I¡¯ve owned and gone through so many different brands of digital calipers, I couldn¡¯t begin to name them all.? BUT - there is one brand that stands out head and shoulders above all the others IMO. ? That¡¯s Mitutoyo. ? If you¡¯re of a mind to ¡°cry once¡± on this type of tool I highly recommend the Mitutoyo digital calipers. ? Be careful buying on places like eBay and Amazon, as there are a number of Chinese clones that are branded Mitutoyo and they are junk.
The Mitutoyo units are very finely made and finished - a joy to hold in your hand and use. ? But the thing I like about them is that they don¡¯t eat batteries sitting in the drawer. ? All the stuff from China, including the Aventor line from Shars continues to consume as almost as much power when turned off as it does when turned on - so a battery change is necessary every few months. ? It¡¯s not that the batteries cost so much, but just when you need the caliper, you discover the battery is dead, and you don¡¯t have a new one on hand. ? In my experience the battery in the Mitutoyo calipers lasts 2 years minimum, even longer depending on use.
The Mitutoyo units come in different lengths and in two levels of resistance to solvents, oils, etc. ? Since I do a lot of machining, most of mine are the higher IP67 rated versions, but for woodworking that¡¯s unnecessary. ? Here are a couple of links to safe points of purchase (they won¡¯t sell you a clone), but they are available from a variety of sellers:
This is the less expensive version suitable for woodworking with 6-inch capacity: ?
Here is the same unit from ?where my price is $20 less than the Zoro above, but you might not get the same deal I do: ??
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This is the sealed version for use where there are liquids and solvents: ?
And here is the 8-inch capacity version which is what I keep handy at my saw and shaper for fence calibrations, tool height checks, etc: ??
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?(which is Grainger¡¯s web-centric devision) often has promo codes that might apply. ?
Here is a link to all the non-IP67 rated versions sold at Penn Tools:
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If you want a deep dive into why Mitutoyo units are so much better, and don¡¯t mind a foul mouth, here are a couple of fun and informative videos where Chris does a teardown of the real Mitutoyo and a Chinese versions and goes into the battery differences: ??
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Hope this helps.
David,
Just curious what Brand/Model of digital caliper you're using
there?? I need to upgrade to a decent reliable caliper if you have
a recommendation.
Thank you
Bill,
You can always take measurements to figure out how
to reposition the spindle. ? Here¡¯s an example, where I¡¯m
measuring the height of the tenoning plate above the cast iron
top.? I¡¯m taking this measurement in anticipation of removing
the tenoning plate which had been the reference surface for the
counter-profile (cope) cuts, and switching to the cast iron top
as the reference surface for the profile (stick) cut. ? In this
case, the height difference was 34.34mm. ? I lowered the spindle
that precise amount when switching between the cope to the stick
cut and the joint was an exact match at the joint corner. ? But
I still did a test cut to be sure.
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David,
Thanks so much for the help.? You provided a lot of
answers for me.? I was hoping that there was an easier way
to match the rails and stiles when using the tenoning
plate instead of the trioed and true method of test cuts.?
I had visions of using a digital indicator in some way to
lower the cutter height the exact amount for a perfect
fit, LOL!
Thanks for the videos.? They were really helpful.
Warmly,
Bill
--
Bill White
SoCal
Felder KF700S - Hammer A3 -41, Festools, & Way too
much stuff I don't use
David P. Best