digital calipers

[marcros]

I need to get another set of digital calipers.

The aldi/lidl ones are about a tenner, and I have seen a starrett one at £55 http://www.onlyqualitytools.com/catalog ... 6_150.html

my principal use is for measuring less than a couple of inches, and mainly for measuring one component relative to another. That is, if one thing is 300 thousands of an inch, as long as the other one is also 300 thou, it doesnt really matter what the "real" measurement is.

What is the likely difference between the two? I am happy to spend enough to get a good tool that will last, but I dont know where to start. everything seems to measure down to a thousandth of an inch, and do metric and imperial, but from the labour cost in the country of manufacture, I cannot work out why one would be 5 times the price.

 

[porker]

Hi - if it were me I'd buy the Lidl ones. I have a couple of pairs and they are just as accurate as the more expensive ones. I compared them with a mates Mitutoyos as he was doubtful. The way they work is absolute so there is no cumulative error and I use them for machining metal where I want to be accurate to a thou sometimes. (Real accurate measurements I do with my M&W micrometers). I also have not had the quick drain battery issue others sometimes report and the same two pairs are 3 years old on original batteries. One I bought was a little rough feeling but I found it was a little bit of swarf that I managed to remove and they were quite smooth. I'm sure the more expensive ones are probably a little better made but for me I would rather have five cheap ones than one expensive one. If I damage a pair it is not the end of the world.
Not everyone feels like me, just my experience.

 

[Bigbud78]

I picked up a set in Aldi last week, reduced to £4.99

 

[Jacob]

I picked up a set in Aldi last week, reduced to £4.99

It's not rocket science: Lidl, Aldi, Wilko, B&Q, - they'll be good enough. Mine are "Draper" from Woolworths.

 

[marcros]

What I don't understand is what goes into the branded ones that makes them so much more expensive. I understand that accuracy/precision costs more money in manufacturing but they all seem to claim the same specs. Why does anybody buy these branded ones if a cheap one is just as good?

 

[Jacob]

What I don't understand is what goes into the branded ones that makes them so much more expensive. ..

Marketing. Some people believe the bolox.
Never give a sucker an even break.

 

[JakeS]

What I don't understand is what goes into the branded ones that makes them so much more expensive. I understand that accuracy/precision costs more money in manufacturing but they all seem to claim the same specs. Why does anybody buy these branded ones if a cheap one is just as good?

As much as I expect a lot of it will be people like Starret and Mitutoyo trading off their good reputation, there probably is some difference in production costs, all the same. I have two sets of digital callipers, one (can't remember the brand, offhand) is made of GRP or something and the other (Lidl!) of some kind of metal, which will be more expensive in and of itself and almost certainly more resistant to wear in the long term. The machining of the jaws to be perfectly parallel and run smoothly without play and so on will cost more than producing something with wider tolerances and being less picky about play.

 

[sploo]

What I don't understand is what goes into the branded ones that makes them so much more expensive. I understand that accuracy/precision costs more money in manufacturing but they all seem to claim the same specs. Why does anybody buy these branded ones if a cheap one is just as good?

As with many products, I suspect that long term reliability and quality control are two big factors. The expensive ones may use materials a little less susceptible to rust/corrosion, may use slightly better quality internal components, and ultimately will have been carefully quality tested before shipping.

A cheaper item is knocked out in greater bulk, but probably 99 out of 100 will be fine. If you want "guaranteed" accuracy, and component quality that will stand up to daily use for years, that's where the price goes up.

Look at the Axy TS-200; not a bad little saw with a bit of fettling and setup, but not rated to stand up to trade use. You could probably double the price by adding good quality control to the process line, and making a few changes to make it more likely to withstand heavy use.

The reality is that a good percentage of them are perfectly OK, need little fettling, and will probably run fine for many years with moderate use; but there's no guarantee, and there are plenty of Friday-afternoon examples around.

I look at the Festool Domino DF-700 and think that the Chinese could knock them out for a couple of hundred quid (retail); if you accept that n out of 100 might be suspect quality.

 

[marcros]

I tend to agree, particularly with the examples you have given of saws and dominos. But digital calipers, I really cannot see where the difference would be. They would use standard electrical components, which either work or dont. The machining aspect and the finish may indeed vary.

 

[sploo]

I tend to agree, particularly with the examples you have given of saws and dominos. But digital calipers, I really cannot see where the difference would be. They would use standard electrical components, which either work or dont. The machining aspect and the finish may indeed vary.

Well... there are levels of electrical components; good stuff from reputable suppliers, vs cheap knock-offs. For callipers though I suspect it's more about the skill level (and therefore salary) of operators, and quality control, which adds to the cost (vs the cheap ones).

 

[woodpig]

Biggest complaint with cheap calipers is that the batteries don't last as long in them for some reason. The other thing that I've noticed is that the display changes instantly on my 20 year old Mitutoyo calipers whilst there is a "lag" as the display catches up on my cheap ones. Some say this is less likely to happen on the cheap ones these days though. The fit and finish on the branded ones is better as you would expect and spares should be avalable if required. Mine also have a data out socket on them not that I've used it! If my best set broke for any reason I'd splash out on another decent set but that's just me. I do have several of the cheap ones but don't trust the readout for really accurate stuff. I still prefer a decent Micometer for accurate measurements but I can only go up to either 25mm or 50mm with the Mics I've got.

 

[sploo]

Biggest complaint with cheap calipers is that the batteries don't last as long in them for some reason. The other thing that I've noticed is that the display changes instantly on my 20 year old Mitutoyo calipers whilst there is a "lag" as the display catches up on my cheap ones. Some say this is less likely to happen on the cheap ones these days though. The fit and finish on the branded ones is better as you would expect and spares should be avalable if required. Mine also have a data out socket on them not that I've used it! If my best set broke for any reason I'd splash out on another decent set but that's just me. I do have several of the cheap ones but don't trust the readout for really accurate stuff. I still prefer a decent Micometer for accurate measurements but I can only go up to either 25mm or 50mm with the Mics I've got.

That (LCD update rate, battery life) will be an issue of component quality and design. I've got a cheap remote release cord for a camera, and if you put batteries in it, it's always on (LCD showing data) and runs them down fairly quickly. Same for a cheap wireless keyboard I have. The better ones have better designs, better electronics parts, and run for longer (or in the case of a camera remote - have the added cost of an off button!)

 

[JakeS]

Mine also have a data out socket on them not that I've used it!

For what it's worth, my Lidl callipers have a data-out as well, although it's not mentioned anywhere on the packaging or in the tiny leaflet that came with it! I'm not sure what I'd do with it, for that matter...

 

[woodpig]

I believe it's for use with a data logger of some type?

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I've acquired 3 sets of those calipers over the years. One was relatively expensive at about £25 (the first I bought a good ten years ago) and the other two were from the cheapie stores. All of them (and I have tested them as I was also curious) revealed no more than 4/100th of a mm difference when measuring a reference block of exactly 10mm. I was careful to not over press the jaws either because that can make a huge difference in the 2nd decimal place column. Bottom line, the cheap ones are pretty accurate and for my use which isn't engineering metal tolerances they are easily accurate enough. My general experience of wood working is that very few things require a greater tolerance than 1/10th mm accuracy. Some joints benefit from very accurate tolerances, tenons fitting mortices springs to mind for that perfect snug fit and dovetails too but in the main I've found much beyond a tenth of a mm is in the land of being a bit anal. In home related joinery (skirting, architraves etc) the tolerances are way less than that. Painters mate doesn't sell by the pallet load for no good reason :shock:

The other thing is that on a practical level, if accuracy is critical to any joint I'm making, I tend to "sneak up" on the fit and never rely on measuring it accurately to that degree off any tool. I'll always plane, scrape or whatever the final gossamer shavings to facilitate the snugness I want.

 

[Ed Bray]

When I worked in the local dockyard (early 90s) we bought a set of 6" Mitutoyo Vernier Calipers, they cost at the time well in excess of £100, when I left in 1995 I was given them as a present, three years later they had died and at that time digital calipers did not have scales on them so they were pretty much useless. I sent them off to Mitutoyo to have them repaired (remember that there were no cheap knock offs available then) and it cost about £70 including return shipping. They still work well today (although the foam in their box has had it).

I have a rather nice set of 8" Stainless Steel Digital Calipers that I use the most now (cost about £30 from Amazon a few years ago) and another set of 6" Cheapy ones that were about a tenner (can't remember from where though).

Of the 3 sets the Stainless Steel set seem the best in use (and the extra 2" doesn't hurt) but having tested them all out against each other they were all within 2/100ths mm when used against the same item and for woodworking that is plenty close enough for me.

 

[Peter Sefton]

This video review testing digital callipers shows the difference between the cheap end and your Mitutoyo Ed and some good ones in-between.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yqZx_FNbSs

Cheers Peter

 

[woodpig]

Very interesting Peter.
These are pretty good then:

http://www.igagingstore.com/6-Digital-C ... 205450.htm

At $39.00 I'd probably buy a pair but they seem to end up at £70.00 here on Amazon!

 

[sploo]

Very interesting Peter.
These are pretty good then:

http://www.igagingstore.com/6-Digital-C ... 205450.htm

At $39.00 I'd probably buy a pair but they seem to end up at £70.00 here on Amazon!

Might be worth trying http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/iGaging-Absolut ... 1179870534

 

[Peter Sefton]

Very interesting Peter.
These are pretty good then:

http://www.igagingstore.com/6-Digital-C ... 205450.htm

At $39.00 I'd probably buy a pair but they seem to end up at £70.00 here on Amazon!

I will see what I can do about getting them into the UK then.

Cheers Peter