# It's made of plastic !



## spunwood (Aug 20, 2010)

I have one word for you…"plastics."


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## RogerBean (Apr 25, 2010)

Rich,
It will be interesting to see how they do over time. Hope you will get us an update after you've used them a while. They may be great. After all, Mont Blanc pens, and Nikon cameras are plastic.
Roger


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## juniorjock (Feb 3, 2008)

I have five Nikon cameras and none of them are plastic. I guess you are referring to some of the point-and-shoot Nikons.

Just a sign of the times for most stuff. Buy it, use it, break it…. and repeat.

- JJ


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

*Rich*
I have a Wixey Caliper. metal, easy access battery, CR2032, and they have a precision feel. I keep a supply of that battery type in the shop, since I have about 5 different Wixey items. They all work well.

I have noted other brands around, but right now, I don't think I will buy any other brand. My calipers, and other measurement instruments, as well as a bunch of other stuff, reside on my measurement tote. So I don't leave the calipers lying around, since the tote is at the site of action in the shop, and it invites putting the caliper away when I am done. Hence, less likely to drop.

Wixey stuff hasn't been the cheapest, but they have good quality.


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## Ripthorn (Mar 24, 2010)

My only iGaging item is a precision 24" straight edge and I love it. However, it has stayed my only item by them because there were some that I contemplated purchasing, but after checking them out, passed. They seem to offer tools at a very reasonable price, but the quality of one model seems to differ dramitically from others. From what I have seen, a brand like Wixey is very consistent and I suppose that is part of the price.


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## JohnnyQ (Oct 20, 2009)

Curious how it is going to behave with large temperature variations. I am guessing this is a 6 in caliper, and ABS plastic. A 30 F temp change will cause this to grow/shrink 0.003


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## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

I don't think we will have much of a temperature change in my heated and air conditioned shop.


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## juniorjock (Feb 3, 2008)

I agree with what everyone is saying about Wixey. They make good stuff. I usually keep my battery operated gizmos in the house during the winter, since I only run the heat when I'm in the shop. The cold will zap a battery pretty quick.
- JJ


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## RandyMorter (Jan 13, 2011)

Hi Rich,

I've got that same caliper, got it from Rockler. (And I've got some other metal 6" caliper from Woodcraft - not sure who the manufacturer is - it does NOT have the fractional readout).

I was disappointed when I got it too. I've had it probably 6 months and actually ended up using it more than my other one BECAUSE it has the fractional readout. It's nice not to have to convert decimal to fractions (if your drawings are in fractions). Then there's times where it's cool to be able to get a measurement and click the button to convert between dimensions.

The main thing it's done for me is to make me want a metal fractional caliper.

I'm always afraid I'm going to break the small piece off when you have the gage opened up. I've got a couple of small dings in the jaws from running it across something (a nail?) and had to try to smooth the jaws back out.

I think I paid even less for mine, but I wish I'd just used the money towards a Wixey or some metal, fractional version.


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

The Wixeys read fractions when you get close. I have the Wixey readout on my TS, and it gets used all the time. I have the angle gizmos as well. Like them all. Mail order always is a crap shoot, unless you know exactly what you are getting or are dealing with a company that is fairly reliable and generally high quality.

"Buyer beware" is still the watchword.


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

Wixey all the way here. I did have one that was made out a composite of some type, it was very good. It was damaged and I went Wixey, since I had the angle product.


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

Hmmm, my stuff is Starrett, from my machinist work. I'd hate to spend that kind of money now, though.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

I have the non digital fractional caliper from the dreaded Harbor Freight. It is one of my favorite tools and has stood up to a lot of use/abuse.No batteries to replace. It measures ID,OD,and depth and has proven very accurate for my shop. If it ever dies Ill buy another just like it. Guess I should have made this a review!


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## LoneTreeCreations (May 27, 2010)

Use the dial type Harbor Freight like gfadvm said. I use them at home and sometimes at work. They are accurate to within a couple thousandths. If you're doing woodworking with a call out below .001, my hat's off to you.
They're cheap, work great, last forever in a woodshop and never need batteries.


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

*LoneTree*
I think you are right on the money. I just use the digital because I am lazy…...don't have to interpolate. I have an old dial type, and it works just fine. But I beg to differ with you…....I challange a call out below 0.01…..(-:

Below that there is no significance with wood…......I suspect….....just can't see the differnence. A film of glue, or finish will demolish that.

Alaska Jim


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## Wfarm (Oct 19, 2010)

my plastic ones have been working fine for many years


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## Tdazzo (Aug 7, 2010)

spunwood, I love "The Graduate" reference. (I assume that's it, anyway). surprised no one seemed to recognize that already ;-)

I've got the same calipers; got them from Rockler when they were on sale for ~$10. They are the first calipers I've ever owned/used so I really can't compare them to anything else. I'd agree with most of the comments here though. As for durability, I've had mine for a year or so and they've held up pretty well. I did have to replace the battery recently; probably from the cold in the garage this winter. But they came with a spare battery so I really can't complain. They seem fairly accurate but I do have to reset them to 0 before every 3rd use or so.

I'd say if they are your first set they're pretty good if you can get them on sale. Especially if you want to get a sense of how often you'll really use them.


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## CalWood (Jun 21, 2011)

Check out the following link. It shows the iGaging metal digital caliper. As I wrote earlier, these were great!


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