Digital Calipers vs Analog

[David DeCristoforo]

I'm "old school" on this one. Who needs a digital measuring device in a woodshop anyway? You can't work wood to thousandths of an inch. Well maybe you can but there's not much point in it. 64ths is "close enough" for even the finest work (except maybe in inlay work). And like the guy said, "analog" devices don't need batteries. The only issue I have ever had with calipers is having to convert from decimal which really is not the hard and after so many years, I have memorized most of the equivalents. But here's my favorite caliper:

http://www.woodcraft.com//family.asp...ePageDeal=True

Very well made, all steel (no plastic!) and reads in 64ths!

[Gary Keedwell]

I bought a 6" Mitutoyo for $125 back in 1989 when I was working in a machine shop. The nice thing about having a high end set is that it is accurate enough for everything, not just "good enough for woodworking". In that time I've gone through three sets of batteries. Not quite as good as the batteried that lasted 18 years on my HP15C, but still darn good.

I also purchased a 6" Mitutoyo digital caliper in the early 90's when I was an inspector in machine shop. I brought them to my part time job as a machinist last year and found them over-kill. I brought them home and picked up a couple of cheap china dial calipers and they are accurate enough for machinist work. I also use the cheap dial calipers for my woodworking.....haven't taken my digitals out in over a year.
Gary K.

[Brad Townsend]

This one is my favorite:
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/i...OD&ProdID=5412

It's inexpensive ($30) and at 4", it fits nicely in the vest pocket of the apron.

[Allen Petty]

I love digital. Almost all of the cabinet and drawer hardware that I use is Blum, so all the dimensions are metric, the digital calipers convert instantly between metric and decimal inches. Wixey.com has digital calipers that show decimal iches w/ fractions for $50.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Just avoid dial calipers in a wood shop. The dust ruins 'em.

I have yet to get a ditigal set but if I get so I can't read the vernier scale on my 12" SST mitutoyo, I'll go digital set.

Vernier scale is bullet proof. You can't ruin 'em short of bending the tool or beating it with a hammer. Digital is subject to dropping and water. My brown and Sharp dial calipers almost never get out of their box 'cause a wood shop ( unlike the machine shop) is a dusty place and dust will lodge in the micro track and make it unusable till I take it apart and clean it - a real PITA.

[Harry Goodwin]

I have both but after looking at caliper tips on small machine site the 0 on my digital has been getting lots of work. http://www.littlemachineshop.com/
Harry

[Kurt Aebi]

I have both digital (Mititoyo) and dial (analog) [Brown & Sharpe, Mititpto and el-cheapo Harbor Freight) calipers.

They are 6" and I use the digital at work where the parts we use are measured - some in metric and some in inch, so the quick change between imperial & metric makes them a good fit. The digital is a battery hog, but I use salvaged batteries rescued from those fancy dog toys that bark, moo or otherwise make noise that my wife likes to get for the dogs and they promptly rip the guts out of in a day or 2.

I don't worry too much about conversion, because I have numerous decimal equivalent charts that salesmen just love to give away when they are trying to sell you something.

I use the el-cheapo HF's when the enviromnetn is dusty, otherwise it's the B&S one's that get the most use. I keep the Mititoyo's in the house for design work.

If something is real critical (work or home) I break out my trusty Starrett Micrometer set (vernier scale, not electronic digital) and measure to the "Tenth" (0.0001"). I learned my machining on machines w/o DRO (digital readout) and learned to read "mic's" when I was around 5 yrs old.

My advice! Get the BEST Set you can afford, Digital or Analog and if you go Analog - get the style (decimal or fraction [64th's]) YOU feel the most comfortable with and treat them as you would any other fine measuring instrument and you will have them for a lifetime>

[Bruce Page]

Just avoid dial calipers in a wood shop. The dust ruins 'em.

I have yet to get a ditigal set but if I get so I can't read the vernier scale on my 12" SST mitutoyo, I'll go digital set.

Vernier scale is bullet proof. You can't ruin 'em short of bending the tool or beating it with a hammer. Digital is subject to dropping and water. My brown and Sharp dial calipers almost never get out of their box 'cause a wood shop ( unlike the machine shop) is a dusty place and dust will lodge in the micro track and make it unusable till I take it apart and clean it - a real PITA.

I've been using B&S and Tesa dial calipers in the wood shop for years. I haven't had a problem, I just blow them out every once in a while. Of course I don't bury them in saw dust either.

[Kurt Aebi]

I've been using B&S and Tesa dial calipers in the wood shop for years. I haven't had a problem, I just blow them out every once in a while. Of course I don't bury them in saw dust either.

Don't forget the little bit of light machine oil on the gear teeth also.

[Gary Keedwell]

I've been using B&S and Tesa dial calipers in the wood shop for years. I haven't had a problem, I just blow them out every once in a while. Of course I don't bury them in saw dust either.

Same here...I have no problem with dust. They stay where they belong (drawer) until I need them.
Gary K.

[Don Bullock]

Dial calipers never need batteries. And they are often cheaper.

Any recent-vintage dial caliper will be plenty accurate enough for woodworking. Harbor Freight, Enco, etc all sell pretty good asian calipers for cheap.

-Tom H.

Tom, I agree. It seems that whenever I need my tools, like a caliper ot my tire pressure guage, that use those little round batteries, that the batteries are dead. I don't have to worry about that with my dial caliper. Just foo for thought.

[Bill Huber]

I have 3, a none dial, a dial with fractions and a digital fractions. They are all in the same drawer and are all just as easy to get to and I find myself getting the digital out every time.
As to the battery I have a spare right there in the drawer with the calipers and its just not a big thing. My unit does shot off after 5 min.

I find the digital is much easier for me to read without my glasses on.

[Reg Mitchell]

I'm "old school" on this one. Who needs a digital measuring device in a woodshop anyway? You can't work wood to thousandths of an inch. Well maybe you can but there's not much point in it. 64ths is "close enough" for even the finest work (except maybe in inlay work). And like the guy said, "analog" devices don't need batteries. The only issue I have ever had with calipers is having to convert from decimal which really is not the hard and after so many years, I have memorized most of the equivalents. But here's my favorite caliper:

http://www.woodcraft.com//family.asp...ePageDeal=True

Very well made, all steel (no plastic!) and reads in 64ths!

What he said.
I have the expensive type mainly because I am a machinets. Metal will move quiet a bit when your trying to hold .0005 tol.
I use them to get close in wood working. I can check something today and it will read this. Tomorrow it will read .03 to .06 differance.
Use eighter one and it will do fine for you, its a pref thing
Reg

[Tony Haukap]

The thing that sold me on switching to digital calipers was the zero reset button. Say you want to match the thickness of a piece you already planed.... just measure the existing piece, press the zero reset button, then plane away unit it reaches "0".

[Richard Butler]

Here is an interesting article on precision measuring tools.

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/ub...opic/8/20.html