Question about calipers

[Louis Brandt]

Hello,
I’d like to ask how most of you are taking ultra-fine measurements. I have a dial caliper set that I bought at Harbor Freight some time ago, and it seems to be very well constructed, but I was wondering what most of you are using when you come up with such close measurements as .007, etc.. Are most of you using a dial caliper, and if so, is it digital or analog? And if you're not using a dial caliper, what are you using?
Thanks,
Louis

[Lee Schierer]

I have a digital cailper in my shop, the original dial calipers didn't play well with saw dust and got jammed up. I think I paid less than $20 from HF. I use mine mostly for checking widths of grooves and thickness of wood coming out of the planer to insure it is what I want. I use a 6" or 12" metal scale for mesurements up to 12". Other than that I use a Stanley tape measure for any measurement over 12". I also have a HF dial indicator I use for alignment checks of my TS.

[Jim Becker]

Yes, I use a caliper and have three...one old "traditional" one, a dial caliper that measured in decimal as well as fractional (used the most) and a dial caliper that measures in metric. The latter is a recent purchase as I'm thinking about building some things using purely metric at some point.

[Rod Sheridan]

I use a Mitutoyu digital caliper, it displays in either metric units, or that old obsolete system based upon some long dead English kings foot.

I've been making cabinets for personal use based upon the 32mm system, and once you take the time to learn the system, and work in metric units things are much simpler.

Regards, Rod.

[Randal Stevenson]

I have both a dial and a digital HF caliper. There are times I prefer one over the other, like I was using the dial as a cheap centering device the other day. I still prefer the digital, as I can zero it anywhere, then measure from there. I know there are better and more expensive calipers, but:
1. this suits my budget and needs.
2. If I need more precise, I have a machinist friend who will help me
3. This allowed me to buy both for various projects.

I know I can zero the dial one, but the digital is the larger LED model (easier to read sometimes).
I still apply the same rule here, with my calipers, as my measuring tapes/sticks. One per project!

[Greg Cole]

Mitutoyo digitals here too. Not cheap, but worth it for me as they get used at the day job often (much more often than at the home shop)... the digital controls on the machine tools read 3 places to the left of the decimal, so the reference measuring tool should be at least as accurate. When making truly accurate measurements you really need to use micrometers.
The old fashioned verniers aren't bad if you have a good one, I wouldn't trust a bargain store set.
The day I start using micrometers to measure anything in the home shop, I'll hang up the tools per say.:rolleyes:

Greg

[David Howden]

I try very hard not to. For tenons to fit mortice I size a one eighth thick bit of scrap to slide in and then glue it to the end of the tenon stock as a guide for the saw. I use this principle in other operations to avoid measuring anything if possible.
I have a Mitutoyo digital for metalworking purposes.

[Todd Burch]

Hmmm...

Ultra fine measurements...

Woodworking....

Why?

[Jude Kingery]

Hi Louis, I just use the outside calipers to measure depth/wall thickness on my turned bowls, not to do ultra-fine precise readings. My husband has micrometers he sometimes uses for other things, not woodworking per se. Jude

[Randal Stevenson]

Hmmm...

Ultra fine measurements...

Woodworking....

Why?

One primary example (that made my father purchase one). He bought a set of router bits, and found one was slightly larger (and out of round), that it wouldn't fit in his chuck.

Otherwise, I have seen them used as a depth gauge on a planer, dado assist tool, etc.

[Gary Keedwell]

One primary example (that made my father purchase one). He bought a set of router bits, and found one was slightly larger (and out of round), that it wouldn't fit in his chuck.

Otherwise, I have seen them used as a depth gauge on a planer, dado assist tool, etc.
Absolutely...I use them to measure drill bits, router bits, odd sized plywood (most of them) sizing wood from planer, measuring dado and moving fence to right size for finish cut, etc., etc.,etc.,
Gary

[Micah Carter]

I picked up a fractional dial caliper from HF for around $20. It's plenty accurate for woodworking, reads in 64ths, and is quite well made. A friend of mine ordered a fractional dial caliper from Lee Valley for twice the coin and we can't tell a difference in the two... even the box they came in is the same. I highly recommend the HF one.

[Louis Brandt]

Hmmm...

Ultra fine measurements...

Woodworking....

Why?

I wasn't really referring to using calipers on large woodworking projects. I was interested in knowing how woodworkers use calipers to measure such things as gaps, etc. The thing that got me interested was the post about the .007 gap in the DW716 miter saw that was posted earlier, as well as other postings that I've seen in which someone measures a table saw's accuracy to within .001 inch.
Louis

[David Elsey]

I make rocking chairs and use a digital caliper to transfer and set my markings before cutting any joints from the front and back legs to seat. I am pleased with this process and my joints are very tight.

David

[Todd Burch]

OK, I missed the point. You aren't measuring wood, you are measuring tooling - setting planer knives, infeed / outfeed rollers, etc.

If a router bit doesn't fit in it's collet, that's good enough reason for me to return it! I don't think I've ever measured a router bit.

I use a drill index to measure sizes of drills. I don't caliper or mic them.

For plywood, if I need an accurate measurement, I stack a few pieces together, minimum two, and take a reading with my steel tape. If two pieces add up to 1.5", I know one piece is 3/4" spot on. If the measure is 1/16th" off for two, I know each is 1/32" thinner than 3/4", and so on. I do the same thing out of the planer - stack 'em up and measure the lot, divide by the number of pieces. Four 1/2" pieces ought to be 2". Easy to read,

If I need to make a cut that is short by the thickness of the ply, I stick of scrap piece of said ply between the fence and whatever I'm cutting. That gets it exactly with no measuring.

I don't use an adjustable dado, but a stackable one. I get a 1/16" increment choice, but that only counts up until the first sharpening. Everything after that is cut to fit.

I guess the most precision cutting I do, and I do a lot of it, is box joints. Then again, it's cut to fit. My dado has been sharpened a few times, so that means index pin adjustment. I'll test with scrap as long as the longest board I'll be joining.

Todd

[Brad Shipton]

I use digital calipers for everything from milling stock, MT setups, shaper setups... I use a manual stand style caliper for blade setups too. Best way to rule out problems is accurate material prep.

[Frederick Rowe]

Second only to my flat back tape measure, I use this General plastic dial caliper gauge. It reads in decimal to .01" and in fractions to 1/64". Plastic is tough but won't scratch or dent wood. Great for tool set up, depth, inside measurements, checking thickness, etc . . . Sold at most hardware stores for about $30.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/H:%5CMy%20Documents%5CDownloaded%20Files%5C142L

[Jim McFarland]

I wasn't really referring to using calipers on large woodworking projects. I was interested in knowing how woodworkers use calipers to measure such things as gaps, etc. The thing that got me interested was the post about the .007 gap in the DW716 miter saw that was posted earlier, as well as other postings that I've seen in which someone measures a table saw's accuracy to within .001 inch.
Louis

Louis, I don't know for sure but suspect DW716 poster used a feeler gauge set to check the gap rather than calipers. Dial indicators are often used to check table saw blade runout and blade alignment to miter slots. Like others, I find digital calipers very handy around ww shop -- especially those which display in metric, fractional inches and decimal inches. In my experience, Lee Valley is a good, reasonably priced source for all 3 tools.

Feeler gauge set: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32527&cat=1,240,41064
Dial indicator: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32525&cat=1,43513,51657
Digital calipers: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=49731&cat=1,43513,49782

[Tim Dorcas]

I use my digital caliper for almost everything. When I mill stock, I check the accuracy of the stock itself. I use it to set the accuracy of my table saw. When I cut dadoes on the table saw, I check to make sure the gap is correct. There is rarely a day that I work in the shop that it doesn't come out. The one I have does metric, decimal and the setting I use the most - fractional. If you don't have one, I highly recommend getting one.

Tim

[glenn bradley]

I have a dial set that reads in 64th's which is the workhorse. I have Lee Valleys digital metric, decimal, fractional which I use for fine work. One note; the fractional being accurate to 128ths is a curse for me. It is just too touchy. If I want finer than 64th's I just switch to decimal.

[Tom Henderson2]

I wasn't really referring to using calipers on large woodworking projects. I was interested in knowing how woodworkers use calipers to measure such things as gaps, etc. The thing that got me interested was the post about the .007 gap in the DW716 miter saw that was posted earlier, as well as other postings that I've seen in which someone measures a table saw's accuracy to within .001 inch.
Louis

Louis-

When measuring small gaps, many folks use feeler gauges.. narrow strips of metal of a range of different thicknesses. Readily available at most machine tool vendors and many auto supply stores.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feeler_gauge

To measure the gap, just insert the gauges until you find one (or a combination of two or more) that fit. Voila -- you know the gap.

Hope this helps. Forgive the post if I missed the point, or missed a similar reply.

[Marc Prudhomme]

I am a sheet metal mechanic and I have been using Mitotoyo calipers for about 20 years now,The 12" are about 150-180 Bucks.Last year I bought a pair of 40 dollar HF digital calipers and I friggin love them.

This is what I have found out.
Mitotoyo are top of the line dial calipers.They will take a beating and survive a fall.They will handle the dirt but you do need to clean them periodically to make them last.
Cheap dial calipers are not worth the money.Take it from me I have tried them all.The gears wear out fast and if you drop them once ,they are history.
Digital calipers have no gears to wear.as long as you keep the rail clean periodically with alcohol wipes.they will last a long time.They are also very accurate.I highly recomend the harbor freight brand.But like anything else you buy at HF,occasionally you do get a dud.Luckily for me I usually spot any defects right out of the box and I get a new one right away.If they go on sale I plan on buying a case and selling them at work.(lol)
JMHO
Marc

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hmmm...

Ultra fine measurements...

Woodworking....

Why?

Hello Todd,
Last year everything I made had a lot of slop and was lopsided.
I bought a cheap digital ($7.00) from HF about 6 months ago.
Huge difference.
Things are still lopsided, but at least they're tight fitting now. :D

All kidding aside - I believe a lot of the frustrations and troubles I had previously mostly boiled down to not getting accurate measurements.

I had a couple of bifold doors that I had to trim down to fit into an odd sized opening. When I ripped 2" off, it naturally removed the solid wood on the edge of the door and left two loose pieces flapping in the breeze.
I measured the size with the HF digital, 1.12" IIRC, then set my TS fence for that , again using the HF digital, and ripped a piece of 1x4 pine down to replace the removed edge.
The final fit was a perfect fit - something I'd never really experienced before.

In all honesty, I can say that that experience was a large turning point for me personally.

In all, I had to do this to 3 door panels, plus somwhat the same to the bottoms of some of the other panels to fit them into the openings.

The final results were somthing I could actually stand back and admire, instead of the usual "butcher" job I'd come to expect in the past.

[Chris Parks]

I use digital calipers and I find that in conjunction with a digital saw fence it saves me an enormous amount of time. I never do trial cuts any longer as I can measure and cut with certainty. These two instruments have literally saved me hours and a lot of material in a recent job. I could do it without them but why not use advances in technology?