Yes, they all agree. They are not touchy either. That's why I haven't tried an expensive one. These seem fine. The battery compartment is cheap. They eat up batteries and the battery cap never seems to stay on. I can't think of other negatives besides that.
Digital caliper problem
- Thread starter Tubetec
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Yes, they all agree. They are not touchy either. That's why I haven't tried an expensive one. These seem fine. The battery compartment is cheap. They eat up batteries and the battery cap never seems to stay on. I can't think of other negatives besides that.
Thanks for telling me that brand, I searched for it and it’s pretty good.
I checked in EBay and there’s more than one Mitutoyo for 45€, that’s only 3 times the cost of a crappy cheap one.
I prefer to buy something good one time that will work perfectly and will last than to buy the same crap thing over and over again.
Also Im against wasting unnecessary Planet resources, and producing unnecessary waste.
So Mitutoyo it is, I will order one.
45€ is not a lot for an excellent quality measuring tool
thank you Paul
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warpie
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2009
- Messages
- 1,587
Are they genuine?
I am usually a buy once buy right kinda guy but in this case I think the opposite is the better deal. I like having multiple calipers around for layout. If I have specific dimensions that have to be repeated it's nice to have each dimension on a separate caliper.
The only misgiving I have is the wastefulness of it. I don't like so many batteries going to the landfill.
The technical term is "buy once, cry once" when paying up for premium tools.
JR
JR
I already got burned in 15€ after buying the cheap Caliper that was unusable and unreliable, I will not do it again.
I will buy a good one and don't cry in the future
I will buy a good one and don't cry in the future
I have a Mitutoyo dial caliper. Someone gave it to me. The quality doesn't seem multiple times better to me. I never use it. It's in the deep storage pile.
The units look legit, but Chinese counterfeiting is also getting pretty good, I will read some reviews online to see if there's any reports of fake Mitutoyo tools
In my particular case, if it works then it's already 1000 times better than the one I bough.
Probably you were much luckier than me with the cheaper units you got, I had to bin mine in the first day I used it
I’ve bought between 5-10 of the style I linked to. I haven’t had any problems out of the box with them.
Are the fingers made of metal or plastic?
The one I bought the fingers looked made of metal in the photos, but when I received the unit I noticed they were grey/silver plastic imitating metal
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The body is steel. The head with the buttons is plastic. I have an all plastic one and it's not nearly as good.
Ricardus
WILL SOLDER FOR FOOD
I bought my digital calipers from Home Depot. They seem to work fine, and they have a lifetime guarantee. Whatever their in house tool brand is called.
I go for cheap also, I don't do much machining, but I still get a lot of use from my dial calipers. Also with cheap, you don't mind using them to scribing a line on material, for an accurate cut.
I just now saw this thread. I have about 7 years of professional experience as a machinist (with 5 of those in tool and die), plus several more years of part-time experience. So, this is a topic I'm quite familiar with. The Mitutoyo digital caliper for £44.27 that Whoops posted the photo of is a genuine, Japanese-made Mitutoyo..... maybe. There has been a Chinese counterfeit around for some time now that's hard to tell from genuine Mitutoyo, but someone told me that Mitutoyo now has this particular caliper made in China, thus the "counterfeits" are therefore legitimate. I don't know which of the two stories is the truth. I can tell you with certainty that Mitutoyo used to make the absolute best digital caliper in the world. But, I'm sure even a Chinese-made Mitutoyo is still going to be of good quality.
Also note, there are different classes of tools that bear the Mitutoyo name. Some were manufactured in Brazil until Mitutoyo recently closed their plant there, and the other is of course made in Japan. There used to be a Mitutoyo Value Line of Mitutoyo-branded Chinese production, that could be gotten considerably cheaper if purchased elsewhere with a generic name brand applied. If you buy a used Mitutoyo product, please be aware of these things.
Everybody in the business does this; the $95USD Starrett 3202 dial caliper is a Chinese tool that can be gotten with a generic name on it for less than $50. The premium Starrett 120A-6 dial caliper is made in the U.S.A. and is a vastly superior tool, which it indeed should be for over $200.
All Swiss-made metrology tools are made in the Tesa factory in Renens, Switzerland, regardless of whether their stated brand name is Brown & Sharpe, Etalon, Tesa, Fowler or Interapid. They are the same, except for superficial cosmetic differences. For example, the classic Brown & Sharpe 599-579 6" dial caliper is identical to a much more expensive Etalon-branded caliper, except that the Etalon's front housing is different and has a thumb wheel. All parts will interchange between the two "brands." Swiss-made Tesa, Fowler and Brown & Sharpe test indicators are 100% identical to each other, and to the more expensive and prestigious Interapid brand. You get the idea.
Do note, all the above brands are putting their names on certain pre-existing Chinese tools; additionally some of the classic Swiss designs are as of recently now being made in China, with lower quality but yet higher prices. Unless a metrological tool specifically says it's made in the U.S.A., Japan, Switzerland, Brazil or wherever, you can be absolutely certain that it's made in China. The better Chinese instruments are perfectly adequate for light-duty use, but the cheapest ones are often a waste of money. Just be sure to carefully compare the generic and "name brand" calipers, to make sure you don't pay too much for just a name.
Rusan
Also note, there are different classes of tools that bear the Mitutoyo name. Some were manufactured in Brazil until Mitutoyo recently closed their plant there, and the other is of course made in Japan. There used to be a Mitutoyo Value Line of Mitutoyo-branded Chinese production, that could be gotten considerably cheaper if purchased elsewhere with a generic name brand applied. If you buy a used Mitutoyo product, please be aware of these things.
Everybody in the business does this; the $95USD Starrett 3202 dial caliper is a Chinese tool that can be gotten with a generic name on it for less than $50. The premium Starrett 120A-6 dial caliper is made in the U.S.A. and is a vastly superior tool, which it indeed should be for over $200.
All Swiss-made metrology tools are made in the Tesa factory in Renens, Switzerland, regardless of whether their stated brand name is Brown & Sharpe, Etalon, Tesa, Fowler or Interapid. They are the same, except for superficial cosmetic differences. For example, the classic Brown & Sharpe 599-579 6" dial caliper is identical to a much more expensive Etalon-branded caliper, except that the Etalon's front housing is different and has a thumb wheel. All parts will interchange between the two "brands." Swiss-made Tesa, Fowler and Brown & Sharpe test indicators are 100% identical to each other, and to the more expensive and prestigious Interapid brand. You get the idea.
Do note, all the above brands are putting their names on certain pre-existing Chinese tools; additionally some of the classic Swiss designs are as of recently now being made in China, with lower quality but yet higher prices. Unless a metrological tool specifically says it's made in the U.S.A., Japan, Switzerland, Brazil or wherever, you can be absolutely certain that it's made in China. The better Chinese instruments are perfectly adequate for light-duty use, but the cheapest ones are often a waste of money. Just be sure to carefully compare the generic and "name brand" calipers, to make sure you don't pay too much for just a name.
Rusan
Ricardus
WILL SOLDER FOR FOOD
Great information to know!
Thanks, Rusan - appreciated
Phrazemaster
Well-known member
The cheapie I got off the bay continually loses its zero point. I hate it.
Paid more for a quality one and it never loses zero, ever. So much nicer plus I trust the measurements.
Paid more for a quality one and it never loses zero, ever. So much nicer plus I trust the measurements.
I should've mentioned that I've almost exclusively used dial calipers during my entire career as a machinist and welder. As some others noted, I prefer dial over digital simply because they're 100% reliable and require no battery. For general everyday use I have a Chinese dial caliper that's the same one Mitutoyo used to market as its "Mitutoyo Value Line," which is what my workplace issued to the CNC machine operators back several years ago. I also have two very nice vintage Brown & Sharpe 599-579 6" dial calipers that are reserved for more critical applications. These old ones are arguably the finest 6" dial caliper ever made; they are not made with the same quality today.
While on this subject, there are two general classes of small Chinese dial calipers. The first one usually costs less than $30USD, and comes in this exact plastic case with a distinctive "W" shape molded into the lid:
These are the ones you want to avoid. There is a nearly identical (but even worse!) caliper that sometimes also comes in the featureless plastic case seen below with a fitted foam insert. These may say STAINLESS STEEL, STAINLESS HARDENED, STAINLESS STEEL HARDENED or nothing whatsoever on the beam.
These grades are identified by the usually very rough surface ground finish (visible here even in this poor photo), poor overall fit and finish, and especially the poor quality etching on the beam. This etching is usually faint, not very clean or crisp, and dark gray instead of black, which is especially true on the lowest grade. Instead of each number being positioned directly adjacent to the corresponding graduation mark on its right, it's almost perfectly centered between the graduation lines, as seen in the above photo. The really low grade version is identified by its numerals being positioned next to the graduation marks on their left! In other words, the 1 mark is next to the 0 graduation line, the 2 mark is next to the 1 graduation line, and so on. This means you must be extremely careful when reading it, lest you make a mistake.
The second (better quality) major Chinese type looks pretty similar, but typically costs about $40USD and up. They nearly always come in this exact case with a fitted foam insert:
Here's my "everyday general use" caliper, which is basically the same grade/type but with some cosmetic differences:
Note that this particular version has a front cover with an integral thumb rest in addition to the thumb wheel, one of many superficial differences found between the various examples of this grade of Chinese caliper.
But, they all have fairly decent fit and finish, with black, crisply etched graduations on the beam, and the numbers (properly) positioned directly adjacent to the corresponding graduation line on their right. The text will always read STAINLESS STEEL HARDENED or STAINLESS HARDENED, and never just STAINLESS STEEL (Photo#1). These will generally also have a model or serial number etched on the beam (Photo #2) when branded with an established and reputable name instead of a generic marketing name.
Not surprisingly, these aren't as good as hi-end Swiss, Japanese or U.S.A. made calipers, but they are nevertheless remarkably smooth and accurate for the price. If kept clean, stored in the case and not dropped or impacted, it will last a lifetime. Use only denatured or 99% isopropyl alcohol on a lint-free microfiber cloth to clean it should it ever become necessary, blow any dust or lint out of the rack with canned air duster as soon as you find it, and never lubricate anything.
Rusan
While on this subject, there are two general classes of small Chinese dial calipers. The first one usually costs less than $30USD, and comes in this exact plastic case with a distinctive "W" shape molded into the lid:
These are the ones you want to avoid. There is a nearly identical (but even worse!) caliper that sometimes also comes in the featureless plastic case seen below with a fitted foam insert. These may say STAINLESS STEEL, STAINLESS HARDENED, STAINLESS STEEL HARDENED or nothing whatsoever on the beam.
These grades are identified by the usually very rough surface ground finish (visible here even in this poor photo), poor overall fit and finish, and especially the poor quality etching on the beam. This etching is usually faint, not very clean or crisp, and dark gray instead of black, which is especially true on the lowest grade. Instead of each number being positioned directly adjacent to the corresponding graduation mark on its right, it's almost perfectly centered between the graduation lines, as seen in the above photo. The really low grade version is identified by its numerals being positioned next to the graduation marks on their left! In other words, the 1 mark is next to the 0 graduation line, the 2 mark is next to the 1 graduation line, and so on. This means you must be extremely careful when reading it, lest you make a mistake.
The second (better quality) major Chinese type looks pretty similar, but typically costs about $40USD and up. They nearly always come in this exact case with a fitted foam insert:
Here's my "everyday general use" caliper, which is basically the same grade/type but with some cosmetic differences:
Note that this particular version has a front cover with an integral thumb rest in addition to the thumb wheel, one of many superficial differences found between the various examples of this grade of Chinese caliper.
But, they all have fairly decent fit and finish, with black, crisply etched graduations on the beam, and the numbers (properly) positioned directly adjacent to the corresponding graduation line on their right. The text will always read STAINLESS STEEL HARDENED or STAINLESS HARDENED, and never just STAINLESS STEEL (Photo#1). These will generally also have a model or serial number etched on the beam (Photo #2) when branded with an established and reputable name instead of a generic marketing name.
Not surprisingly, these aren't as good as hi-end Swiss, Japanese or U.S.A. made calipers, but they are nevertheless remarkably smooth and accurate for the price. If kept clean, stored in the case and not dropped or impacted, it will last a lifetime. Use only denatured or 99% isopropyl alcohol on a lint-free microfiber cloth to clean it should it ever become necessary, blow any dust or lint out of the rack with canned air duster as soon as you find it, and never lubricate anything.
Rusan
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