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Micrometer Options?


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I have a of FA micrometer that I seem to have to zero between each measurement and I have changed batteries without a noticeable difference. Is this just "the nature of the beast" or due to being inexpensive?

What are you happy with?

Other options?

 

Thanks in advance from IGG! 

Edited by IGOTGLOCKED
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Are you talking about their calipers, like this:

 

604242.jpg

 

Or actual micrometers?

 

263_1.jpg

 

 

I am not aware of FA micrometers, so let's assume calipers.  My set is sometimes off by +/- 0.001 when turned on or slide back to "zero".  They are accurate enough for me for $30.  If you want a REAL set of good calipers, look at Mitutoyo's at $130+

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9 hours ago, Sarge said:

FA makes affordable but not always high quality stuff. I bought mine from Brian in 08 and it is excellent. I toss a battery in it once a year or so and it stays zeroed just fine.

Yeah, it was fine to start with...

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9 hours ago, SCTaylor said:

Are you talking about their calipers, like this:

 

604242.jpg

 

Or actual micrometers?

 

263_1.jpg

 

 

I am not aware of FA micrometers, so let's assume calipers.  My set is sometimes off by +/- 0.001 when turned on or slide back to "zero".  They are accurate enough for me for $30.  If you want a REAL set of good calipers, look at Mitutoyo's at $130+

Calipers, and I'm not sure my wallet is ready for Mitutoyo's...

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A few months ago I took a chance and bought a mitutoyo digital off eBay for like 50.00 it took awhile to get here.  It came from China!  I couldn't believe it.  The instructions were in Chinese.  But it was a the real deal.  Everywhere else was at least 180.  When I bought it there was no indication that it was coming from China.  The company or person I don't remember was in California.

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2 hours ago, amada8 said:

Engineer by trade and use calipers everyday for the last 40 years.  Mitutoyo quality is cheaper than all the rest imo. 

 

 

I disagree.  Mitutoyo quality is fine...i've used their digital calipers, mics, drop indicators, profilometers, and they work just fine.  I'm not saying their the best, but you get what you pay for.  

2 hours ago, amada8 said:

I recommend the analog .100 dial for reloading.

 

Totally agree.

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Agree with that, I've got two of the Harbor Freight ones and they work just fine.  Use one for measuring various items and the other for the Hornady headspace gauge set up.

 

Looks exactly like the blue one above except it's black and says PITTSBURGH on it.

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I had a nice set I bought from Grainger years ago. They finally were starting to get flaky, needing to be rest too often.  I picked up a digital caliper from Home Depot, their Husky brand. Price was very reasonable, and so far they have worked quite well.

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4 hours ago, rooster said:

What makes them cheaper?

 

An analog (dial) Mitu lasts forever.  (My current workhorse 12" dial Mitu is roughly 30 years old and going strong).  I've had mechanics that work with me toss em around all day long for years without anything more than a scuffed up crystal.  The same can not be said about a $20 digital in my opinion.  Others rely on Starretts.... I think both are good.  I started with Mitu and have stayed with the brand.

 

Guess it comes down to what was said earlier.... you get what you pay for.  Since I have calipers for other reasons (livelihood), I buy Mitu.  As a very wealthy uncle of mine once said to me decades ago "you will never be disappointed with quality".  Hasn't always been immediately clear to me (first BMW), but I have found with quality products, customer service does a much better job of standing behind their product.

Edited by amada8
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I have of the $20 HF digital calipers. The first lasted a month. The second wouldn't hold zero and I constantly had to re-zero it. That seemed to work fine but I never had a great deal of confidence in it. I just received my Mitutoyo yesterday. Got a great deal on Amazon for under $100 shipped. I had a $25 Amazon $gift card and that convinced me to make the purchase. It is a solid instrument, so far holding zero. It is exponentially more robust than the HF. I recommend it if you use calipers frequently. For me it's easier to read than a dial.


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I had my mit digital for about a year.  So far holding zero, and it's very fast, I just kiss the the surface and the reading comes up.  So much faster than dial and way easier to read.  You don't have to add tic marks, the reading is the measurement.

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Like many here I've all but given up on low to medium end digital electronic calipers. They all go flaky eventually but the real problem is not when it is consistently obvious but the random false reading or zero shift. Wouldn't worry about 0.001 either but it's usually more like 25 times that.

 

There is a reason companies like RCBS only warrant their electronic products for 12 months.

 

http://www.cabelas.com/product/RCBS-reg-Electronic-Digital-Caliper/740552.uts

 

My old Lyman dial caliper is still going strong after decades of use and coincidently a new metric dial caliper arrived today.

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On 2/10/2017 at 4:26 PM, MemphisMechanic said:

For reloading, just grab a $20 digital caliper from Harbor Freight and call it good.

 

We're not building a space shuttle here. +/- .001" would honestly be just fine with me.

 

http://m.harborfreight.com/6-inch-digital-caliper-47257.html

.001 is fine, but mine won't stayed zeroed...

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