# Good measurements, a bit of a break in period. (Updated review)



## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

Igaging makes a good one too. A nice tool to use and astonishingly consistent. Very affordable as well.
No gaps between the contact tips when closed, and everything was machined very nicely.


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

I have two three digital calipers. My oldest is a Wixey, heavily used, and a little touchy now. The on/off button is finicky lately. But it does go to 4 digits, and does fractions. I think it has been in the shop for nearly 6 years. The head is made partially of plastic, but the rest is nicely machined metal. I am not really complaining about the Wixey, because I use a calipers frequently, and it performed well for years.

For my La Conner shop, I bought a General Instruments Ultra-tech. Probably at Lowe's, but it could have been the Grizzly showroom in Bellingham. Other than the head, it is very similar to the Wixey. The head is all metal with excellent fit and finish. In all respects it feels, looks, and functions like good quality.

So to replace the Wixey in my shop in Anchorage, I bought another General. At this point, I use the General most of the time. Occasionally the Wixey still gets used….....but the on/off button has become an annoyance…......probably representing inevitable wearing out of the device. The General should be readily available at Lowe's, possibly HD, or other hardware stores.

I have an old, plastic, but well constructed Swiss mechanical calipers. It is not used much any more, but is a good reference device.

I have some Igaging digital tools as well. The height gage is particularly nice and useful. I have Wixey angle gages that have functioned well over time.

The Wixey devices tend to eat batteries in their sleep, so I keep a bunch of 2032 batteries at both shops.

*In summary, take a look at the General brand that should be available locally. Their digital calipers seems to be a cut above the rest.*

Speaking of precision, I find that if everything is going well in the shop I can maintain about 1/500 of an inch variance, and that is =/- 0.002. But the wood has to be nearly perfect to start with, and the machines have to be in recent accurate calibration. +/- 0.01 is more common, and let's face it, +/- 1/64 or about +/- 0.016 is usually adequate. That is 8 times worse than the best I can do, however.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

If you have used a Wixey, one of those was what I used as a comparison against the Neiko from Amazon and the Neiko is fit, finish, and operations wise a cut above the Wixey. I'm just an idiot when it comes to identifying button cell batteries is all…

I am not sure, but if you are talking about General Tools, the yellow and black package people, I would be a bit shocked if they made a truly great tool. Most of their stuff I have used over the years is on par or a shave below Harbor Freight. The General doweling jig and pocket hole jig I had were usable, but quirky. I gave them to Pastor Steve before he passed on from cancer. I bet he's upstairs in the great wood shop now!

Anyway, a couple of General tools that have been spot on? Countersinks, and plug cutters have been fantastic. Well worth the pittance they ask for them…


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

I have the Pittsburgh (HF) 6" digital caliper. I have compared readings I got with the HF caliper with Starrett and Mitutoyo vernier calipers and micrometers and they are spot on. Maybe I'm just plain lucky.


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

Yup, that General. I think I detect some upgrading of their product line over time. They were exactly like you describe, but I think they have changed their strategy.

It is a little like the Ryobi and Rigid lines at HD. They have obviously put quality much higher on the list of priorities, and are making some excellent products. I recently bought a set of Ryobi driver bits that are actually a cut above most of the competition. Ditto on their quick change drill bit set. I purchased the drill bit set for my La Conner shop, and liked it so much, I bought one for Anchorage as well. And I bought the driver bit set as well for my recently posted driver tote.

If the General digital calipers is any indication, then General needs to be included in a preferred brand group. Frankly, I was surprised at the quality after I bought the first one.

It is one more illustration of the unfortunate rapidly changing brand/quality equation in the woodworking realm. Brands we thought were good have deteriorated, and the also-rans have become better. There are no simple answers for the average amateur woodworking bloke.


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

Thnx for your review, and the link on Amazon. These are handy, but the batteries don't seem to last too long.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

As you stated, fluctuations of +/-.001 are OK for woodworking.
There are a lot of other ones out there that are acually worse and are typically made entirely out of plastic.

I own five calipers three 6" (one digital, one dial, and one U.S./metric vernier) one 18" vernier, and one 26" vernier.
I use the dial/vernier ones the most because I don't like to replace batteries.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

I think my biggest issue is with the others, the Neiko and the Starrett there was no fluctuation, with the Pittsburgh there is…

I have heard so many good things about the Pittsburgh 6" digital calipers that I had to try one on for size, and since it is pretty fresh out of the box, it is likely that there really isn't much wrong with it, it just jumps .001" from zero when setting it, could just be slightly rough machining that will polish in over time….


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

I found that tightening up the screws slightly that clamp the movable jaw to the bar, improves the accuracy. I also wipe the faces of the jaws before using, as just a tiny pinch of dust can throw the reading off a thos or two.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Pittsburgh, SE, Neiko, they are all the same with varying levels of quality control. The iGaging IP54 that Pinto mentions is probably as good a caliper you can buy new for less than $50. You can get Mitutoyo's in the $80-100 range new. The HF stuff is what it is, made as cheaply as possible and with bare minimum quality control. You might get a good one, you might not.


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## tchara (May 13, 2016)

I'm almost 60 years old, and have never owned a caliper in my life. I've always tinkered with woodworking around the house, but never had a dedicated shop until recently. I was at a HF tent sale about a year ago, and they had these digital calipers at a really low price, so I bought one just because it was on sale. I have been astounded by the number of times I've used this little gem since I've had it. Now I don't know what I would do with out it.


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