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Mitutoyo digital for about 20 years. Used every day and I they can't have had more than half a doz. battery changes in all that time. Batteries are often sold in pairs, but I tend to find the "spare" is also dead when I get to having to change the "working" one, because it's exceeded it's shelf life! I get a fair bit of warning of the battery dying, both with the display fading and I think there is even a low battery indicator there, too. Probably the most used tool in my shop.

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Trevor Gore, Luthier. Australian hand made acoustic guitars, classical guitars; custom guitar design and build; guitar design instruction.

http://www.goreguitars.com.au

Pretty much my experience too. I bought a 10 pack of spare batteries so no worries when they die.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I got mine from LMI probably about 20 years ago. Probably the same ones they sell today though. Cheap Chinese made ones but of descent quality and stainless. I also probably use it every day and it has been consistently good enough.

I can't seem to bring myself around to trusting digital ones for some reason.

I have more experience with dial calipers but I think you might like to know.
I used cheap Grizzly.com calipers for a long time and although accurate enough and did the job, when I bought a Mitutoyo set the difference in smoothness and quality is remarkable.


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Just to note that one should always install SR44 batteries instead of the (much) cheaper LR44.

Also, a digital caliper does not ever "turn off" . The display goes blank but it is still draining the battery whether the display is showing or not.

Neat thread to follow. I think I'll "invest" in a cheap set from harbor freight to check out the digitals.
9.99 for 6" composite

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Say what you do, Do what you say.

Instead of the plastic caliper, you might consider spending a few dollars more for the 4" Pittsburgh digital caliper ($14.99). It's size makes it very handy for instrument builders, and - along with a 6" Starrett 5R rule, a good pocket knife, and a sharp pencil, it's in everyone's aprons in this shop. On the boss's tool list for newbs as a budget alternative to the higher quality tools discussed. Lifetime warranty...it will wear out in a 5-6 years or so, but that is the point - walk into a Harbor Freight store with worn out tool and walk out with new one that can live in your dusty, gritty apron pocket without any guilt on your part.

http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools ... 47256.html

The current sale flyer has a July 4th, 2016 25% off coupon (good for one day only - sign up for their emails and get it almost immediately), or you can find 20% off coupons in many local discount flyers in your daily dose of junk mail and dozens of popular medical and dental waiting room magazines such as Popular Mechanics, etc. I find my 20% discount coupons monthly in my copies of First Freedom and American Rifleman magazines.

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A constellation only takes shape when one maps the whole.
- Beth Brower

Not much of an apron kind of guy Woodie, my verniers sit in my back pocket so I always have them.
Sounds like the digitals could be handy converting from metric to imperial and zeroing out during lay out
would reduce the math. And lord Knows my cognitive skills have been on the decline for a few years, burnt up a few brain cells in the 60s and 70s

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Say what you do, Do what you say.

Two other useful things about cheap digital calipers.

1. I don't hesitate to grind one point sharper to use as a marking gauge. If I want to lower a saddle say .030", I measure at one of the E string notches, zero, close the calipers .030", lock and scribe w/ the sharpened point. I'd wouldn't take some nice Mitutoyo's to the grinder and diamond stone.

2. Sometimes I want to measure something with sand paper stuck to it, or the thickness of sandpaper it's self. I don't feel bad about doing it carefully w/ cheapies.

The Harbor Freight plastic digital calipers are really crappy and only read .00" -- the metal ones with wheel adjuster work fine and read .000"

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

Yeah, the plastic ones flex/break and are not accurate. I always use mine for a marking gauge, even without sharpening them. Digital calps are easily the most used tool in my shop!

Sometimes, if I'm too busy to count the stacks of crisp Benjis people give me. I just measure the stack with my calipers. Always use the Mitutoyo for this.

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Pat

Built my first guitar in 2011 and bought a cheap digital on sale at the local Ace for $9.99. I checked it against the strings that I bought for that guitar and it was right on. I taped a couple of the cut-offs of those strings onto a board with their nominal sizes and that first measurement to 3 decimal points and periodically check the caliper against them to see if anything is changing - not so far. I am impressed - this was the first time I used hundredths (and thousandths) of an inch in woodworking.

Ed

Much the same here, but 7 years - use maybe 3 batteries a year, about $0.50 worth. Check it against my slip gauges now and again, been fine.
And I can drop it and there's none of this

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

First, my biggest complaint about cheaper Kobalt calipers is smoothness, battery compartment failure, and separation of depth stick from body. I did not yet pull trigger because I've been awfully busy. And I got intrigued by the solar Mitutoyo model... Need more input. Any good?

Don't know about the solar models but after using Mitutoyos at work for the last 15+ years it's too annoying to me to use most of the cheaper models. I've had several cheaper versions and the latest one I bought for my bench in the garage (which is separate from the guitar shop) works fine but is stiff and the edges are sharp. At some point I'll probably go on ebay and look for a quality used vernier caliper since my garage bench doesn't get much use. Last month I bought a very nice Starrett vernier micrometer in the original box with the instruction booklet for under $30. I started off using vernier scales of one type or another so don't mind them at all; I'd much rather have a good, precise tool.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

The only time I've ever killed a set of cheap digital calipers it's been by dropping them, which also kills a set of Mitutoyos...but you cry less when you drop the Mitutogas. So long as they're metal and read to 0.001" (or some pretend to be good for 0.0005") you're probably OK, they're all the same capacitive strip circuit- not high-technology. The build quality is a bit nicer on a set of expensive calipers, but that's all gone with one drop or good bump where I can get another set of cheap calipers for $20. I have a dial caliper as a backup always, when I lose the batteries I put "somewhere I wouldn't lose them".

I spend on dial indicators and micrometers larger than 1", but I've never seen any real value in going 'brand' on a caliper. In the end, calipers aren't truly high precision devices and they're only semi-precision devices in trained hands. This solar thing, though...that is a tempting reason to buy a more expensive caliper!

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

I find that fourth decimal place is annoying on any caliper. Especially when the digit is full size. Reading tenths is the land of micrometers.

If you can afford them, Mitutoyo make solar-powered calipers.
I have some and love them. Never having to replace a battery and having the quality and accuracy of the Mitutoyo brand is well worth the extra $$ IMO.

I picked up a nice set of Mitutoyo mechanical tools somewhere along my woodworking timeline (not sure when, or what I paid for them) - both the old tools and the new solar calipers are shown in a picture linked to here Dave's Calipers

Cheers,
Dave

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

In our shop there is no way we could come up with a justifiable value add for the $150 item. The accuracy we get with the HF units .001 +/- is all we need. These off Amazon get really good reviews

https://www.amazon.com/VINCA-DCLA-0605- ... HNF2KF5WQT

I think some would like the fraction setting

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

Just like you, I got tired of the disposable cheap-o calipers. Mitutoyo. First pair I've ever owned that are 100% dependable. Dial read out, its what I'm used to.

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"It is easier to fool a man, than it is to convince him that he has been fooled"
Mark Twain

Just bought a used, like new Mitutoyo 500-474 digimatic solar. I now understand why they have such a good reputation and cost so much. Very happy with it