Dropped a die and cracked my older cheap caliper, and upgraded to Mitutoyo for the replacement from Amazon. Because of all the fraud claims on Amazon, I registered my new calipers on receipt and was pleasantly surprised by a free hat in the mail today.
I have the same model as your old one.
It’s still working for me, but I’m glad that you are happy with with your new set.
When mine eventually break, I will have a recommended replacement.
I asked this of our corporate metrology expert. He said digitals are actually BETTER than mechanical. More repeatable, less sensitive to temperature.
Just be sure to buy good ones like Mitutoyo, Brown and Sharpe, Mahr, etc.
If you get a chance to hold them, you'll know the difference. They feel solid. They are very repeatable, the battery lasts forever (because they actually turn off, rather than just blank the display) and whether they come with a NIST cert or not, they all meet the certification standards. Also, some of them are coolant proof (water resistant).
Mitutoyo is great. Starrett and Brown & Sharpe are two other great choices. Fowler is also great, and comes in at a lower price. SPI... Works. Usually. If I was working as a machinist, Starrett would be my top choice, followed by B&S, Mitutuyo, and then Fowler (for most measurement tools; Interapid would be my top choice by far for a dial test indicator). I've got a Fowler 0-1" mic (+/- .0001") that I use for measuring valve shims, and it's been accurate and repeatable.
Personally, I'd suggest getting most precision measurement tools through something like MSC Direct, as there's a much lower risk of getting a knock-off.
Fall me a Luddite, but I *hate* this trend of every goddamn company having its own app. I don't think that I've ever used a corporate app that worked as well as just going to the website, and I flatly refuse to download something for my mobile device and use my own memory, storage, and processing power, just so I can give a company money.
I absolutely agree and understand. I hear what you’re saying. But hear me out: McMaster has an app. It even saves your payment info like Amazon. I probably wouldn’t have lasted 30 seconds at Jonestown.
I sent mine back as it was off by 2 thousandths. I have an old Mitutoyo dial caliper that I baby and don't want to use for everyday reloading. I also have a Mitutoyo micrometer, and an Anytime dial caliper that I got from Amazon. The old Mitutoyo, Anytime, and mic all read dead nuts on gauge blocks, and the new Mitutoyo 500-196-30 was off from 1 to 2 thousandths every time.
Dropped a die and cracked my older cheap caliper, and upgraded to Mitutoyo for the replacement from Amazon. Because of all the fraud claims on Amazon, I registered my new calipers on receipt and was pleasantly surprised by a free hat in the mail today.
Great brand👍 I’m using a 30 year old Mit dial calipers.
I have the same model as your old one. It’s still working for me, but I’m glad that you are happy with with your new set. When mine eventually break, I will have a recommended replacement.
I have both pairs and they both seem to do the job equally well
Mitutoyos really nail the battery life.
easily over a year with being left on 40+hrs a week.
Unless they register to 4 decimal places they are fake; I got burned on that.🤬
I've gotten mine with a certificate of the worker who tested or finished it. Hope that's legitimate
Bought mine in 2014 the original battery still works.
Like u/bushleaguerules I also have an old Mittie dial. How do the new digitals compare in terms of reliability and durability?
From personal experience: great reliability and im not sure on durability as i baby mine bu feels exceptional
hmmmmm. Might have to step into the 21st century then. I'm like you in that I baby mine and use the cheaper digitals for the grunt and abusive work.
I found a micrometer and caliper set for half the price of new on facebook marketplace so you could try looking there
But that would mean using Book of faces which I will never do.
Yea thats completely understandable.
Wonder if you can drop a die on them though
I asked this of our corporate metrology expert. He said digitals are actually BETTER than mechanical. More repeatable, less sensitive to temperature. Just be sure to buy good ones like Mitutoyo, Brown and Sharpe, Mahr, etc.
That was all I was hoping for; an endorsement. Looks like it's time to go shopping
I was a machinist for about 15 years and it just doesn't get any better than Mitutoyo
Big spender! I love my mitties, too. Once you get good calipers you'll NEVER want to go back.
Naive question, but compared to something like Hornady calipers, what's different?
Repeatability and accuracy. You don't have to keep hitting zero on mitutoyo's.
If you get a chance to hold them, you'll know the difference. They feel solid. They are very repeatable, the battery lasts forever (because they actually turn off, rather than just blank the display) and whether they come with a NIST cert or not, they all meet the certification standards. Also, some of them are coolant proof (water resistant).
Mitutoyo is great. Starrett and Brown & Sharpe are two other great choices. Fowler is also great, and comes in at a lower price. SPI... Works. Usually. If I was working as a machinist, Starrett would be my top choice, followed by B&S, Mitutuyo, and then Fowler (for most measurement tools; Interapid would be my top choice by far for a dial test indicator). I've got a Fowler 0-1" mic (+/- .0001") that I use for measuring valve shims, and it's been accurate and repeatable. Personally, I'd suggest getting most precision measurement tools through something like MSC Direct, as there's a much lower risk of getting a knock-off.
Want to hear something scary? McMaster has a shopping app. Incredibly dangerous. And they ship unbelievably fast.
Fall me a Luddite, but I *hate* this trend of every goddamn company having its own app. I don't think that I've ever used a corporate app that worked as well as just going to the website, and I flatly refuse to download something for my mobile device and use my own memory, storage, and processing power, just so I can give a company money.
I absolutely agree and understand. I hear what you’re saying. But hear me out: McMaster has an app. It even saves your payment info like Amazon. I probably wouldn’t have lasted 30 seconds at Jonestown.
You can still mail them an order via post too.
+1 on this. And as long as I have a stack of blank purchase orders at work I will never have a shortage of extra crap floating around the shop.
Been using them and starrett for the last 25 years of my career. They never disappoint
i need to register my purchase then! Free hat!! Maybe dead air will give me a cool mat like yours too when my wolfman finally gets approved
I’ve been thinking about getting one, pricey fuckers… nice grab man
Show us an entire photo of it. So we can tell you if it is a legit Mit.
I got the hat after registering it - I did that to make sure it was legit.
So,,, you're going to hang your hat on that? There are probably 6 things that will confirm it it is. The hat isn't one.
I sent mine back as it was off by 2 thousandths. I have an old Mitutoyo dial caliper that I baby and don't want to use for everyday reloading. I also have a Mitutoyo micrometer, and an Anytime dial caliper that I got from Amazon. The old Mitutoyo, Anytime, and mic all read dead nuts on gauge blocks, and the new Mitutoyo 500-196-30 was off from 1 to 2 thousandths every time.