Dial Calipers Accessories,,, I Do Not Know,, HELP!!

SweetMK

SweetMK

Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2012
Messages
1,934
Reaction score
3,170
Location
Near Roanoke VA
I got a $30 Helios caliper off of eBay today,,

The caliper works great,, but, it came with a half dozen accessories,,

The two black pointy things clamp to the caliper jaws,, so I could see using those.

The four stainless steel things got me stumped,, any idea what they would be good for??
( My guess is they are DIY,, the small spot welds do not look like "Helios" quality,,)

What is your guess??


caliper helios3.jpg


caliper helios.jpg


caliper helios2.jpg
 
Register to hide this ad
The black pointy things are for measuring center to center on holes, scribing an arc or circle, measuring from one center punch mark to another, etc.

The other ones may be extensions that are clamped on to the jaws to measure inside a hole or an outside dimension where you need extended jaws to reach the feature to be measured. Someone had a specific use for those.
 
Previous owner probably made them up for some special measurement application. Once I made up a device that attached to a spindle micrometer to measure tubing wall thickness precisely. Fairly crude but it served my needs.
I could probably come up with a simpler device to precisely measure the distance between hole centers.
 
Last edited:
I ASSUME (you know what assuming does,,,,,,,,,,)
that PAT will roll over in his grave when he sees how I abuse the calipers,,

Well,, not so much abuse,, but, use them in dirty conditions.
My main hobby is welding,,
calipers and slag from welding do not play well at all.

This is my 5th set of originally high dollar calipers since 2012.
That is not too bad,, but, the gear hits that "chip",, and "skips" position,

Sometimes I continue using them, and it will skip back,,, :eek:

The one this is replacing is a dual needle Helios
it has both a metric and an inch needle,,

The inch needle is the only one that has ever skipped,,
If I switch to metric (never!!) it would be a perfect caliper.+

I have always been lucky enough to get the originally high dollar calipers for about $30,,
at that price, you can not worry too much,,,,,,,:D
 
For $30 bucks you did well! I too have a tool box drawer filled with calipers, micrometers, gauges of all kinds and lots of measuring devises. I could just picture my kids faces going through my tools when I am no longer here. They are not into tools so they will be clueless.

Here is a picture of just one drawer - lots of stuff on the bench too for easy access and frequent use.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_3797.jpg
    IMG_3797.jpg
    98.5 KB · Views: 83
chief38 said:
For $30 bucks you did well! I too have a tool box drawer filled with calipers, micrometers, gauges of all kinds and lots of measuring devises. I could just picture my kids faces going through my tools when I am no longer here. They are not into tools so they will be clueless.

Here is a picture of just one drawer - lots of stuff on the bench too for easy access and frequent use.
Click to expand...
+

And that was the free shipping price,, I made an offer, she came down,, $7,, IIRC,,

Such tools are cheap now.
 
SweetMK said:
I was playing with the caliper today,,, Hmmmmmmm,,

Is this the possible use?? View attachment 696912
Click to expand...

Yes. That would be for an outside measurement like a brake disk. You can probably turn them around and do inside measurements like pipe, tube, etc. You can take the measurement, record or remember the reading on the caliper, remove the caliper, set it back to that reading, and measure across the tips with another caliper for inside or outside.
 
I have three dial calipers, 4”, 6”, and 8”. Prefer dial calipers to a digital readout. The one used the most is the 6”, a no-name brand from China. The other two are Mitutoyos. I just prefer the feel of the Chinese version. I also have a large (2’) vernier caliper, do not remember where I got it. It has come in handy a few times over the years. Enough to keep it hanging on its hook in the garage.
 
SweetMK said:
I ASSUME (you know what assuming does,,,,,,,,,,)
that PAT will roll over in his grave when he sees how I abuse the calipers,,

Well,, not so much abuse,, but, use them in dirty conditions.
My main hobby is welding,,
calipers and slag from welding do not play well at all.

This is my 5th set of originally high dollar calipers since 2012.
That is not too bad,, but, the gear hits that "chip",, and "skips" position,

Sometimes I continue using them, and it will skip back,,, :eek:

The one this is replacing is a dual needle Helios
it has both a metric and an inch needle,,

The inch needle is the only one that has ever skipped,,
If I switch to metric (never!!) it would be a perfect caliper.+

I have always been lucky enough to get the originally high dollar calipers for about $30,,
at that price, you can not worry too much,,,,,,,:D
Click to expand...

Some calipers have a very thin piece of brass you can put in the gear rack, close and it will skip back where it should be.
I used to hide mine under the foam the caliper rests in.
 
Tool hound forever!

Pushing 80, retired several years now, but still cannot pass up a tool at bargain price if I see one. Usually garage or estate sales.

My whole career involved with precision measurement tools and still today I get a laugh out of remembering my machine shop days right after getting out of the Army. It was late 60's early 70's and in those days we had to buy our own tools. Yes, they were checked and calibrated annually by the Company, but we had to buy them usually with payroll deduction.

Anyway...Chinese or Japanese stuff was simply unheard of. It just wasn't done. What I do remember is the Starrett Tool Salesman and his tool truck showing up EVERY payday and making I guess...dang good money off of us guys on dayshift.

Remember the " $5 for $10" loan sharks in the Army who always were about 10 feet off the paymaster on payday to collect their "payments"? Well this Starrett guy was about the same...pick what you want from a great selection of shiny new tools (in THE boxes by the way:D:D) don't worry about price...he sends the bill to the company.

Anyway.........got so bad that a lot of us deep in debt, but with very decent toolboxes (my Kennedy still full, still locked, still in the Garage) started hollering out "HERE COMES THAT ATHOL FROM MASSACHUSSETTS AGAIN....WATCH YOUR WALLETT"

I still think my Starrett tools are every bit as good as my Brown & Sharpe, and I do admit that I own Mitutoyo Digital Calipers but still revert to my dial ones. Fortunately I have sons (and daughters) who have always appreciated good quality tools and know how to use them.
 
Starrett was once the premium brand for precision measuring tools, Lufkin was up there, Brown & Sharpe was always one of the top ones. Lufkin is long since gone, Starrett has been going downhill for the last 30 - 40 years. Brown & Sharpe and Mitutoyo are now 2 of the best ones. There are others, too many to name them all.

You can still get beautiful vintage Starrett, B&S, Lufkin, etc. for pennies on the dollar off eBay or Amazon.
 
Well, I can not resist,, sometimes,,
I bought another,, this will be a basement workshop caliper,,

I got it off eBay as the second bid, $7.50,, ( I can afford that!! LOL!! )

The back is marked as a depth gauge,, in fractions of an inch ( 1/4" etc,,)

I have never seen that on a caliper,, they are normally in thousandths,, ??

caliper.jpg

caliper rear.jpg
 
I have Brown & Sharpe, Starrett, Lufkin, Mitutoyo and maybe one I forgot. I also have around 10 micrometers and my Fav is the Brown and Sharpe 0 - 1". I've got Starrett mic's up to 5" - 6", but my fav. Dial Caliper is my Starrett. Yes, no doubt the B&S is smoooooth, but I can read the Starrett better and I have more accessories for it.

My suggestion for many years in my posts has always been if you are in the market for precision measuring instruments, before buying imported el cheapo's look at eBay for a gently used B&S or Starrett. They sell for ridiculously low prices and many are in excellent shape.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
How do I know if my grips are for my revolver….
Replies
4
Views
800
nedlate
N
B
Stubborn barrel pin - help!
Replies
7
Views
534
-BTM-
B
22lrfan
Polishing Nickel Help
Replies
7
Views
694
stansdds
S
D
Easy sight upgrade not so easy
Replies
2
Views
429
daveboy
D
W
K-22 help
Replies
9
Views
713
Warf Rat
W

Latest posts

Back
Top