Caliper woes....

[TES]

I have a inexpensive set that seems to go out of zero every time I put them back at zero (digital).

What do you use and why.....

As a side note I can't spend 200.00 on a super nice one.

Thanks in advance...

TES

EDIT: I need them to be accurate every time....

[petroid]

This nay not be the best way to go about it but I don't usually worry about whether my cheap HF caliper goes totally back to zero unless I'm measuring something really small. I usually check it against a couple jacketed bullets close to the size of what I'm measuring to verify that it's on the money. Doesn't apply for bigger or smaller things though

[waltherboy4040]

Hf ones here.

[dragon813gt]

HF ones here. I'm not doing any machining so utmost accuracy isn't that important. I have a set of plastic ones made by General that I use at work for measuring blower and drive shafts. I'm amazed at how accurate they are for reloading tasks. At work I need to know to closest 1/8".

[GRUMPA]

I use the expensive calipers, I own 2 in 6" and 1 in 12". But keep in mind I've had them for years and worked in aerospace which is a must. With the regulations the way they are/were the cheap plastic stuff was thrown in the garbage or ordered to be taken home at first site.

I've never used anything what a person would consider cheap, most of what I use is from my shop days.

[Dan Cash]

Try a moderate priced dial indicator caliper. I have one from Midway that is most reliable and useful. It is good enough for measuring bore slugs. Would not trust it for machine work. It tracks pretty well with my Mittitoyo or how ever you spell that rice rocket name.

[williamwaco]

TES,

Check them with a commercial jacketed bullet.

If they are within +/- .001, use them.

That is about as good as most reasonable price calipers are capable of.

If you want something else, and shop around, you will see that most of the different "brands" are actually the exact same caliper with different names. You can pay anywhere from 20 to 100 bucks for this same caliper depending on where you buy it.

I have one of them.

For bullets I use only a micrometer. For case lengths I use the caliper because .001 in case lengths is nothing.

[troyboy]

Have you tried replacing the battery. Watch e-bay for a used quality dial caliper. I have a Harbor Freight digital and it works as designed. I also have quality calipers and the HF cheapo measures the same but the feel is completely different. Does it matter? Not for the intended purpose.

[triggerhappy243]

I got chastised here about the use of calipers. the one I have is a mechanical gear driven set. You describe a fully electric readout. If you need a caliper.... get a dial type that uses a gear and sprocket type setup. Mitutoyo is a good one, mine always returns to "O"

[country gent]

I have used Starret, Brown and Sharp, and mitatyo in digitals also a set of helios dials. It depended on what the shop had I was working for at the time. My personals are mitatuos I have 6" and 12" here. I have brown and sharpe digitals that gave up after 15 years or so. In the auto industry All my measuring tools were certifed accurate when they came in the plant and every year after. If your doing precission measureing buy the best you can afford along with standards Check them before using every time and have confidence in the tool

[JSnover]

I have a Midway (China) dial caliper that has had the snot kicked out of it and still works. I also have an SPI digital that is probably ten years old and I've only had to replace the batteries twice. It reads to .0005 and I have verified it against a calibrated micrometer.
I also have a Brown & Sharp digital but I hardly ever use it.

[CastingFool]

I have two dial calipers, both 6', a Mitutoyo, and a Helios, which I believe is german made. The Helios belonged to my dad, and I remember he paid all of $29.95 back in 1969. He worked as a machinist, and I eventually became a machinist, too, among other things. I use the Mitutoyo quite often and trust it. When you close the jaws, the dial should return to zero every time. Don't force them closed. I'll say one thing about dial calipers, the dials are a whole lot easier to read than the lines on mikes. I have used a digital caliper at various times, but being sorta old school, I prefer the mechanical calipers.

[TES]

Well...I check about every 25 for CM then to COL. I just don't have confidence when checking my set rounds for mass production. The first 100 I do before going full tilt. I had a rash of bad tolerance ammo in the last two runs that has really put me into sleepless nights....I don't want this to happen EVER again. As it stands I have to pull about 2000 and the number is growing....Yea I know...boo hoo..I did it to myself!

[triggerhappy243]

TES, you indicate some trouble with loaded rounds that puzzles me. COL is cartridge overall length, what is CM? and what are you pulling apart that amounts to 2000? And how are you measuring... when it comes to col?

[Cowboy_Dan]

The set I use now is a Lyman 6" dial set which I use in conjunction with a HF micrometer. Before that I had a cheapo set from a hardware store bargain bin. They were plastic and read in millimeters, but the dial always returned to zero, until I dropped them and the needle slipped to .03 mm. Always returns there, though, and I continued using them until I got tired of converting AND subtracting.

[EDG]

I am a tool snob and love the 8" Mitutoyo calipers my employers usually buy for me.
For personal use at home I used a verneir caliper made in Poland until the cheap chinese calipers came along.
For the last 15 years or so I have been using some that Midway put on sale. I see the same calipers with about a dozen brand names. Mine work really well despite the low price. In the late 60s I had a set of Brown & Sharpe calipers made by Helios. I like Brown and Sharpe but those Helios were nowhere as good as the Chinese cheapos.

[TES]

TES, you indicate some trouble with loaded rounds that puzzles me. COL is cartridge overall length, what is CM? and what are you pulling apart that amounts to 2000? And how are you measuring... when it comes to col?

CM = Case mouth

2000 .45 acp's that I sold...and the lot of production that I wont name in numbers that was not sold. I have not heard any negative feed back from the past three just this one. I hope it was just an out of tolerance die...I ordered more from Dillon. Thank god it fell on a off weekend for shows.

Bullet puller die is coming in tomorrow...anyone wanna come help?....free beer!

[TES]

I am a tool snob and love the 8" Mitutoyo calipers my employers usually buy for me.
For personal use at home I used a verneir caliper made in Poland until the cheap chinese calipers came along.
For the last 15 years or so I have been using some that Midway put on sale. I see the same calipers with about a dozen brand names. Mine work really well despite the low price. In the late 60s I had a set of Brown & Sharpe calipers made by Helios. I like Brown and Sharpe but those Helios were nowhere as good as the Chinese cheapos.

Mitutoyo.......um that is not going too happen!

[Motor]

I'm in my 28th year as a machinist. Some of those were in QA. For reloading purposes an inexpencive dail caliper is all you need. I've seen the cheap ones pass calibration just fine for years. They will ware quicker then the "good ones" but you will never get there using them for reloading.

Besides, the quickest way to destroy a caliper is to drop it on a hard floor. What would you rather drop a $100 or more caliper or the $10 ones you got at HF?

BTW: In cases where measuring equipment was specified to inspect product I have never seen a caliper, dial or electronic, for any measurment with a tolerance less than +/-.005" What does that tell you?

Oh, and the digital ones that go to 4 desimal places are just laughable.

[triggerhappy243]

+/- .005 is 5 Thousandths of an inch.