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Digital "measuring" Tools....

Discussion in 'Technical Help' started by Speedy23, Oct 27, 2021.

  1. OK...so needed to measure accurately the thickness of a few items...

    So scored a "Digital Vernier Gauge" (contradiction in terms, btw...) off the Bay, and used it....

    FF a couple of months or so, needed it to "measure" something else....but horror....the battery had run out.

    Not to worry, borrowed a similar tool from the next door neighbour and off I went...

    Then got some more batteries and, at a whim, decided to compare the two "instruments".

    WTF....don't agree.

    To settle the argument, decided to check against feeler gauge with a "proper" stirrup micrometer...which was also from the far east.

    NONE OF THEM AGREED!!

    So, just be careful when using these "tools".

    Learnt a valuable lesson.
     
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  2. Digi vernier = very near at best.
     
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  3. Moore and Wright surely!
     
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  4. Fitters adjustable spanner. :)
     
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  5. Absolutely. And a micrometer makes for a handy G-clamp :):upyeah:

    Seriously though, nowt wrong with a good quality digital vernier.
     
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  6. good quality and eBay go hand in hand!!!! I know of a couple of people that ended up with fake mitutoyo verniers. Pay the money and buy from a proper supplier
     
  7. There's certified calibrated and then everything else which comes under "nigh on for pit work".
    The hassle we go through keeping stuff calibrated at work is a full time job in itself.
     
    #7 990Glen, Oct 27, 2021
    Last edited: Oct 27, 2021
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  8. AS gartree says, M&W and you cant go wrong. I personally prefer analogue.
     
  9. Ooooh, parallax error and all that.... With a vernier anyway....
     
  10. I tend to look at the scale directly, not from a jaunty angle. Works for me. :p
     
    • Like Like x 1
  11. A digi is ok for most home use. Don't remember seeing them in any machine shop I've been in. They tend to get oil in them.
     
  12. Loads of this sort of stuff gets nicked and ends up at car boot sales.... Grab yerself a bargain!!
     
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  13. I ran my own surveying company, windows, doors, conservatories etc measured. My electronic distance laser measure cost £220, made by Leica.
    Could have bought a Black and Decker or some similar tat for 20-30£. But they are barely good enough for estimating use.
    The Leica was accurate to something like 2mm at 80 metres distance.
    I also had several expensive angle measures over the years, which even when new, it was wise to check them and calibrate if required.
     
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  14. When I got my bevel 900SS I bought an L.S. Starret 0-2.00" micrometer. It came complete with a calibration piece to check it against. It cost 30 odd quid which was a lot of money then but I have been using it for the last 40+ years and have never doubted it's accuracy and above all it is consistent which is more that I can say for the cheap digital calliper that I bought a few years ago.
     
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  15. Many years ago I spent a few months during my apprenticeship doing inspection, calibration and certification on a large machine shop's stock of measuring equipment. Our equipment was mostly Starrett and M&W with some Mitutoyo and all of it was annually inspected and calibrated (more often if the device was dropped or badly treated). As Glen mentioned above it can be, and was, a full time job. Now the general rule is that digital devices (unless it is the >£100 stuff) is simply not accurate enough for engine and mechanical work even when it is just calibrated. Ultimately you get what you pay for but be wary of the cheap stuff you see on ebay. Many of the sub £40 micrometers and digital verniers are cheap mass produced tat from Chinese producers. They do have their uses but not if you are expecting any degree of accuracy. Then there are the fakes. As for a £10 0-25mm digital micrometer or a £20 digital vernier, you may as well use a ruler.
    The basic Mitutoyo 103 series micrometres and 530 series Verniers are probably the best value/performance measuring tools that are widely available
     
    #15 Denzil the Ducati, Oct 27, 2021
    Last edited: Oct 28, 2021
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  16. As an apprentice, indentured, aerospace. 5 years. We had an independent calibration department NAMAS accredited. All measuring equipment was calibrated to National traceable standards and had to have current dated tag.
    Bought my own 0-1 M&W. It was subject to inspection and calibration. Company allowed use to buy from the catalogue and deducted from our massive £6 a week first year payment.
    Still got it with its glasses case box 47 years later. Happy days.
     
  17. Ach...Don't sweat the small stuff. I use finger measurement - 1 knuckle, 2, a hand, shaft of a screwdriver, bit of string, whatever is to hand really. I tend not to get bogged down in detail, I'm a creative blue sky thinker!
     
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  18. I 'upgraded' to a Mitutoyo digital Vernier a few years ago, but because of the massive variation I was seeing it mainly sits in it's box and I still use my old Analogue one.
     
  19. A few years ago I bought a set of telescopic gauges, to get an idea how much ovality there was in the bores of a Porsche engine. I reckon my fingers must need calibrating, because it took quite a light touch to get a repeatable measurement using analogue vernier calipers.
     
  20. Vernier calipers = Very Nearly Right.
     
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