# Everything I wanted in a digital caliper



## Tennessee

I was going to say you overpaid until I saw it also displays in fractions, up to 128ths of an inch. Nice unit. 
Most of the time I use MM, but that is a nice feature.


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## WoodNSawdust

Thanks for the review.


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## terryR

Another big Thanks, Rick, I've wanted a decent digital caliper for a while. Hard to justify the price of Starrett for woodworking. I'm terrible about leaving numbered drill bits laying everywhere after use, so need calipers to tell which is which.

And my bits seem to be slightly under as well.


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## Desert_Woodworker

$29.99 on sale from Amazon.


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## Notw

I have one of these as well and couldn't agree more, great value. And i sleep better knowing all the whizzbangs in my shop have been measured


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## MrRon

I hate to burst your bubble, but Harbor Freight has one for $9.95. I have two of them and they read as precise as my Starrett and Mitutoyo vernier calipers and micrometers. They also have one that reads in fractions for $15.99.


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## wormil

> I was going to say you overpaid until I saw it also displays in fractions, up to 128ths of an inch. Nice unit.
> Most of the time I use MM, but that is a nice feature.
> 
> - Tennessee


I've been using MM often and like it.

I left out the price, $26 shipped. Something else I forgot to mention and a factor in choosing this caliper over the many cheaper clones, is the extra large display. I've hit the age where I have to keep a pair of reading glasses in the shop and I can easily read this display without glasses.

Here is a really good video review of this compared to a number of other calipers.


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## HillbillyShooter

Thanks for the review and reference video.

P.S. By the way and FYI: that brown paper is probably rust inhibiting VCI paper which is comply wrapped around precision metal to prevent rust ( http://www.amazon.com/Daubert-Cromwell-UW35MPI36x100-Corrosion-Inhibitor/dp/B00ANUNWTI ).


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## Grumpymike

*All my 1/4" drill bits were undersize and within 0.001" of each other, either 0.247" or 0.248". What does that mean?*
Oh man, you struck a nerve there pal.
I built a cabinet with the adjustable shelves and went to the big box to buy the shelf brackets, you know the 1/4" pins with the 'L' bracket on one end, and drove the 14 miles back home to find that even though the package said 1/4" they were not! they measured .234 or .235 … What the heck??? ... Well after a while it dawned on me that that is 6mm, and 6mm is not 1/4"(6.35mm would be very close to 1/4".)

Back to town again another 14 miles to the other big box to find some real 1/4" shelf pins, but wait … this time I took my caliper with me and found the same thing.
Off to the hardware store, and to another, then 30 miles to one of the Wood Worker Stores to find a true 1/4" shelf pin … Now 44 miles back home with a very short attitude.

Lumber jocks Unite! look around your shops and find extra tapes and rulers, we all have a few spares, lets send China our extra rulers so that they too can tell how big 1/4" really is.


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## woodenwarrior

I too have a set of digital calipers and pretty much love them, but…......I'm no mathematical whiz and dividing fractions has never been a strong point of mine let alone converting them into decimals or vice versa. So I created a chart that is super easy to use and takes the guess work out of both dividing fractions and decimals. It's graduated in 1/16ths up to 1 inch and cross references for whole,3/4,1/2,1/4 and 1/8 of what ever you're trying to divide up. Each fraction has its decimal equivalent underneath. It makes using calipers much less frustrating. I know there are apps that will do the same thing but I loathe taking my iPad or phone out to the shop where it's dusty and easily damaged. I tried to get it published in both WOOD and Fine a Woodworking but neither publication bit. So I'm offering it to all of you, whomever would like to use it. I keep a laminated copy in my shop apron and use it constantly. If you would like a copy send me a PM with your email address and I will zip it to you.


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## wormil

I just try and avoid fractions. There are fraction to decimal to mm charts available aplenty on the internet. Here is a nice big one for printing:
http://www.sw-steel.com/images/Inch-Conversion%20Chart%20001.jpg


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## Grumpymike

Ok, Now lets all be seated class and pay attention here, as this will be on the test come Friday …

This is so easy it scares people. 
In math, '/' is the symbol for divide, so using the fraction 3/4 you do what it says; 3 divided by 4 …
(Using your $5 calculator punch in 3 divide by 4 and press = or enter and it will show .750).

This works for any and all fractions.

*Rick* You are so right.

*woodenwarrior* Thanks for the effort and the post. I find a conversion on the internet that I like, there are many, many on there, and print it. Then I take the printed paper copy to the shop and tape it to the wall. I have copies in a drawer and stuck here and there in case one gets coffee stains or what ever.
That way my TI-86 and the laptop stay dust free …


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## mandatory66

I have this unit as well and find it to be accurate, I checked it against a starrrett micrometer. I find it to be very useful. I also have one that reads in fractions of an inch which gets a lot of use as well. Most fun is measuring the thickness of your plane shavings to see how low you can go or does this blade need sharpening or is this plane better than the others. I find the best I can get is .0005 and still get a full shaving. You do this after you measure everything in the shop.


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## woodenwarrior

Grumpymike, and I would absolutely agree with you. Simple fractions are very easy to divide. What happens when you need to know 3/4 of 9/16ths? Let alone its decimal equivalent. I never claimed to be a math whiz….the chart just makes it easier, without the need for a calculator. I'm neither promoting nor selling anything. I just made something I thought might be useful to others.


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## BurlyBob

Hey Top, I've got a conversion chart in a three ring binder in my shop. Here's a really pathetic story. several years back I worked in a wood products plant for a short while. They had a test that potential employee's were required to pass. It involved being able to read a tape measure. I guess they had a pretty good failure rate. I don't recall the percentage rate. If it ain't digital I guess today's kids can handle it!


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## Abter

just bought one from Amazon; $26.95 (no special price). Woodnack's review is spot on, but understates the wonderfullness of being able to report in fractions OR decimals. Its hard to describe a touch-and-feel issue, but the IP54 sure has it. MrRon…The IP54 is going to replace my HF caliper you mention. I've had the HF one for 2 years. It always had a habit of turning off suddenly, which is a pain in the neck. It looses the zero setting also. Over time the problem got worse and worse. The problem is the battery compartment door slides into place, and the plastic bumps that hold it in started out very weak, and got steadily worse. It got to the point where I had to keep one finger holding the door on firmly. As soon as I lifted my finger it turned off again. Also, the HF one failed one of the basic tests that gadget class' youtube video mentioned: There was always light showing between the exterior arms, and the interior points weren't matched up either. For $27 bucks the IP54 is sooooo much better than the HF one, even if bought when it is on sale (<$10) at HF.


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## wormil

I bought one of the cheaper brands for the house and it was a waste of money. The measurement changes depending where on the Jaws you measure, no precision. Plus the mechanism isn't smooth like the ip54.


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