Calipers

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My friend with 40+ years experience and his own machine shop won't have anything but Starrett or Mitutoyo in his work area.
When I was working, I thought Starrett was the best, but had a cautionary experience recently. I bought a 13 C double square off eBay, and it was not square on the ends of the rule. It may have been a Chinese knockoff. Buy from a reputable machine tool supply house or buy a used set with a right to inspection and return.
My Starrett tools from 40 years ago are still going strong and a delight to use.
 
They make a lot of different models you would have to be more specific?

They are some of the better ones. But are the worth paying that much for them? Either here or another forum compared the high end, to the lower end and for reloading the cheap ones work just fine.

Of course the guys that are machinists need the really good ones.

Your money.:)
 
I bought my 6" Swiss Made Brown and Sharp dial calipers NIB in 1965 and they have served me well.

I've own/owned many Starrett precision instruments over the years and they all have served me well also.
 
Real Starret tools along with Brown & Sharpe are great tools, have some that I bought in the mid/late 60's. Still work great, of course I take good care of them.

For reloading I bought a cheap pair of digital calipers from ALDI grocery store. They work fine for that.
 
What's a good website for quality machinist tools where you won't run into the chance of Chinese fakes ?
 
Reloading doesn't require extreme precision in calipers. Even an expensive Starret will be junk after dropping it on the concrete floor. The $15 Harbor Freight model I own has served me well for years. Keep it clean and don't drop it, and it works fine. Measures accurately every time. I can easily tell the difference between .357 jacketed and .358 cast.
 
I purchased two sets of VERY good name, used dial calipers on eBay for $15 each, shipped.

I almost bought more,, it was addictive, they were so cheap.
I wanted more, More, MORE!! :eek:

The old Brown and Sharpe are WAY better than ANY new ones,
even Starrett and Mitutoyo,,

The great old dial calipers are a joy to use!! :D
 
I have a lot of Starrett gauges and measuring devices. I have 2
Dial Indicators, Depth Mics, Standard Mics, various gauges
Squares from 1" to 18", Protractors, many small tools... All top
quality. Bought from yard sales and flea markets around Mill
and factory towns for practically nothing. I have a $50 dail
Caliper that I use for reloading. I use to not trust it and would
check it with Starrett caliper with vernier read out. Found it to
be good enough for this kind of work.
 
Nick B said:
What's a good website for quality machinist tools where you won't run into the chance of Chinese fakes ?
Click to expand...
I get my tools from Enco.
Example: Their bore and hole gauges:
Enco - Guaranteed Lowest Prices on Machinery, Measuring Tools, Cutting Tools and Shop Supplies
They specify which tools are imported and also carry the top brands.

I got a (Chinese) RCBS stainless .001" caliper 30 years ago and it still works well for reloading.
They may have made them better then than they do now.
 
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After 35 yrs. as a machinist/toolmaker, it's my considered professional opinion that you can't go wrong with anything that's marked Starrett. Brown & Sharpe or Mitutoyo are equally good, but again, they are all top-o-the-line, and the Chinese calipers are inexpensive and adequate for reloading purposes.

Larry
 
I have 3 that I work with, a 6 in Starrett dial, a 6in Harbor freight digital and a knock-off 4 in digital from ebay. Of the three the Starrett is the smoothest operating and has been the go-to for the longest time. I use the other 2 when I'm lazy and don't want to read the dial.

The only real comment I could add for those reading the thread to gain some info is that the Starrett and HF have the thumb wheel for adjustment supporting one handed operation to speed things up when in use. The other is just a slider and I use it to set a dimension and lock it down for fixed tasks such as OAL.
 
I have an 8" Mitutoyo dial caliper and a 6" no-name dial caliper, both stainless steel. Absolutely nothing is stamped on the 6" one to indicate its origin. Nonetheless, it is high quality and produces the exact same readings as the Mitutoyo. It's the one I use the most, as being shorter it is handier. I'd rather have a dial caliper than one with the digital readout. I also have a 20" vernier caliper, but very seldom use it. It will measure to 1/128"
 
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Very nice!
I too prefer the dial for calipers.
Also like the round roller style instead of the thumb slide.
I got a digital micrometer but I can still read a dial caliper.
Once I figured out about the depth gauge part at the end, I now use that almost as often as the length part.

Here's the 30+ year old RCBS caliper.
One thing I like about it is the high "gear ratio" which makes the .001 marks easy to read.
That dial really whips around when you are returning it to 0.
 

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I have some of the name brand measuring tools. They are great. However, the $20 digital calipers I use constantly are quicker and easier to use. They give me the EXACT same measurements as the Starrett tools. That said, I'm happy if I can hold my dimensions to+\-.001 or so. I have a buddy that makes some pusher parts for me when I want to take a break or get behind. He uses a big Bridgeport mill. I use a smaller import mill. His parts and mine are interchangeable. They have to be pretty much dead on to fit without a lot of fitting. My point here is that aside from pride in ownership, the Chinese measuring tools are pretty durn accurate. More than enough so for most applications.
 
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