caliper preference?

[marksg]

Just wondering what calipers you prefer, digital ,dial, brand.

I've got both and tend to go to the easier digital first, but use the dial also.

 

[morrow]

I personally like dial so I don't have to mess with batteries. Any cheap caliper will do as long as it's repeatable. Those are more than good enough for anything you're doing with reloading, including precision shooting. They're also better for taking abuse since they cost less.

Expensive ones like Mitutoyo, Brown & Sharpe, Starrett, etc. are great and all, but way overkill for reloading.

 

[Para Cassatt]

I have only had my digital one for a few months so I'm using it quite a bit to try it out. I like both and my favorite is the Starrett I use at work. It just feels good to me. At home both are Lymans.

 

[gahunter12]

Have a Frankford Arsanel Digital Caliper. I would have said it has been great and served me well, but I started having problems with it last weekend. I noticed after loading 1000 rnds of 45 acp that my rounds were .005. Normally my 45acp rnds measure 1.260, but all were measuring 1.255". That had me scratching my til I decided to measure my dummy round that I keep in my dummy bin. It also measured 1.255", and my bullets measured .447". I zeroed my calipers numerous times and ran them in and out numerous times. Finally they corrected themselves. I'm also looking for a new set also. I may go ahead and pay the money for a good set. If it will last me years instead of months like the last 3 calipers I have it will be worth it.

 

[cfullgraf]

I use a dial caliper in the shop, no batteries.

In the reloading room, I have a solar powered digital. Also no batteries. It is great in the well lit reloading room but left something to be desired when used out on the production floor where the light was not so good.

I have several battery powdered digital that get used occasionally. I find the economically priced units hard on batteries so I keep the batteries out of the calipers which makes them less convenient to use.

 

[wrench]

Dial caliper here, no batteries to go dead.

 

[Mac Sidewinder]

I use digital - batteries don't bother me. As long as there is no flex in the jaws and you can get repeatable measurements. I bought a cheap (inexpensive) one from Frankford Arsenal and it works just fine.

Mac

 

[FROGO207]

Quite a few years back I was able to purchase a set of Mitutoyo dial calipers for a really great price. So they have always been rugged and accurate. No need to bother with electronic style ones and like said no battery woes.

 

[Fishslayer]

Centech digital. $10 from Harbor Freight with coupon. It has an auto off feature. Don't rally need any more accuracy than that for reloading.

 

[Jdillon]

Back in my college days worked fabricating direct drive gas compressors for the oil field. Lining up the direct drives was a very delicate operation and we had a large wooden tool chest filled with Starrett tools to accomplish the task. Kind of spoiled me. I use a Starrett dial caliper and B&S digital and both work great. Buy once, cry once.

 

[marksg]

I've run into the same problem gahunter12 had. I usually check with the dial to make sure they both read the same,but the digital is easier and a little faster for me.

 

[medalguy]

I like .45 caliper. Oh, right....... I second the Starrett dial calipers. They are high quality and will last a lifetime as long as you take care of them. I still have a Starrett I bought for my business back in 1977.

If you want to check the accuracy of a caliper, be sure to get a couple of gage blocks, say 1 inch and 3 inch to verify the accuracy of your instrument. We all worry about a thousandth but how often do any of us verify the calipers we use? I check mine every three months, or any time I think there could be an error in measurement.

 

[marksg]

Never even thought of that medalguy, my duh. Know anywhere to get them at a good price?

 

[mgmorden]

I actually prefer old-school vernier calipers. No batteries to worry about changing and just seems less fragile than a dial. Plus that's what I learned to use in my physics lab in college and so that being my first exposure to a caliper, the preference just stuck.

 

[coalman]

I prefer digital. But, once the batteries died I did not want to pay to replace them. Dial now. Works.

 

[1SOW]

Harbor Freight 6" with auto shut-off. Batteries last a loooong time and are cheap. Reads to rounded off 5 ten thousandths. Zero's at any position. Under $12 when on sale, like every month or so.

 

[Naterater]

I have to say DIAL. I own both and I get a better "feel" with the dial. It's easy to comprehend accurately without a digital display, and you can SEE how much deviation there is visually instead of subtracting and adding numbers.

Frankford Arsenal 6" Dial
Frankford Arsenal 6" Digital

 

[Otto]

I use a Mitutoyo Digimatic. The battery lasts 20,000 hours (3.5 years) of continual normal use.
Mitutoyo also has solar powered calipers for a couple of hundred.
Digital calipers have the ability of measuring in both in inches and millimeters.

 

[Sport45]

I've got a couple of 6" dial calipers. One is branded Midway and the other Lyman. Also have a few Harbor Freight digital calipers. The dial models cost about $20 each and the digitals $10. They all do what I want but I usually grab a digital because the dial calipers keep walking off with my sons.

I used to have a Starrett, but accidently knocked it off the bench one day. I prefer to buy the cheaper models now because it doesn't hurt so much if I mess them up or they walk off.

Except for the Starrett all calipers mentioned above were made in China. All of the calipers mentioned are plenty accurate for a reloading bench.

 

[kingmt]

I have used digital for years. $10 from HF. They work great.

 

[dragon813gt]

CenTech digital from Harbor Freight. I don't what you're doing if you kill the batteries in it. I also have a General dial caliper. It's all plastic and one that is in my tool bag every day for use at work. Measures in mm so I have to do conversions. My micrometer is not digital as well.


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[Walkalong]

I have a Brown and Sharp and Mitutoyo dial calipers, and a Harbor freight digital caliper. The HF will do 99% of reloading needs, and it is also easy to read with old eyes.

 

[beatledog7]

Digital, like my scale. Being able to zero in any position is why.

 

[Sport45]

A dial will zero at any position too. At least all of mine have.

 

[Blue68f100]

I prefer the dial Starrett's #120 I have had for decades. I have a set of HF calipers too, they work just fine but not near as smooth as the Starrett's. Most any will work since you don't need ultra precision for reloading.