Calipers (not calibers) for reloading

[Mohave-Tec]

I know calipers to the better extent but I'm wondering if somebody knows a set that has some redeeming quality that might be unique to reloading. I've been using a cheap pair of Kobalts from Lowes for a good long while but they are stating to get a little bit of rocking in the jaws so I'm getting small variances pending where I am in the jaws. Also, is there any reason why you would prefer digital over dial or dial over digital other than one is easier for you to read? 'm thinking for getting a pretty darned good set.

 

[Captainmerzlak]

I got my calipers and micrometer from sears (craftsman). Not the best quality but when mine broke I just took them into the store and they told me to grab a new set off the shelf.

They make digital or dial. I like digital personally.

 

[Mohave-Tec]

I just started looking at Sears. I never thought of calipers when I thought of Craftsman but I've got dozens if not hundreds of 30 and 40 year old craftsman hand tools.

 

[Jim K]

I began with the old vernier calipers, went to the dial type, then to digital. I have compared one with another and with precision gauge blocks and micrometers and will stick with the digital.

Frankly, the progress in recent years has been amazing. Another example is time measurement; we can buy, today, cheap digital watches of a precision even the best naval chronometers could not touch in WWII.

Jim

 

[rcmodel]

I have a Starrett mike set 1" - 4", and a Brown & Sharp 1" carbide jaw mike.
And an older pair of good Craftsman dial calipers when they used to sell 'pretty good' dial calipers for $100+.

Then I have a pair of $9.95 Harbor Freight Digitals.
And they are the only ones I ever use anymore on the lathe, or reloading, or anything else.

They are Good Enough for Goobermint work!
And if you drop them and step on them?

At best, Hit the Zero button and you are probably still good to go.
At worst, you are out $10 bucks for another one.

Rc

 

[RussellC]

Harbor freight, less than 20 bucks. With a coupon I replaced my old one for 11 bucks. They also had dial. The coupons are available on their web site. They almost always have a coupon for this thing. The digital works very well and if you drop it too many times, just get another. It looks amazingly just like some I see with fancy names for a lot more $;

Russellc

 

[handloader357]

I have a dial and a digital. I prefer to use the digital.. Maybe im a bit paranoid, but i insist on being able to handload ammo without the use of an electrical power source so i have the dial calipers as well.

 

[RussellC]

I have a Starrett mike set 1" - 4", and a Brown & Sharp 1" carbide jaw mike.
And an older pair of good Craftsman dial calipers when they used to sell 'pretty good' dial calipers for $100+.

Then I have a pair of $9.95 Harbor Freight Digitals.
And they are the only ones I ever use anymore on the lathe, or reloading, or anything else.

They are Good Enough for Goobermint work!
And if you drop them and step on them?

At best, Hit the Zero button and you are probably still good to go.
At worst, you are out $10 bucks for another one.

Rc

See you like the HF too. Last one I dropped and just replaced still worked, just the second place after the decimal was off 2 digits. Caused me to trim 30 brasses short before I figured out what was going on. 10 bucks, back in business.

Russellc

 

[primalmu]

I bought one off Amazon for $20, it looks like the EXACT same caliper from Harbor Freight (except with a different brand stamped on it). Works well enough for me, and is right on the money when I check them against bullet diameters. Reloading doesn't have to be THAT accurate, to be honest (I'd be willing to bet good money that you get more variation in pressure from how the powder sits in the case than you do from being off a couple thousanths in COAL).

 

[Paddy]

I've purchased about 50 pairs of harbor freight dial calipers, and a few of their digitalis. They are excellent value and pretty accurate!

Personally, I hate digital calipers, too hard to quickly read and always seem to have a dead battery.

However, for my dedicated reloading bench pair, I recently got my first Brown & sharpe and I gotta say, worth the extra. Much nicer than mitutoyo at the same price. I thought I would miss the thumb wheel, turns out the thumb wheel was holding me back all these years. They have mineral crystals too!

So, after using pretty much everything, I say B&S or HF but nothing in between.

 

[savanahsdad]

if you go into a machine shop you will find Starrett , Mitutoyo, Brown&Sharpe, Fowler, and you will find the same in my reload room ,

Buy once cry once applies to more than your press and dies, come to think of it I paid more for my first calipers than I did for my first press, I bought my first calipers over 25 years ago and my first press about 18 years ago, so when I started reloading I didn't need to buy calipers or any other machining tools and what I have should out last me

 

[ColtPythonElite]

A set of house brand ones from Midway have served me well for 20 years I believe they now sell the same ones labeled as Frankfort Arsenal.

 

[jmorris]

I don't even know exactly how many sets I have and all types/sizes. Hard to beat dial calipers for ease of use without the possibility of a battery being dead.

Digitals are nice too but everywhere I have a set of digitals there are a set of dial or vernier nearby.

B&S, Mitutoyo and Starret is the order I would place them but HF will do anything you will need for reloading.

 

[Walkalong]

I have a Brown & Sharp dial caliper, a Mitutoyo dial caliper that stays with my hobby lathe in the shed, and a HF digital that I use for most reloading tasks.

The HF is good enough for 99% of our reloading needs. The last time I had a coupon for $10, I bought a back up and put it back.

 

[GT1]

The HF are from the same company that the FA, RCBS, Hornady, and Lyman digitals are from.
I like them because they are fast and easy on my old eyes. For the price they are awesome.

I have a set of not as cheap Fowlers that are right on with my digital.


Using a set of Brown and Sharpe or Mitutoyo calipers for reloading is like taking a Yugo to a Ferrari mechanic.

 

[smovlov]

Old set of Mitutoyos here.

Using a set of Brown and Sharpe or Mitutoyo calipers for reloading is like taking a Yugo to a Ferrari mechanic.

My Yugo runs just fine thank you!

 

[Mohave-Tec]

Well then, my old Kobalts worked so well for so long I think I'll just trade them in for the same model at Lowe's.
Thanks everybody.

 

[LKLive13]

I bought a set from HF and they are off by .250, I have never dropped them so maybe I just got a bad set... can expect too much from a budget tool source. I bought a set from Cabelas and that's what I have been using for the last 7 months or so... run me about $35 so I cant complain.

 

[rcmodel]

Off by .250", or a quarter inch??

Wow, that's a set to take back and get your $9.00 back for!

For Sure!

Rc

 

[Nickb45]

I use an old set of Mitutoyo's at my loading bench, but when your bench is in a full blown machine shop, there is a set of Brown & Sharp dial calipers or 8" Mitutoyo digital calipers on every bench.
The only time I use calipers at the loading bench anymore is to check a case length or C.O.A.L. for the first time out of the press or trimmer.

I will usually use precision gauge blocks to set this up. I don't wear out any calipers, I can adjust the "tolerance" and it also confirms my primers are below flush, if not the case rocks.

 

[Zeke/PA]

As a lifelong Toolmaker (retired) I have a array of calipers and such. I still have my first set of 6" Starrett Dial Calipers that were a new innovation years back. The digitals are of course the Cats Meow measuring both English and Metric . A habit that has stuck with me is "zeroing" the calipers before each use.

 

[RainDodger]

Dial calipers are my favorite. Long after all the batteries are dead and the world has no power, they'll still work. I just prefer mechanics over electronics. You always know they'll be pretty close to zeroed.

 

[jmorris]

I bought a set from HF and they are off by .250

Clean the blades off, close them and hit the zero button.

 

[JWH321]

Starrett if you want to buy them only once. Harbor Freight if you want to buy a bunch of them. Although, it has often been good to have more than one set. Take a look at the batteries that are in the set you buy -- make sure that it is a type of battery that you can find locally, then buy several new batteries on the way home. Many manufacturers seem to cut costs with batteries and the OEM battery will seem to not last long. Be sure to have spares on hand.

 

[weekender823]

Mohave-Tec,

Regarding the variation in measurement you are getting depending on where in the jaws you position the object being measured, that is a normal consequence of use. The slide is probably nice and easy to move too. The should be two small gib screws on the top of the slide that you can snug up with an eyeglass screwdriver until the slide gets a little harder to move. Do that, and then try measuring a bullet diameter at several points along the jaws. I find that usually fixes the problem.