New Calipers (Have to Brag)

[dredd]

Talk about a nice surprise! These were gifted to me today.

My old Mitutoyo Digital Calipers have to be at least 15 years old and going strong, but I sure as heck was thrilled to receive these.

 

[74man]

I have several pair of calipers, about 40 years old are my best which are Starrett. One I use most is a Hornaday. Next is a Home Depot. and I have compared them all to each other and they all measure the same, no matter what I measure. Nice Mitutoyo calipers for a gift, enjoy.

 

[Lefty38-55]

Congrats! And YAY … the previous Owner knew enough to never store them w/ the jaws closed … unless you did that for the photo, lol!

 

[dredd]

Congrats! And YAY … the previous Owner knew enough to never store them w/ the jaws closed … unless you did that for the photo, lol!

I NEVER (I avoid that word as much as possible) store Mic's or Calipers closed. That really yanks my chain when I see it.

I try to educate those around me, but it mostly falls on deaf ears.

It's interesting that you noticed.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

Why not store them with jaws closed?

 

[1KPerDay]

Add me to the list of the ignorant... what's the issue with storing them closed?

 

[mcb]

OP: nice calipers.

Storing calipers closed might promote rust on the face of the jaws due to trapped moisture between the jaws. I have never had an issue with it personally but mine are usually covered in cutting fluid that seems to keep them pretty rust free. If you're really worried you can buy calipers with tungsten carbide jaw insets. No rust issue with those even if the jaws are bone dry.

 

[Highland Lofts]

I've used dial caliper for decades and never has a problem with rust.
I did have problems with digital calipers and digital scales giving false readings.
So never digital anything for me.

 

[nettlle]

I have never had either Mitutoyo or Starrett calipers rust. I think both are made from stainless. Micrometers, both Mitutoyo and Starrett, will get rust on the spindle and anvil if not kept oiled.

 

[mcb]

I've used dial caliper for decades and never has a problem with rust.
I did have problems with digital calipers and digital scales giving false readings.
So never digital anything for me.

"Digital is just a fad." a research scientist I worked with at my last job use to make that joke fairly frequently and he was old enough you where never sure how serious he was. He was 85 and still working, hopefully I can be that spry and cynical when I get to that age.

In my own use have had more dial calipers fail to hard use in the shop than digitals calipers, and to be safe I have a few Vernier to keep my slide rules company.

 

[AK Hunter]

I store my precision tools in a dry cabinet. I have never heard of not closing the jaws of a calibers or mic. I've been a tool & die maker for over 30 years. I guess that's one of those OCD things. I also never put my tools away dirty.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Why not store them with jaws closed?

You never want to leave something with threads under tension, especially not where the temperature can vary enough to cause expansion/contraction of the mating surfaces.

Any point of contact in a measuring instrument should be exposed to nearly zero stress. I used to train new machinists to avoid clamping and smacking their tool surfaces. Worst of all is tension over a prolonged period.

 

[Misplacedtexan]

Talk about a nice surprise! These were gifted to me today.

My old Mitutoyo Digital Calipers have to be at least 15 years old and going strong, but I sure as heck was thrilled to receive these.


View attachment 1189886

I have the same ones, enjoy!

 

[cfullgraf]

…to be safe I have a few Vernier to keep my slide rules company.

I still have a vernier caliper as a back-up.

I like digitals but I do not use calipers frequently enough that the batteries die between uses. So I remove the batteries.

The only caliper that has failed on me is a dial Starret. But I prefer having dial calipers on hand. Quicker to use and the “batteries” never go dead.

But like I said, my calipers do not get much use.

 

[Highland Lofts]

I have four dial calibers just in case the one I use gets damaged I will have thre extra ones to choose from.
When I was younger, decades ago I used veneer calipers. Not no more.
I did the digital and they are not for me.

 

[vaalpens]

Congratulations! I have the same one except the 4" model, also a gift. Mine has been in service since 2014 without any issues.

 

[dredd]

You never want to leave something with threads under tension, especially not where the temperature can vary enough to cause expansion/contraction of the mating surfaces.

Any point of contact in a measuring instrument should be exposed to nearly zero stress. I used to train new machinists to avoid clamping and smacking their tool surfaces. Worst of all is tension over a prolonged period.

This ^^^^^^

 

[mcb]

For the battery haters, Mitutoyo makes solar powered versions of several of their digital calipers. I had a set at a previous job. They where awesome. It was amazing how little ambient light it took to power them up. The convenience of digital without the dead battery worries. They are not cheap but you're not buying batteries either.

 

[Mark_Mark]

My cheapo Starret dial caliper is BOMB! They are all made in china now, but under Starret standards and supervision. Ohwell

Dial Calipers are fun, Digital is cool too. I like them all

 

[jdsingleshot]

I have never owned a digital or dial caliper. I'm 75 and still use my 52-year-old Mitutoyo 8" vernier. Never had a false reading, never had batteries go dead. I always keep the jaws touching when not in use and the stainless steel has never rusted. I'd take a digital as a gift, but wouldn't buy one.

 

[1KPerDay]

You never want to leave something with threads under tension, especially not where the temperature can vary enough to cause expansion/contraction of the mating surfaces.

Any point of contact in a measuring instrument should be exposed to nearly zero stress. I used to train new machinists to avoid clamping and smacking their tool surfaces. Worst of all is tension over a prolonged period.

Thank you. I can see how this makes sense. I doubt it matters in my crappy harbor freight calipers but it costs nothing to do this so I’m going to start leaving mine cracked open a bit.

 

[Lefty38-55]

I NEVER (I avoid that word as much as possible) store Mic's or Calipers closed. That really yanks my chain when I see it.

I try to educate those around me, but it mostly falls on deaf ears.

It's interesting that you noticed.

That was the 2nd thing they taught us about caliper use at the GE Aircraft Engine 3-1/2 year Apprentice Machinist program! The 1st thing was, for a measurement you should be using micrometers, for a reference ... go ahead and use the calipers.

Note it was done so more to prevent corrosion between the mating surfaces than for tension ...

 

[mcb]

This threads/components under tension thing is not sitting well with this engineer. Think about how many things we use daily that remain assembled there entire useful life with screws and bolts and other threaded components tightened and undergoing huge temperature swings. Engine head bolt being a prime example of bolts torqued right up to the material limits (sometime even past the yield strength, but not ultimate strength) and then left that way through many repeated thermal cycles over years of service. Gun barrels are another fine example. Think about the AR barrel extension or a 700 barrel torqued into its receiver to relatively high toques and then thermal cycled repeatedly over years of service. We don't loose head space due to that thermal cycling or those thread left under tension. Head lost is due to wear of mating surfaces that wear on each other over repeatedly motion like bolt lugs or from chamber erosion and wear from firing.

Even with dial calipers there are a dozen or so watch size screws inside that mechanism that are torqued tight to hold the rack firmly to the body and the gear train in the dial assembly together. The whole rack and pinion gear train assembly under that dial is under constant tension from a torsional spring that is part of the anti-backlash mechanism in there. A dial caliper mechanism is under constant low level strain, a Vernier or Digital calipers is not for the most part. And they all have equally good measurement potential, because they were design that way.

 

[CoalTrain49]

I've been using that exact same caliper for many years. They seem to go out of adjustment after I use them a few times. Just re-zero often if you want accurate measurements. Zero ain't always zero. I think most things digital are like that. I know my powder scale needs the zero reset often.

 

[mcb]

I've been using that exact same caliper for many years. They seem to go out of adjustment after I use them a few times. Just re-zero often if you want accurate measurements. Zero ain't always zero. I think most things digital are like that. I know my powder scale needs the zero reset often.

Checking zero is a good habit with any calipers regardless of type. Its second nature for me that when I pick up a set of calipers to use, I wipe the jaw faces, close the caliper and verify they zero. If I have any doubt I grab a couple gauge pins or blocks and check them at a few other measurements in addition to zero. I do this for Vernier, Dial or Digital, though there is not much you can do with Verniers if they don't go to zero. Dials and Digitals can be quickly re-zeroed.

It's also a nice feature of digitals is you can set that zero anywhere. So if your measuring a bunch of one particular dimension you can zero at that specific length and then your measurements are now how far off that nominal dimension. ie measuring trimmed brass. Close the calipers and zero. Open to exactly the length we desire the brass to be. Rezero the calipers at that length. Start inspecting the brass and the measurements are not how much over or under the desire length. Makes sorting fast and easy.