Mitutoyo Dial Calipers

[Michael Peet]

I'm looking for a good durable set of dial calipers. New Starrett 120-series units are indeed being made with plastic bezels and "crystals", as confirmed by their tech support, which makes me sad .

Does anyone have a recent 505-series dial caliper from Mitutoyo (like in the attached photo)? I'm wondering:

1. Is the bezel cover (part A) plastic or metal?
2. Is the crystal (part B) actually glass / crystal or is it plastic?

I called their tech support but they did not know.

Guess I should look at Brown & Sharpe also.

Thanks in advance!

Mike

[Cary Lane]

I have a 6" Mitutoyo dial. I can check the model number tonight at home. It's a fairly recent pair I got at a pawn shop for $35, I think.

Bezel must be plastic as I must have gotten some brake cleaner overspray on it and there are a few spots showing on the bezel now. I think they will polish out with Novus plastic polish but I haven't tried that yet since there are only a few small spots and they don't affect me seeing the graduations.

Update: I think by bezel you mean the ring holding the crystal. In that case my set has both plastic bezel and crystal. My caliper is a #505-626-50. Did find a site that sells parts for many Mitutoyo calipers and instruments - http://longislandindicator.com/p188.html

May be of interest to some.

[mickey cassiba]

I have a 505, but it is almost fifteen y/o. It's plastic. Also have a B&S, 7 y/o,
plastic(poly carbonate). Probably be hard to find a glass faced caliper, unless you go pretty old.
I could be wrong though, haven't shopped for quite some time...
Mickey

[Lee Schierer]

I haven't seen glass domes on calipers in quite some time. I went digital a few years ago as they are faster reading and less prone to dust/dirt contamination.

[Michael Peet]

Thanks for the feedback guys. It is looking like all the dial calipers are coming with plastic components now.

I went digital a few years ago as they are faster reading and less prone to dust/dirt contamination.

And I think this might be why. Apparently the mechanisms on the dial calipers tend to get fouled after a while, so less effort is put into their manufacture. Either the old-style vernier calipers or the newer digital ones end up being more reliable in the long run.

The thing keeping me away from the digital models had been the batteries, but I discovered that Mitutoyo offers a solar powered set:

mitutoyo.com/TerminalMerchandisingGroup.aspx?group=1383

Mike

[Heather Thompson]

Michael,

My dad bought me an Etalon 6" dial caliper about thirty years ago, the same model he had in his tool chest, the bezel cover is metal, the crystal is plastic.

Heather

[Lee Schierer]

The thing keeping me away from the digital models had been the batteries, but I discovered that Mitutoyo offers a solar powered set:


Mike

The batteries on my HF special (<$20) lasts 6-9 months and will even turn itself off if I forget. I didn't feel for woodworking that I needed the accuracy of a higher priced caliper.

[george wilson]

I have never seen a glass crystal dial caliper. I have some very old dial indicators,so old that their plastic crystals have turned yellow. I think they must be from the 40's or 50's at the newest. My oldest dial caliper,from 1974 is plastic,too. I remember when Starrett dial calipers went from metal bezels to plastic. It was in the 80's.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I just ordered an Oshlun Digital Fractional caliper. I friend of mine bought one and I was impressed at the quality. I'm getting too old to convert .301 to a fraction that makes sense to me. The caliper reads .001 or 1/128. Pretty slick. No, it's nowhere near the quality of a Starrett. 45 bucks from Amazon. Close enough for me if it reads 64ths, much less 128ths. Wood swells more than that.

Just something to consider. Oh, it turns itself off too.

[mickey cassiba]

I've been thinking about a fractional. Now days I'm dealing more and more with fractions, instead of decimal inches. Does it have a roundup(or down) function? Here in the moulding plant the most precision required is 1/32 on set up, 1/16 on production. My poor old brain is tired of math, I want to take as many short cuts as I can so I can think about the important stuff...like setting up MY shop!

[Barry Vabeach]

Mike, if your concern about batteries is the flashing digits, try using SR44 batteries instead of LR44, I made the change a year ago and have been much happier. http://www.fliptronics.com/tip0006.html

[Bruce Page]

Guess I should look at Brown & Sharpe also.

Thanks in advance!

Mike

B&S has the best “feel" IMO and my favorite for 30+ years - and I’ve tried them all.

As far as I know they all have plastic bezels which are much more durable in an industrial environment.

[Brad Westcott]

I haven't seen glass domes on calipers in quite some time. I went digital a few years ago as they are faster reading and less prone to dust/dirt contamination.

+1

The onlly thing I don't like about mine is that it is solar powered. It can be fussy at times if not set out in the light for a while.

Otherwise, go digital. I have had mine for many years and it has seen some abuse and it just keeps ticking.

P.S. My Mitutoyo does not do fractions but I have a cheat sheet hung on my wall with all my conversions. Works for me. It does do metric.

[William Addison]

In several posts people have implied that the cheap HF digital calipers lack accuracy. I have had several sets of them and I also own a Starett dial caliper. I have compared readings on them numerous times and they have always been the same.

[mickey cassiba]

In several posts people have implied that the cheap HF digital calipers lack accuracy. I have had several sets of them and I also own a Starett dial caliper. I have compared readings on them numerous times and they have always been the same.

I use several sets of "off brand" calipers in various locations throughout my work place. Saves me having to carry (and possibly drop) my "benchmark" instruments. around. Initially the accuracy of these instruments is great, but over time they degrade. I buy these "throwaways" wherever I can get the best price. They are checked weekly against a set of shop grade gauge blocks, which are in turn sent to a calibration lab annually, as required.
When the inexpensive sets are found to be inaccurate, as they will over time, they are disposed of, usually given to employees for their own use, but not allowed to be used in setups, or machine repair.
I have nothing against HF instruments, or any other brand for that matter, but long term repeatability is crucial in maintaining our ISO certification. Soft racks and gears are the primary cause of failure , along with mushrooming of the measuring surfaces.
Show me a $10 instrument that will last 15+ years of constant usage, and I will buy a dozen.
Inversely, I have a 4" vernier caliper of unknown manufacture, that remains in my pocket, and is used constantly to spot check production runs of mouldings and S4S lumber. I've never gotten a bad read off of it at the 1/64" tolerance we maintain for general runs. Of course, custom runs of "exotic" woods are held to much tighter tolerances, usually specified by the customer. The pocket caliper just won't do on such runs.
Mickey