mitutoyo digital caliper- Are they really worth it?

[Farsight]

For me, it's all about consistency and good tools make it easier to be consistent.

 

[Rust]

It's like any other quality tool, buy once, cry once.

 

[lowbid]

I like my Starrett digis better too, but right after I typed that wisdom, I was on MSC Direct and have set of Mitu's coming, .0005" resolution, so hopefully the 4th number will be small.
All I really said in that post was we tend to overthink this shit.

The thing I noticed on the mitus is you can take you fingers and put them on the jaws closed and move them back and forth the starrett is more ridged and I think more accurate but as reloading gos we are splitting hairs.

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

The thing I noticed on the mitus is you can take you fingers and put them on the jaws closed and move them back and forth the starrett is more ridged and I think more accurate but as reloading gos we are splitting hairs.

Hmmmm. I can't do that with my mitu even with the jaws open some.

I got the base piece mentioned ITT today. It's a similar device as the Hornady anvil base but is made and designed differently. It works very very well. Actually it works a lot better than I thought it would. Definitely a good buy and from a fellow hider too! I'm going to give some feedback in their thread but I thought I'd let everyone here know as well, since this has been such a popular topic. This is my new caliper with the new base on it.

 

[lowbid]

Hmmmm. I can't do that with my mitu even with the jaws open some.

I got the base piece mentioned ITT today. It's a similar device as the Hornady anvil base but is made and designed differently. It works very very well. Actually it works a lot better than I thought it would. Definitely a good buy and from a fellow hider too! I'm going to give some feedback in their thread but I thought I'd let everyone here know as well, since this has been such a popular topic. This is my new caliper with the new base on it.

That looks like one of the better ones Iam just old school at 72 and started reloading in the 60s and it was all lee loading...and over the years my tools were made in the U. S. it is all different now . The biggest thing is you dont want to get knock offs.

 

[Cascade Hemi]

Here is a good video on the subject of budget versus higher end calipers. It matches my experience as well. When it comes to spending money on measuring devices used for reloading I'd rather put it towards precision micrometers, not calipers. Midgrade calipers are actually a good value. As with everything else, there is room for more than one point of view.

 

[357Max]

That's a good tip. The mic has carbide tips on each side and is pretty dang impressive.... the calipers are too but the mic measures to such a tiny degree.

I have a question though, and it may require me to provide a pic when I get home. The hash marks for zero line up when I tighten it enough to do so, but it's pretty tight at that point.. it seems like it's so tight that setting that as the zero point isn't actually correct, but if I zero it at a point where the mic is fully closed but not very tight, the lines don't line up. I don't really need the lines to line up I guess but, how do you do this with you digital mic? Or anyone else

Here's a tip I haven't seen mentioned. For your 0-1" mic. They are very sensitive. The anvil faces need to be cleaned before checking zero.
The best way to do this is to close the mic down on a piece of paper using the ratchet to tighten. Then just slide the paper through. If it reads .0002 off and you do this it'll come right back to zero.

And never ever store the 0-1 mic with the anvil closed. always back off for storage.

This one is 15 years old, just cleaned it via paper and checked zero. I don't recall a single time this mic did not reacquire zero after cleaning via paper.

I use the Mitutoyo Absolutes and have Swiss made B&S backups. Sadly it appears the B&S are no longer made in Switzerland.
I've had the B&S for about 25 years & it was used daily for 15 years. No longer do this stuff as a profession so it mostly lives in the garage on the lathe or mill now.

 

[Tokay444]

Here's a tip I haven't seen mentioned. For your 0-1" mic. They are very sensitive. The anvil faces need to be cleaned before checking zero.
The best way to do this is to close the mic down on a piece of paper using the ratchet to tighten. Then just slide the paper through. If it reads .0002 off and you do this it'll come right back to zero.

And never ever store the 0-1 mic with the anvil closed. always back off for storage.

This one is 15 years old, just cleaned it via paper and checked zero. I don't recall a single time this mic did not reacquire zero after cleaning via paper.

View attachment 7816905

I use the Mitutoyo Absolutes and have Swiss made B&S backups. Sadly it appears the B&S are no longer made in Switzerland.
I've had the B&S for about 25 years & it was used daily for 15 years. No longer do this stuff as a profession so it mostly lives in the garage on the lathe or mill now.

View attachment 7816930

Yeah, yours could use a barrel alignment as well.

 

[Mudflap621]

So where’s the best place to buy either the starrett or mitutoyos?