I know there are considerable differences in battery life expectancy of LR44 vs SR44 (latter being longer), so keep that in mind when shopping for replacement batteries. However, the cheaper calipers use more energy when off than higher quality ones (to maintain position…essentially they’re always on but the display is either on or off).
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So I got a pair of the plastic ones to play with as at £3.58 delivered there is nothing to lose.
Measuring a machinist’s block and comparing with Mitutoyo calipers and micrometer with 1um resolution I get the following:
10.0 10.07 10.076
20.0 20.09 20.088
40.0 40.06 too big
So, not too shabby considering the price, but not very accurate. They do make my block look spot on though, so a bit like looking through rose tinted spectacles. It reminds me of the first time I saw digital signals on a 100MHz scope at university. I previously looked at TTL signals on a 100kHz scope I made myself while at school and it made square waves look perfect. I was horrified to see how bad they are in real life.
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An advantage of the plastic calipers is I can use them to measure features on my computer screen without scratching it.
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I’ve got one of the cheap digital like in the Amazon links (but from Inventables). My only problem with it is that the battery door pops off REALLY easily so I’ve had to tape it on.
Yah. SR44’s are 4X the price. I found a 50Pack of those for $20. I’m getting about a month or so out f LR44s.
I usually run cheap harbor freight. But recently got a pair of mechanical dial calipers. Not as easy to read at a glance. But no batteries and cheaper than digit is a big plus. I really like em.
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I found a neat digital caliper on Amazon.com. It comes in 6", 8" and 12". The cool thing about it is that it can measure in mm, decimal Inches and FRACTIONAL Inches
https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-01408A-Electronic-Digital-Caliper/dp/B000NEA0P8/ref=cm_wl_huc_item
This one gets a little better reviews, but the 12" one (which us what I needed) is MUCH more expensive.
Both can do fractional inches.
I bought this one last year, as a “lightning deal” I think I paid $20. Now it’s <$15. No complaints - it’s accurate enough, has fractions as well as decimal, and turns on automatically if you move it. It’s also “absolute”, i.e. you don’t need to re-zero every time.
I have a rather nice one already - my dad was an engineer and toolmaker - but for the price, I wanted something I could throw in my tool bag and not worry about damage…
These will be fine in the 6".
As important as having a decent pair is to learn to use them.
Sample at least 4 places on non Proofgrade and learn to get them snug without changing the reading. This is kind of an art.
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this is the set i bought, it’s been great so far.
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One thing that has me scratching my head a bit when it comes to calipers: Isn’t the forge supposed to have autofocus? Why do we even need to measure the thickness of our engravables? Just speaking as one of the internationals who will probably be waiting until next year to get my hands on an actual unit, if ever…
The laser will, but it doesn’t measure until after you cut at which point it will use your input anyway as you may have done it on purpose to alter the lasers affect. It is also to tell the lid camera where to focus so you can better place your design. And Continuous Auto focus is still on the hopper.
Supposed to: yes. Does it right now: no.
Depending on what you’re going to do they’re useful for other things like figuring out the kerf for a particular group of settings and materials or the depth of a group of engrave settings.
I ordered this based on your recommendation. I can’t bring myself to spend over $100 on the good stuff, or even $30 on the ok stuff. Maybe the relatively cheap stuff will work just fine for me. Thanks for the link.
These have become my favorite calipers because they’re accurate enough for all my projects, they don’t need batteries, and they have both metric and inches on the dial (which is really the main reason I got these).
https://www.amazon.com/Anytime-Tools-Caliper-Reading-Standard/dp/B00B5XJW7I/
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I am loving these
iGaging ABSOLUTE ORIGIN 0-6" Digital Electronic Caliper - IP54 Protection / Extreme Accuracy https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00INL0BTS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_3by65flrrJP3Z