The Accurate Reloading Forums
Calipers
14 February 2011, 09:49
JD MillerCalipers
Well I finally launched my calipers across the room and they took a shit. They were stanless with cabelas loco in the dial, china stamp, lasted 10 years of being droped till now,
Are stainless steel with dial- lyman, Hornaday, rcbs, grafs, etc the same china made calipers? They look like they are all the same kind stainless china calipers like my cabelas with their own logo name on them, prices vary quite abit though.
I dont want to pay more just cause its got someone elses name on it
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14 February 2011, 10:20
vapodogCheck out Midway.....price was right when I got mine....
About the only American made ones are Brown & Sharpe and Starrett.....and a helluva lot more and frankly won't last the ten yrears you got from your old set.
Look for a digital set.....they don't require stringent cleanliness like the dial ones do with the rack gear in them.
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14 February 2011, 14:39
JD MillerCabela's -$21
Midway-(checked before I started thread)
Frankfort arnal -$30
Hornaday -$30.50
Lyman -$27
RCBS -$44.50
RCBS poly -$47
All appear to be the same, same manufacture except poly
If I was a rich gubmint employee id get the most expensive Digital and a supply of batterys paid for by tax payers, except im a poor private business owner lookin for the best deal
at the best price.
Just ordered another with cabelas name on it
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14 February 2011, 16:33
ted thornI have to dis-agree with Vapo. My Brown and Sharp and Starrett dial calipers are over 22 years old and are as new....albeit very well taken care of, but used 5 days a week in shop conditions.
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14 February 2011, 16:55
vapodogquote:
Originally posted by ted thorn:
I have to dis-agree with Vapo. My Brown and Sharp and Starrett dial calipers are over 22 years old and are as new....albeit very well taken care of, but used 5 days a week in shop conditions.
It wasn't my intent to diss the American made tools.....I've owned both and will attest that both are extremely fine tools and even better than the imports by a long ways.....but when one drops them from a bench and it costs twice the price of an import just to repair them.....that's when I learned how good the imports are.
Make no mistake about it.....both are superb tools.....but taking good care is one thing.....just plain making a stupid mistake is another.....and that's what I did!
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Winston Churchill
14 February 2011, 17:44
adamhunterTry Harbor Freight Tools. I think I paid $9 for my chinese SS 6" caliper. Is as accurate as my fathers Mitoyo(sp) which as i understand is an expensive caliper. Been dropped a few times too and is still working.
30+ years experience tells me that perfection hit at .264. Others are adequate but anything before or after is wishful thinking.
14 February 2011, 18:00
brad mayI'll have to disagree with Vapo also. Brown and Sharpe were never made in the USA. They are Swiss made. Starrett have been made in Brazil for some time now.
You will not go wrong with the Brown & Sharpe. I get about 3 years out of mine. I most likely drop mine on the floor EVERY DAY. I'm real good at kicking them with my boot before they hit the concrete is the reason they last so long.
MSC usually has them on sale. Still not cheap, but you will never regret it. 20 years ago I would but Starret, but I found out real quick that they didn't last.
Don't bother sending them in for repair. It's cheaper to but a new pair.
14 February 2011, 21:28
BlacktailerBrad knows his stuff. B&S have been made in Switzerland for at least the past 30-40 years. Starrett moved their production to Brazil in the 80's. Mitutoyo are decent quality but B&S (Etalon) are the best. The rest are all made in China. Unless you are a machinist or someone else who makes their living with your tools, the China ones are good enough to check case lengths, etc.
Have gun- Will travel
The value of a trophy is computed directly in terms of personal investment in its acquisition. Robert Ruark
14 February 2011, 21:43
Stonecreekquote:
Unless you are a machinist or someone else who makes their living with your tools, the China ones are good enough to check case lengths, etc.
Well said. For $10-$20 you can get an easy-to-use and adequately accurate digital caliper from Harbor Freight or a number of other places. For reloading applications they are totally adequate.
I like to carry a $1.98 plastic vernier model in my shooting bag to check the size of groups. It will get you within .01" easily enough, and for varminting and hunting loads I'm not interested in splitting hairs any finer.
14 February 2011, 21:45
vapodogquote:
Originally posted by brad may:
I'll have to disagree with Vapo also. Brown and Sharpe were never made in the USA. They are Swiss made. Starrett have been made in Brazil for some time now.
I'll take your word for it and stand corrected
quote:
Originally posted by Blacktailer:
Unless you are a machinist or someone else who makes their living with your tools, the China ones are good enough to check case lengths, etc.
Yup....on this I agree
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"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."
Winston Churchill
14 February 2011, 22:52
Bear in Fairbanksquote:
Originally posted by JD Miller:
Well I finally launched my calipers across the room and they took a shit. They were stanless with cabelas loco in the dial, china stamp, lasted 10 years of being droped till now,
Are stainless steel with dial- lyman, Hornaday, rcbs, grafs, etc the same china made calipers? They look like they are all the same kind stainless china calipers like my cabelas with their own logo name on them, prices vary quite abit though.
I dont want to pay more just cause its got someone elses name on it
Welll, offhand, I wouldn't know. When I bought mine, I figured that a gunsmith/machinist wouldn't use the el-cheapo plastic variety so I bought an electronic 6" Starrett. I figured that I wanted no chance of interpolation error by me so I did it & am glad. They make it much faster to measure things such as seating depth, case length, etc.
Then again, you wouldn't want one of these since it has "someone else's name on it".
Good money spent IMHO.
Bear in Fairbanks
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Unless you're the lead dog, the scenery never changes.
I never thought that I'd live to see a President worse than Jimmy Carter. Well, I have.
Gun control means using two hands.
16 February 2011, 22:04
MarkMy 2 cents-
Buy a digital 6" chinese caliper, either from harbor freight or you can just look them up on google shopping or amazon.com and sort by price. Remember to take the battery out when you are done with it as they are battery suckers in my experience.
The start looking on ebay or craigslist for a quality dial caliper so when the other one dies you'll always have a reliable backup. Other than the battery issue, those chinese ones are pretty damn handy.
for every hour in front of the computer you should have 3 hours outside
16 February 2011, 22:19
Markbrowse around and find $25 of stuff to spend and get free shipping.
for every hour in front of the computer you should have 3 hours outside
16 February 2011, 23:47
bartsche
My B&S have lasted over 35 years. Of course I seldom if ever use them.I use my Midway and have long before they stopped paying for shipping.
roger
Old age is a high price to pay for maturity!!! Some never pay and some pay and never reap the reward. Wisdom comes with age! Sometimes age comes alone..
17 February 2011, 00:33
cutigerMy Starett precision measuring tools, mikes and calipers have served me well since 1975 but I am always very careful with them especially the calipers.
CO School of Trades 1976, Gunsmithing
17 February 2011, 03:56
Doc224/375Mitutoyo B&S Tesa Starrett are all High quality nearly everything else is a pretend wannabe .
http://hubpages.com/hub/digital-calipers http://www.davis.com/catalog/p..._index.asp?cls=58223IMO it depends on what an how accurate you need to be , repeatability is of utmost importance for myself , I so dislike second guessing a measurement especially a critical one !!!. Each too their own devices .
17 February 2011, 04:47
woods is a good place for info and pricing.
I wound up with a pair of
Brown and Sharpe dial calipers
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17 February 2011, 20:04
LapidaryI agree with Doc and would add Presidium and Micromat to the list.
18 February 2011, 22:36
Doc224/375quote:
Hey Woods, Are you ever WRONG? Seems to me I heard that somewhere before.
Not according too my Data Base ,an I have an ultra expansive one !. It did note an anomaly some time way back .
Seems he was once hesitant then quickly recovered , an produced the correct solution !.
When weather pocketbook and time permits ,put in range time . An remember bench resting is a hobby ,not a hunting skill , get in a lot of off hand, sitting, kneeling , an leaning support tree rock sticks Etc. practice !. Real world conditions might just save your keister some day .
19 February 2011, 02:42
257x50Woods is right.
Long Island Indicator is an education.
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FWIW I don't know how many calipers I have. 2" to 24", maybe 8.
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Used a lot, but for reloading the one I go to is a 4" Mitutoyo.
No extra length.
Harder to bend when you sit on them at a gun show.
Short enough to stick in your pocket.
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If I could find a set by Etalon, I'd buy them, the feel is nicer.
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I have 2 sets so I have one to use when I lose one and start to check ebay. Buy them used.
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4 inch just seems to work best for me.
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And dial, not vernier. When checking a length, set thew ZERO to nominal and measuring is quick.
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My $.02