Calipers

Dunno, but I've always used Starrett or Mitutoyo. Both great brands.

Calipers by definition are only accurate to +/- .001" . I don't care for digital calipers for many reasons, but have used the Harbor Freight dial calipers quite a bit and have found no problems with them. And if you do, you can take them back and get another pair.

Anthony

If I'm trying to measure something to the nearest .001", I want to be sure that my instrument is capable of that accuracy and repeatability. I use Starrett and/or Mitutoyo 6 inch dial calipers for reliability. A good pair of dial calipers will last a lifetime if used and cared for properly.

Good shooting and be safe.
LB

Caliper brands

As a former machinist, I recommend Starret, Mitutoyo, or Brown and Sharpe. There are probably other good brands, but back in the 80s when I was working in a tool and die shop with ~40 employees, these 3 brands were the only ones I saw people buy. Same brands recommended for micrometers if you want one of those.

Check pawnshops for the above mentioned brands. My Staretts cost $40.00 and have worked well for ten years.

I have a good (Starret) micrometer and a cheap (RCBS labeled Chicom) dial caliper that serve all my reloading needs. I don't gunsmith, but they would probably handle that. My local 'smith has at least three sets of good calipers, but the verniers don't get much use anymore, dial and digital are a lot easier to read with bifocals.

As a student gunsmith, I have only seen one pair of Starrett's in the shop. Almost everyone uses the economy dial calipers for our general use. For reloading you normally won't be working with tolerences under .001"

just my $.02 worth, 30 yr. diemaker, the mitutoyo cal's have been very dependable........

Well used Etalon calipers and mic on this bench. Starrett, B&S and Mitutoyo are all excellent. I do not like batteries and LCD's, but that's just me.

Spend a little more now and save a bunch later. A good set will stay in cal and last a lifetime>>>

When I worked in aerospace, our instruments were required by contract to be calibrated. No calibration tech would certify an instrument at less than 10x the resolution of the instrument. Dial calipers normally had 1/2 thou (.0005") resolution so were certified for +/- .005". If you wanted more resolution than that, you used a micrometer with .0001" resolution: good to .001". Conservative, for sure. See if you can't flex your chicom dial or digital caliper +/- .005" in your hands.
I prefer B&S and Mitutoyo instruments but either can be abused to read 1/2 again their resolution and more by a careless operator:banghead:.

calibration

No matter what brand you use, double check the jaws of the caliper for parallelism. If the jaws are not parallel your measurement won't be accurate.

Please explain the process to check to see if they are parallel, thanks!

Run the moveable jaw up until it just touches and hold them up to the light.