail of the caliper. It says "L. S. Starrett Co. China"
I'd bet that theirs and the Lee Valley one were made in the same factory. Starrett has a long history making very fine measuring tools. They
seem to have caved to market pressures like everyone else.

Bob
 
Thanks Bob here i thought i was gonna put my money where my mouth was and buy American and support the local boys. Darn it gets my goat when they hide stuff like that. I can understand them doing it but then the price needs to follow the origin like LV. I bet they the same manufacturer just different color dials.
 
The endless discussions of things being made in the same factory with the same machines BUT, to very difference tolerances aside :rolleyes:, I have one of the Lee Valleys, one of the Woodcraft (was on sale for about $30 awhile back) and a Peachtree. The Woodcraft is 7 or 8 years old and has been great. The Lee Valley and the Peachtree look very similar with a vast difference in fit, finish, smoothness of actions etc. I made a big mistake buying the Peachtree unit; it is so rough in motion that I just stuck it to the top of my planer with a magnet and use it for roughing out stock :eek:. Its accurate, just not pleasant to use.

Be that as it may, a good analog caliper marked in fractions and decimals is one of my most used measuring tools. I have one near the DP for checking drills, screws, parts, etc. I have one in the drawer at the bench for . . well . . . almost everything. They are really handy for me in checking M&T joinery, plugs, holes, etc.
 
Last edited:
I have the Starrett one and it's been excellent. It's decimal and fractions (of inches). I got it on sale quite a while ago and paid $50+ for it. I see they're a lot more expensive now.

I don't have any experience with the LV but LV normally has quality stuff and this one looks pretty good in the picture.

Mike
 
I think you'll find very little difference in the accuracy of any decent caliper. Calipers are typically accurate to .001" and the fractional one you linked only displays .01" graduations. Typically they're .1" per revolution, fractional calipers are 1" per revulation. Anything but a junk caliper will be that accurate.

At work I use starrett and mitutoyo, both are great measuring tools. The nicer mics will tend to have a good finish, smoother movement, harder steel to hold up longer, etc. I wouldn't be to concerned about quality of a starrett china product either. The ones I've seen at work are still top notch tools. (subject to change of course, but so far they seem just as good as the old stuff) At home I just use a harbor freight caliper and check it against a standard every now and then.
 
Well thanks guys Mike you the person that got me making notes of that Starret you have. Glenn i share your experiences on quality of smoothness of operation. Thats whats making me think twice about the LV unit and want the one Mike has. Its getting stale fussing with my digital caliper that has a tough to move movement.
I am gonna look to find the starret at a place where i can feel it over the counter rather than order online. May be tough to do though. Thanks for the input.
 
I'm a little late but I have a 6" dial caliper from Harbor freight that I paid $6 for 20 plus years ago and they are just as accurate and smooth as the starret they were checked against.
 
I also have the Harbor freight caliper, I checked it against a Mitutoyo and there was no difference, I figure we are working with wood and a half a thou. is not going to matter that much in the long run. I think I paid about 5.bucks with the 20% off coupon a couple of years ago. And I 'm not telling the tool that i am setting up that it's not a Starrett .
 
Last edited:
Rob, I own a Starrett 1202F and it is made in China. But Starrett has its own factory [ies] in China, so I doubt it's made in the same place as the others. It is a very nice tool. I bought it used, and paid a very reasonable price. Can't comment on the LV model. Because I work in inches, the fractions are convenient, and I like having it, but it doesn't take the place of a good decimal caliper that goes down to .001.
 
I find that for woodworking, a 4" fractional dial caliper works great. It fits better in my apron pocket than the 6" models do. The cheapo Chinese model i have has worked perfectly for the past 10 years or so. I believe i got it from Highland Woodworking, Peachtree, or Toolsforworkingwood.com.
I've never seen one with both metric and inches. Mine's fractional inches (to 1/64th" (though it's easy to measure to the 1/128th" if you want to) and decimal inches.
I only tend to use it when i'm thicknessing boards. Wood, after all, does move on its own from one day to the next.
 
I must be missing something, or really dont have a clue(Im guessing its the latter)

why on earth would a caliper measuring to 1/1000th of an inch mean that much, or even 1/100th of an inch be that important when measuring a piece of wood?
 
I must be missing something, or really dont have a clue(Im guessing its the latter)

why on earth would a caliper measuring to 1/1000th of an inch mean that much, or even 1/100th of an inch be that important when measuring a piece of wood?
Thanks Allen; Been thinking that ever since Rob originally made his post. Just didn't want to burst his bubble!

My Blindman's Fractional Electronic Calipers from LV have done everything I've asked of them even before I started pen turning. Now for pen turning I use them more than ever!
 
Thanks Allen. If I get within 1/32" I'm very pleased.

I have a cheap plastic caliper that I use by my planer.I've had it for 30 years or more. Also use it to double check dado widths. I have a $20.00 fancy digital one I use to double check a drill bits or pen bushings from time to time but the battery is usually dead from non use. I can't imagine ever having to measure closer than 1/32 or 1/64th.
 
FWIW, I find the digital fractional ones to be pretty darn useless. Even the inexpensive dial fractionals work really well to see where you are when planing or measuring drill bits, etc...
 
I'm new here but this is a thread I know quite a bit about. I've been out of the workforce for 3 1/2 years but spent 2 years in Tech school in a Machinist and Tool and Diemaking program about 3 years as a Machinist Apprentice and about 26 years as a Journeyman Machinist. I was also certified to Calibrate measuring tools. As far as calipers Starrett gave the most mechanical trouble of the high end stuff in so far as tiny slivers of metal getting into their rack gears and totally wiping them out if you didn't catch it soon enough. The absolute smoothest operating and give the least amount of trouble dial caliper was Brown & Sharpe/Tesa Swiss made calipers, they had a better protected rack gear. On digital calipers Mitutoyo gave the least amount of trouble. I personally had a pair Mitutoyo 8" solar powered calipers that were still going good after nearly 12 years and were still able to pass a calibration test. Those of you who know how to read a Vernier Caliper, that's the way to go, nothing really to go wrong, we had verniers up to 40 some inches at work. I have a cheap pair of 6" verniers made in Poland from WT Tool I bought nearly 30 years ago and they're still great. I also still have the first pair of dial calipers I ever bought, SPI 6" still works fine. I know nothing about calipers that measure in fractions, after working so many years in decimals it's hard for me to think in fractions when it comes using calipers but may check them out. I'll stop rambling, I could probably write a book on measuring tools ;-) I've been out of woodworking for about 17 years, ever since we moved to our current location.

BTW: I'm a little saddened to hear that Starrett has gone to China with some of their stuff. I just looked at Grainger's, which by the way list country of origin in the description of nearly everything they sell and sure enough even their 12" caliper priced at $382 is made in China so they went there to save themselves money not the end user. I'm glad to see Starrett and Brown & Sharpe are still making their Micrometers here in the US.
 
Top