What's a decent dial caliper I can pick up for about $20 (tired of dead batteries)

[Rich Engelhardt]

I'd prefer fractional if possible, but, it doesm't really matter if it isn't.
I love my digital calipers, but, I'm tired of fooling around with a battery all the time.

[Ralph Boumenot]

I got one from Highlands on sale. It's a fractional one. I have decimal calipers too but I don't like to use them. I like fractions. I got it a couple of years ago ($20?) and I haven't had any problems with it all.
ralph

[Richard Wagner]

How about a really good long steel ruler with 1/16", 1/32" and 1/64" markings. However, don't even consider this idea unless you can still see. I hardly ever use the 1/64" side anymore.

[Jeff Duncan]

Not sure "decent" and $20 go in the same category;) However you may want to avoid the digital calipers and go manual...no need to ever change batteries again:D I got mine out of MSC but I'm sure if you make use of the google you can find them everywhere.

good luck,
JeffD

[Jamie Buxton]

You might try a different digital caliper. I've read the assertion someplace that digital calipers are pretty much the same except for battery life. Good ones may run for years on one cell, and bad ones may only go months. Mine -- a no-name from Woodcraft I think -- runs three years or so between battery changes.

[joe milana]

Not sure "decent" and $20 go in the same category;) However you may want to avoid the digital calipers and go manual...no need to ever change batteries again:D I got mine out of MSC but I'm sure if you make use of the google you can find them everywhere.

good luck,
JeffD

+1 I wouldn't trade my manual caliper for a digital one at any cost.

[Seth Dolcourt]

The combination fractional / .01" from Lee Valley. If Starrett offered a less expensive version of a dial caliper, this would be it. Thumb operated, no batteries.

[Bill White]

Rich, PM sent to ya.
Bill

[Lee Schierer]

I used to have a dial caliper in my shop. They lasted a couple of years and then died due to sawdust getting into the tiny rack and pinon gear making it near impossible to use.

For the $20 price range you need to go to Harbor Freight or watch garage sales and flea markets.

[David Kumm]

I'm not sure that a decent reliable, repeatable, mechanical dial indicator is possible at $20. Mechanical stuff is more expensive to manufacture than electronic stuff now. Dave

[Jacob Reverb]

Grizzly sells a decent 4" dial caliper for that price range.

[glenn bradley]

Considering the price range and the length you will have it, doubling your budget would open up some possibilities. I have one I picked up from Woodcraft about 7 years ago I see they go for about $60 now (http://www.woodcraft.com/product/2004440/8405/woodriver-fractional-dial-caliper.aspx). That's more than I would pay but, it is the easiest to read that I have tried including the big boy brands.I use it nearly every time I am in the shop and no trouble with the gear track getting fouled. I also have one that Lee Valley sells (http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=46036&cat=1,43513,43546) for about $36. The dual color dial is a bit harder to read but, not bad. I picked up one at Peachtree on sale (http://www.ptreeusa.com/layout_products.htm) at about $25 but, it is poor in fit and finish although certainly accurate as one might require in a wood shop; it just feels cheap. For a few more bucks I would get the Lee Valley. I keep mine in drawers when not in use and have never had a problem with failure although they all get a pretty good workout year round. Just my experience.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I have both dial and digital calipers. Both came from HF. The first digital, ate batteries. After a couple years of non use, HF put them on sale again, so I broke down and bought a second. At check out, I mentioned to store manager that I had one that "ate batteries." He said "Bring it back." I explained to him that I had it for several years. He said "No problem ,as you have a current receipt." So I did. Neither of these eat batteries. Batteries last about a year. Dollar Tree sells a card of four for a buck.

[Kevin W Johnson]

You can have my digital caliper when you pry it from my cold dead hands.... :eek:

Seriously though, I have both and I wouldn't give up my digital for nothing. Instant imperial to metric conversion, not to mention reading accuracy. 1.057 is 1.057 and not something between this line and the next.

[John Coloccia]

What are you measuring, and what kind of performance are you expecting? That's the question. If you buy $20 calipers, you will have $20 calipers. If that works for you, then do a google search and find $20 calipers. I don't think you will find much differentiation between dirt cheap calipers, and honestly for most woodworking that's probably fine. This is one of those areas where you get what you pay for. I have several sets of calipers in my shop. I have an expensive "reference" set, and then I have a cheap sets that I use everyday. When I drop them, I don't cry. If you get .005" accuracy, that's more than enough for most woodworking purposes, and pretty much even the junkiest of calipers can beat that. So just find something that meets your budget, and go for. That's my opinion.

[Jay Park]

I picked up a used Mitutoyo dial caliper from eBay for $35 (+shipping). Mine was in good condition too.

Seems to be a lot of good calipers available from eBay.

[Rich Engelhardt]

It sounds like I might just be trading one aggrevation for another by trying to slide by on the cheap.
I'm happy with the Harbor Freight digital calipers I have, it's just annoying to have to take the battery out after I use it and then have to put it back in when I need to use it again.

I guess I'll just stick with the digital for now and watch the used market for a deal on a Starrett or Mitutoyo.

Thanks for everone's feedback!


Instant imperial to metric conversion
Good point.
Since I use my digital calipers a lot for that, I can just see me having to drag them out, stick the battery in, and make the conversion from what the dial caliper is showing me..
I'd end up being right back where I started!

[John Coloccia]

Why do you take the batteries in and out all the time?

[Bruce Wrenn]

Why do you take the batteries in and out all the time?Digital calipers are always on, with only the display shutting down. My first set of HF ones "ATE" batteries, but second and replacement set for first don't.

[John Coloccia]

I have at least 3 sets of digital calipers here, and none of them lasts under a year on one battery. Mitutoyos go even longer...several years. Mitutoyos power down significantly more than some, but either way the batteries should lasts months at any rate. I've never heard of removing the batteries between uses.

[Matt Meiser]

If you are using it for woodworking, a Harbor Freight one will work just fine. But Hartville, and I'm sure others have one that has fractional markings that's relatively inexpensive and saves having to try to figure out the closest fraction.

[Jamie Buxton]

Digital calipers are always on, with only the display shutting down...

Maybe that's not true. My digital calipers have an on/off button, and the battery lasts a long time -- perhaps 3 years. I'm in the shop every day, and I use the thing a lot. The tool is some no-name one that I might have bought at Woodcraft.

[John Coloccia]

Maybe that's not true. My digital calipers have an on/off button, and the battery lasts a long time -- perhaps 3 years. I'm in the shop every day, and I use the thing a lot. The tool is some no-name one that I might have bought at Woodcraft.

Most calipers use capacitive encoders. They need to be encoding position all the time or they would loose zero every time you turn them off. As you say, though, the batteries should last a long time....many months at least, and more typically years. I use mine all day long in the shop too and I don't even bother keeping spare batteries around.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Why do you take the batteries in and out all the time?On al the time or not, if I leave the batteries in them - my Wixy tilt box too, BTW, they go dead in between use.
If I take the batteries out, they last a lot longer.
I don't use any of them on a day to day basis. It might be several weeks to a month or two between use.

Roughly half of what I do involves onsite work also. There, I may often go six months or longer in between needing a caliper.
It's just handier to toss a cheap dial caliper in the onsite toolbox than it is to have to remember to toss a battery in the toolbox along with the digital caliper.
It's difficult enough as it is to try to cover everything tool wise I might need to fix something.

As far as needing something super accurate goes,,,I just need something that's a little more accurate than a tape measure & as Richard mentioned above - my eyes ain't the greatest anymore so a pocket ruler or a venier caliper aren't ideal either.

LOL! Maybe what I need is a dial caliper made like the "old fart phones" w/the big buttons!
I could really get into a dial caliper with a face the size of a Baby Ben ;).

[John Coloccia]

Personally, Rich, I prefer a dial caliper for much of what I do. It's especially easier to get inside measurements, or measurements on oddly shaped object, because you get instant feedback as you move the caliper around. For example, it's trivial to get the inside measurement of a pipe because you just wiggle it until it reads maximum. With digital calipers, the display lags and makes the process a little longer. That said, I've had two come through my shop. Both of them jammed up with dust, wore out, started skipping, etc. My digital ones are far more durable for dusty shop use.