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Good brown and sharpe calipers.and a good set of files

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Emerritt15

Plastic
Joined
Jun 23, 2019
I'm new and I'm in tech school doing machine tool and we have some mitutoyo digitals in our class but my instructor says they are the "bargain" mitutoyo's and have much give and aren't very accurate. He says that we should invest in a good pair of calipers and have heard good things of brown and sharpe. They have so many models. I need 6 inch dial calipers (preferably) with measurements of up to .001". What are some good models Also who makes a good file set?
 
I'd suggest not getting dial calipers, a good pair of digital Mitutoyo gives you long battery life, high accuracy, and easy metric/Imperial conversion and utility. Not to mention never having the dial skip due to chip ingress.

Yes, Mit makes a cheap line, avoid those. Also watch for counterfeits, they're everywhere. Buy during a sale from a known vendor, you can get genuine Mit calipers for under a $100.

https://www.amazon.com/Mitutoyo-500...00IG46NL2/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
[one link, search for that part number]

For files, Nicholson used to make good files in the USA, but later imported versions are not so great. This is where some Ebay searching for "new old stock" is helpful. If that doesn't work out, good brands include Grobet and Pferd.

You can check this older thread from another site for a listing of file manufacturers.

Any high quality metal files made in USA? - The Guild of Metalsmiths Web Forum
 
Calipers vernier, dial, or digital are not suitable for precision measurements. If you use them in an aerospace shop you'd better be checking raw material. If you expect to advance beyond home hobby shop work do yourself a favor and get a decent set of micrometers.
 
Well in my class our tolerance is .005". Calipers are what we use for most of our measurements for flat surfaces. This semester I'm on lathe so all parts machined are round so we use mics for that. I thought I would get dial because no worries for battery and it seems to be the same basic concept as a height gauge and I'm good with a height gauge.
 
B&S makes (or at least used to make) a good dial caliper. That said, take the advice to get a good Mitutoyo digital. It will do metric/English translations and incremental measurements. It will likely prove more reliable and easier to read without error. And it's the same basic concept as a digital height gage, if that actually matters to your class.

You might spend $3 on a silver oxide battery every year or two - Mitutoyo (unlike clones) doesn't drain a battery much.
 
Mtndew said:
I'm old school and hate digital calipers with a passion.
If it were me and wanting a 6" pair, I would go with these:
120A-6 Dial Caliper, Hardened Stainless Steel, 0-6" Range, .001" Graduations

Or if your budget is tight, you can get the Made in China version of Starrett for 1/2" the price here:
3202-6 Dial Caliper, Hardened Stainless Steel, 0-6" Range, .001" Graduations
Click to expand...

Yuck! Not Starret!

Browne & Sharp or Etalon or Mitutoyo

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/84477736

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/06369086

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/72294754
The 6" model doesn't have a thumb roller (which I really prefer), but the 8" model does
 
Emerritt15 said:
I'm new and I'm in tech school doing machine tool and we have some mitutoyo digitals in our class but my instructor says they are the "bargain" mitutoyo's and have much give and aren't very accurate. He says that we should invest in a good pair of calipers and have heard good things of brown and sharpe. They have so many models. I need 6 inch dial calipers (preferably) with measurements of up to .001". What are some good models Also who makes a good file set?
Click to expand...

Anybody else think that's a weird comment from an instructor? What Mitutoyo calipers have more "give" than others? As to accuracy, I don't think of any calipers as being particularly accurate tools. Mitutoyo digitals are usually stated at +/-.0015" accuracy I think.

Contrary to another post, Mitutoyo digitals are standard issue in aerospace companies including the big one I work for. I would just buy a set. Maybe spring for solar or coolant proof. But most people here just have the std set. I have Starrett digitals and they are also very nice. They are assembled in USA using Swiss (Sylvac) electronics. Very nice. Only old timers here have dials. I feel like they make sense for engineers who rarely use their calipers and when they reach for them, dials always work. But I prefer digitals for unit conversions, and all the zero tricks.
 
AdamC said:
Anybody else think that's a weird comment from an instructor? What Mitutoyo calipers have more "give" than others? As to accuracy, I don't think of any calipers as being particularly accurate tools. Mitutoyo digitals are usually stated at +/-.0015" accuracy I think.
Click to expand...

I have experience with at least one version of the "cheap" Mitutoyo calipers, and they are near worthless compared to the better ones they make. I didn't do any more analysis than to note the accuracy excursions against standards, but whether it's flex, worse encoders, bad geometry or whatever, I'd never waste the money for the cheapies over the "proper" Mit calipers.

And I've used my Mitutoyo calipers for actual aerospace parts, and golly, the components I made worked when the launch vehicles got the satellites to orbit. Not quite so well when the launches failed, but I don't think that was my calipers fault...
 
Calipers are used all the time here in a turbine and rotating equipment repair shop. Huge shop, huge company, crazy amounts of money.

I have some starrett calipers, my favorite and most used is an 8" mitutoyo digital with a 12" mitutoyo dial right behind it.

Buy the best tools you can afford. Quality is always worth it.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
Sandvik files used to be really good too but the only ones that I can buy locally are the Nicholsons. I think Simonds used to make a good file too but I havent used in years. Don't forget a good file card to keep them clean!
 
tdmidget said:
Calipers vernier, dial, or digital are not suitable for precision measurements. If you use them in an aerospace shop you'd better be checking raw material. If you expect to advance beyond home hobby shop work do yourself a favor and get a decent set of micrometers.
Click to expand...

A thread and post I should avoid. A caliper, and I personally prefer digital calipers as most can both imperial and metric, and can't be compared to a micrometer although some keep on doing so.

A standard 6" / 150mm caliper can measure external, internal, depth and height. How many micrometers and which ones would be available to do the same? 6" or 150mm! You'd need 6 micrometers and just for external measurement.

Not all work in an aerospace workshop and I'm sure those that do know what to use.

Many IMO don't seem to know how to use a caliper but here's a video I made. Sorry but it's all in metric but 0.01mm = 0.0004". 0.005mm of course = 0.0002".

Mitutoyo is excellent but not my favourite.

YouTube

To the OP. I suggest you try several and go for the one you feel most comfortable using. Measuring a few things you know the dimensions of and getting it right again and again is all it takes.
 
I know calipers (whether dial digital or vernier) are supposed to be inherently "close" but not terribly accurate. But my almost 18 year old Mit digitals read exactly on checking them on gages, every time. It's spooky. Of course I don't use them for splitting 0.01mm but dang. My Tesa dials are within 0.005mm. And my Etalon verniers, which I do use (seems someone else often has my Mits), and are graduated in 0.02mm steps, are darn spot on 0.01mm checking with a loupe and even my aging eyes.

OP, Mitutoyo are flat out fantastic, if you stick to their standard (not budget) stuff you can't go wrong. Battery life is almost certainly better than anything else, and they keep going for weeks with the indicator for low battery on. I never turn mine off and get years of use. The Swiss stuff is good too, Starrett seems to be the worst especially for bat life. I'm not certain but I think B&S is actually rebadged Swiss.
 
Gordon B. Clarke said:
I'd like to think you retired years ago. Have you tried one the past 15 years? I hope you give thought to the advice you give to your grandchildren.
Click to expand...

Gordon, it could be he just doesn't like them... To be honest, I don't really like digital calipers either. I have some Interapid (they are mostly plastic with steel jaw inserts and depth rod) at home I use, but my 'work' calipers are all dial. The shop uses digitals, which I use on the floor, but I prefer dial, and that is what I have.
 
Mtndew said:
lol everyone has their preferences.
But I will say that my 12" Starrett calipers have lasted me 25+ years and are still as accurate as the day I got them.
Click to expand...

I don't have a good reason for not liking Starret calipers, other than I don't like the look and feel of them...

I do have some 12" china brand calipers I have had for 20+ years that are really quite good for the price (I think I paid about $20). They skipped a tooth and now the zero is not at 12 o'clock, but other than that they work fine. I would like to get Mits or something in 12", but it is too hard IMO to justify the price for a seldom used tool....
 
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