Quality digital vernier calipers

[ronan walshParticipant @ronanwalsh98054]

You cannot beat mitutoyo. I have a pair for 20 years nearly and they have been perfect. Beware though there are counterfeits/ fakes being peddled. On ebay you know they are fake because they have country of origin as hong kong.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by petro1head on 12/02/2017 17:51:32:

So, are these the real thing mYAAOSwjDZYlwuv

.

Couldn't be certain … but: **LINK**

http://orcinus24x5.tumblr.com/post/85895171143/fake-mitutoyo-digital-caliper-from-ebay-real-one

MichaelG.

[petro1headParticipant @petro1head]

Posted by ronan walsh on 12/02/2017 18:07:16:

You cannot beat mitutoyo. I have a pair for 20 years nearly and they have been perfect. Beware though there are counterfeits/ fakes being peddled. On ebay you know they are fake because they have country of origin as hong kong.

Unless bought from Hong Kong and then resold in uk

Ok. So there seems a huge gap between cheap Ones and more expensive i.e.£10 to £135

There must be something in the middle cost wise and less chance of fake.

What obout Moore and Wright

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

M&W do verniers at various price points. The top of the range are equivalent to Mitutoyo, but the mid-price ones are very good. In my test I also found the 'cheap as chips' ones from Machine DRO are nicer than supermarket ones – ideal for workshop hack.

On a budget, grab a cheap hack pair and a mid-price M&W for best. But I've been spoiled and now use the Mitutoyo* for everything (I really ought to use a cheaper pair for most stuff…)

Neil

* I actually had to reset the origin today, hadn't used it for a few weeks and it was slightly out. I think that's the second or third time in several months, which isn't bad.

[petro1headParticipant @petro1head]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 12/02/2017 18:22:25:

M&W do verniers at various price points. The top of the range are equivalent to Mitutoyo, but the mid-price ones are very good. In my test I also found the 'cheap as chips' ones from Machine DRO are nicer than supermarket ones – ideal for workshop hack.

On a budget, grab a cheap hack pair and a mid-price M&W for best. But I've been spoiled and now use the Mitutoyo* for everything (I really ought to use a cheaper pair for most stuff…)

Neil

* I actually had to reset the origin today, hadn't used it for a few weeks and it was slightly out. I think that's the second or third time in several months, which isn't bad.

What would you say is a mid price point

[ronan walshParticipant @ronanwalsh98054]

Posted by petro1head on 12/02/2017 18:16:26:

Posted by ronan walsh on 12/02/2017 18:07:16:

You cannot beat mitutoyo. I have a pair for 20 years nearly and they have been perfect. Beware though there are counterfeits/ fakes being peddled. On ebay you know they are fake because they have country of origin as hong kong.

Unless bought from Hong Kong and then resold in uk

Ok. So there seems a huge gap between cheap Ones and more expensive i.e.£10 to £135

There must be something in the middle cost wise and less chance of fake.

What obout Moore and Wright

Which is why you buy from a reputable source like cromwell or other known stockists, not some chancer on ebay operating out of a garden shed, or cupboard under the stairs. Kennedy is another reasonable brand, they do a set with larger than normal numbers, good if your minces aren't too good anymore.

[sean logieParticipant @seanlogie69385]

If my memory serves me right (which i doubt) the picture on the box on the ebay link is wrong ,the calipers should be pointing up to the top left corner instead of bottom left .

Sean

[petro1headParticipant @petro1head]

Posted by ronan walsh on 12/02/2017 18:35:46:

Posted by petro1head on 12/02/2017 18:16:26:

Posted by ronan walsh on 12/02/2017 18:07:16:

You cannot beat mitutoyo. I have a pair for 20 years nearly and they have been perfect. Beware though there are counterfeits/ fakes being peddled. On ebay you know they are fake because they have country of origin as hong kong.

Unless bought from Hong Kong and then resold in uk

Ok. So there seems a huge gap between cheap Ones and more expensive i.e.£10 to £135

There must be something in the middle cost wise and less chance of fake.

What obout Moore and Wright

good if your minces aren't too good anymore.

Hmm that will be me then

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Aldi currently selling some for £8.50. No experience of them myself but they could double as adjustable spanner / hammer at that price.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by petro1head on 12/02/2017 18:29:35:

What would you say is a mid price point

How about £23.70 on special offer?

http://www.machine-dro.co.uk/150mm-6-digitronic-digital-caliper-moore-wright-basic-line-110-dbl-series.html

M&W for the price of three Aldi pairs? Hardly makes sense to buy anything else?

Neil

[petro1headParticipant @petro1head]

Out of curiosity I have been having a look at what caliper I have.

I could do with something of a known measurement to test accuracy.

1. Clarke – not too bad but not a smooth action

2. Work zone – not sure about accuracy but smooth

3. Unbranded – got these as a birthday gift, crap crap crap

4. I have also found some Mitutoyo non did Gita like fine adjustment, very smooth action

[MalcBParticipant @malcb52554]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 12/02/2017 18:22:25:

M&W do verniers at various price points. The top of the range are equivalent to Mitutoyo, but the mid-price ones are very good. In my test I also found the 'cheap as chips' ones from Machine DRO are nicer than supermarket ones – ideal for workshop hack.

On a budget, grab a cheap hack pair and a mid-price M&W for best. But I've been spoiled and now use the Mitutoyo* for everything (I really ought to use a cheaper pair for most stuff…)

Neil

* I actually had to reset the origin today, hadn't used it for a few weeks and it was slightly out. I think that's the second or third time in several months, which isn't bad.

I have bought the M & W one from DRO that Neil tested in MEW, based on being above the budget level and suitable for everyday use.

I bought it to ease up on the use of my Tesa 6"/150mm digital vernier which i have had for about 20 yrs now. Using the M & W more and more now and finding nice to handle for daily use.

For information

We bought a bundle of 20 x Tesa at work along side quite a few Mitutoyo digitals ( about 8ish). Again about 20 yrs ago. Throughout their useful life the Tesa actually showed consistantly better calibration results from an external cal laboratory. Not a lot in it but they were better. Dont know how the newer models would stack up today side by side.

There are a few Starrett digitals and dial ones now starting to appear which are allegedly still being made in the USA and which appear to be well priced against the Mitutoyo. I would be really interest to see how these perform as my Tesa will need replacing.

[TobyParticipant @toby]

Keep an eye on MSC, they occasionally have mytutoyo verniers on sale.

eg this one: **LINK**

was selling for £59.99 (plus vat) a couple of weeks ago.

Personally I have a couple of cheap Moore and Wright 6" from machine DRO, these ones:

**LINK**

I was testing one of them today against some slip gauges and they were no more than 1/2 a thou out (which is their resolution) from 1/4" to 3". Given the slip gauges are probably well over 50 years old and more than a bit rusty in places I didn't think that was too bad

More importantly they are consistent, even with a significant variation in pressure, something I have found a problem with the cheap no-name verniers I have.

[nigel jones 5Participant @nigeljones5]

My mid range set are Sealey – I use the cheapo ones as well. Given the variability in results (once did a very boring gauge R&R on it) there seems no benefit accuracy wise in buying expensive.

[Nick_GParticipant @nick_g]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 12/02/2017 19:02:53:

Posted by petro1head on 12/02/2017 18:29:35:

What would you say is a mid price point

How about £23.70 on special offer?

http://www.machine-dro.co.uk/150mm-6-digitronic-digital-caliper-moore-wright-basic-line-110-dbl-series.html

Neil

.

Those are the M&W ones I mentioned previously that ended up in my junk bin.

Nick

[petro1headParticipant @petro1head]

What are absolute digital calipers

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by petro1head on 12/02/2017 19:06:48:

I could do with something of a known measurement to test accuracy.

.

These are made for the job: **LINK**

http://www.hroberts-di.com/precision-measuring-tools/micrometers/micrometer-standards/starrett-234ma-25-micrometer-end-measuring-rod-25mm/

Various lengths available … and silly-cheap ^^^

MichaelG.

[ronan walshParticipant @ronanwalsh98054]

I had several sets of the aldi/lidl ones and they didn't last long at all. They simply stopped working and replacing batteries did nothing to help. On. The other hand the mitutoyos were kept in the same place and worked perfectly.

[petro1headParticipant @petro1head]

Yes however postage is £10!!! For one 25mm long item.

Cromwell tools have them and manage to find a 10% discount code

Thanks for telling me what to look for though

 

Edited By petro1head on 12/02/2017 20:25:27

[petro1headParticipant @petro1head]

These look more like the real thing **LINK** ?

Looking at the fake comparison site

[TobyParticipant @toby]

Posted by Nick_G on 12/02/2017 19:28:52:

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 12/02/2017 19:02:53:

Posted by petro1head on 12/02/2017 18:29:35:

What would you say is a mid price point

How about £23.70 on special offer?

http://www.machine-dro.co.uk/150mm-6-digitronic-digital-caliper-moore-wright-basic-line-110-dbl-series.html

Neil

.

Those are the M&W ones I mentioned previously that ended up in my junk bin.

Nick

can I ask why?

like I said earlier, I have two of these and cannot fault them for the price……

[Nick_GParticipant @nick_g]

.

Hi Toby,

Would frequently find themselves a new zero point combined with wild readings. These readings were usually so far off the mark that an error was obvious. But did little for me to have any confidence in them. They also felt cheap and of no better quality than some £7 Aldi ones I once bought.

Taking them to bits and cleaning helped sometimes but an expensive or frustrating mistake was only a matter of time.

Nick

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

OK, it's clear that not enough people who are contributing to this thread read MEW (shame on you!)

To show you what you are missing and shed some light on different calipers, please see this article I have uploaded:

http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/article/digital-caliper-comparative-review/

Neil

[Nick_GParticipant @nick_g]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 12/02/2017 21:26:21:

OK, it's clear that not enough people who are contributing to this thread read MEW (shame on you!)

To show you what you are missing and shed some light on different calipers, please see this article I have uploaded:

http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/article/digital-caliper-comparative-review/

Neil

.

Thanks for the link Neil,

But what IMHO would really be of value in a review is one written by someone who has used a product frequently for 12 months or so then drawn conclusions.

I however could not have done that for the budget M&W because it did not last anywhere near that long.

Nick

[petro1headParticipant @petro1head]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 12/02/2017 21:26:21:

OK, it's clear that not enough people who are contributing to this thread read MEW (shame on you!)

To show you what you are missing and shed some light on different calipers, please see this article I have uploaded:

http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/article/digital-caliper-comparative-review/

Neil

Cheers for that. Very interesting.

I suspect Nick managed to get a duff product which does happen

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