Expensive vs Cheap Calipers | Are They Worth the Money?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ม.ค. 2021
- Today we're going to look at three different calipers, ranging in price from less than $20 to more than $100. What are the differences, and is it worth the extra money to buy the premium brand?
Calipers featured in this video:
*This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Mitutoyo 6"/150mm Digital Caliper (Amazon*): amzn.to/3qJTtKv
Aventor 8" DPS IP54 Caliper (eBay*): ebay.to/37y1Tg3
Pittsburgh: www.harborfreight.com/6-in-di...
Shars Ultra Precision 1-2-3 Blocks (pair) (eBay*): ebay.to/2RxwqWc
Raw Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
After reading the comments, I bought a brand new Pittsburgh caliper last night to see if they're any different now.
The new one is DREADFUL. It's nothing like the old one I showed in the video. It looks like it was ground by scraping it on a brick. Even after disassembling, cleaning, and deburring, it still doesn't slide smoothly and I can't get it to repeat consistently within .03mm. The fit on the beam is so bad that the inside jaws often get hooked on each other and they have to be separated to get it to open.
Refund them.
This and the battery life that people have mentioned. The other joy that you can get with current cheap import calipers is that they can miscount. So you're moving the jaw and it counts 1mm, 5mm 10mm, 87mm, 25mm. Unless you've seen it or it ends up with an obviously stupid number, your part is going to come out to the wrong dimension. You end up taking the measurement two or three times with a good zeroing between each. Being able to trust that what the decent caliper says is true (and repeatable) is worth the sanity conservation alone.
Like you, my import calipers are reserved for scribing...only I use the decent ones to set the gap as the battery will always be dead.
Incidentally, I found the IP67 Mitutoyo's (got them on a good sale from a reputable distributor) to be a much smoother slide than even the standard Absolute ones. Perhaps that was just luck or lapping - either by factory or use.
Go buy an igaging one!
The real thing to investigate is that the igaging ones are likely capacitive (based on another TH-camr who reviewed their digital mill scales). The mill scales video comments triggered speculation that the capacitive might drift through time. However the incremental performance was exceptional for the price
I wonder if the expensive calipers (mitutoyo etc) use glass scales? (Don't drop them?) That might be the real easy to cluster these things?
However the igaging have super measuring electronics. Above average mechanicals (no gaps in the jaws). But seem priced in the cheapie category
Hidden gem I feel.
Thanks for sharing this!! A few months ago, I got a cheap caliper from Menards and had to return it due to a similar quality issue. I checked many (15+) of them in Menards and Harbor Freight store that day. I luckily found one in the bottom of the stock from H.F., the quality is somehow significantly different. I thought I was picky until seeing this comment XD.
I picked up some pittsburgh last week and it works exactly as your video describes, there may be some bad batch discrepancies? go exchange them and see if it gets any better.
I used to work at a waterjet company doing QC. One way I tried to avoid confirmation bias was to have someone else measuring the part without knowing what the correct dimension was supposed to be while I was checking the blueprints and verifying if it was within tolerance.
I've always asked someone else to check my work. Particularly the first off of a batch of components. Because if I have read the drawing wrong and made a mistake (I am after all only human) then when I check it I will assume that it is also correct because no one ever thinks that they have made a mistake.
@@GuyFromSheffieldUK "no one ever thinks that they have made a mistake" Wrong -- from someone with a self-faith problem. ;-)
Waterjet is such a cool company I got to talk to some of their engineers a few years ago. They really know design well.
That was a guiding principle of quality control in several shops I've worked in. Keep taking measurements until you get one you like, then ship it.
Well, as long as you used a good quality caliper to do it. :-)
As a buyer I have guiding principle as well. If I see the place using calipers for inspection of precision parts, find another vendor.
A good quality program will get the same go/no go, answer no matter who measures it. They should know when the measuring tool does not have the accuracy required for the measurement and choose a better tool for the job. The small difference one person may get vs the next should be small enough that it is rare one person would reject vs another accept.
@@court2379 that's when a gauge r&r study would be in order. You could ask for that from your supplier because calipers may be good enough if your supplier has talented people. But a go/no go is generally better because it's bulletproof
@@court2379 been a long time since I worked in a machine shop, but I don't remember a pair of calipers anywhere in that shop. It was all micrometers. Our quality control was within thousands of an inch and even though a caliper can show that it wasn't the most accurate way to measure the part.
I once worked for an automotive supplier that did just that even using a coordinate measuring machine showing parts to print tolerances when they were not.
Mitutoyo has/had a patent on a battery saving feature for calipers etc, so the batteries on Mitutoyo calipers last significantly longer than the cheapies. The battery saving feature alone to me makes the Mitutoyos always the best choice for calipers. Nothing sucks more than needing to use calipers and having dead or dying batteries. Also the accuracy will drop as the batteries die (but it's usually pretty obviously off). There are some solar powered ones out there now as well, not sure how they are.
The accuracy of the scales is typically pretty similar among digital calipers as they're made via lithography and cheap to make accurately. Jaw fit/finish can differ, but accuracy is typically pretty similar among calipers. When in school for machining years ago, calipers were generally considered to be acceptable on ±0.005" tolerance parts. Anything tighter tolerance required micrometers or better. Not sure how much I agree with this, but I usually use it as a reference point if I'm questioning a measurement.
Also, great videos! Super informative and interesting!
I was once told never turn off the Mitutoyo. So I don't.
I get 2-3 years no problem.
The 5 thousandths rule is pretty good. The calipers are precise to the nearest thousandth but the operator is precise to the nearest 5 thousandth more likely.
You're trying to justify overpaying lol
I've got the solar powered mitutoyo. I think it got some capacitor inside and even with weak light conditions it's going and going... indefinitely. But as mentioned in video... I bought mitutoyo mainly to have (maybe false :D ) feeling of a good tool in my hands. Nothing more can justify that price, just that feel... :))
Before mitutoyo I had and I was preferring my beloved old mechanical caliper which I got when I was at high school. Unfortunately my friend lost that mechanical classic somewhere... =( Golden rule there says: "if you don't want it, lent it to someone" :D
@@MartinNyxel Lent started today actually. So I assume you're giving up measuring?
All my cheap callipers actually retain their position when off. Thats also why their batteries die so quickly, because they need to keep track off their position when turned off. The more expensives ones do this to, only they consume much less energy when turned off.
Same here. I have an old Cen-Tech brand from Harbor Freight that retains the position and sucks the life from a battery in only a few months. My better calipers last much longer....
This is the primary reason I bought the Mitutoyo, the difference in battery life is ridiculous
+1 I have 2 pairs of Neiko of different models that retain it as well. ~$25 on amazon.
@@stuckinpants complety true....I have one mitutoyo with at least 8 years with original battery....and they don't turn off....I let it long nights and weekends on.....
Simple solution is just remove the battery when you don't use it. Yes you must zero it again when you turn it on. Not real hard to do. Also I have had enough batteries leak and destroy equipment that it is not worth the risk to leave a battery in an expensive tool.
For work, I've always purchased the cheap ones as they tended to disappear from or get broken in the toolbox drawer for some strange reason. I bought some when Harbor Freight had them on sale at $9.99 years ago. I think 7 was the maximum number that could be purchased with the coupon and I still have some of those. I had the same problem keeping track of tape measures until I started buying ones marked in tenths of feet. I knew who had one when I'd hear them swearing as they tried to measure something.
A tenth of a foot - would that be called a toe ? ;)
Tenths (and hundredths) actually common in American engineering... trying to do the best with an awkward system.
I hate it when I’m trying to decide what is the larger (or smaller) still bit - 7/32” or 17/64”... or plywood at the local big box - I used to get 1/2” ply, or 3/4, but now I’m purchasing 11/64”???
@@millomwebHalf a toe
@@DanielinLaTunaand thats why everyone except the US uses the metric system
For a nicer caliper you can't beat the Coolant Proof caliper from Mitutoyo, it's adds dust and coolant protection, and auto on/off. Also as someone who has done measuring tool calibration, the Mitutoyo will measure accurately longer, when properly cared for I've seen them measure within +/- .001 for over 25 years, and that's with daily use.
Wait, are you telling me these ones don't have auto on/off? I have a $3 Chinese plastic caliper and it has auto on/ off
How can you see .001 what a load of horse shit
@@FilipeDGuedesChinese calipers use more electricity then mitutoyo or starret. You can leave your mitutoyos on for weeks.
@@FilipeDGuedesyeah they don't and it sucks
I’ve had my coolant proof mitutoyos for a few years now and I’d never go back to anything else, you can just feel the craftsmanship. The smoothness of the slide, the accuracy and tightness of the roller wheel, the amazing 3+ year battery life, and the ability to not worry about coolant spraying on them is just the best. I also will never use a caliper that doesn’t have an absolute encoder
One thing I’ve noticed that you didn’t mention is how parallel the jaws are between brands. Close the jaws and hold them up to the light. I’ve found the cheap ones to have gaps. Meaning your reading will be different depending on where on the jaws you are placing the part.
The cheapos are awesome for scribing and hacking into custom tools, such as a quill “DRO”.
Yarr. The few problems I've had with cheap digital calipers have all been due to the metalwork, not the electronics.
My Workzone ones are pretty good, on the jaw parallelness (is there such a word?), but as has already been pointed out, callipers aren't designed for 10,000th accuracy.
If I'm working to within a couple of thou, I swap to a micrometer.
Did you adjust the gib snug before checking that?
@@court2379 I did not. I’ll have a look see at my calipers and see if still have a pair that’s wonky.
@@chrisj4570g Above the display in the metal part of the frame there are two set screws. They push on a brass strip that keeps the frame tight on the scale.
With light pressure the frame should not tilt when you close on the part, or zero them. Too many press way too hard though. That they can move though is why they are only reliable to .002-.003. Any measurement needing greater accuracy should be done with something like micrometers.
I have a homemade yardstick made from a willow branch, graduated in feet. Works just fine for sawing firewood.
You don't need a tool to measure firewood.
Everything you said had a great value. I enjoyed watching and always learn something, thanks!!!
Thanks James. I love your practical approach. You appear to be someone who is meticulous & fastidious (in a good way), yet your approach is practical & real to issues like this. I totally agree with your assessment of these type of calipers also.
I am about to buy a caliper for a hobby of mine and didn’t know what to get. I’m glad I found your video. Thank you for putting the time to make it. Very useful.
As you said: The battery drain is often a problem. I compared a cheap and a Mitutoyo once in detail. The cheap one drained 10 times the current than the Mitutoyo. And just for kicks: I turned off both and realized the cheap one didn't changed the current. It just turns off the display, that's all. The Mitutoyo dropped down to nearly nothing. About 200 times less the cheap one had.
And another thing I noticed: The measurement consistency and stability. The cheap one is hopping around a lot on the last digit and repeated measurements often differ more or less a lot. The Mitutoyo shows very fast a bang on value without hopping around.
I am happy with my Mitutoyo and the cheap ones I use for scraping stuff.
So I do agree with you. You don't need the expansive once. But it's just a pleasure to work with. So, it depends...
I still use my 6 and12" Mitutoyo calipers I bought in 1998, I check for calibration every 2 months with gauge blocks. My previous 6" Mitutoyo calipers I bought in 1981 were still good when I gave them to my dad after I bought the newer ones. They bought some cheap ones at work, several have failed but I would not trust the workers to treat a Mitutoyo with the same care I do. Quality lasts.
Sorry, that should have been 1988, not 98 :-)
Good video. Funny enough, it was one of your 3D printer videos I saw some time back that led me to looking into better calipers. I saw the Aventor on your desk, took a screenshot, and zoomed in to read the name. And here I am, researching now. Thanks for this video
"Or you like nice things and it makes you happy...". Thanks mate, I needed that! I do like nice things. I'm going to put the cheapies on the back shelf and spend a few bucks on some nice toys. Just needed a gentle prod down the right path for me.
Nigel Eaton cheap ones are good to keep at the bottom of a "to go" toolbox, protected by high quality cardboard.
Great video as always James! I usually buy the cheap one by the dozen when they go on discount. One thing you did not mention is how crooked the tangs for internal measurement are. Usually not bad precision for external but awful for internal. When I am too lazy to get out the telescopic gauges, my starett caliper works great for bearing fits, but I would never rely on a cheap one. On the other hand I would never use a good one to mesure a stock piece in a rusty stock pile...
I buy Mitutoyo for multiple reasons. At the price it is amazing we are able to get such a finely made tool. They set the bar to which others aspire and I like to support that. I don't ever have to wonder if I got an accurate measurement.
James, very good advice you give here. For scribing bar stock I use a set of cheapo 0/6" callipers. For measuring functions I have a couple of In size brand callipers ,one set with carbide faced jaws, which are in the middle quality category.
Another useful aid in achieving greater reading accuracy consistency is a thumb pressure regulating device. These are either a small spring and plunger or piston plunger over air inside a small dia cylinder. This device regulates the users thumb pressure to a more consistently repeatable level.
Very good video. You brought out several things I have never consciously considered. Thank you for sharing!
I don’t use the thumb roller to measure, only to drive the jaws. I find it much more repeatable to squeeze the jaws parallel to the part when making a reading.
@@jimbrady1776 nah. If he can make accurate measurements and repeat them with his method he is using them correctly. The thumb roller gives you a sensitive adjustment but it doesn’t act as a ratchet stop on a mic would. At least mine don’t. Some larger calipers don’t even have a thumb roller.
One thing I'll do if I'm trying to be as accurate as possible with calipers like this is grip it by the blades. I find that this minimizes the differences if you use a little more or less force. It also helps lower the amount of leverage you are exerting on the tool - helps you align the caliper for the most accurate measurement. Obviously, this isn't always practical or necessary.
I worked in a production guitar shop for a decade - I did a LOT of things with a pair of cheap calipers that it wasn't supposed to do ... :D
I too use my cheap calipers as a scribe
Thanks James. I always find it so satisfying to scribe something with my cheap calipers. I can quickly get a reasonably accurate mark and not fret about abusing my real measuring instruments. The cheap caliper is a tool - and I understand and use it as such. 👍👍😎👍👍
I've been using my OEM branded calipers for years and they've always been good enough for what I use them for. Great video .
Years ago I took my cheap Hornady set to a USAF lab I was in as a part of an inspection I was in charge of. After BSing with the airmen they checked the calipers on ceramic blocks and to everyone's amazement they passed. There is more user induced error than caliper error most of the time.
I’ve used calipers a long time and all you’ve said about pressure is worth paying attention to, especially if you are a reloader, which I am. Bullet feed is dependent on cartridge length as is pressure-deeper seating raises pressures. When pushing the upper limits use a gauge, not calipers, just like using a micrometer for exact readings.
I use the HF digital micrometers for measuring bullet diameter after casting and sizing and they have a clutch on the thumb knob, I'm guessing so that the pressure is consistent. The HF calipers work great for reloading, but a few thousandths won't damage anything with the loads and seating/case lengths that I use. They do vary in quality though, so I have picked through them in the store. The 4" digital calipers were junk, and would jump all over at the store. I tried a hand full of them, so I used the 6" for my tool bag. If they start to mess up, they get trashed. HF has a dial caliper with 64ths that is nice for picking drill bits. I agree with him, that it all depends on what the job is, how critical it is, how you use them, and what makes you happy. Few HF tools meet my standards, but the calipers can be quite good and I don't feel bad for having multiples or if they get bumped or eventually fail.
Actually the closer the bullet is to the lands the higher the pressure. Once you start seating deeper into the case the pressure will get lower. This is because gas can now flow around the bullet into the chamber, versus when the bullet is right at the lands it blocks off the gas flow around it, until the bullet releases. I used to think like you do, that a deeper seated bullet raised pressure, but unfortunately I found that is not true. I watched several videos, from much more skilled reloaders than I, people like Erik cortina. They explained it to me and I decided to try it for myself. I had some 165gr accubonds loaded right at jam, I was getting pressure signs way below max powder charge (mainly extractor marks and heavy/clicking bolt lift). Once I moved deeper into the case, the pressure signs started to decrease and I was able to raise my charge weight all the way to book max with no more pressure signs. I just thought I would tell you all of this, because I used to think as you do and had to learn on my own. Not trying to correct you or be a jerk, just wanted to pass on some real world useful information to a fellow reloaded. Hope this helps you in the future.
Great video and explain the feature very well. Thank you for including our Aventor caliper in your video comparison.
Great perspectives on this video! Very well done. Still very happy with my Neiko $25 caliper!
Lots to think about. I love picking up the mititoyu to measure because it works and feels nice in the hand. Good tools are hard to beat, and even harder to find nowadays. I understand however that some people don’t have the budget for the best tools, but something I have always done is budgeted and saved so that I can buy the nice tool once and be happy, instead of the cheaper tool multiple times and be unhappy.
“Buy once, cry once.”
I think you may have an older version of the "cheap" calipers. The "cheap" ones with an (in/mm/F) button retain their home position.
Ditto.
The difference between the cheap one and the more expensive ones is that just the display is turned off, so the measuring electronics still works in the background. Once you remove the battery from the cheap ones they also lose their position as they only have an incremental measuring unit. If you remove the battery from the expensive ones they keep their position as they use absolute measuring scales (not all of them).
Same here, and it's not just the newer ones that retain the reading.
I have a Workzone (ALDI) calliper, which is about 10 years old, and it holds its reading, when switched off and on again.
This may be why he reports a usable battery life. My cheap ones now have a super capacitor. I have to give them a zap in the morning, but that is easier than taking the battery out at night.
there are a lot of flavors of the cheap calipers, i have $25 caliper from taylor tools that has the abs and inc has a large screen
Thanks for the breakdown. Just picked up some Mitutoyos recently.
Great job in explaining the pros and cons of calipers! I got a lot out of your video. Thanks.
Way back in the day, AvE compared a cheap set of calipers to a set of mitutoyos, and he found that the cheap ones lost accuracy as the battery started to get low, while the real ones didn't. I know you have some electronic tools, I'd love to see how well the shars set stood up to the same kind of test.
I believe he also measured power drain when they were on / off, and the difference between the genuine Mitutoyo and the knockoff was striking. th-cam.com/video/KnDype-j3hk/w-d-xo.html
That would be interesting to try.
afaict tell there is many variations of the cheap ones, some are absolute, some are not, some eat batteries, some last years
@@fuzzy1dk That's just a part of the cheap tool lottery. The less you pay the bigger the risk that you walk away with a lemon. Even if you find some cheap brand caliper that has decent quality nothing says you will get the same quality if you buy another a month or so later. With more mainstream brands you can be pretty certain that if the tool has the same part number then it will be the same quality.
Battery life is also something that I find incredibly important. If digital calipers run out of battery they are no good for anything, and it seems to happen at the worst time.
James, thank you for your insights. My psych professor always warned us, "You tend to find what you're looking for." Now, I'm off to buy a Pittsburg caliper and looking forward to having a beautiful Mitutoyo one day :)
I bought a pair of the dial version of them a few months ago. They let me go through them and pick the best ones(jaw tips), since there was nothing to tear open. After they were stoned, cleaned, and adjusted, they are great.
Excellent video and incredibly thorough. Thank you.
Another very well done video. Thanks again James.
Thank you for this video. It’s exceptionally useful.
I have a physical disability and I’ve recently started 3D printing my own adaptive equipment. Things like small adaptors, mounts, handles etc.
There’s a huge amount of utility in being able to attach thing A to thing B when they are different brands / sizes / painted / worn etc.
I’ve found myself doing a lot of ‘relative’ dimensions based maths.
Based on this video I’m going to invest in a set of nice callipers & a set of cheap ones.
The nice set for my little workspace (corner of a bedroom!) and a cheap plastic set to live in my bag for quick and rough measuring when we’re out and about and trying stuff.
Thanks again for an exceptionally helpful video!
I've used the same HF calipers for 15 years now.. I bought a set of $50 metric dial calipers a couple months ago to match my imperial dial calipers and I love them. No batteries, no zeroing and I just love the analog "display". The digitals are cool, but if I'm gonna spend big bucks on measurement tools, then it'll be on analog ones..
What resolution are the dials on those ? It appears vernier calipers are only to a thou.
@@millomweb Yes, the digital calipers have greater precision.
@@BryanTorok Digital calipers have imitation precision. A measurement of 1.0005" could be anywhere from 1.00026 to 1.00074. The tenths number is a joke. I can easily see the difference between 1.0003 and 1.0006 on a dial caliper.
@@millomweb Yes, verniers are marked at a thou. Dial calipers are also marked in .001 increments but it's easy to interpolate to 2 tenths or better. It requires consistent technique to be useful, though.
@@David-hm9ic Very interesting. Thanks.
Great video, before I retired as an engineer, very precise measurement was achieved with micrometers. The verniers are great for quick assessment but not really the end result particularly in precision engineering.
I have half a dozen of the cheap ones for the "laying around" jobs and in the normal toolboxes. I also have a Mitutoyo for machine work that I handle with much more care. No doubt they are nicer and just feel better in the hand, but the convenience of having casual ones around is quite useful. I have stoned the edges of one of the Pittsburgh to make it feel better and it works fine. I also have a plastic one made in Switzerland (a gift that I thought was a joke but turned out to be surprisingly handy). It stays in my computer bag for quick checks and makes it through airport x-rays without question. One of my newer Pittsburgh ones has auto-on and that's a nice feature. Thanks for the candid review and keep up the good work.
I've had a Mitutoyo for 25 years. Still works flawlessly. You get what you pay for.
Agreed - I have two digital calipers I keep in my tool box, a 300 dollar coolant proof Mitutoyo, and a $30 imaging. The latter is for when I need to measure something where theres a risk of damage( like say dropping into the chip conveyor 😩), or as a loaner..
@@machinist7230 I'm the same. I have my shitty el cheap for general give me an idea readings. If it breaks or gets nasty chemicals on it I won't lose sleep over it.
😍 Straight from the Mity' vs fake to this one. Liked this vid. Good, pragmatic comparison between price points. Totally agree with your points about having a tool that just works, is a pleasure to use and is trustworthy. I do more electronics then mechanical, but the same thing applies to multimeters. Using a cheap meter may be accurate enough, but having a good meter that I can trust without second guessing the results all the time is most definately worth the extra dosh.
Agreed. You can view having a nice tool as a simple luxury that some can afford, or you can view it as streamlining a process so using the tool doesn't interrupt the other things your brain is trying to do at the same time. If it's being used in a for-profit enterprise, it makes sense to spend a little more and remove friction. If it's a hobby, buy what makes you happy.
I really like your perspective on this. People don't always realize that there is more than one way to look at the "best".
Another great video. Different price point tools have different purposes. The harbor freight are deff great for leaving at a band saw, near grinder, or any other area where abrasives and grit lurk. I have the coolant proof mitutoyo since I run Cnc with coolant and they are worth every penny for piece of mind
6:00 also note that .9995 is closer than .999, the mit. literally has a whole other significant digit in it. love these calipers.
They all have 0.0005 resolution though. They literally have the same digit significance.
@@RTN3000 that’s not true, the harbor freight on carries significance to the thousandths. Whereas the other 2 you can see go to the ten thou.
@@dragonlord2451 Look at it more closely, they all do not have 10 digit resolution on the smallest significant digit (ie. 0/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9) . The Mitutoyo and Shars both show a "digit" in the 0.000x slot, but they all only have a half step resolution on that digit. It's either 0.0000 or 0.0005, that's what I mean when I say they all have the same significance on the thousandths.
If you look at spec sheets for any of the calipers shown, the specified resolution is 0.01mm / 0.0005in. Yes, even the Harbor Freight one.
@@RTN3000 ah, i see what you are saying now
Good video. I wish someone made a caliper with a half function like on a DRO. It would be awesome for layouts.
There’s a million dollar idea for you. 💰
Like all things, it just has to answer to your needs. Excellent no nonsense review !
Thanks! it really helped me a lot to decide which caliper to buy! :) Greetings from Buenos Aires, Argentina
I've had (and have) several middle-priced calipers that have a battery life of less than 6 months if just left in the drawer. And at least one of them does indeed give squirrly readings when the battery is dying. But that is usually pretty obvious, and trivial to fix.
Of more possible concern is really cheap calipers may not have completely parallel jaws, or the inside jaws may be off be a few thousandths from the outside jaws, or one of the depth ends may be off. Another form of this is "weak" jaws, where if you clamp down harder than you should you can easily spring the jaws (permanently) so that they are wider at the tip than the root. I guess you could probably do that to any calipers, but it is probably a little harder with the expensive ones. Or you are less likely to try to use them as pliers. :-) Of course, non-parallel jaws are trivial to check for.
You didn't mention the "origin" button on the more expensive calipers. But if you looked under the skin on the cheap ones, I think you would find contacts for a 4th button. Not that that is very useful, since there is no physical button. Most of the cheap ones also have serial pins, possibly under a removable cover, for an external reading device. Not that I've ever seen anyone selling such a device, except for dedicated "scale" calipers.
There is one other really cheap digital caliper that can be very useful in certain circumstances: plastic calipers! If you need to measure electrical things like battery terminal distances, these can be *very* useful. They are a little less accurate, since plastic is soft and expands with temperature. But over 6" they are still within 5 thousandths or so. But for $3-5 for a pair of these, and not having to worry about shorting out electrical connections and big sparks, they can be really great.
I bought a set of the plastic (may actually be fiber reinforced) calipers recommended on another channel. They are wonderful, smooth, accurate, and repeatable. On has to use some care not to force them closed because the jaws will flex more than steel. And they were really cheap.
The Mitutoyo 6” digital “coolant proof” are awesome as well and can be had for about $150. In an oily environment they work much better than the standard 6” Mitutoyo digital caliper.
I've got a Helios IP67 Digital caliper. It's not cheap but it's great. +/-0.01vs micrometer (calibrated mitutoyo). Good enough for me to use at work 👍🏼😉!
fantastic context and analysis, thank you!
Good video. One thing I missed was durability. Had my first Mitutoyo vernier caliper for 30 years before it disappeared. Dropped it a lot of times. But kept measuring as good as a vernier can.
Now has another one, usually in my trouser pocket for most everyday measurements. Only take the digital Mitutoyo or micrometers out of the drawer when needed for more precise measures.
Always keep backup cheap tools in your box as loaners. Never, ever loan your quality tools to anyone!!
HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
I do that with knives, too!
That's why I have a 300 dollar Mitutoyo, and a 30 dollar igaging. 😉👍
1¹@@cynot71
Good one! I really enjoy your vids. 🤗
Still amazed your sub-count isn’t higher. Bet it’s gonna explode any day!
Is that a CCC helmet I see in your profile pic?
Very nice, informative and educational. I have my 13 year old daughter watching your content now. Keep up the fantastic work.
You have some of the best videos on You Tube. I really enjoy the information you share.
Oh wow my dad had given me an older model Mitutoyo from his tool chest a few years ago for use in school. I had no idea it was considered premium. Gonna have to thank him again lol
Working in the trade for nearly 55 years, and seeing the younger guys gravitate to newer battery powered digital measuring tools, has taught me one thing.....the stuff doesn't last. We're still using measuring instruments (mostly Starrett) that were bought during the 1960's. Storing tools carefully, and routinely checking with standards will make them useful for years..
I have a good dial caliper on my wish list. The great thing about a physical dial is it gives you an intuitive sense of how far you are from a desired nominal dimension. You can quickly see how much further you have to go, and tolerance becomes a physical thing you can perceive spatially.
Amen to the durability of the old mechanical measuring devices. But they are only as good as their most recent calibration. When I helped the ISO guy at the plant he had to buy rulers, ordinary 18" metal rulers, that were calibrated to a standard. I was astounded to discover something like 10% of the rulers we bought (and we bought dozens) would not measure to the standard!
The oldest device I used and still own is a caliper to measure paper thickness. It has a spring to make a standard force on the measured paper, and a 1/4" flat disc top and bottom to make the measurement on a flat section. It even comes in a fitted leather case, designed to keep in a watch pocket for quick access.
I agree, but you can't beat the speed of digital instruments. When you've used a Quantumike or a motorised height gauge, it's really hard to go back.
Yeah, they still work well as long as you have a pair of *reading glasses* handy!
Great and useful video!
A little trick I learned to get accurate readings with my dial callipers is to apply finger pressure to the jaws instead of the thumb wheel. I am a bit ham handed, and I can get readings a thou or two ubder size when using my thumb to check the callipers against a standard. By holding the callipers with my right hand, and using my left thumb and fore finger to apply light pressure to the jaws adjacent to the part, I get more reliable readings. This is especially useful when I have a small part to measure, or a part that has a small width shoulder to measure. This method also tends to hold the flats of the jaws parallel to the measured surface, eliminating error caused by a cocking angle.
I tried 4 different brands of cheap calipers over the years. I always had the same problem with all of them. The display would start flashing soon after the new battery was installed, usually about a month. I gave up on them. Now I just buy the Mitutoyo brand. The wear and tear on my nerves just wasn't worth it for me.
The best option for a machine shop are analog calipers. The measurement is always reliable even under harsch coditions like coolant is splashing on them. analoge calipers from reputable brands are very afordable. I like the digital ones for 3-D printing.
Mitutoyo makes a caliper that is coolant resistant. I found the problem with analog is if you get a tiny chip in the pinion gear it jams. And the younger generation are confused with them.
@@jjw6342 What's even funnier is handing new guys in the machine shop a pair of vernier calipers.
Well fuck me to tears, analog calipers, what would the world think of next! Is that the pronoun for dial calipers? I must live a sheltered life. Analog calipers are the best option in a machine shop especially when your working on a $20,000 part and you misread the analog caliper and you scrapped the part. But hey, let's do some 3d printing and only use the digital ones. This is why this country is so fucked up and manufacturing is in the toilet and we have to compare Harbor Freight to Mitutoyo.
In a rush one day a couple years back, I picked up the only option available at the local auto parts store. Paid too much for them, and they were horrendous. But I decided to disassemble them and regrind/adjust everything. I spent way too much time getting them to perform even to the price point that I paid for them. But, they work. I'll never buy a set like that again, but I will happily continue to use those. I thought you did a very objective overview, and spoke to my experience with the various levels. More or less identical in accuracy with very few features to justify the extra expense, but the fit and finish is where the money goes on the better ones--which are undeniably better.
Thanks for the comprehensive run down on the difference between cheap and expensive digital calipers.
I know it’s probably been shared many times, but my experience with cheap calipers has been synonymous with cheap multimeters. I’ve owned 3 pairs of calipers over the last 6 years, I went through two cheap ones in the first 3 years before stepping up to a Mitutoyo which has given me 3 years of trouble free service and it’s a joy to use every time you pick it up. Same thing with meters, I’ve owned about a dozen cheap meters over a 15 year period that all broke to some degree before spending the money on a Fluke. If I had to do it again I’d buy the expensive tool on the used market 9 times out of 10.
Expensive "good" used tools can often have been abused. I would be careful about buying second hand precision tools without inspecting them in person.
Literally just got an expensive caliper. Perfect timing. Printing the return label as we speak. Off to HF I go.
What have I done?
@@Clough42 saving the “just eyeball it” hobbyist money to spend on more tools. 👏🏻👏🏻
@@undergroundupholstery I threw my cheapo in the bin, send the 70 quid Gedore caliper (made in China) back and got myself a Mitutoyo. And if it ever fails, I'll buy a new Mitutoyo. No more cheap calipers for me.
@@Clough42 you should check out the insize brand calipers. They are a nice middle ground caliper. Less money than mittoyo and not a clone either. I really like that they have an auto off feature and an auto on feature. So you don’t even need to turn on, just pick them up and move the jaws. Great video thanks.
@@1951split That's good for you but considering how good under 30$ calipers have personally performed for me, I hardly see the necessity besides speed and accuracy maybe. But besides that they have been performing great. Some 25$ Neiko calipers and some 20$ Vinca have been always super accurate and reliable, even a lot of 10-16$ cheap calipers actually perform well for several years so definitely they aren't a bad choice
My Mitutoyo caliper was bought 21 years ago and used daily until I retired 4 years later. They are still used in my home shop but obviously not nearly as much. I also Have a pair of 12" Harbor Freight calipers that I bought while still working, because I had a few jobs that needed the extra length. I was surprised by the quality fit and finish on the HF one, and equally surprised by it's automatic off feature. The Mitutoyo caliper does not have auto off, and more than once I opened my tool box to start a work day and found the caliper still on. Not a biggie, but aggravating none the less for a forgetful guy. As you pointed out, the newer HF models may not be of the same quality as the older ones. Just for the record, I do love my Mitutoyo.
Very informative. I"ve been in the market for one to use my RC hobby. I now h ave a glide line to select one. I like the Shars for my price range. Thxs.
I do a lot of wet work (heavy coolant) and the waterproof ones were a true lifesaver
tommays56 are you sure you don't work for the CIA? They mean something else by "wet work".
Not trying to blow your cover or anything!
I personally think the most useful thing on a caliper is the in/mm/F The fractional read out is really useful in my opinion, Ive not seen this on really cheap units
I have one those type from Harbor Freight, a little more expensive than the basic one in the video and the quality and feel are a bit better. The fractional capability does come in handy.
Brought a medium price 6" last week and had the usual mm thou and a fraction measurement . Real quick and easy for measuring bits.
I loved your analogies between vehicles, exercise and calipers! Nicely done.
He needs to include women, too!
@@cynot71 impossible!
people that are super concerned about accuracy should be getting this tool called a micrometer lol
But it’s so hard to read. Lol
Dragon Lord, I have got heaps of micrometers from old Slocombes thru M&W, Mitutoyo, Tesa and Etalon, calipers have their place and the really good ones are a pleasure to work with.
@@Sherpa199 for sure! Calipers are always better if you don’t need the same precision IMO they are faster and usually are more wieldy than a micrometer
@@beckyschwantes5287 you can get digital micrometer and they have veneer calipers
@@xathridtech727 I was just kidding. I can read mics. Don’t get me wrong. I would take a 0-4 set of mitutoyo .00005 inc. digital mics but I’m just not gonna pay for them. My father bought me a set of starret mics when I first got started and I still use them.
I've actually been using the even cheaper harbor freight calipers, the composite plastic ones, and I absolutely love them. They are light and I have no worries about a drop or knock messing them up, and there are no sharp edges to catch on anything. The slide feel is easy but reliable and clean. (And I got them in black rather than their garish current color scheme). They hold their battery forever, unlike the $30 ones out there.
As for zeroing, I always put them down with their jaws closed, and always turn them on before opening the jaws. This process (totally muscle memory at this point) keeps them zeroed and takes no cognitive load.
And they're so cheap I never worry about damaging them in use. My nicer calipers stay in the box because I rarely "need" the other features and worry about tweaking or bending them. Whereas the light plastic feels like it'll be fine if I knock it off a table.
The day I lose or break them, I'll actually be quite sad. I'm rather fond of them by this point.
thanks for your helpful review!
I appreciate videos like this, I know it is an old one but thought I would provide my .02.
The first set of calipers I got was a cheap < $20 model from Amazon and while it measured fine, the fit and finish was terrible and often made it hard to measure smaller objects or objects made of softer materials because it was hard to feel when you were properly flush against the object. Additionally over time it kept getting looser and the adjustment screws did not suffice. After a couple teardowns without much improvement I gave in and got the Mitutoyo calipers and couldnt be happier. The fit and finish makes such a huge difference purely for the tactile feedback you get.
Of course the irony is that I am mostly using them for prototyping 3d prints which have so many dimensional inaccuracies and variables.
As a machine rebuilder and machinist I've been using the harbor freight one for years and its great , well worth the price !
When I was the calibration guy at work we had to get Mitutoyo or Starrett. Its the calibration and quality for what you are paying for. The higher end ones can be repaired if needed. Since we are making parts for Boeing they quality of tool is expected. If we had harbor freight tools in out shop we could get laughed at and most likely questioned about our quality standards.
I assume that the final check has to be done with a traceable instrument.
I have 3 of these from HF. They are all consistent. I don't use these with my boring bar, but use them for everything else. No regrets at all. I bought all 3 of them for half the cost of the second most expensive caliper you tested. Have on in my shop, have one in my mobile tool bag and one on my sailboat.
Good video. I have an I- gauging I've been using for 6+years. It has the absolute zero too. I love it.
It's been my observation that more expensive does not always translate to better, so completely agree. Having said that, I think for dial (analog) calipers, price and quality do go hand in hand. I'm partial to the B&S dial calipers, they feel great right out of the box, never need to be zeroed out and never need batteries.
I like a good dial caliper; there's no battery needed.
Also, the size of the block changes with temperature, about 12 ppm/deg. C for steel. Holding the block in your hand would cause it to expand slightly, and a more sensitive caliper would pick that up.
Mititoyo do make a solar powered one .
Not that great though because it needs direct light
Good video sir.
I us my cheap unit for reloading as I can set it to the overall length I need and then check everything comes out of the press.
I have an old dial one from my great grandfather along with his steel rules and micrometers.
Great video, very informative kudos to you.
I've been testing "male enlargening" products for a number of years now, and I got to say, I've been seeing far bigger gains with the Pittsburgh than the Mitutoyo.
Hint: Always use Metric for this, because fifteen centimeters sounds so much more impressive than six inches.
@@mal2ksc I use foot-pounds personally, throws them right off.
I use to use $30 calipers but when I got into small scale manufacturing I found they kept letting me down and I could not really trust them. After one fairly expensive mistake I bought the Mitutoyo and I love them. My issue with the cheap ones is they would occasionally miss steps, like I would measure something that was 1" and they might show 0.75 and next time maybe 1" then maybe 0.85" not a small difference. Even the good ones can miss a step every once in awhile.
how on earth were they occasionally off a quarter of an inch? that is a massive amount to be off. I have not once ever seen a caliper off by that much, no matter what quality. even smashed and bent calipers could retain accuracy within a quarter of an inch. ffs a tape measure holds that accuracy, or a ruler. You do not even need a scale for that.
Heck, even your finger bone holds that tolerance, you could get a better measurement with your fingerbone.
Love the whole expectation portion, it’s very true and it’s very important to be aware of our own flaws.
Hi James,
A very good review... I messed up something due to the zeroing issue on the cheap and cheerful model, which I have now retired...
Take care
Paul,,
There is a brand you can find through Amazon called igaging. I own several of the cheaper shaped items you show in your video and the igaging ones. The igaging have parallel jaws, smooth feel and much better repeatability. I liked them enough to also buy their micrometer as well. Note I don’t own any mitutoyo to compare.... would recommend this brand, they seem about the same price bracket as the cheapies!
Identical to my experiance. The iGaging ABSOLUTE ORIGIN 0-6" Digital Electronic Caliper Inch/Metric/Fraction IP54 is $50.
The biggest difference I have found is when the calipers get coolant spray or drips on them. I measure inside the vise sometimes to keep the setup, and the tools can drip on them (I have a Fanuc Robodrill with 14 tools above the part in some cases). Mitutoyo deals with this wet surface perfectly and work the same, but cheaper calipers jump around and don't measure well or sometimes at all.
Glad you like your coolant calipers David!
You have to go with the high IP rated calipers if they will be exposed to coolant. Depending on how crappy your coolant is the coolant can wreak havoc.
"Moore & Wright" are up there with Mitutoyo. I'm a (retired) Engineering Inspector, CMM & all that, Loads of Engineering companies have gone bust & are almost Giving mics away. Can even get say 0-6" Mics (One frame with different sticks) Don't be fooled by the resolution (the, half a thou' hype) with ANY digital calliper - what you are really paying for is the smooth, linear running & the parallelism of the Jaws.
An enjoyable video to watch. It got me thinking and made me grab mine! I was pleased to see mine operate like the more expensive ones, they are the Facom 1300EAPB 150mm calipers and about £50 over here in the UK
Be careful of the fake expensive ones!!
Mitutoyo especially. Mitutoyo has a posting on their site how to spot a fake Mitutoyo caliper.
Why? I have fake mituoyos and love them, best 20 bucks I have spent. I’m not machining but for general use and for 3D printing they work a blast.
@@rogerandersen7046 Many Asian low price digital calipers are decent. Does your fake Mitutoyo stay zeroed if you were to shut it off when you were at say 1”, and then turn it on? Does it remember where it was and where it should be. Some cheap digital ones don’t but you should zero out regularly if using digital calipers. With a dial caliper that is not an issue.
@@rogerandersen7046 Because quite often the fakes are priced only slightly under the price of a real Mitutoyo. I have nice analog calipers but only cheapy Hf digital ones which have actually been great. The only thing keeping me from buying a nice pair of Mitutoyo calipers is the high frequency of fakes out there - even from Amazon and companies that claim to be authorized dealers. There are huge threads on the web about it. Sometimes people think they got a great deal at $90 or so only to notice the battery dies frequently. They investigate and find they bought a clone. A $20 pair with abs/inc and decent battery life would be a lock! Tell me where!
@@rogerandersen7046 because some vendors, especially amazon, sell the $10 fakes as as real ones at real prices.
With Amazon its an issue of how their warehouse fulfillment system works. Every vendors mitutoyo goes on the same shelf. So when a vendor sells fakes, they get mixed in with the real ones. Which of course then means that ultimately allow the vendors sell fakes
I love iGauge brand. Can get water resistant and data longing and for cheaper. Quality seems great quality too
I also have these. By far the best of the cheapies. Very repeatable. Note that they make standalone digital scales as well. Also decently accurate, although apparently reveals they use capacitive measurement to get low costs rather than glass scales. Recommended for the price though!
I have been happy with IGauging stuff also.
Thanks for the INFO!
I did not know that costly Calipers, did not need to be zero set all the time!
I like your pragmatic attitude a lot! I use cheap ones from a random Amazon ALLCAPS brand, and I smiled when you used yours as a scribe because I've been known to do exactly that out of being too lazy to walk a few feet and get something appropriate for marking. :D On the other hand, this year I bought the old man a Mitutoyo for Christmas (hope he doesn't read this) to replace his Mitutoyo which is like 30+ years old and only recently started malfunctioning - and there's something to be said for that. Thanks for the video!
A while back I took apart a number of these, and they are all identical inside. The operation principle is the same, and it relies on the accuracy of a traditionally etched PCB. The good news is that they are made such that only the long range accuracy is what matters, so it's fairly easy for even a cheap caliper to achieve the 30 micron rated tolerance. Personally, I use the cheap ones. But I also have used a bunch of Mitutoyo, and others. The best calipers by far are iGauging. They are less expensive than Mitutoyo, and I have found that they are more accurate than Mitutoyo as well. The best value I think are the Vinca brand. They feel great, cost only about $24. They do have an annoying flaw that they drain batteries even while turned off. But for shop use, that's fine. Maybe not for someone at home where they only get used once a week or so.
Thank you James....it's good to see an honest appraisal of the callipers.
For me it will be the cheaper end of the market although I would love the Mitutoyo brand...I just could not warrant the expense given the type of work I do. I have no need for micron level instruments and using a calliper as a marking gauge suits 99% of the work . If I need to replace the cheap ones every couple of years then so be it.
The keyboard warriors need to spend more time making stuff than slagging someone off for using a method they don't approve of.
Keep up the excellent work my friend.👍
Great vid I liked your take on the requirements for a job and it is so true why measure to micron level if you only need .1mm. People get fixated with numbers that is what tolerances are for. I routinely measure to 5 micron and 90% is done with the calipers granted it's a mititoyo but I found it's the user that give the biggest inaccuracy. I also loved how you wiped the jaws as an instinct just something you do without knowing
We hashed this topic out on Home Shop Machinist and Practical Machinist forums ages ago. There are a lot of things to take into account. Battery drain is one. Service and resale value are some others.
Probably should have spent some time on resolution vs accuracy.