best vernier gauge?

[medusa]

I recently got an email from a customer saying that the dimensions of a ring I made him were wrong and that instead of it being 44mm it was 46mm. Clearly even with an optivisor and an engineers rule, I need to invest in a decent vernier gauge. Question is, which is a good one? I had a look online and the Mitutoyo (http://www.mitutoyo.co.uk/small-tool...lipers/530-104) seems to get good reviews but before I bite the bullet I thought I'd ask on here for recommendations.

Any thoughts?

[Goldsmith]

I use a Mitutoyo digital vernier, if I was going to buy a new one I would get one of these; http://www.amazon.co.uk/Professional...ernier+caliper
Great value for £32.99. post free.

James

[medusa]

Are digital ones reliable? I keep reading about them dying. The digital Mitutoyo are a bit beyond me! I'd rather spend a bit more and get a manual one which is more reliable.

[Nick martin]

I find the digital ones very accurate. I use mine to size gems and burrs and they're always 100% accurate. Fairly inexpensive too and non reliant on squinting!

[ps_bond]

I have... Several, but no Mitutoyo. The recent one I bought from Aldi is OK, but doesn't seem to have the repeatability of the £20-£30 ones, it seems to end up off by 0.1mm relatively often. Which is a nuisance.

If the points on your digital calipers get blunt, sharpen them under magnification at the front of the tips only; the tips can be slimmed down too if you feel they need it.
If you look at Jura's calipers, he has removed the inside jaws, cut the length down, removed the depth gauge and brazed carbide inserts in. While these are quite specialised, it may be worth considering whether some of these mods are worth appropriating - it depends on your intended uses.

[medusa]

hmmm well there is that. I'm in this mess because I was clearly not reading the rule terribly well.

James, is this like the one you have? Bit cheaper than the £300+ ones on the Mitutoyo site!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mitutoyo-196...ef=pd_cp_diy_3

[medusa]

Peter, I mostly need to get inside measurements right at the moment, though the customer has just emailed again to say that I didn't use 2mm wire (I did) but wire which was barely 1mm, so I want something to measure outside thickness as well.

ETA mixing my Bonds up!

[ps_bond]

It's easier to measure outside diameters than inside - if you measure a chord on the inside, it'll be shorter than the actual diameter. If you measure the intended diameter on a ring mandrel, you can check the ID against it and you *know* you haven't measured a chord by mistake!
Fun with metrology (which my browser wants to correct to something about the rain...)

[Goldsmith]

Are digital ones reliable? I keep reading about them dying. The digital Mitutoyo are a bit beyond me! I'd rather spend a bit more and get a manual one which is more reliable.

If they die, then it's only for the need of a replacement battery, my vernier uses a watch battery which lasts a very long time, I have had the vernier for 20+ years. When it first died I bought a box of 10 Renata 357 batteries for £8 and I still have 7 unused batteries left in the box. If you do fancy a Mitutoyo, have a look at this offer; http://www.tooled-up.com/manproduct/...50mm-6/145125/ £75.

James

[CJ57]

Peter, I mostly need to get inside measurements right at the moment, though the customer has just emailed again to say that I didn't use 2mm wire (I did) but wire which was barely 1mm, so I want something to measure outside thickness as well.

ETA mixing my Bonds up!

Just a thought but if customer is now saying that you didn't use 2mm wire and you know you did, perhaps the ring measurement wasn't out or as out as the customer is telling you?