For pity's sake guys, BUY CALIPERS !!!

[oedipoes]

While you guys are doing the effort of buying calipers, would you please consider the metrical system too?
(You know, meter, centimeter, millimeter, etc. ...)
Just push the inch/mm button, very easy, and the rest of the world will understand the bore size of your tubas too.

thanks !

Wim

[Tubaryan12]

bloke is right (again). I've had this Harbor Freight caliper for years and I used it yesterday to measure the stem on a caster for an office chair. Get one. You'll be glad you did.

Besides, where else can you go except Harbor Freight to get that smell of large quantities of Chinese oil used to protect metal from rusting?

[iiipopes]

I got mine for my birthday last year at this time on a similar deal. I use it often, not just for measuring bores, mouthpiece cups, guitar strings, etc.

[sloan]

That's fine for measuring to the nearest inch. If you want precision, consider this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Flexbar-Vernier-C ... 074&sr=1-1

[SplatterTone]

If you want precision, consider this one:

$8.95 to ship ?
They hit somebody up for $5,600, and they still want that extra $8.95. It does measure a out to 120 inches. I'll definitely keep it in mind if I ever need to make precision poles for those who would touch something with a ten-foot pole.

I've measured with H.F. calipers for a long time. Don't need no stinkin' brand name. It probably wouldn't do any good either since the H.F. is more accurate than my eyes, fingers, and measuring technique. But I go with the mechanical dial meter.

[ken k]

i know where i am going on black friday!
k

[imperialbari]

I bought one very similar to the one suggested by bloke some time ago. Actually at about half the price as analogue one I bought in the same store 20 years ago (which has become hard to read).

Only the illustrated one has a screw, which mine hasn’t, on the right side of the sliding head. What is that screw for?

Klaus

[steve_decker]

The top screw, above and to the right of the digital readout, is to 'lock' the caliper in place for measurement. The screw on the bottom side of the rule and to the rear of the digital readout is to move the slide into position.

[tokuno]

I remove the battery when I put it away. Previously, the battery seemed always dead every time I took it out. Don't know if it's due to the case pushing the 'on' button, or if it draws when it's off, but I use mine so infrequently that it's worth the little extra effort to ensure I have a working battery when I do need it.

+1

I've got one of these that I use to measure bike parts (you would think a 26.6mm seatpost would fit "okay" in a 26.8mm seat tube, but you would be wrong). They work really pretty well once you understand that it's tough measuring anything under a 0.1mm, so take multiple measurements. For some reason mine seems to go through batteries in no time flat, so keep a spare handy. To Prof. Sloan's point, a "really good" set of calipers can get ridiculously expensive.

[SplatterTone]

I hit the local Harbor Freight today, and that was the extent of my Black Friday activities. I had a $34.95 coupon for one of those Multifunction tools. I saw a commercial for a Rockwell Sonicrafter that inspired me to get the H. F. version. I tried some quick cuts using the semi-circular blade on cardboard, styrofoam board insulation, and drywall. It worked better than anything I've used in the past. I tried it on some 3/8 plywood ... not so good.

They had the diamond edge round grout blade for half price, so I got that too. I haven't tried the scraper, but I have some paint that needs it, so a test on that is planned.

Something that might be of interest to tuba repair people is a hammer with a polypropylene head that looks like it could be a good dent tapping tool. Price is $9.95.

poly_hammer.gif

[jmerring]

That's fine for measuring to the nearest inch. If you want precision, consider this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Flexbar-Vernier-C ... 074&sr=1-1

That has got to be a mis-print, or it's made of platinum and gold

[sloan]

I hit the local Harbor Freight today, and that was the extent of my Black Friday activities. I had a $34.95 coupon for one of those Multifunction tools. I saw a commercial for a Rockwell Sonicrafter that inspired me to get the H. F. version. I tried some quick cuts using the semi-circular blade on cardboard, styrofoam board insulation, and drywall. It worked better than anything I've used in the past. I tried it on some 3/8 plywood ... not so good.

They had the diamond edge round grout blade for half price, so I got that too. I haven't tried the scraper, but I have some paint that needs it, so a test on that is planned.

Something that might be of interest to tuba repair people is a hammer with a polypropylene head that looks like it could be a good dent tapping tool. Price is $9.95.

poly_hammer.gif

For the discriminating:
http://www.amazon.com/Wiha-80299-Dead-S ... et="_blank

[Kevin Hendrick]

That's fine for measuring to the nearest inch. If you want precision, consider this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Flexbar-Vernier-C ... 074&sr=1-1

That has got to be a mis-print, or it's made of platinum and gold

Look at the specs again -- that's a 10-foot-long (120-inch) vernier caliper! (stick one of those in your shirt pocket)

[imperialbari]

Is wood still called vernier when it is 12 foot thick?

[sloan]

That's fine for measuring to the nearest inch. If you want precision, consider this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Flexbar-Vernier-C ... 074&sr=1-1

That has got to be a mis-print, or it's made of platinum and gold

Look at the specs again -- that's a 10-foot-long (120-inch) vernier caliper! (stick one of those in your shirt pocket)

It's for measuring BATs.

[Dean E]

That's fine for measuring to the nearest inch. If you want precision, consider this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Flexbar-Vernier-C ... 074&sr=1-1

120-inch capacity, for when you DO want to touch something with a ten-foot pole.

[Jesse Brook]

I don't think I've ever come across a situation where anyone would need a set of $5600, 10-foot long calipers. 2 feet, maybe, but 10 feet can be precision measured with some of the laser measuring systems that are now available.

Personally, 6 inches does for me.

[oldbandnerd]

I went to my local Harbor Freight here in Richmond,Va. . Sold out ! But ....... they gave me a rain check ! They even asked me how many I wanted to buy with the rain check. Maybe I should buy 2 . The regular price is $29.99.

[Rick Denney]

Is wood still called vernier when it is 12 foot thick?

Okay, Klaus has had his fun.

But in case folks don't know what "vernier" means, it's a highly accurate scale that allows one to magnify the readings of a mechanical scale by a large amount. I have a set of vernier calipers (not dial calipers, or digital readout calipers, like the ones Bloke linked) that measure easily to the nearest thousandth. And that is accuracy, not just precision. And, yes, I have compared them to my micrometers, which measure to the nearest ten-thousandth, also using a vernier scale.

I bet Dan Schultz can read a vernier scale in his sleep. I learned by reading old-fashioned surveying equipment.

My Mauser vernier calipers were made by the Mauser gun company in Germany before WWII. They read inches on the front (with a vernier scale that reads to the nearest thousandth, and metric on the back that reads to the nearest 0.1 mm, though the metric scale was a quickie extra feature and it isn't accurate. After maybe 70 years of use, they still work perfectly. Worth a lot more now than when my grandfather bought them.

I cannot imagine what one must do to make 10-foot calipers read accurately under a range of temperature. Even 6-inch calipers can lose their .001" accuracy more than +/- 5 degree C from their calibration temperature. For a 120" caliper, the reading out at the end will change .002" for every degree C of temperature change if it is made of stainless steel, which I hope it is not.

For the Holton, a dressmaker's cloth tape measure has about 10 times the precision employed by the factory.

Rick "who also has metric dial calipers that are much more fiddly than vernier calipers" Denney

[iiipopes]

...And that is accuracy, not just precision.

It is good to again see someone who knows the distinction, in context.