Caliper , vernier, dial or digital

My Grandfather taught me to read verniers when I was about 12 or 14 years old.The concept is pretty simple and is just a matter of adding things up as you go to get the measurement.You can easily do it in your head once you get the knack.The only problem I have is the lines are getting harder to see the older I get.

For the most part , I used dial calipers if I had +/-.005 or more.I have a cheap chinese pair I use on the saw.They were only about $ 15.00 so no big loss if something happens to them. Got a Brown & Sharp pair I use on the mill and a "Sunday" pair of Mitutoyo digitals that I use for final checking.

Anything closer than .005" needs checking with micrometers.

Speaking of micrometers , I had a pair of digital mics but never really used them so I sold them.

My favorite pair is believe it or not a pair of VIS that are made in Poland. Got them new back about 15 years ago for $ 12.95. They are dead on throughout their range.I used to do a lot of cylindrical grinding and have checked thousands of diameters with them.Like them better than my Brown & Sharps. They just have a better feel to them.

Anyway,dial calipers will probably serve you for most things that are not closer than .005" just make sure you know how to read them properly.

Ford Man

I have some Starrett and Mitutoyo calipers and they are very nice but are quite expensive. But... here is a very inexpensive digital one that is very good. Can"t beat the price of $15.99 either! The only bad thing is that the batteries that come with it aren"t very good. But even that isn"t too much of a problem as replacements are common, inexpensive and can be purchased at Wal-Mart.

• Digital Calipers

• calipers at MSC