Digital Callipers – again

[brickyParticipant @bricky]

I have a Baty digital which has been very good.

Frank

[Pete.Participant @pete-2]

Have a look at sylvac, I bought some on offer just before Christmas for £55 from the forum sponsor allendale, there's another retailer that offers lifetime warranty on these, I emailed sylvac, it's only specific sellers offering that, I think it was 3 years as standard.

These are Swiss made, and had a much nicer feel than any mitutoyo I've used.

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

Posted by Pete. on 25/02/2021 00:13:28:

Have a look at sylvac, I bought some on offer just before Christmas for £55 from the forum sponsor allendale

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.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

I've posted here on experiences with a Baty unit from Allendale which also exhibited the 2.54mm offset problem even after "repair" by the supplier. I still use my "Trojan" which is good and now have a Mitutoyo inductive scale one which is excellent, also Allendale.

I just got a Mitutoyo 25mm reference piece and it's fascinating to compare what the two calipers, a Mit ordinary mic, and a mit 1 micron reading digital mic make of it. You won't feel the same about digital calipers again…

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Martin,

Yet another using parts of a previous posting without any reference or differrentiation. Please desist. Have you used a left handed caliper? Somehow I doubt it. I have and that left hander is my ‘go to’ in the workshop – even more so than my 4” (right-handed). I couldn’t care a monkey on pricing (mine was in the £20-30 price bracket at the show – but rather more than the price paid by the friend who recommended it the previous year).

I would simply argue that ease of use has a value if the caliper is used with the ‘normal orientated’ lathe. I am naturally right handed and have mitutoyo calipers, too, but reading a caliper upside down or in tight places is not something I would choose to do when there is a far better practical option available – even if the suppliers appear to supply them at an inflated premium.

If you only measure items ‘in hand’ a normal right handed caliper is perfectly adequate (and often easier for the majority of right-handers), but for parts held in the lathe chuck, the left-handed calipers are intrinsically a far better option. All my micrometers are right handed and sometimes I wish some were of the opposite hand – particularly my mitutoyo digi.

This recommendation is from a user with practical experience of both options, not from someone who prioritises cheap pricing when making purchases. I only bought mine on the strong recommendation of a friend. He was spot on with his recommendation.

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

Another vote for Mitutoyo. The Moore & Wright "budget" digital callipers also work well (at least for me anyway).

Just worked out what the "absolute" function was for. Why on earth hadn't I worked it out before?

[Machine-DROParticipant @machine-dro]

Hi All,

For those not aware of our launch of our own brand M-SURE last year and for those willing to give our standard 150mm Caliper a try I have just applied a 25% discount on this item for online orders (ending Monday 1^st March)

**LINK**

If purchasing Mitutoyo please be cautious of the fakes out there, they fall short to the quality standard and battery life that you come to expect of Mitutoyo.

Another thing for any Instagram’ers on here, we are running a Mitutoyo giveaway, ends 1^st of March, Good luck;
https://www.instagram.com/p/CLZA8kqLsBl/

Happy to answer any caliper questions you have

Regards

 

Alan Ward
Allendale Group

Edited By Machine-DRO on 25/02/2021 10:29:51

Edited By Machine-DRO on 25/02/2021 10:32:23

[EmgeeParticipant @emgee]

Posted by Machine-DRO on 25/02/2021 10:29:28:

Hi All,

For those not aware of our launch of our own brand M-SURE last year and for those willing to give our standard 150mm Caliper a try I have just applied a 25% discount on this item for online orders (ending Monday 1^st March)

**LINK**

Alan Ward
Allendale Group

Hi Alan

Please advise, will the caliper linked to drive the remote display M_SURE MS-620-001 USB REMOTE DISPLAY FOR ALL T1 OUTPUTS ?

Emgee

[Machine-DROParticipant @machine-dro]

Hi Emgee – That remote display is compatible

Hi Gary – in reply to your original post regarding your M&W caliper, this sounds to be the result of the rubber seal cover not being put back after the battery has been changed, it is needed both to maintain the IP54 rating and to apply small amount of pressure on the battery for it to make reliable contact – worth checking 😊

"It frequently reset it's zero indication to 5.08, so I complained and got it replaced. I didn't particularly like it because it switched itself off too soon when idle, and continued to reset it's zero to 5.08 every now and again, but I persevered, until a couple of weeks ago, when It just went haywire. I've replaced the battery to no avail. It's useless. A great disappointment with a previously respected make."

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

Looking idly at left handed calipers which are useful with lathes, I came upon this one. Even better, it comes from Warco.

**LINK**

[Gary WoodingParticipant @garywooding25363]

Posted by Machine-DRO on 25/02/2021 10:57:41:Hi Gary – in reply to your original post regarding your M&W caliper, this sounds to be the result of the rubber seal cover not being put back after the battery has been changed, it is needed both to maintain the IP54 rating and to apply small amount of pressure on the battery for it to make reliable contact – worth checking 😊

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.

[Gary WoodingParticipant @garywooding25363]

Posted by old mart on 25/02/2021 16:52:12:

Looking idly at left handed calipers which are useful with lathes, I came upon this one. Even better, it comes from Warco.

Strange coincidence. I've just ordered the same thing from Chronos 'cos I'm tired of performing gymnastics to measure things on the lathe.

I'll report back when it arrives and I've used it.

[Pete.Participant @pete-2]

Posted by Bill Phinn on 25/02/2021 02:07:18:

Posted by Pete. on 25/02/2021 00:13:28:

Have a look at sylvac, I bought some on offer just before Christmas for £55 from the forum sponsor allendale

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.

I bought mine from allendale, there's my receipt, apologies I couldn't find any method of rotating photos in the album?

That price included delivery, very nice quality BTW, I'd highly recommend.

Edited By Pete. on 26/02/2021 17:10:54

[Paul KempParticipant @paulkemp46892]

I bought from Allendale (I believe) at Ally Pally MEX probably in 2016 a 12" calliper on offer for about £50 as I didn't have anything of that size to assist with my half size TE build. It had very little use really only being used for machining ops on the larger bits like diff housing and brake drum etc. I bought in preparation for those parts so didn't get to really use it for about 6 months and before it was a year old I found when sliding closed to check zero it regularly started to jump. Initially it was only small amounts (less than 50 thou which almost caught me out!) but as time went on by inches! Tried cleaning, battery changes etc but nothing seemed to cure it. Any ideas what caused that? I can't follow up as its well out of warranty and it then befell an unfortunate incident where it was on the headstock of the lathe and the machine lamp drooped close to the case and melted a nice depression in it! Typically over the reading head! Opening the box it was very warm and the display had gone completely black! When it cooled down the display returned to normal so I thought I would try it, still functions but still jumps! Looking at it there appears to be play in the measuring head so the moving arm rocks slightly, not good for accuracy anyway but it appears when it rocks it jumps! I can't see any way of adjusting the play out so it's really only fit for the bin! Would be interested if anyone else has had similar experience though and the cause?

Conversely I have a ladle unit that must be 15 years old and is the go to instrument for anything not of high precision. I calibrated it with slip gauges in December out of interest and was quite please it is not more than half a thou out over its full range. It probably gets a new battery every 18 months. Great value for a cheap supermarket item!

Paul.

[GeorgineerParticipant @georgineer]

Posted by old mart on 25/02/2021 16:52:12:

Looking idly at left handed calipers which are useful with lathes, I came upon this one. Even better, it comes from Warco.

**LINK**

As a left-hander I suspect that this would combine the worst of all worlds, because the jaws would point away from you when used in the left hand. This would be comparable in use with the 'left-handed scissors' I was given which were right-handed scissors (the difference is in the crossover of the blades) with a deeply moulded handle which made it impossible to hold them in the right hand. I threw them away.

I have both left- and right-handed calipers (their black cases differentiated by red and green tape as befits a seafaring town) , and they both have their uses.

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!

George B.

[Gary WoodingParticipant @garywooding25363]

My first digital callipers were by Mitutoyo, which I purchased about 40 years ago. I seem to recall that they were rather expensive at about £80. Some years later, at an MEX show, I was tempted by some own-branded ones on a Proops stand, at less than £20. So I treated myself.The digits were larger and easier to read than the Mitutoyo, so I started using them in preference, saving the Mitutoyo for best.

The Mitutoyo is currently not working (needs a good clean, I think), but the Proops special is still working fine and, although it's never switched off, the battery lasts for pretty near a year. Because I got tired of moving the Proops around I decided to buy a M&W as a new best, and that's the one that is now useless. What price quality?

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

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.

[Jon LawesParticipant @jonlawes51698]

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.

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

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.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Posted by old mart on 27/02/2021 15:49:12:

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.

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?

[jaCK HobsonParticipant @jackhobson50760]

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

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

Posted by not done it yet on 28/02/2021 06:42:50:

…

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 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…

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

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.

[Gary WoodingParticipant @garywooding25363]

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.

[GeorgineerParticipant @georgineer]

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.

[Author]

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