recommend digital calipers?

[::: :::]

when i google this, I see stuff listed from $15 up to several hundred dollars

I've got some bindings to mount this fall for which I haven't found templates online. i'd like to just make my own templates and print them out.

so, i'm looking for a value priced product that's reliable enough for repeated use but not pro level atomic accuracy. I'm guessing $40-60 without really knowing what i'm getting into. is that realistic?

what do you recommend?

[mfa81]

harbor freight for $10 - $20 depending on the features... they work as expected!

calipers are like torque wrench you can buy a $50 or a $250 and both will work (most of the time :-) )

[::: :::]

harbor freight is my go-to for items i'll never use again

i'd like this to last longer than that

[Gepeto]

Mitutoyo makes a decent mid-range quality caliper.
Used on eBay can be had in the $50 range (0-6" variety).
Will be more than serviceable for your intended use.
Requires a battery that lasts about a year and will be in your toolbox until you give it away.
Accuracy is in the +/- 1/1000th range
The Harbor version's for $20 are less than okay for tight tolerance work and in the +/- 5000th's accuracy.
Yes they would work for your application but get sloppy pretty quickly with use.
Don't buy all plastic versions

[El Chupacabra]

I've been using an under-$10 Harbor Freight digital caliper for binding work for years. It's fine.

[::: :::]

so, it sounds like my $40-60 budget could be lower and get a reliable device

looking at this one...
http://www.amazon.com/Carrera-Precis...Y32PMP8F75QHKA



what do you think?

[GeezerSteve]

My Mitutoyo caliper has been going strong for 12 years, lots of use.

[dark_star]

I was on the fence about getting some nice digital calipers, but decided I'd go with a Mitutoyo vernier calipers instead. They don't have batteries, they're more robust, and you can get oils, etc. on them without messing up the measure. Cheaper than digital, too.

[XXX-er]

if you must buy a caliper to mount skis just get a cheap one but IMO a steel ruler is plenty accurate enough to mount a binding to ski and I just use the binding as the template

[TAFKALVS]

I bought a pair off amazon for ~$10 and have been perfectly usable for reloading, ski mounting, etc.

if you are an engineer or machinist or something else where absolute precision to the .00001 is important, maybe spend more but otherwise I think a cheapy is fine.

[dcpnz]

There's a real geeky video review on amazon that can be found under reviews for most of the popular cheap digital calipers
I don't know if he's right but it convinced me to spend mid range on the ($26 or $40 for one of the iGauging models) rather than cheap ($12 -$15)

For binding mounts i reckon a steel ruler is probably sufficient though i can imagine plenty of other uses where a digital caliper is handy to have.

[Muggydude]

Had this one for years, works well

http://www.lowes.com/pd_293883-16878...ductId=1242475

[Hugh Conway]

wait, you draw lines from your digital calipers to mount skis? seriously?

[Muggydude]

I used mine to measure distances between the binding holes, then used the dimensions to create templates in a cad program. Worked really well, everything mounted up spot on for 10 sets of inserts

[::: :::]

wait, you draw lines from your digital calipers to mount skis? seriously?

nope, i'm going to draw up a template in cad for a paper template and record for printing out in the future like muggydude

[1000-oaks]

Mitutoyo is money well spent.

[Shorty_J]

I got a super cheap one on ebay and it works perfectly. Mounted many a pair of skis.

[bern43]

Mitutoyo is money well spent.

This.

[Todds]

The cheap ones have worked well for us in the past. Haven't noticed an measurement issues. Every couple of years we need to replace one.

[skimaxpower]

I've been plenty satisfied with my $10 harbor freight digital calipers for bicycle work. But honestly, when I was a ski tech and had to do a freehand mount, I never used calipers anyway.

For freehand mounts at the ski shop, I used:
- masking tape so I could draw on the ski
- measure center line (lots of ways to do this, I found tele jig to be the easiest and most reliable)
- measure with metric ruler and fine pencil
- measure again
- measure thrice
- center punch
- drill baby, drill.

[XXX-er]

I've been plenty satisfied with my $10 harbor freight digital calipers for bicycle work. But honestly, when I was a ski tech and had to do a freehand mount, I never used calipers anyway.

For freehand mounts at the ski shop, I used:
- masking tape so I could draw on the ski
- measure center line (lots of ways to do this, I found tele jig to be the easiest and most reliable)
- measure with metric ruler and fine pencil
- measure again
- measure thrice
- center punch
- drill baby, drill.

same here ^^ and I like having a carpenters t-square

[Hugh Conway]

http://www.amazon.com/General-Tools-...dp/B00004T7SU/
cheap, useful if you are too lazy to convert english measurements to decimal. can be found cheap in person as well. don't get the calipers for this application, but I don't get most of what people do here. Wouldn't buy a Mitutoyo or a Starrett for this application, but whatever.

[El Chupacabra]

I just use the calipers for centering a mount left-right on the ski. Doesn't matter what the measurements are, so long as they are pretty close on each side. (example : on a Duke template I made by sticking the factory supplied sticker onto a piece of plastic)

[Mazderati]

How often does a digital caliper need to be serviced? And is service worth it for a relatively inexpensive caliper (i.e., cost of service close to close of replacement)?

[sweetdaddy]

How often does a digital caliper need to be serviced? And is service worth it for a relatively inexpensive caliper (i.e., cost of service close to close of replacement)?

Generally, a caliper would be checked for calibration once a year, more frequently with high volume use, would cost more than the price of a cheap one. With reasonable care, for weekend use, I wouldn't expect the accuracy of a $25-$50 caliper to drift appreciably in a person's lifetime.

FWIW I work in a lab where instrument calibration is required to maintain ISO certification. I have an assortment of Mitutoyo digital calipers, mics and digital indicator gauges; never had one fail calibration upon submission to our metrology lab and need adjustment. One of the digital calipers I inherited that's on the cal list was purchased in 1989.