Anybody use Carbon fiber inch, metric, fractional caliper?

[Tom Walz]

Looks cool

Maybe a little small?

http://www.davis.com/Product/Light_W...FStBQgodZDMAxw

Like to have some practical reason to buy one.

(I'm going to buy one because it is a tool I don't have. Just looking for some sort of reasonable excuse besides early Christmas.)

Tom

[Larry Edgerton]

I have several fractional calipers around the shop. I would not be without them, especially as I get older and my eyes are not what they used to be. There are many, many uses for this tool.

That one is too small in my opinion. And I like the dial type.

Larry

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Heck yes I use my dial calipers a lot. That one is way cheaper than the starrett I reach for the most, so because it's such a bargain, you really need it! I agree with Larry, I prefer dial over digital, but to each their own.

[Duane Meadows]

+1 more on the dial caliper. I have one each dial and digital, prefer the dial. Both of mine are 6", three may be a bit limiting. If the question is about the carbon fiber part, I think it should be both strong, and stable enough, though both of mine are stainless steel.

[Bill Geibe]

I have a digital in the garage and a digital/fractional in the wood shop. I think there's another one floating around the house somewhere because it was on sale and I couldn't resist. Very handy tools, all 6" and all stainless steel. They've become so amazingly cheap since they were introduced years ago.

Tom, I think you owe it to your happiness to get one!

[Kevin Groenke]

Indispensable tool - need to measure a drill bit to determine if it's a #1, an A, or a 15/64"? Done! However, in this case "carbon fiber" = plastic and is not superior to a metal product.

Imported dial or digital calipers with SS bodies are pretty widely available for similarly low prices (enco, grizzly, shars, amazon, harbor freight, etc.) I find 4" to be a good pocket size, I think the 3" would be limiting and possibly awkward to use.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I have three digital calipers - but - only one is fractional.
I use it the most.

One thing to remember about the el cheapo ones.
Take the button battery out when you're not using it, otherwise it goes dead PDQ.

[Dan Hintz]

I see everyone saying "Buy it, it's an indispensable tool!" (which is true)... but carbon fiber? Seems like an odd (and potentially poor) choice of materials to make this tool out of. For the extra $5, I'd get a 6" non-CF version from Harbor Freight.

On a side note, picked up a 6" Brown & Sharpe on Black Friday for around $60... sweet deal, couldn't get a hold of the Mitutoyo.

[Art Mann]

I use a Harbor Freight 8 inch stainless steel digital caliper I bought many years ago for the princely sum of $12. It doesn't do fractions but I have adjusted to that. If you have a Harbor Freight store near by, check and see if they have what you are looking for. That plastic one looks a little expensive to me, although I am sure it is more than accurate enough for woodworking applications.

[Bruce Wrenn]

All calipers / dial indicators read in fractions - tenths, hundredths, and thousandths. Much easier to add and subtract, then look at chart on the cover of the case to see what that is in 64th's.

[Phil Thien]

Is that thing really even made carbon fiber? Carbon fiber, while sounding high-tech, wouldn't be my first choice of materials for a small tool like that.

[mark kosse]

Tom, I keep a cheap plastic 3" vernier caliper that reads in 32nds in my apron. I wouldn't,t be without it. I wouldn't own a digital one but if you don't mind batteries I'd go for it. Always having one around in a pocket is indispensable.

[Lee Reep]

I have three digital calipers - but - only one is fractional.
I use it the most.

One thing to remember about the el cheapo ones.
Take the button battery out when you're not using it, otherwise it goes dead PDQ.

Some of the newer ones (event cheap Harbor Freight models) do have auto shutoff. One thing I've learned to do is lock the knob on top after I turn mine off, since jarring it caused it to power on several times.

Until I bought my contractors calculator that does Imperial to metric conversion (and fractions!) I used to use my digital calipers for conversion of units. Handy for quick conversions. BY the way, Home Depot has the basic contractor calculator model for $15, cheaper than most places, including Amazon.

Nice digital caliper trick:
Need to measure the distance between two holes (same diameter, of course)? Measure hole diameter. Reset to zero without moving blades. Now measure from outer edge of one hole to outer edge of the other. Caliper reads distance between centers.

[Duane Meadows]

Quote from Wiki...

"The Airbus A350 is built of 53% CFRP^[3] including wing and fuselage components, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, 50%. Specialist aircraft designer and manufacturer Scaled Composites have made extensive use of CFRP throughout their design range including the first private spacecraft Spaceship One."

Not strong or stable enough for a 3" caliper? Really?

[Phil Thien]

Quote from Wiki...

"The Airbus A350 is built of 53% CFRP^[3] including wing and fuselage components, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, 50%. Specialist aircraft designer and manufacturer Scaled Composites have made extensive use of CFRP throughout their design range including the first private spacecraft Spaceship One."

Not strong or stable enough for a 3" caliper? Really?

I don't think anyone is saying CF isn't strong enough, just not ideal for this application.

But, that thing can't be carbon fiber, can it? Carbon fiber is a material, made of fibers (threads) of carbon. They typically use many layers of carbon fiber material, in a mold, bonded with resin, to get a finished product. The item listed here looks like it is injection molded, right? You can't injection mold carbon fiber, can you?

I'm asking, I really don't know for certain.