Thread: Dial Caliper recommendations?

Tired of my digital calipers chewing batteries.

Hornady and Frankford Arsenal Dial Calipers are available for around $100-$120

Any recommendations? Cautions?

Just remember Dial and Digital calipers are 2 different animals.

Sorry but I will answer this question with the most expensive response - Mitutoyo.
I have Mitutoyo Digital Calipers, purchased maybe over 20 years ago. Expensive but never regretted it. Looks like they will outlast me.
Also have Brown and Sharp Dial Calipers. Bought second hand off Ebay. They are Swiss made and are like the proverbial Swiss watch in quality. I use these a lot.

In the shed I have some ancient Japanese NSK Vernier Calipers. I use these for marking out small steel projects and don't have a problem dragging a scriber along their jaws.
They are still in great nick. Unfortunately my eyes are not so I have trouble reading them nowadays.

I did buy some cheaper 8" Chinese Digital Calipers a couple of years back. The first set was returned under warranty. Readings not repeatable. The second set, when I do use them immediately start flashing the display at me indicating yet another new battery required. This happens even though they are turned off (automatically) between uses.

If you want to go good mid range look at Insize. They are still Chinese but of very good quality. Insize is a huge company.

Don't be tempted by Mitutoyo off Amazon. My research shows they are most likely Chinese copies.

I cant help you with Hornady and Frankford Arsenal Dial Calipers. Have only noticed their Digital ones advertised. Probably perfectly serviceable for a handloader.
It all depends upon your type of usage and your accuracy and expected life of the tool. I use the best I can afford because mine are used for other purposes as well as reloading.

Originally Posted by zimmer

Just remember Dial and Digital calipers are 2 different animals.

Sorry but I will answer this question with the most expensive response - Mitutoyo.
I have Mitutoyo Digital Calipers, purchased maybe over 20 years ago. Expensive but never regretted it. Looks like they will outlast me.
Also have Brown and Sharp Dial Calipers. Bought second hand off Ebay. They are Swiss made and are like the proverbial Swiss watch in quality. I use these a lot.

In the shed I have some ancient Japanese NSK Vernier Calipers. I use these for marking out small steel projects and don't have a problem dragging a scriber along their jaws.
They are still in great nick. Unfortunately my eyes are not so I have trouble reading them nowadays.

I did buy some cheaper 8" Chinese Digital Calipers a couple of years back. The first set was returned under warranty. Readings not repeatable. The second set, when I do use them immediately start flashing the display at me indicating yet another new battery required. This happens even though they are turned off (automatically) between uses.

If you want to go good mid range look at Insize. They are still Chinese but of very good quality. Insize is a huge company.

Don't be tempted by Mitutoyo off Amazon. My research shows they are most likely Chinese copies.

I cant help you with Hornady and Frankford Arsenal Dial Calipers. Have only noticed their Digital ones advertised. Probably perfectly serviceable for a handloader.
It all depends upon your type of usage and your accuracy and expected life of the tool.

Thanks. Yes I get the difference between digital and dial. The Mitutoyo available from, say the Toolshed, are not only hundreds of $$ but also all in metric. I'm sure they could get imperial or may have some in stock, but, frankly, the $$$ are out of my range. Mine are only used for reloading. So probably the Frankford Arsenal or Hornady will do the job.

the batteries last forever unless you fit them by hand as your skin oil will affect the discharge,

Originally Posted by Jhon

Thanks. Yes I get the difference between digital and dial. The Mitutoyo available from, say the Toolshed, are not only hundreds of $$ but also all in metric. I'm sure they could get imperial or may have some in stock, but, frankly, the $$$ are out of my range. Mine are only used for reloading. So probably the Frankford Arsenal or Hornady will do the job.

Nah all the digital one, well as best I know, can be switched between metric and imperial. Actually a useful feature if you want to convert a measurement you have just made. The dial ones you buy either metric or imperial (uncommon now.)

Yes, you are probably correct on the choice of FA or Hornady for your use.

Originally Posted by gonetropo

the batteries last forever unless you fit them by hand as your skin oil will affect the discharge,

Explain that to my crappy 8" calipers. I never handle batteries by hand.

Originally Posted by zimmer

Nah all the digital one, well as best I know, can be switched between metric and imperial. Actually a useful feature if you want to convert a measurement you have just made. The dial ones you buy either metric or imperial (uncommon now.)

Yes, you are probably correct on the choice of FA or Hornady for your use.

So that would be for digital calilers correct? How would you be able to switch a analog dial caliper between metric and imperial? Do they come with dual face markings on the dial?

Ahh I see you amended that to digital..so answered. I'm not after Digjtal. Mine chews batteries unless I remove the battery between use. Even then the life is not long, certainly not years. They have a place. But so does a dial caliper

Originally Posted by Jhon

So that would be for digital calilers correct? How would you be able to switch a analog dial caliper between metric and imperial? Do they come with dual face markings on the dial?

Ahh I see you amended that to digital..so answered. I'm not after Digjtal. Mine chews batteries unless I remove the battery between use. Even then the life is not long, certainly not years. They have a place. But so does a dial caliper

Yeah dial calipers are nice and you can surprisingly read quite well between the smallest division and estimate 1/2 thou etc. If you need to be that finite.

The thing you might have to consider though is with digital caliper you can zero out a reading. Example of this is if using a comparator you fit to the jaws and you then zero the comparator out then take your readings. Bit harder to do with a dial caliper you have to do the arithmetic and subtract the comparator from the reading..

Mate, just buy digital mitutoyo 150mm (easier handling) no guess work reads to the thousandth (0.000”)
Closest thing to a micrometer, not to mention its accuracy and repeatability, best bit of kit for your reloading.

If you're on a budget keep an eye out for some second hand Mitutoyo dial calipers. Then find a friend or machine shop with some gauge blocks to verify their accuracy. I did and couldn't be happier.

Thks for all the input. May be overthinking this. For reloading I only measure lengths and diameters. Nothing fancy. I have $100 digital calipers that work fine. I'm keen to get analog dial calipers also so I'm not caught out by flat batteries. Its not either/or, its both. I can get Frankford Arsenal or Hornady for around $100. Baring bad experience from others, that's where I'm headed. Thks again.

Originally Posted by gonetropo

the batteries last forever unless you fit them by hand as your skin oil will affect the discharge,

Interested in what this is caused by or how much will affect discharge.
Is it a problem with all batteries such as those in car remotes and bluetooth helmet speaker for radar detector?

Odd that your batteries don't last.

I use Insize calipers with a 2032 ? battery. They last for years...

Originally Posted by Jhon

Thanks. Yes I get the difference between digital and dial. The Mitutoyo available from, say the Toolshed, are not only hundreds of $$ but also all in metric. I'm sure they could get imperial or may have some in stock, but, frankly, the $$$ are out of my range. Mine are only used for reloading. So probably the Frankford Arsenal or Hornady will do the job.

I bought a Mitutoyo digital caliber about two years ago, wasn’t cheap. Totally unreliable, never zeros and never gives the same reading twice, very disappointed.

Originally Posted by hamsav

Shoulda took them back mate , they should be ultra reliable , repeatable and hold zero .

I’ve a normal one and that fine, I use that on the lathe.