Need decent analog calipers

[atgcpaul]

I was resawing veneers this weekend and the batteries in both of my digital calipers had run down. I don't use them enough to keep cycling batteries through them.

Can anyone recommend a decent set of analog dial calipers? I can't make up my mind if I want the kind that reads in fractions or decimals, but my digital ones were in decimal and it was easy enough to multiply by 16 or 32 to get a fraction.

And this is for wood, not metal, so I'm looking for inexpensive ones.

Thanks,
Paul

[trungdok]

I bought the 6" fractional caliper from Harbor Freight a few years ago when it was on sale. I really like it. I think the final price was around $14.

http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-fractional-dial-caliper-92437.html

[cwsmith]

Paul,

Here's a couple of links to Lee-Valley. The first is for vernier calipers. (http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/pag...=1,43513,43546). I particularly like the fine-adjustment feature on the "A" and "B". They cost slightly more, but it's a nice feature. I have a similar vernier that I bought back in 1964 when I was a mechanical inspector in a local industry.

The second link is for L-V's overall caliper selection. (http://www.leevalley.com/us/home/Search.aspx?action=n). Dial calipers are nice, especially if the eye-sight isn't perfect.

Hope this helps,

CWS

[atgcpaul]

Here's a dumb question so I'll ask it. On a dial caliper, any measurement under an inch is represented wholly on the dial. What if I'm measuring something over an inch? Find the whole number on the ruler scale and add that to the number shown on the dial, right?

[LCHIEN]

That's correct.

[LCHIEN]

My comment is, that a while back I posted... and maybe you missed it, that the HF calipers use the same amount of power when off as they do when on, the only difference is that they turn the display off. I presume its so it can remember the mode and zero point without resorting to (relatively costly) NV RAMs.

Ah, here's a link: http://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/dis...ery-usage-life


Anyway the batteries will last for years if you just take them out when not using them. And put them in when using them. The HF caliper storage cases have a little place to store batteries.
Digital calipers are very cheap and just as accurate. The dial calipers at Rockler cost $50 so you can buy a lot of batteries for the extra money.
HF's dial caliper is $20. You can get the digital ones from HF for less than that.
I buy LR44/357 batteries from ebay for around $2 for 10 or so, free shipping.

FWIW, I once bought a 6" dial caliper from either Rockler or HF, but the bracket holding the thumbwheel that moves the head broke, so while its not totally useless, its hard to precisely move the measuring head.

[tfischer]

You can buy batteries ridiculously cheap on eBay... I buy them by the 50-pack for well under $10 shipped. As Loring says you can remove them after each use, but that's a PITA so I just swap them when needed. I haven't kept track but I'm guessing every 3-6 months for me.

[LCHIEN]

You can buy batteries ridiculously cheap on eBay... I buy them by the 50-pack for well under $10 shipped. As Loring says you can remove them after each use, but that's a PITA so I just swap them when needed. I haven't kept track but I'm guessing every 3-6 months for me.

I leave the battery cover off, The battery usually stay in with friction while in use. Saves half the time of removing and replacing it.