Best Calipers UNDER $50

[Conditor22]

the following are only the Best Calipers I could find UNDER $50

these were the top 2


this is a JPEG rendering



this is a zip of the excel file
Best Calipers UNDER .zip

For near $100 Mitutoyo 500-196-30 Advanced Onsite Sensor (AOS) Absolute Scale Digital Caliper, 0 to 6"/0 to 150mm Measuring Range, 0.0005"/0.01mm Resolution, LCD With Certificate of Traceability to NIST 129.29

There are better ones -- Mitutoyo, L S Starrett Company, Brown & Sharpe, Fowler-Sylvac, BAKER, etc; some over $13,000

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

For measuring boolits, the Best Calipers under $50 is a Chinese Micrometer, LOL.

[DougGuy]

Well, LOL.. It's kinda like everything else, ya gets what ya pays for.. I went through a few from Lowe's they are junk and they are $35 or more with tax. I got a Mitutoyo Absolute Digimatic from ebay in very good condition, like new, for $45 with free shipping.

You could also get a Mitutoyo micrometer that reads in .0001" for less than $50 as well. I have and use both mic and caliper from Mitutoyo, from ebay.

[RED BEAR]

Not sure about now but they were under 50 dollars when i bought them brown and sharpe is the best caliper i ever used. I have had starret mitayou and a host of others but that old brown and sharpe is the one i always go to. There mic's are excellent to. Anymore just buy the cheap junk from china. For close work i still have my mic set from when i was working.

[Froogal]

I have a Mitutoya set of dial calipers from when I worked in the tool room at a factory. I occasionally still use those out in my shop, but needed a pair at the reloading bench as well, so I bought a pair of Hornady dial calipers. I compared the 2 side by side for accuracy and repeatabilty and could determine absolutely no difference, but the Mitutoya's are MUCH smoother and nicer to use. They should be. Think I paid around $300 for them.

[JSnover]

Mitutoyo, SPI, a no-name Chinese caliper sold by Midway and a Chinese-made 6" caliper sold by Hornady (features their logo on the dial) have all worked well for me, right alongside my Starretts and my B&S.

[Winger Ed.]

Check out some pawn shops.
I've found some of the really, really good ones for cheap.

[gnostic]

I have the Anytime Tools for $35 and for my use it's great. For the super critical measurements, I rely on my cheap chinese micrometer. You can check the accuracy of your tools with a feeler gauge, they either work or they don't...

[JSnover]

Check out some pawn shops.
I've found some of the really, really good ones for cheap.

Absolutely! I saved a lot by posting a WTB thread for used mics in the S&S section.

[Bird]

I am still using centech dial calipers, Harbor Freight, from 1988. Use them every day, and accuracy has not changed. They read accurate. If you look after them they will last. My buddy goes through 2 sets of digitals every year, from damaged readouts and dead batteries.

[EDG]

I have been a daily user of calipers on the job since 1968.
I started out before there was any such thing as digital caliper.
I have used many dial and vernier calipers from 6" to 48".

When I first started working I had a set of Brown and Sharpe dial calipers and they did not last very well.
If my employers paid for calipers and cost was not much of problem I like the 8" Mitotoyo calipers.
They are long enough to give your hand room to hold them even when measuring something 4" long or so.
I had the 8" Mitutoyos at 3 different companies.

For years at home I used a nice set of FWP (Poland) vernier calipers until I got where my old eyes could not read the vernier any more. So I bought a cheap set of $19 calipers from Midway. They are Chinese made but are excellent. They have had heavy use for about 12 years and they work perfectly. I have also checked them with micrometer standards and they are right on out to 4 inches.

All the companies I have worked for have mechanical inspection departments and they really dislike the current Brown and Sharpe and the Starrett calipers because they are not very durable and no one wants to repair them. The top villains are the digital calipers. They are not very durable plus the batteries seem to die when needed most.

[jaysouth]

I am a caster/reloader not a machinest. A harbor freight caliper serves me very well for measuring OALs etc. For precision work, I have a Starrat 1" micrometer that measures bullet diameters and pound casts very accurately. The china freight digital caliper was $18 on sale and the mike cost $25 on ebay.

[Bazoo]

I have RCBS dial calipers, figured if they conk out RCBS will replace them. I've had no problems in 3 years.

[Rich/WIS]

Have a digital from Ace, works well for my needs. Also have an old Craftsman, but like TDG have a problem reading them. For really close work have a 1" Mitotoyu micrometer.

[BigAlofPa.]

Im with Bird on the harbor freight ones. They even come with a spare battery.

[Froogal]

I do not trust those digital calipers. Battery gets weak, electronics get glitchy, etc. I won't use anything but a dial caliper.

[cwlongshot]

Where was this post a week ago??!?!?

the following are only the Best Calipers I could find UNDER $50

these were the top 2


this is a JPEG rendering



this is a zip of the excel file
Best Calipers UNDER .zip

For near $100 Mitutoyo 500-196-30 Advanced Onsite Sensor (AOS) Absolute Scale Digital Caliper, 0 to 6"/0 to 150mm Measuring Range, 0.0005"/0.01mm Resolution, LCD With Certificate of Traceability to NIST 129.29

There are better ones -- Mitutoyo, L S Starrett Company, Brown & Sharpe, Fowler-Sylvac, BAKER, etc; some over $13,000

I just ordered a set used on ebay. Mine is a Frankfprd digital and the darned thing is always off .001... getting tired of remembering to add...

CW

[fast ronnie]

I have a set of Starretts that I bought in 1970 that I am still using. They have been dropped and repaired 2 or 3 times. I use them just about every day in the shop. They are just about worn out. I've had two sets of digital Mitutoyos. One was gotten used and worked great until the push buttons fell out, (from age, I guess) but parts are no longer available. The other set was bought new and have never been accurate. I called Mitutoyo and they wanted me to pay $75 or $90 to fix them. Seems like their product is hit or miss. I have Brown & Sharpe mics that I bought new in 1971 and use them every day. They were stolen and recovered 2 years later. 49 years, and they are just as accurate as the day I got them. I also have a second set of them that were purchased when the other set "disappeared." I use them occasionally when I have to take them with me, but they don't get used often.
I haven't purchased any new precision tools for many years, but the last Starrett stuff that I purchased was not made right and had to be reground. I was very disappointed in the newer Starrett quality. I don't know if they ever got their quality issues fixed, but that set of planer gages were very disappointing.

[EDG]

I collect some of the better quality and top end mikes and it is pretty easy to buy good mikes.
Pick out a set that have the satin chrome barrel and thimble with deep engraved lines and numbers. The lines and numbers should be filled with black ink to make the mike easy to read even in dim light.

The Brown and Sharpe slant line mikes from the 60s and 70s fit that bill pretty well. They are very easy to read even if they are not the ultimate in quality.
There are several other brands that are better mikes but they are not as easy to read as the Brown and Sharpes. Any of them are pretty good when you are in your 20s but when you get past 50 or so you can appreciate the easy to read mikes.
Better mike brands include Etalon and Tesa mikes made in Switzerland. Another good mike but kind of rare are the German made Mahrs.
Good economy mikes include Reed, Scherr, Tubular and Scherr-Tumico. These are all the same basic mike design dating back many years and the name has changed with ownership. Today the company is known as STI. Just be sure to buy based on excellent condition. There is no reason to save $5 by buying a worn out old clunker of any brand although old clunkers can often be accurate.

I have used a lot of different calipers but I only own 3 sets and 2 of those are verniers so I cannot make many recommendations about dial calipers. If you want to try old school verniers the old heavy duty Starrett 14" and 18" calipers are very good if your eyes are good enough to read them. I used the large Starrett verniers (up to 48") a lot and know they are excellent calipers.

Digital calipers do not have a very good reputation for durability and I have never owned any. They seem to break down a lot at work.

[Nodakjohns]

I looked up a few YouTube videos and then ordered the igaging 6" for about $40 from Amazon. I seen all the hype with having an expensive pair. I don't need the accuracy since my job doesn't require measuring tools. I figure they are better than harbor freight. They seem to be quite repeatable with results. No regrets!