You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Any recommendations? We've got some decent quality non-digital but eyesight.
I thought a set of plastic bodied ones would be good enough but the Laser set I bought has a visible gap between the jaws so theres 0.3mm different between something measured at the tip of the jaws and closer to the top. Useless.
Looking on Amazon/eBay theres a vast selection of zzfigyope branded stuff for about £15. Then theres Sealey for 30ish which looks like its come from the same factory. Those that have reviews are very mixed.
Look in Lidl, ive got these
https://www.lidl.co.uk/p/parkside-digital-angle-finder-digital-calliper/p10007802
Crc had some cheap. I bought a pair seem reasonable can be used non digitally too.
You get what you pay for but these seem decent (ish) bar some cheap plastic.
I had that same one… lasted a couple of years before dying. Maybe the humidity here, but I just went back to the analogue style.
When they go wrong they’re properly annoying as the numbers jump all over the place.
Have a couple of the cheap generic ones and they are fine. Seem to get through batteries but quality is ok. Also have a slightly more expensive iGaging set and they are definitely better. Worth the extra
I think that these Lifeline ones are just re-brands of the above but they're currently £9.99.
LifeLine Digital Vernier Callipers | Wiggle
I find the cheap digital ones don't last, just use traditional analogue ones, which will last forever.
the Lidl ones posted above are just generic, nothing special about them (same with all their tools!) I have the same (bought about 10 years ago for a fiver!) which work fine, although keep meaning to treat myself to a fancy Japanese set one of these days 😂 Depends what you're trying to achieve I guess as to how much you need to spend.
Mine is identical to the pics above.. Ebay i expect about 4-5 years ago... does the job it's supposed to do.
Yeah, it's all about how accurate and repeatable you want the measurements.
I'd imagine that for most people the Lidl/Aldi/eBay digital calipers are fine.
But I wouldn't expect them to be more than +/- 0.25mm accurate or repeatable :o)
I used to quite like using this type with the dial.
Depends what you're doing, but for woodworking, they can actually be a bit too accurate and usually you have to take multiple readings over an area, take an average and try not to get hung up on tenths of a mm 😊
Ive been through many of the ones like the above, they do fine but the battery housings always go flakey after a while. Now have these - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09PTKQZFC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
They're properly overbuilt and have a big screen, solid housing and allegedly waterproof too. Not sure as yet if they're 2.5x better than the ones above, but they seem good so far.
👆 Waterproof ones are pretty handy for measuring fish girth in situ.
I got mine in Lidl, but they look exactly the same as Kayak’s, and have indeed been excellent.
Probably 6 years old and still measuring nicely.
Ditto (bought 2007).
However, the ones they sell now aren't as good. The ones I bought from Aldi last year are rubbish in comparison:
Very rough action;
Poorly ground (a rough, rather than a satin surface);
FULL of grinding grit and residue (absolutely black with it inside);
Not really hardened (I know you shouldn't do it, but scribing with the tip of the jaws bends them – I've been getting away with that on the other set for years with no visible effect…);
When you close them fully, the internal jaws catch on each other when you open them again.
The reading varies a lot with jaw pressure;
The new ones remember their setting when "off" (whereas the old ones reset their zero whenever they're switched on).
Shortly after, I picked up a set of callipers from Lidl and was equally unimpressed:
Full of grit and really badly finished. They're not the same as the Aldi ones, but of an equivalent standard.
From top to bottom: Old Lidl, 2022 Aldi, 2022 Lidl:
Old (good) Lidl after 10+ years of abuse. If you run a fingernail across the closed jaws, you can barely feel the joint.
2022 Aldi you could trip over the step between the jaws:
2022 Lidl there is also a pronounced misalignment of the jaws:
The battery in the old calipers lasts for years; I've had to change the batteries in the newer ones several times in the last year.
The old Lidl ones are repeatable to 0.01 mm and accurate to about 0.03 mm (vs a micrometer).
Cheap calipers are a bit of a lottery.
If/when I get another set (probably when my old Lidl ones expire) I'd probably splurge ~£50 and get some of these:
https://www.accu.co.uk/vernier-calipers/437755-1108-150W
Cheap generic ones for me, the battery cover used to fall off sometimes until I put some tape over it. The cheap ones also don't auto shut off so I keep a spare battery. Best thing is I don't mind abusing it for scribing lengths on parts before turning them into piles of swarf.
Clough42 did a video on fake Mitutoyo calipers. The fakes were still pretty accurate as were the no-names but the real ones were better built and had auto shut off. I took from that for my purposes the generic ones from Screwfix / Ebay / Amazon etc. were good enough for me.
I've had cheapo ones in the past and they don't last. I purchased a mitutoyo one a couple of years ago and it's been flawless, it's even on its original battery. Watch out as there are lots of fakes about so only buy from an authorised dealer.
I've got to be a tool snob here.
For Very-nears it has to be Mitutoyo, the ones at home are 20+ years old (I know that 'coz I nicked them from my last job) and still work like new. Very occasional battery change.
My pair at work got nicked (!) so replaced with some SPI equivalents and they were crap, battery lasted 2minutes. Dumped them on my apprentice and bought another pair of Mittys.
It depends how often you're using them. Used hundreds of times a day the RS Pro version at about £50 lasts about 5 years before starting to fail. We've got some Mitutoyo one that are 10+ years old and still work perfectly. The Facom ones also appear well built but it's only been in use for about a year.
All these posts and no pedants yet? What's STW coming to! Vernier is the name of the mechanical scale on a pair of calipers. They aren't generally digital and vernier at the same time - just digital calipers.
The cheap ones can be OK. The biggest issue is often battery drain, as above. My cheapies kill a battery in weeks as they don't fully shut off. I remove the battery when not in use.
Mitutoyos go properly off off and battery lasts ages. My set are over 25 years old, used weekly and still going strong!
but the Laser set I bought has a visible gap between the jaws so theres 0.3mm different between something measured at the tip of the jaws and closer to the top. Useless.
Someone's tried to use them as an adjustable spanner............
I bought some cheap non-digital ones from ebay. Fortunately I don't need them to be super accurate, only for occasional use.
And they really are only for occasional use. A day's regular use and they'd fall to bits.
I've got a generic cheap set and it gives consistent readings for what I need it for.
It chews through the battery, so I just take it out when I'm not using it.
My understanding with the cheap digital verniers munching batteries is that they have significant power consumption when off. Removing the battery from my cheap set after each use and the battery is still seemingly fine a number of years later. there might be an AvE video on this.
Diggery - 100% but then you did this...
They aren’t generally digital and vernier at the same time – just digital calipers.
If we are going to be properly pedantic, surely it is Vernier, as it is name after the French mathematician?
I wonder if they still teach people how to read these or its all gone digital at university now? I spent a lot of time 20 odd years ago teaching students how to read vernier scales...
If we are going to be properly pedantic, surely it is Vernier, as it is named after the French mathematician?
Interesting. I thought they were called that because they were more Verni.
I’ve got a lovely Mitutoyo I got from a local place. Apparently it had failed its callibration and is a gnats fart out (something like 0.05 mm out )
Was going in the bin 🙄
I didn't use my Mitutoyos for a few years and now they don't power on. 😢
No evidence of any battery leakage and a new battery didn't help.
I've used a Sealey set purchased from Amazon 5 years ago and apart from the occasional battery change they have worked fine.
For woodwork the analogue ones are more than accurate enough. But for measuring bolts/screws (especially trying to tell the difference between metric and imperial stuff) a digital set would be more useful.
Someone’s tried to use them as an adjustable spanner…………
they've literally never been used. opened the packet and immediately lost them down the back of a pile of paperwork. got them out to find a flat battery (!) replaced battery and tested them and found how useless they are.
I wonder if they still teach people how to read these or its all gone digital at university now? I spent a lot of time 20 odd years ago teaching students how to read vernier scales
I'm an inspector on gas turbines and use analogue measuring equipment every day.
.....and only one person so far has given it its proper name.......a 'very near'. 😀
Given theres someone above who's bought 4 sets of the cheapos I've gone for these - for £40. Reviewer says a lot better made than the cheap stuff and as accurate as the more expensive.
http://www.igaging.com/ip54-ez-cal-xl-calipers.html
If we are going to be properly pedantic, surely it is Vernier, as it is name after the French mathematician?
I wonder if they still teach people how to read these or its all gone digital at university now? I spent a lot of time 20 odd years ago teaching students how to read vernier scales…
Yes you've got me!
Oh, and the irony is strong 😉
I've got a few cheap ones, they're a useful tool to have more than one of, and yeah they're not as accurate as my mitu but then again, neither am I. Reality is, very little I ever do needs to be as precise as a cheap gauge is. Relaxing a little bit about this has made my life better, I used to make or fix stuff for cars and bikes and then realise that I'd got obsessed and made them to tighter tolerances than the factory did.
My main requirement now is a metal battery cover, because the plastic ones ALWAYS break eventually. A proper off-switch is nice, since I don't keep them in the cases and the pushbuttons always end up getting bumped. But most of the cheapies don't have that.
But for measuring bolts/screws (especially trying to tell the difference between metric and imperial stuff) a digital set would be more useful.
Manual ones measure to 0.02mm and digital 0.01mm. How accurate does one need to measure bolts, which are likely made to far slacker tolerances than Vernier Calipers measure?
For Very-nears it has to be Mitutoyo
As an apprentice tool maker I bought a dial type caliper off the tool club and wasn't even allowed to unpack it. Even then digital were only "close enough".
Now for home/ garage job most "cheap"* ones are fine but at lesser degrees of accuracy/ repeatability as mentioned above.
Do not get plastic ones they are all rubbish.
Worst is the fingers of your expensive caliper being ground off and big sticker "indication only" being slapped on it.
* As in Kennedy, oxford etc.
Mines a mitutoyo
Ooh, that's a beauty. There's a 300mm one on my tool cupboard at work, it's good but it's not that magnificent beast.
My 12 year old Starrett 6" digital calipers have just been replaced by the calibration department at work with a set of Mitutoyos, and having never considered the cost of them this thread has made me have a look.....they ain't cheap are they 😳
I was going to recommend Shahe as a decent mid-priced option - similar price & quality to the Igaging that the OP bought (£30 give or take), decent build and good for occasional use with which they consume about 1 battery a year.
@grim168 Show off! 😂
Very nice though.
What happens if you twiddle them dial things on the desk?
I'd totally need to twiddle them if I was there.
My 12 year old Starrett 6″ digital calipers have just been replaced by the calibration department at work with a set of Mitutoyos, and having never considered the cost of them this thread has made me have a look…..they ain’t cheap are they 😳
I was wondering what sort of accuracy does your company replace at? My ones (£25, v. similar to what OP just bought) are rated to +-0.03mm and Ive tested them and found that to be the case, although it definitely errs on the + side. What sort of accuracy are your company expecting from them to make it worth the extra few hundred £s?
The stuff we measure ranges from +/- a few tenths to +/- a couple of thou* (aeroderivative gas turbines). I think that they pay for Mitutoyo because they are reliably accurate and precise. I’ve never used any other brand but I believe they feel rough in use which is gonna give you less precision. I’m not sure at what point they get binned, but I imagine the tolerance is low.
* I would only use the digital calipers for anything at the very top of this range and would always prefer to use a micrometer.
I’ve had a couple of sets of cheap ones from Aldi/Lidl, and the battery has seemed to play up after a while, although tbh I don’t use them very often.
I’ve got a Workzone one from Aldi at the moment, it’s a 150mm scale one, and I’ve taken the battery out until I need to use it, seems to keep it working when I need it.
It took me a good decade to kill some mitutoyo digital jobs I acquired in one of my first jobs, after that it was cheapo digital jobs that typically die within 24 months but only cost a fiver. I wouldn't rely on any of them for more than 0.1mm accuracy however many DP the display has.
Dial gauge mechanical jobbies make sense if you don't want to rely on something that eats batteries. But I do like the convenience of just reading some numbers on a screen rather than reading off one scale and then checking a dial... My time is THAT precious, honest 😉
i don't leave the battery in... it takes about 10s to put it in about once every 2 months when i need them.
Manual ones measure to 0.02mm and digital 0.01mm. How accurate does one need to measure bolts, which are likely made to far slacker tolerances than Vernier Calipers measure?
Manual ones are also waterproof, so thats what lives in my toolbox. Anything which needs to be measured accurately needs a different tool IMO. If I want to measure the diameter or bore of something, bore gauges/micrometers.