Today I received the 6” dial caliper I ordered. I’ve been woodworking for 4 years and today feels like the first time I’ve actually known what something measured. Before I just held up a Starrett 6” rule to whatever I was measuring and went from there. Close enough? Sure. Maybe. But this caliper is a whole new world.
I ordered the 6” dial caliper from Grizzly (http://www.grizzly.com/products/h3022) based on folks in the FWW forums saying that the precision offered by the Grizzly was good enough for woodworking and I think they’re right on the money. Even if I somehow got something to match down to the .001”, it would probably be different tomorrow and different still the day after that.
So what did I build first with my new tool? Runners for a replacement crosscut sled. Although once I started cutting the runners, I realized that I didn’t need the caliper (I just cut until they fit). But I used it anyways to get some practice. I think I’ll put it on my nightstand as I sleep tonight. A sort of security blanket for the woodworker.
8 comments so far
Thos. Angle
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3244 posts in 443 days
posted 383 days ago
I don’t have one of those but have occasionally wished for one; usually when trying to match up a bolt. They tell me more than I want to know about wood. Anything below a 16th is too small for me. Like you found on the sled runners, I just make it fit. Not for everyone but it works for me. Good subject for a blog.
Tom
-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon
mot
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4840 posts in 517 days
posted 383 days ago
I bought a digital caliper last year that changed a few things for me. It allowed me to be able to set my stacked dado in about 1/50th the time. They are decent things to have in the shop.
-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)
DaveJ
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64 posts in 404 days
posted 383 days ago
I had a similar experience as Iffy – bought a caliper after seeing reviews in FWW. It’s extremely handy, and I would now miss it terribly. As others have implied already, just like any tool, it’s useful in some situations but not all.
I hadn’t realized it until after owning mine for several weeks, but you can measure depth by using the end of the rod that projects as you move the caliper in and out.
I recommend getting a caliper that shows both fractional inches and hundredths to avoid having to convert between them.
-- Dave J. Oakdale, MN
TheGravedigger
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197 posts in 505 days
posted 382 days ago
I’ve used one of the fractional ones for several years. It’s really handy for thicknessing wood with the planer, as well as making sure your tenon cheeks stay parallel when you tweak them with a plane.
-- Robert from Raymond, MS. "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is therefore not a practice, but a habit." - Aristotle
scottb
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2942 posts in 808 days
posted 382 days ago
I’d cry if you took away my calipers and 6” combination square.
-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/
dennis mitchell
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2931 posts in 795 days
posted 382 days ago
Yep..got to have one.
-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com
WayneS
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34 posts in 412 days
posted 382 days ago
Picked up a Darson digital yesterday, makes things a lot easier.
-- Wayne - Newbie looking to learn!
Karson
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12893 posts in 881 days
posted 382 days ago
I agree on the digital caliper.
But I’ve also got a handful of a plastic caliper from Harbor Freight. I think i pay about 2.00 each for them. I use them when I’m selecting rough sawn lumber or other woods because it will get to 1 /128 of an inch of you want to work the logarithmic scale. But the regular scale is 1/16” of an inch and it works fine for me. I have them laying all around the shop. bandsaw, tablesaw thickness sander.
-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com