Mitutoyo or Starrett Digital Calipers

Hello All,

I have been a long time reader of this forum and have finally decided to join and I am glad to be a part of the community now. I'll just go ahead and give you guys the run down of myself I am 22 year old from PA I have been working as a CNC operator/programmer since I have been 18 and I went to school for computer programming and have been working at my best friend's dad's shop for roughly 3 years now. I have always been a Mitutoyo person for all of my measuring needs and up until recently about 1 month ago my Mit's died on me however they had there fair share of abuse from being dropped in puddles of coolant, chips, dirt, etc my friend got a new pair of Starrett's model 798B w/ SPC output and I must say I really like them I was impressed so I talked to his dad the shop owner and he ordered me a pair and I really like them however when I got them the red plastic case was cracked a little bit and the calipers just felt really weird and sloppy like they did not slide smoothly at all I am just wondering do you guys think I just got a bad pair and should I just ask the company to replace them? Or should I just go back to what I have been using and be done with it? I am just curious to here other people's personal preference or stories you may have that could potentially help myself. Sorry for the really long novel Thanks in advance.

No Novel here

Send 'em back, get some Mitutoyo IP67 coolantproof digitals. Don't look back!

aerodark said:

Send 'em back, get some Mitutoyo IP67 coolantproof digitals. Don't look back!

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Yeah I know man I have been seriously been debating it I think when I get the replacement Starrett's I am going to give em' more shot and if they fail again then it looks like I will be going back to what I know best.

Amazon.com: Mitutoyo 500-752-10, IP67 Digimatic Digital Caliper, 0 - 6"/150mm, .0005"/0.01mm, Non-Output: Industrial & Scientific

Those are the ones I use when I'm sent with my tail between my legs to go run a CNC. I use my Etalons in my "comfort zone" on the manuals.

Old fart

aerodark said:

Those are the ones I use when I'm sent with my tail between my legs to go run a CNC. I use my Etalons in my "comfort zone" on the manuals.

Old fart

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I take it you much would prefer the Mit's? Have you ever used digital Starrett's?

No, but I have heard that they're not up to MTI's level of excellence. Also, the Starrett's have been notorious for battery life problems.

Halfway down this page is the skinny on digital calipers by brand:

http://longislandindicator.com/p11.html

My experience is limited with both, but the Starretts that I've used all seem to lag behind the movement of the jaw and the Mits don't.

Ok well the company whom my boss bought my calipers from overnighted me a new pair and I got to play around with them today and for a free courtesy they also sent me a set of Stanley screwdrivers just for the inconvenience. I mean granted we do a lot of business with these folk so it was a good thing they did so. On the other hand the new Starrett's I got seem much better they slide smooth as butter and they are accurate ... really accurate I was measuring parts today after I ran them on the Okuma ES 4020 mill and I usually will use the caliper first and if need be I'll get my micrometer's out and go from there I was really impressed with the accuracy the largest margin of tolerance I was seeing was maybe .001/.0005 if that I was impressed. All of my buddies in the shop today were ragging on me saying how I bought "junk" caliper's and all that good stuff I was just laughing at them. I just am torn and don't really know what I want to do yet I think I am going to at least give the Starrett's a good shot and see if they keep up with my everyday needs. I have 30 days from yesterday to make up my mind and if I don't like them I will go with the 0-6" IP67 Mitutoyo's that I earlier posted a link up with. I have some other questions what's the first thing you do when you get a new set of calipers? My buddy was saying how I should put a very light light coat of mineral oil in the slide of them and adjust some screw's however I have never done that before. It also says in the directions for the starrett's to oil all mechanical and moving parts. What are some good practices? Thanks for all the good help guys/gals

I love starretts for vernier tools, but I am a mitutoyo guy when it comes to electronic calipers and mics.

Gordon B. Clarke said:

Maybe some are thinking it but I'll ask. Why?

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Yes! I was getting to ask the same question? Also I would like to know why do people prefer Mitutoyo over Starrett's? Is it just because that's what the next guy has laying on his toolbox or what? I was liking the Starrett's because they are hand assembled in the USA and the components are of course manufactured in China/Japan but never the less they are assembled in America and that's one of the reason's I really liked them. I also like them because I have always known of Starrett to make a quality measuring tool. I can't really comment on there Customer Service or what a repair would be like vs. a Mitutoyo brand if anyone can chime in on that it would be greatly appreciated. I also just like the overall appearance and display of Starrett calipers as well. Also everyone in the shop where I work has a pair of Mitutoyo's I know that might be saying something but never the less I just didn't want what the next guy had I guess you could say I wanted to be different.

So far so good with the new calipers thought I think I am going to be keeping them unless something drastically goes wrong within my 30 day return period which I highly doubt will happen they slide very smooth and are very accurate! I also like the nice shiny red foam case they come in. Mitutoyo's just come in a black plastic case with no padding or foam at all. We shall see what the future holds for my starrett's.

Don't know much about Starret calipers I really like my Mit IP 67's but I buy all the machinist in the shop SPI digital work great and accurate at 1/2 the price.

Athack

Calipers

The Starrett 798 is a great product. It is IP 67 rated, uses the Sylvac electronics, and has excellent battery life. The battery issue came about on past models which has been addressed. Pricing between Starrett and Mit apples to apples is nearly identical. I know someone will doubt that but I said apples to apples. Mitutoyo service and return policies are horrible.
With that said... Both companies put out a nice product and compete fairly with each other and keep improving the products to keep up with the demands and desires of the industry.

If your shop requires calibration and certification per ISO requirements then most others besides these two can't truly offer you this.

Gordon B. Clarke said:

I know that this thread started as a "choice" between Mitutoyo and Starrett but there are many, many other quality makes of caliper.

I don't know how often many of you get to go to exhibitions where measuring equipment is on display but it's certainly a great way to see what is out there.

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True that.

Harbor Guy said:

The Starrett 798 is a great product. It is IP 67 ratedIf your shop requires calibration and certification per ISO requirements then most others besides these two can't truly offer you this.

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Then again, there is another company that offers IP-67 protection AND comes with certification. They too innovate and in fact, invented the first digital caliper up to the first IP-54 then IP-67 protection.
If you take the advice of Gordon B. Clarke and hit a tool show to physically compare brands outside of the two they use where you work, you might just be able to do some payback and rag on the guys at work for being so stuck in their ways that they let some good options slip right past them. Just saying.
How you say... ze Swiss DO make ze finest instruments in ze vorld. (and I ain't talking Silvac)

Thanks for all of the great replies I am going to stick with Starrett unless something dramatic happens like I already said but so far so good with them.

Buy stock in a battery manufacturer!!!

Gordon B. Clarke said:

Thanks for the kind words

To others, try Googling something like Digital caliper manufacturers or similar.

Starrett is no longer well known in my part of Europe but Mitutoyo definately is. I know both Starrett and Mitutoyo but neither would be my first choice when buying a digital caliper.

I suppose it's like the guy that bragged that his hammer was the best ever and had been passed down in the family for generations. Two new heads and the shaft had been changed four times but it was still as good as new

Gordon

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So is it some sort of a secret which caliper is your first choice? Are you referring to Tesa/B&S/Etalon?

I'm a big fan of Mitutoyo instruments across the board and have no complaints about their digital calipers--I think they're great.

In general, I'm not so fond of the newer Starrett stuff--I think the quality has gotten really sloppy. But that's just my opinion...

Yeah it's funny because some of the Mitutoyo's I have seen do not have power buttons on them including my last pair that died on me and that was one of the reason's why I wanted to switch because I like to be able to turn my stuff off while I am not using them. Starrett is a good company and I can't comment on wether they have gotten sloppy or not because I have only ever owned 1 starrett product before buying these new calipers.

Gordon B. Clarke said:

Maybe some are thinking it but I'll ask. Why?

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When I originally was faced with the decision of Mitutoyo or Starrett Electronic calipers I went with Mitutoyo because they had a better feel in my hands and at the time the IP rating was higher and the automatic shut off feature was only a minute and not 20 to conserve battery life(IMPORTANT). Had a guy I worked next to buy a set of Starretts and they started having accuracy issues within a year and we did the same measuring basically, maybe he was harder on his than I was on mine but still he had to either get them fixed or replaced, that was 3 years ago and mine are still running good.

Then later I decided to buy a 0-4" set of electronic mics and also went with Mitutoyos because of the excellent quality of the calipers I had and once again just felt better to hold and use. Had basically the same features as the caliper with shutoff and accuracy.

The new Starretts seem to look to be a better design ergonomics wise and IP ratings I think, and I have not felt or used them but it would take an awful good salesman to get me to buy a starrett electronic tool since I am completely satisfied with what I have now.

JMWorks said:

the automatic shut off feature was only a minute and not 20 to conserve battery life(IMPORTANT)

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To me, that really depends on the caliper. 'Back in the day' when digital calipers used L.E.D.s to read the scale, they were indeed power hogs. But then, the ability to convert to inch/metric on the fly and to zero the tool anywhere along the measuring range outweighed the battery problem. Luckily, we're spoiled now and converting units and anywhere zeroing are commonplace.
Most calipers these days have exceptional battery life. On those that aren't power mad they act very much like digital wrist watches which you can't turn off at night... they're that efficient.

Modern digital instruments don't "turn off"

The measurement circuitry is on all the time. That's how they can "turn on" immediately when you move the thimble.

They turn off the display to reduce current drain, but it's not reduced to zero.

- Leigh