Digital Callipers - again

Gary, please let us know your opinion of those ambidextrous calipers when you have tried them out.

I am left handed, but tend to use whichever hand fits the job at the time. Lefthanded scissors are the only handed tools which I need, and Fiskars are the best you can buy.

Funnily enough I just bought a Machine DRO set of left handed calipers for use on the lathe. I don't know if they will help much or not but it's an interesting experiment all the same.

When I got some LH calipers I found I was so used to holding ordinary RH ones - by the shank in the left hand whilst closing the jaws by finger and thumb of the right - that the LH ones just sit unemployed in their box, because they require me to learn a new technique to use them.

Plus

Posted by Mick B1 on 27/02/2021 17:34:19:

When I got some LH calipers I found I was so used to holding ordinary RH ones - by the shank in the left hand whilst closing the jaws by finger and thumb of the right - that the LH ones just sit unemployed in their box, because they require me to learn a new technique to use them.

The ideal situation for one to get rid of something they will never use and for another to get to try out these much handier calipers - at a reasonable (virtually scrap?🙂 ) secondhand cost?

I have a pair from Woolworths £15 maybe 15 years of careless use. Not so long back I took them apart, cleaned and polished bits, knocked off 'sharp edges', and used some watch oil on them. They became so much nicer to use. They do run the battery flat after a couple of months so I buy a bunch of cheap spares. They don't like any moisture at all. I tend to reset the origin every use. I love em.

I splashed out on a pair of iGaging. They are a slight step up. No need to fettle so these feel like the polished and oiled Woolworths right out the box. Had them a year and have not replaced battery. I don't think I have reset the origin either! You can get some that show fractional inches but these are not those: https://woodworkersworkshop.co.uk/products/igaging-origincal-ip54-digital-caliper-absolute-origin-0-6.

I'm left-handed and don't have a pair of left-handers. I get stupidly annoyed having to pay extra for left handed things! Not as annoyed as I get looking unsuccessfully for left-handed files! If M-DRO did a flash discount on left-handers then I would buy some

By the way - a small amount of fettling can transform other super-cheap stuff. I just got the cheapest linear slide rail off Amazon. I took it apart to cleaned it (see youtube) and go over it with a diamond hone, and the difference is amazing! It doesn't fix the 1mm vertical bend over 400mm length but that should be sorted by suitable packing. And you can tell how they manage to make em so cheap.

Edited By jaCK Hobson on 28/02/2021 08:53:13

Edited By jaCK Hobson on 28/02/2021 09:04:28

I don't know any other lefthanded machinists I could give 'em to locally, but one of the grandkids shows signs of lefthanded mechanical aptitude - but he's two, so I'll await developments.

Besides, I know I've come across one or two occasions where an LH caliper was practically essential - but I'll probably never remember what they were till they come up again...

I'm left handed, but I would not want to use lefthanded calipers on anything else than work in a lathe spindle. It's what you are used to which just seems natural, I would not want a lefthanded micrometer either.

The tilting display callipers arrived yesterday. They seem OK and the rotating display appears to work fine. The following 2 photos show how the display can be tilted to make lathe measurements use easier when in right handed mode, or rotated to allow use left handed. Either way, seems to me, is better than the standard RH type.

That looks rather more convenient than I thought it would be, but I'll stick with my separate left- and right-handed versions.

George B.

"I was aware of the need to properly seat the rubber seal, but the device continued to miss-behave. Then it just gave up - after just 3 years of very light usage. M&W is not what it used to be. I would certainly never buy their stuff again."

I am sorry to hear that, overall we get very good feedback on this caliper, especially given its price point given its accuracy and repeatability. If you wanted to try the M-SURE caliper I would be happy to do a collection on it if you was not happy with it, we are really pleased with what we have achieved with this caliper 😊

"A Sylvac digital caliper from a reputable seller at £55 would tempt me.

Sadly, the lowest priced Sylvac offering at the moment from M-DRO/Allendale [the 30-810-14 S_Cal EVO] is £96 [or a little over £91 when including the standard 5% discount]. I have not found it elsewhere for anything like £55."

That was a stock clearance offer, we do have some units still in stock so happy to offer this price, please email me with the following;

Name
address
emaill

alan@allendale-group.co.uk

“The left-handed calipers are more expensive simply because of the smaller market, so the more of you who go out and buy a pair, the cheaper they will become. Go out and buy some now!”

100% correct – we are considering launching a left handed M-SURE caliper, but mould tool costs alone are over 20k GBP then higher unit costs as production runs are far smaller.