Anything welding

Thanks for the reply's. I guess making an extra pass or two wouldn't be bad. Better than dropping big $ on getting the garage re-wired. I plan on using it to finish up some things on my chevy 63 swap, tub the firewall, bob bed, maybe exhaust, and just fix other things that may break.

 

What kind of caliper do you guys use in the shop. ive been needing one for the past 6 months but havent pulled the trigger on any of them.

what brand do you guys use and do you prefer dial or digital?

 

I prefer digital just because it's less likely to misread a dial caliper. I have one I got years ago for school, general, It reads the same numbers as the more expensive ones my boss has. Only problem with it is you can't pull it out too fast or it will loose zero.

$35 General Tools Digital Caliper #147 - 6" Precision Measuring Tool - Stainless Steel Ruler

http://www.amazon.com/General-Tools-Instruments-147-Fractional/dp/B000UCIGCW

 

Mitutoyo

 

odd, i figured go dial because digital is more likely to miss read.

 

Harbor freight cheapos cause nothing we do is precise enough to need anything more, and when they get knocked off the lathe, it doesn't hurt my feelings

 

I meant me as in I misread it. I know how to read them but I always have to double check. We have one starrett, a cheap one, and it reads to 5 then goes back down, always fucks me up. But I check mine against my bosses and it always reads the same + or - .0002 or so. for what we do thats plenty fine, if you need more precision most guys go with digital Mitutoyos or starrett, at least the ones I see.

 

no offence but i try and stay away from HF. I like stocking my tool box with a little more quality. Not snap on and matco, but not HF.

but i do drop my squares a lot, hopefully im not dropping my caliper

 

yeah thats the only reason i dont want a dial. but ill learn to read a dial just like i learned to read a 32nd tape.

 

I have a snap on box, full of snap on tools, with HF calipers. Unless you are trying to machine a press fit, you will never know a difference

 

Dials aren't hard to read it's just they get misread if your in a hurry.

This

 

Dials also lose their zero.

 

Yeah I know. I dont deal with anything like that, I mainly use it for measuring material, marking out center lines and measuring drill bits. My mind wont let me go HF on any of my tools anymore. Crapsman is the lowest ill go.

 

I refuse to even buy craftsman anymore. I got a tool box at home full of broken ratchets, sockets with peeling chrome, etc. Sears won't even replace ratchets anymore, gotta let them send them out to be repaired and wait 2 weeks. I promise you will be fine with a hf caliper.

 

I have a Blue Point 6" digital caliper I bought off the snap on truck. Think I paid $60 for it. Pretty nice caliper. It has a button to reset zero also

 

Don't they all have a zero button?

 

Yep I've got a HF digital caliper and it always reads the same as my more expensive one does. Plus the HF ones are pretyy cheap like you said so it's not the end of the world if one of my employees leaves it somewhere that it could get damaged.

 

And you can toss it when it gets dirty

Just kidding. I use an HF one too. Nothing I do requires anything better.

 

Bingo! ^^ I buy a lot of stuff at HF the hand tools are great for the price I have all the different digital calipers sizes. every angle grinder in the shop is from HF and they last just as long as a 100 dollar one and the quick replacement is nice. with the higher end grinders you have to send them back for repair with HF you just walk in and grab a new one. I have a 7" that we have used hard every day for years and it's still going strong and at 40 bucks you can't beat that! it does help that I have a HF 10min from the shop

 

never thought I would start out in a ford, but hey, the thing drives nice!!!

7.3 + 5 spd. . . .2wd