Looking for Dial Vernier Caliper

[Cordy]

Like this one

The above is a £5 plastic model which lasted only a few days; yes, we get what we pay for.
The one mm 360 degree scale is what I like; plus the easy to read ruler

My go to Caliper is this Proops for £15, it is well made and accurate for what I need, but a tad difficult to read off the ruler

Both bought off an auction site

 

[sunnybob]

I have a "plastic" dial vernier that is bomb proof. I paid 12 euro for it about 3 years ago and i use it almost as much as a tape measure.
The only problem I had was the calibrating dial turned too easily. A small piece of blue tack solved that and it hasnt moved out of true since.
dont give up on them, just buy a slightly dearer one.

Not much good me giving a link to mine, the postage would be more than the caliper.

 

[custard]

Cordy, that's the Chinese copy of the Wiha and Rabone dial callipers. It appears they've just mimicked the overall look but used rubbish plastic and a crepe mechanism, the Wiha and Rabone originals are Swiss made and use fibreglass reinforced materials with a quality mechanism.

Here are the callipers I use most often,

At the top is a Starrett tool, the Wiha and Rabone dial callipers match it for accuracy. They read to 0.1mm (although you can interpolate by eye to half that) as opposed to the 0.01mm of the Starrett, that makes them appropriate for most woodworking purposes.

Next down is the Wiha version that the Chinese have copied.

After that is an imperial Rabone version. The two downsides, IMO, of dial callipers versus digital are that you can't switch between metric and imperial at the push of a button and there's no screw to lock off a setting.

At the bottom is a fairly new tool stocked by Peter Sefton that's a cross between a digital calliper and a wheel gauge. If you're going to work wood "by the numbers", which is consistent with owning callipers in the first place, then I've found it a pretty useful tool.

 

[Jacob]

I don't see the point of dial calipers - except for those who can't get the hang of vernier scales.
I've had one of these for 30 years or so. All the dial caliper probs mentioned above are removed at a stroke:
unbreakable - can kick then around on the work bench or drop them and stand on them - no prob
more precise than dial (though much more precise than needed for woodwork)
read both metric and imperial at a glance
lockable screw
dirt cheap.

I also have the same thing but posh and stainless steel which reads to another degree of accuracy, but it's not so easy to read and is less durable - can't really have it knocking about on the bench

PS judging by the review of the CK above, mine must be an improved model, probably Draper.

 

[mr rusty]

Seeing as how this is a woodworking forum and we aren't looking for thou accuracy, I've been using the digital caliper you can get from Amazon for £15-£16 and found it perfectly accurate - certainly for what I use it for, and at that price it can knock about the work bench.

 

[Cordy]

Thanks for the info Custard
Going to treat myself to the Wiha dialMax 4112108 at £26.99

Can't be too much different to the Wiha dialMax 4112102 for £29.99
Both on sale at the Big River
Cheers