Electronic VS manual calipers

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Zeede

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I need to get my first set of calipers for measuring case length and overall cartridge length. I know that with scales some of the cheaper electronic ones can be finicky, does this hold true for calipers? Which would you recommend and why?

Cameron
 
I bought a set of chinese made electronic calipers to replace my dail caliper. they were of good quality, and are dead on accurate, the only drawback is battery life of the small
batterys. I even started removing them after each use, but now I've gone back to the dail.

The ones marketed at Harbor Freight under the Central name are the ones I purchased. Less than 30 bucks some of the higher end such as Starrett are in the 300 buck range!
 
Hi Cameron,

I'd recommend a dial caliper. 1st, so you could learn how to use one. 2nd, it doesn't need batteries. 3rd, there is just something that feels right about that needle spinning 'round the dial. 4th, if it were to go wonky, you'd probably notice sooner than with a digital.

This from an anachronistic, amateur metrologist who owns only one set of Mitutoyo dial calipers and a cheapy set of plastic vernier calipers.

Check these out: Mitutoyo 505-675 @ http://longislandindicator.com/p140.html

I've used mine moderately for a few years and they are still perfect.

.
Best!
.
 
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I don't know if the sale is still going on, but Midway USA has a set of stainless steel electronic calipers going for ~$20, as of last week. Normal price listed at ~$35, and good reviews from the users, on the product page.
 
Batteries don't last forever. You’ll have already used the spare battery you promised to always have on hand. I do have both but keep a cheap set of dials in the reloading room.
 
i bought my 1st digital calipers back in the 80's, paid $135.00 for them. As I used them I found that they were very good both on my job and at the loading bench. Made lots of trips to and from my service truck to get the calipers as they were never where I was. I bought another set in early 90's, good tools. As the price has gone down I have purchased others. One day I took the back off the 3 oldest sets and found that the printed circuit board was exactly the same in all of them. Same manufacturer and component #. Out side, different name , box, color, but the same machine. Yes the newer ones seem to eat batteries faster, but they only cost $25.00+/-. I still have and use 3 sets and I am retired.
 
I got the Frankford Arsenal digital on the cheap from MidWay. They have been great, and you can't beat the price when you catch their sale.
 
I use dial calipers, because I prefer the simplicity of the mechanism.

Also, I use my calipers a lot, and would likely go through a lot of batteries.

I use digital display calipers at work and they are handy and work fine.

They do seem to go through batteries however.

It all boils down to personal preference.
 
I much prefer an analog needle for normal use, but the digitals are pretty handy with their ability to easily tare in order to sort bullets and cases, and a switch to metric if needed. Hard to believe you can purchase an analog/digital caliper accurate to .001" nowadays for less than $20.
 
Here's my .02 for what it's worth. - Dial calipers work without batteries and are usually cheaper than electronic ones. However, the dial is small and can be hard to read if your eyes aren't what they used to be. An electronic caliper has a large, easily read, LCD. The second advantage is speed. As long as an electronic caliper is zeroed, the LCD says 2.650", not 2" + .600" +.050" from the dial. I'll be the first to admit that all electronic calipers are not equal. I've used one that didn't hold zero and felt cheap in the hand. But I've got an RCBS (that I probably paid too much for compared to some of the other ones out there) that really works well.
 
I had a set of Brown & Sharpe given to me that were dial (analogue). I bought a Mitituyo Digimatic 500-351 mainly for the metric feature. When I went to buy them there were no cheap models available (20 years ago?). I bought 1 a machinist had previously owned & could not pay for. Got them half price. I expressed concern that they would be fragile & not last. They B&S died before the digital. Battery life is astoundingly good.

I bought them before reloading & worked on foreign cars.
Some features include:
you can rezero at any point and see +/- measurements
you can hold a measurement
you can go between inch & metric
Some digitals will cutoff automatically after 30 minutes or so to save the battery.

I need to get another set as I am down to 1 set that I need at home & work. I will check out the cheaper ones as I have a proven caliper to compare the to.
 
Brown & Sharpe
Mitituyo
Starrett

them there are da Cadillacs! (or should I say Hondas)

true machinist tools.

I'm very surprised to here your B&S failed.

Time spent browsing an ENCO catalog is time well spent indeed!

Seriously though....

Woodcraft, Grizzley and others have good quality models (a.k.a. made from stainless steal, not "composit") on sale in the $20 range all the time.
 
I use the harbor freight ones.. Granted I've used the original battery and am on the spare right now but they use the same batteries as my hearing aids do so I have a supply regardless. Cheap. Works rather well I'd have to say.
 
SSN Vet,
I was suprised too. I don't know how many miles they had on them when I got them. I got my moneys worth as they were free. I truly expected the digital would die first.
Dirt in the rack & pinion. Actually plastic chips that were static charged. I can't find any bad spots but they still bind intermittently. I was cleaning them regularly also.
They are definitely quality as are the Mitituyo & I have some Starret Dial gauges. I'm a little into quality where it counts. My uncle bought some Harbor Freight cheapos that I can check out.
I am a recovering perfectionist. Not everything has to be perfect. I think I'm finally getting the wisdom to know where to draw the line. I still want every shot to be a perfect bullseye - so I'll be busy the rest of my life.
 
I bought a General Tool caliper from my local hardware store for $35. The company is a pretty good one and the caliper has worked fine so far, holding zero every time I turn it on. The only problem I had was an almost dead battery in it when I first bought it. But it came with a spare so once I replaced it I haven't had any more problems.
 
I am a recovering perfectionist.
Click to expand...

I suffer from the same "disease"

8 years on nuclear subs didn't help the problem.

got a referal for a good 12 step program? :)

learning to show grace to my kids and not put my perfetionistic standards off on them has been a challenge.

it doesn't help when you marry someone who's just like you :rolleyes:
 
So, cost-wise, the electronic ones are still cheaper, but have some advantages in speed or by tare functions? But, some of the electronic ones are lemons.

Cameron
 
I have inexpensive dial calipers but frequently use my grandfather's Mitutoyo digital and in a lot of ways prefer the analog. There are no dead batteries, fragile electronics and screens, and no turning on and off for the dial calipers. No doubt the Mitutoyo are more accurate, but for reloading I have compared the two and both are adequate.
 
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