Dial calipers

[Flyin Brian]

I've had an very nice Mitutoyo 8" dial caliper for 20+ years and it has always been a great tool, but last year I saw a cheap digital on Midway and bought it. Half the time that I go to use it the display is blinking because the battery is dying(changed them twice now)... also I noticed I have to zero it quite often if I am looking for .001" accuracy.

I've officially gone back to my dial caliper and I'm wondering why the heck I switched?

[SixPointEight]

I use dial calipers because when the EMPs come I'll be safe

Actually because when I went to the store they were out of digital ones.

[john16443]

Is that Gemini scale reliable? Does it last? Does it actually measure in grains, as opposed to grams? Not much info on the amazon page.

That Gemini scale from Amazon that I linked is very reliable, and measures in grains and many other items. The mode button toggles between grams, milligrams, grains, oz, carat, etc. I won't hesitate to buy another, but don't really expect to ever have to. The Gemini scale replaced a Jennings Mack 20 that I now use as emergency back up. It's gathering more dust as it's not used anymore.

[NiteQwill]

I use beams and analog calipers. Something about batteries doesn't sit well with me.

But I just bought a Gempro 250 tonight so I'm excited to receive it soon.

[Scotty]

I have a Mitutoyo digital caliper I bought back in 1996. I've changed the battery once. All the calipers we have at work are Mitutoyo digital. My work calipers is 3 years old and the battery has never been replaced. So I don't know what you guys are using, but I haven't had to worry about battery life with the Mitutoyo digital calipers.

[bumpo628]

I suggest a mix of both.

I have an 8" dial caliper and a 6" digital. The digital is nice since you can switch from standard to metric. Take the battery out if you don't plan to use it for a while. www.use-Enco.com is a good place for the 8" dial caliper. HF for the 6" digital.

For scales, I think you should have a beam scale for powder. I just don't trust a digital for stuff that goes boom. A cheap digital scale is fine for measuring bullets. HF has one that also has a "count" feature. You put 10 items on the scale, hit "count", then put a larger amount on the scale and it tells you how many there are. Good for counting brass.

[afrancke]

I use beams and analog calipers. Something about batteries doesn't sit well with me.

But I just bought a Gempro 250 tonight so I'm excited to receive it soon.

If you don't like batteries, then you've found your match: the Gempro hates batteries, too, and chews right through them in a couple of hours tops. Luckily it runs on AC power, but portable shooting range usage is a bit dicey. Take at least two sets of spares (8 AAA batteries)!

[M27]

I use dial calipers, wouldn't have it any other way

I do how ever use a digital scale. I weigh every charge with my chargemaster. It would just be to slow to do with a beam scale. I do how ever check every once in a while with a beam scale.

[NiteQwill]

If you don't like batteries, then you've found your match: the Gempro hates batteries, too, and chews right through them in a couple of hours tops. Luckily it runs on AC power, but portable shooting range usage is a bit dicey. Take at least two sets of spares (8 AAA batteries)!

Haha. Thanks for the tip!

[korny351]

I've been using a HF digital caliper for 5 or 6 years now. It has been reliable and repeatable. When it starts to lose zero, it's time for a new battery.

My scale is a 40 yr. old Ohaus 10.10 (same as RCBS). I can't imagine a digital would be any better for my use. I'm not measuring a powder charge, I'm just checking it. I set the scale for the charge I want and then adjust my powder measure to throw that charge. When checking the powder drop, I don't need to know how much over or under I am. It's like a go-no go gauge. Either it lines up or it doesn't.

Digital scales would be a lot faster for tasks such as weight sorting bullets or cases. But I'm not into that, so it's a moot point. Besides, they seem more prone to errors due to temperature, drafts and magnetic fields.

[problemchild]

Dial calipers can be wrong also...........


"I checked the diameter of a metal rod with a Starrett micrometer and it read
.395 exactly and that is what it is supposed to read.

Then, I checked the same rod with my digital calipers from LMS and it read
.389. I then used my dial calipers from HF and it read .392.

Are these readings within tolerance for the type of device used as compared
to the micrometer?"

[XxManWitHaGuNxX]

I use a rcbs 10-10 beam, but recently decided to try the hornady electronic GS-1500 scale.. it has GREAT reviews and only is 30 bucks.. I was sceptical, but I check it and check it with my beam and now trust it 99.9 % of the time. so much easier and CHEAP but damn accurate. measures in grains, Carrots, ozs, Grams. Good little scale...
As far as caliper, I use a digital and a dial. either way, depends on my mood i guess...
hope this helps,
MWAG

[Gothboy]

So what Im taking from this is basically personal prefrence, neither one seems to be better, and one is just easier to read "at a glance" because the digi readout is larger. Thats cool. Plus, never having owned a digi caliper I didnt know the batteries were so cheap. I thought it was like those special camera batteries that are like $40 each.

As far as a digi scale it seems as though the general consensus is that they're great, but have a beam backup just in case. All great advice, and I thank you greatly for your time guys. Im ordering a digital scale, and I'll just stick to my manual dial caliper since I already own it.

[Stoopy]

Got a dial after the digitals batteries died. Like the dial better. +1 for the chargemaster scale dispenser combo, fast and accurate.

[Cowboy T]

Nothing wrong with the digital scales as long as you have a traditional beam scale to check it. I did measurements/metrology in the USAF for a living, and with stuff that goes boom, best to make sure. I have a $30 digital battery-op, yes, but I also have my RCBS beam to back it up.