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Chinese messuring tools...
- Thread starter noamw
- Start date
- Replies 35
- Views 4,881
Mike1974
Diamond
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2014
- Location
- Tampa area
Going to be hit and miss. I still have my 12" $20 china brand calipers. They skipped a tooth, but still accurate to about .001" on a 6" gage block stackup.
I am not talking about very low cost measuring tools. Those at $10-15 are not good and everyone
that uses such a tool cannot expect a good quality tool.
I am talking about the $25-30 and above.
I have received today a 5mm indicator with 1 micron resolution (cost about $35). Very nice, good quality,
heavy and sturdy.
I was wondering about Shahe, Terma and other digital calipers at the price range of $30 and up
Thanks,
Noam.
plastikdreams
Diamond
- Joined
- May 31, 2011
- Location
- upstate nj
Last I checked 25-30 bucks was a low cost tool...ya get what ya pay for I guess.
Yes you get what you pay for but still when you can buy a hard drive that has electronics,
software, very small mechanical parts etc at $50-60 paying $150 for a vernier caliper is way
too much.
Again the low cost $10-15 are between reasonable and bad. Maybe good for wood working etc..
iGAGING costs $50 in the US and is considered good quality caliper. No reason not to find a good
source in China for the same quality if not better at $30-35
software, very small mechanical parts etc at $50-60 paying $150 for a vernier caliper is way
too much.
Again the low cost $10-15 are between reasonable and bad. Maybe good for wood working etc..
iGAGING costs $50 in the US and is considered good quality caliper. No reason not to find a good
source in China for the same quality if not better at $30-35
crazygoat
Stainless
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2017
I would expect that they make way more hard drives than calipers. Economy of scale.
L
Luke.kerbey
Guest
Insize tools aren’t too shabby for an occasional use/personal use tool. I wouldn’t vouch for them being frequently used and wearing well though.
eKretz
Diamond; Mod Squad
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2005
- Location
- Northwest Indiana, USA
I was thinking that earlier but didn't reply. I didn't want to get beaten with experience, if you get the inference.
thermite
Diamond
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2011
ChipSplitter
Titanium
- Joined
- May 23, 2019
- Location
- Maybe
Madagascar?
Papua New Guinea?
In all seriousness, buy a Mitutoyo Absolute coolant-proof. They're about $150 and worth every penny.
toolsteel
Titanium
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2012
- Location
- NW Wisconsin (BFE)
I pay $1 for coffee at the gas station. Tastes fine to me.
I pick up a Chinese made caliper that cost $35 and my skin crawls.
I guess it all depends on what you get used to and what the expectation is.
I pick up a Chinese made caliper that cost $35 and my skin crawls.
I guess it all depends on what you get used to and what the expectation is.
gregormarwick
Diamond
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2007
- Location
- Aberdeen, UK
If anyone is in the market for a quality coolant proof caliper like that, I strongly recommend Tesa over Mitutoyo. They have much less seal drag and a much better/lighter feel than the Mit. Mahr IP67s have a nice light action too, but I don't think they're quite at the same quality level. I have a nice Sylvac IP67 caliper too, but it mainly stays in it's box since it's heavier and stiffer to slide like the Mit, and I just prefer the feel of the Tesa.
EmGo
Diamond
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2018
Well, I spent more than thirty years running exclusively Etalon and doing a lot of grinding. I bought an 8" dial caliper for the office a while back down on Beijing lu for $18. It's fine. It's not an Etalon but it's just as good as mittymoto.
Calipers are not what you'd call massively accurate anyhow, so this "you get what you pay for " stuff is kinda silly.
Cyclotronguy
Stainless
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2005
- Location
- Northern California
I've had a love affair with my various Starrett 123's for decades.... sometimes the "what you pay for" is intangible.
you're confusing the 35$ line with the 3.5$ products
as EG said, the not so cheap ones start to look usable out of the box
the 3.5$ ones are the gritty ones with sharp corners and shoddy grinding, 20+ are quite reasonable, the same stuff you'll pay 50+ at your local western dealer, they'll be clean, 95% deburred and reasonably well ground (cosmetic finish wise)
out of curiosity I bought a 30$ set of 150mm calipers that have extra "decimal" - 5 micron digit behind the 0,00mm, so they'd read out 0,005; 0,010; 0,015... etc, out of the box I couldn't get them to repeat, they'd always show about +0.02mm, they were sticky, after disassembly, careful deburring, and slight tension adjustment they started to feel like Garant, Tesa and Mits I have, and would repeat (as much as you can with hand pressure anyway) to +0.005~0.010
and when I say - repeat, I test them to 0 fully closed and on a 50mm gage block, but that doesn't mean I'd trust the reading on a part to down to that resolution
ChipSplitter
Titanium
- Joined
- May 23, 2019
- Location
- Maybe
Too bad Gordon isn't here to set us all on the strait and narrow.........
4GSR
Diamond
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2005
- Location
- Victoria, Texas, USA
The Shahe line of tools I find to be of good quality over others that come out of China. I own two pairs of their 8" IP57 digital calipers. They check great against gage blocks at different measurements to well within a half of an thousandth or better. I also have a pair of the newer Starrett Chinese calipers, I bet are made in the same factory as the Shahe's are made in, they are nice. I've lost faith in Mitutoyo calipers over the years. My last pair, 8" have never been used in the shop, strictly in the office for reverse engineering of parts, do not read accurately at all anymore. They measure dead nuts at 1", 2", 3" and so on. But any measurement in between, it's off by as much as .012". They been cleaned, taken apart, serviced, and still read, wrong! Heck, I have a pair of H-F 8" one's that are still going strong after several years of use out in the shop! Did I say that! If I did, didn't mean to. Ken
First of all a Mitutoyo Absolute is Israel costs about $120 
I have a mechanical Mitutoyo that is about 40 years old and it is still great, I know...
I have a dial caliper made by Tesa that was bitten and repaired by me.. Its not perfect
but sufficient for a hobbyist.
I just got a dial indicator purchased from Aliexpress 0-5mm with 1 micron resolution.
externally looks just great, runs smooth and its heavy ... That was about $35 when you can
get some 10mm 0.01 resolution at $10 and above ...
I think that there good tools at a reasonable price, not $15 but $30 and above...
I have a mechanical Mitutoyo that is about 40 years old and it is still great, I know...
I have a dial caliper made by Tesa that was bitten and repaired by me.. Its not perfect
but sufficient for a hobbyist.
I just got a dial indicator purchased from Aliexpress 0-5mm with 1 micron resolution.
externally looks just great, runs smooth and its heavy ... That was about $35 when you can
get some 10mm 0.01 resolution at $10 and above ...
I think that there good tools at a reasonable price, not $15 but $30 and above...
RJT
Titanium
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2006
- Location
- greensboro,northcarolina
I missed it, what happened to Gordon?
thermite
Diamond
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2011
