Bored of lame tool reviews? Shake hands with cheap Chinese calipers.
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- čas přidán 23. 01. 2015
- UPDATE: see why the cheap ones kill batteries • Video
Boltr: calipers. How bad can ten dollar digital calipers be? Take an insider's look at the differences between cheap Chinese calipers and high quality Japanese ones. Sparkfun's Hung Lo brand versus Mitutoyo versus your wallet.
These are the bargain basement calipers that Harbor Freight, Princess Auto, KBC, Sears, Home Depot, Lowes, Canadian Tire are selling. Do they hit the "minimum viable tooling" requirements?
Is it actually cheaper to buy quality tools?
I'll also give you a few tips on how to improve the quality of cheap calipers.
reddit link CLICK IT PLEASE, SOMETHING MAGICAL WILL HAPPEN!
/ digital_caliper_guts_t...
I did a follow up on the battery consumption. It's shockingly bad!
• Video
And another follow up on temperature compensation. Equally terrible.
• Video - Věda a technologie
its 8 years later. do you still read all the comments hhhhmmmmm?
No.
although its a shockingly bad device inside.. it still doing its job well for 10 bucks.. for a lot of people an accuracy of 0.5T is way above what any tool is capable doing in a home shop...
Right on point !
I've had a bunch of these cheap Chinese calipers and the digital part always craps out.
Just end up using them to scribe Dykem lines for layout.
You demagnetize tools with a degausser.
Works for me.
i think its much better to get a manual caliper for that price instead of the digital one (unless you are one of those sickos who doesnt know how to use one)
Ahhh, those are just wood worker callipers. The "give" is to allow for the natural expansion and contraction of organic materials.
It's to allow for the bow in the wood from home depot lol
My master would slap you left and right for that remark ;-)
Dam Charlotte that sounded good enough you probably almost convinced yourself.
Yeah there just the ticket for wood butchers they double as a glue applicator and scriber..
Haha ding dong China
I have the exact same set in my toolbox at work, they are my "loaners" When someone wants to borrow a set of calipers I throw them the cheapo set. They always come back because they are not worth stealing, and they are crappy enough to scare some people from borrowing my tools. I have an extra crappy set of socket head wrenches to loan out too. And if you borrow a screwdriver from me, it will be bent AND rounded off.
Anyone who works with tools around co-workers should adopt this procedure... It will save them a lot of stolen or "misplaced" tools.. Then, funny enough, a year later you find the person you loaned the tool to, the person who "misplaced" it, using it again..
I don't loan out my name brand tools anymore. If I loan out a tool its the cheapest in my tool box. Unless I know you and trust you to bring it back not f##ked up.
MrRatkilr it's best not to do it with people you trust, because if they lose/break it then it puts some strain on the friendship haha
You should never loan: 1. Your tools. 2. Your wife. In this numbering. :-))
Haha best response I have yet seen.
It's 5 years later. Do you still read ALL of the comments?
No.
hahhah
Algorithm, yeah I've completed it
@@arduinoversusevil2025 fuk
@@arduinoversusevil2025 Ha, Nerd!
Who buys a $10 tool and expects the same results as a $150 tool?
The people who buy these, such as myself, are probably replacing a steel rule, not doing precision machining.
Can confirm - my $10 calipers are about 10X better than the dollar store ruler they replaced.
As an engineer, you match the tool to the job. If your job requires high level accuracy, then use the $150 models. Both units will be destroyed if you drop them, so there's no reason to blindly buy the $150 unit just because it's technically better. There will always be a place for cheap tools and the user needs to make that decision on a case by case basis.
bumpo628 I’m an engineer, and I wouldn’t use the $10 items for anything. You’d be better off with $10 analogue calipers. You’re right that you match the accuracy to the requirements, but these rubbish calipers aren’t good enough to build a timber fence. Chuck em out!
@@sp4nrs video shows they're accurate within 5 thou... plenty good enough for lots of things
@@sp4nrs yes they are good enough to build a timber fence... check bolt dia , hole sizes
david jones might as well just use a small steel rule, at least it can’t self calibrate to completely the wrong value haha
@@sp4nrs i like simple tools too
Here is the best use for the $10 calipers:
When Father's days rolls around and the kiddies want to get Dada something, but they're on a budget (being kids, and they're going to use your money anyway). drop hints about the affordable calipers at Harbor Freight.
After you gush about how you always wanted calipers, and let the kids see you use them a time or two, go out and buy the Mitutoyo and swap them. The kids and wife will never notice the difference. Kids think you love their gift. Wife thinks you got a cheaper alternative to the expensive one she didn't want you to spend money on.
Win Win Win (though you might have to put up with the wife's "I told you you didn't need something that expensive.")
You are an evil genius!
Sneaky sneaky & best dad award at the same time, you are a hero!
Great :)
So glad I don't have to hide shlt from my wife.
@@juanfo7307 So you missed the part about how the kids (or wife) get to think they got you something really cool when they couldn't have afforded the good one.
Watching this as I look at my calipers that are sitting on my desk; Seeing that they are the $10 ones; feeling bad.
At the machine shop I work at, I'm responsible for checking all the measuring tools in the shop every 6 months. What I can tell you it's cheap calipers may be within .001 when new but typically only last a few years before they start to generate an ever increasing error. On the other end of the spectrum there are numerous Mitutoyo calipers in our shop that are 15+ years old that still measure within .001. It's the quality out of the box and the long term accuracy that you're paying for.
So, at $10 - $20, you can afford to replace them every three years or so.
@@johnc8910 At €29 you won't need to replace them for 20-30 years. Those are the cheapest Mitutoyo offer.
@Eli Z
Sometimes "good enough" IS good enough. I will never wear out my HF digital calipers. They do not get used that much because they sit in a storage cabinet right beside my HF torque wrenches and the digital torque adapter I use solely for calibration purposes.
If I used them professionally, I would have professional grade tools, but these are good enough for a post-retiremnt garage workshop.
Having said all of that, I am not particularly happy that the USA, rightfully or wrongfully, has ceded the low to middle end of the instrument market (electronic and mechanical) to foreigners. I am seeing the same thing here that I saw in the '70s with the US shortwave and amateur radio market (Hammarlund, Hallicrafters, National, etc.) closing their doors.
I just made a comment about this putting my HF specials up against a set of lightly use Mitutoyo’s and it was a 0.1T difference in favor of the Mitutoyo’s. I guess since all this Mitutoyo’s will ever be used for is reloading. They should last me a life time no more hard work for these babies. I have to say I’m extremely happy to have them !!!!
When i was 18 i was in a machining trade school and my first week someome gave me a pair of mitutoyo calipers. Ive had them for 7 years and i still use them accurately.
I've got both. Cheapos work great for general woodworking, scribing lines (can't even imagine doing that with my nice set), finding center lines, etc... Not for reliably precise work in metal. Much of my use of calipers doesn't even depend on the exact measured distance - but work great to transfer distances from one part to another (usually using the lock screw) feature. They have their place in doing things the Mitutoyos shouldn't be doing.
Definitely agree; not going to use nice granite in place of a red brick. All depends on the application.
They are great for many applications. You don't want to wear out a $200 caliper scribing lines for drilling holes. Plenty accurate for scribing holes and drilling.
Working as a mechanic I wouldn't need that amount of precision, usually im just trying to find the measurement of something to order a suitable replacement. Not to mention I'd probably destroy the nice ones. I can't have nice things.
If you want precise measurements then use a micrometer.
Maritime Misfits what about bearings with no low tolerances
I own a small engineering company and i use the mitutoyo instruments for all the important jobs.
but even in my shop , which is a precision engineering shop , there is a place for those creepy chinese calipers .... at the welder machine for instance , or at the band saw , or even just to sort the materials when i'm looking for one particular bar or plate ... i mean in any job where there are high probability to make damage at the caliper it self :)
You use Chinese calipers where you wouldn't want to put a sweet brown and sharpe one in to risk damage. The Chinese ones are actually good for the price for the job intended.
They work great for anything that is standard measurements, where you can just round to what it should be, but mine are mastercraft, which is basically cheap but just not
It’s a $10, digital wing nut wrench!
The 10 buck ones have done every nicely for my RC hobby and are still going strong after 8yrs.
ya, they're fine for that but when you're dealing with some of the crap machinist have to deal with like say, the tolerance of a feature on the blueprints calls for +0.002"/-0.000", you're going to want something a little more accurate and precise. You could go with micrometers when it's that close but a good set of calipers is usually preferred so you don't have to go fetch another one for every 1-inch deviation.
You ain't lying I worked for a company ours tolerances were dead on or it was gonna be redone i miss my mitutoyo set. Came with a micrometer
But it’s also a pointless comparison because why would anyone even consider using a $10 tool for a serious job that requires accuracy? This is for hobbyists, home improvement guys, and people around the world that can barely afford a $10 tool let alone $150, and when their $10 tool breaks, they tape it back together. The $10 version is actually surprisingly good, especially for guys that use it once a year.
Waste of time comparison. One is made for machinists, the other for hobbyists and DIYers. For my use, it does not matter if my measurements are off by .001.
The 10$ pair could be 10x or even 100x less accurate and it would still do 99% of jobs a non-professional would use them for. All this video shows is that the cheap one are more then accurate enough - even if they tend to have sharp edges you will never be holding them for much more than a minute on any given day.
You removed the self-lapping compound! Ohh-no...
If you are really concerned about accuracy and repeatability, spend the money and buy micrometers.
Agreed no one should be thinking they can measure +/-.001" with a caliper. Rough and quick measurements yes but accurate finish work use a micrometer.
@@pchrosto Old post, I know, but the mitotuyos I use at work get within a thousandth reliably every time. Mics are more accurate though of course...
You forgot the most important feature: Which one do you keep to loan to people who borrow tools?
Never loan out your tools! Even to your kids! Somehow they never get back home... or the proper spot in the shop!
William Ward Or else they come back broken, and they didn't break them ;)
thats what i thought aswell
***** Very good point.
Wow... a $150 tool is better quality than a $10 one. No shit Sherlock...
Long and the short, you get what you pay for, except for Festool
Festool, and some DeWalts, Boschs, Milwaukee and pretty everyone that makes some stoopidly designed tool, even among perfectly good ones. And before any of the DeWalt fanboys there, I have a DeWalt air compressor that has its share of just BAD engineering aspects. Does it work?, Yes. at least for a while, but read all those Amazon bad reviews that properly point out the deficiencies.
I recently disassembled a milwaukee and a dewalt cordless and inside were the same chinese motor of my 35 euro cordless drill, and for the same i mean the code stamped on the motor is the same exact but for 2 letters at the end...
"Tap and Die chart. Useless, unless your working on a Frogeye Sprite."
You have no idea. No original bolts, that chart (and a larger one I found) was my lifeline when a friend enlisted my help to rebuild his A-H.
Amazing... My rod grows when I warm it up too! :) Very much enjoy your vids... Subbed! Also love my $10.00 China Calipers!
The Japanese calliper is superior because it is forged from steel that is folded 1000 times. Mendeleev himself discovered all the elements by measuring them with glorious Japanese callipers.
Still less hype than a katana.
Tell me why one would need Damascus calipers.
Lil Girty ´Tis a meme about hattori hanzo
But you aren't biased.
Back in the mid-1970s I was building up my mechanic's tool set and also started getting machinist measuring tools. I was considering getting something like the Brown & Sharpe line of instruments when I looked closely at a Japanese line of instruments from Mitutoyo. The Mitutoyo instruments were significantly cheaper but the quality seemed top-notch to me. I had worked with hand tools since I was a young boy and had a job at a large hospital in Miami where I evaluated medical/surgical instruments for quality and functionality; I had a good feel for evaluating the quality of an instrument. The Mitutoyo instruments served me very well for many years and I was surprised, and pleased, that I had found a maker of very high quality instruments at an affordable price.
"comes in roman noodle flavor" FUCKING KILLED ME XDD
Good review, but I can't fully agree with a couple of comments you made.
First off, these calipers have been around for a very long time, and from my observation the basic design and look has been copied/made by multiple manufacturers, with varying degrees of cheapness and subsequent finish.
Even the electronics are not the same - eg. some have a low battery indicator (the display will flash), the really cheap ones do not.
I have one of the more upmarket ones ($20) and it's still going well after 10 years of heavy use. The finish is way better than the $10 one shown. Of course you get what you pay for.
Do I trust it? Not fully. Repeatability is questionable at the 0.01 mm level. But then they don't claim that level of accuracy.
For precision work I use an NSK vernier or Mitutoyo dial caliper.
Not all instruments made in China are crap - just check out Igaging calipers (yep got one of those as well) which while way cheaper than a Mitutoyo, is still an excellent piece of kit.
Cheers Rob
xynudu ..
I left my butt off... At 3 minutes and 47 seconds there's a commercial coming across your channel for harbor freight tools just after you slammed them for the crappy stuff....
Keep up the good work my friend keep reminding us that you get what you pay for.
The ultimate truth he spoke, "When you are troubleshooting something, your cognitive load is so high that you don't want to be second guessing your meter, you want to be confident."
I'm wincing every time I see the Mitutoyo thrown down like that.
I used to work for a company where the engineering department had good Mitutoyo calipers like these while we sold (or gave away) these same Chinese ones with our own logo on them to the customers. The difference is noticeable if you use them all the time, but the cost is hard to justify if you don't use them frequently.
I have to say after watching your video I am actually pretty impressed with the $10 calipers. Seems with a tiny bit of filing tweaking cleaning up the board greasing deburing maybe a quick spot weld of that beam. they appear to be a pretty "decent" set of calipers.
if you NEED 1/1000 acuracy/precision. ok not for you. but if a couple thousandths is "enough" then it seems these are pretty darned nice (and for a hobbyist that is typically enough most of my stuff 1/100 of a mm is more than sufficient.
would I prefer nice ones? absolutely. no question. but it SEEMS they are not all that bad for $10.
it would be INTERESTING to see someone actually "use a set" long term and see how they actually hold up over time with real heavy use as well as being "cared for" as you would the nice set.
ie "can we make" them a nice alternative for those of us who do not make money from our tools and can't justify $150 for a set of calipers.
My German dad was a die maker by trade and completed his apprenticeship in the 1930s at a technical college. As part of the training, he made a vernier calliper. In the later stages of his training he made a lathe. He never owned a digital vernier, but had 3 traditional verniers made by: Mauser (arms manufacturer), Helios and TESA. The Tunguska of measuring instruments.
I work with Mitutoyo tools everyday in the QA lab. They really are worth the cost if you need to have accurate measurements every time.
LOL, you clearly have no idea what I am talking about. "Do you even Metrology bro!?!"
We, professionals know that calipers, of any brand, have limited accuracy despite the ability to provide precise measurements. I use tools like a Mitutoyo absolute digital height gauge on a calibrated surface plate to take very accurate measurements. I also use a Mitutoyo CV-2000 Contracer to profile the radius on stamped parts. Not to mention the Zies Contura G2 or Brown & Sharp Mistral CMMs, or the optical comparator, ect, ect.
My company makes safety components for automobiles, like airbag difusers, seat belt tounge plates, D-rings, and slider/rail assemblies.
Do you want me to be confirming +/-0.200mm tolerances on the safety components that might be saving your life or the life of your child with a $10 pair of chinesium calipers?
+AaronAlso you feel like a guy to get turned on by calipers
AaronAlso As a fellow machinist, please use the good stuff!
Recently got a manufacturing engineer internship with a local medical device company taking tooling and fixtures and making solid works models out of em and was handed one of the mitutoyos. Sooo good feeling to use in comparison to the crappy harbor frieght ones I've been so accustomed to using most of my life.
I have one of those Chinese callipers. The battery holder broke off, now it's just regular callipers. Well, or a doorstop.
*****
LOL. The least accurate doorstop ever XD.
You never checked the jaws for parallel, the wedge ends (where your fine measurement is done) can be gappy, if you polish the faces with diamond grit paper the accuracy can be vastly improved..You should have clamped the calibration bar in a vise to do proper square on measurement.
Amazing! I have the exact same set of mini-screw drivers with the exact same busted hinge. I've had the set since the 1970's and the hinge broke 40 years ago but the drivers continue to serve me well today.
You missed a major point in this video. China has a very unique 0 loss method of QC. Its all luck of the draw. I have a set of these that are very accurate and were smooth out of the box. The pair in this video is why you buy 3 when ordering anything from china : )
TunedCavityLasers i can confirm this comment. I bought a cheap one exactly like the one presented here in 2010, i exp. the same problems [sharp corners, bad feedback ... and not in this video the really bad battery lifetime (Replacement Panasonic Battery which i mostly use because they are cheap) if you compare it to a Mitotuyo] BUT its still working (5 years, i think i replaced battery at least 6 times) and i have to say that i never had a precision problem caused by "using it". Not a fan of it but when i bought it i expected it to fail miserably which it didnt and still dont...
Last set I got were under 10$ and have some new features. A nice large display, auto shut off so batteries will last much longer, and when they are off if you move the slide they are auto on. They also hold memory of the position. Add all that to decently accurate and its a good deal IMO.
TunedCavityLasers I would use them just for building sculptures and stuff. I do geometric sculptures, but art doesn't have to be as precise as CNCing, I just need a rough number. Even at $10 these are overkill.
inthefade
I do a lot of prototyping and machining working with laser which is pretty demanding on accuracy. These type calipers by nature are limited as are their expensive counterparts. Yet more than enough for the average user.
I got a set of these because I don't use them much and thought it would do. Wasted my money, random number generator is not what I needed at all.
There are Chinese calipers for around $40 that are stainless and very good value. Keep in mind that back in the 60s everyone was saying that mechanical stuff coming out of Japan was junk, now look at them.
You should have compared them to the dollar store plastic calipers that don't even have a tightening knob. Found a pair in my dad's shop room, they're quite something to behold!
Ah yes one of the few CZcams's who stays true and keeps the good ole original content
I call bullshit, show us the inside of the good calipers too, that would be the best comparison. for example, is the tang on the good calipers welded?
nikotwenty notice he said .005 of warp on the good one but never showed it
RIP apart your own high precision measuring tool 😉
Keep my stick on the ice?
How do you know my wife?
I have these calipers, used them today in fact, looks like I'm in the market for a new set! Thanks for the video! This channel is awesome!
I knew just by reading the title this would be fun to watch. thx!
My wife keeps asking what I'm chuckling about..... Please keep up the great video's....!
Cheers, Daniel.
Thanks for sharing just how bad those calipers are. I think I'll stick to my Mitutoyo and Staretts.
Even though we came to different conclusions about the Chinese calipers, I just want to say I very much enjoy both of y'alls channels. Thanks for the effort, gentlemen.
Less then a minute in, love it! Your narration is right on!
Love the meter reference as that is spot on
Harsh. I have two sets of the cheap callipers and they're perfectly fine. Accurate, reliable and nice to use. I'm more than happy with them.
Still pretty accurate though and if your on a budget it's very acceptable, especially if you are too bothered about the aesthetics of your measuring tools.......
A lot of the shortcomings are precisely to keep em cheap - I'm sure they could make them look as nice as the 'mirrors' but they would also share a price tag......
The link to the update video about the battery drainage comparison in the video description does not work. Has the video been removed???
got this 25 y old mitutoyo from my dad, with the nice brown plastic wrong side belt slide holder
still works like a charm
Of just about any other tool I would agree, but I would never pay 150 dollars for a set of calipers. That 10 dollar set did everything your 150 dollar set did, and yeah it might not be as dandy fine but unless you work with machining metal for a living, the 10 dollar pair would be just as good. Even with the caliper being bent it was still within .005 of your tests. You seemed pretty biased from the get go before you even opened the box, probably because you spent 150 dollars on your caliper. Just my opinion here. I'm not one for buying cheap tools, it's all name brand for me but on some things hey if it's cheap and it works just as good then what the hell
+ArcticAstrophysics His point in the review is that the calipers do not meet the factory specifications, out of the box, from the factory. He flat out states the $10 cheapies will be fine for people like you. They do not have the measuring accuracy or the ability to repeat a measurement required for accurate work though. The $10 dollar set DID NOT do everything the $150 dollar set did. Please google "digg /video/metal-snowflake-edm" and see why precision is important.
+ArcticAstrophysics I'd probably spring for a little more to get one that was more comfortable to hold, gotta be something decent inbetween that 10$ to 150$ price point.
+ArcticAstrophysics That's right. Right from the beginning, there is a bias against the 10 dollar calipers. I bought a similar one for $ 11 from Amazon.com and I am quite happy with it. In terms of accuracy, smooth operation and finish, it is far better than the one reviewed in this video. When I buy tools or measuring instruments I certainly want them to be of good quality, accurate and long-lasting. Instead of a 10 dollar tool, I will decide in favor of a 20 dollar one for better quality, accuracy, etc. But I am not prepared to settle for a 150 dollar tool which does the job in a marginally better manner; $ 150 is disproportionately high.
If. You were doing high precision machining you will buy good calipers or you won't last long in the machining field right +AVE
DawgYankee you are right.
the real strength of digital caliper, though, it's not how fast you can read it but the fact that you can zero on any measure and immediately compare it without having to do math. and, trust me, when working with a lathe this is vital.
for any application that involves just taking measures a traditional caliper is a more sensible, cost effective and more reliable choice
Shrimp and mothballed flavor... 🤣😂🤣
Great video, as a calibration tech who works with 20-30 calipers a week I agree with everything you've said. I think the biggest factor in buying "precision tools" is the amount of use. $10 use them 2-3 times a week...all is good for semi-precision work.
Use them 2-3x a day...
Don't be stupid, spend the $150.
Newly subbed, love your style, keep up the great content 👍👍👍
Bought some mitutoyos after watching your vids and i couldnt be happier, love the craftsmenship and they are so nice to use
Remember, years ago, Mitutoyos USED to cheap Japanese imports.
This channel is so undersubscribed
his language i think is what holds it back.
@@johng1077 that's exactly what attracted most of us, I know it was for me. My formidable years were spent at a machine shop, with a very old machinist and the language was almost exactly the same.
I am not sure what anyone expects from a caliper that costs just $10. If your an engineer that relies on them all the time, well, you just would not buy them. If your someone that might find a use for them once a year, well i think common sense tells you not to chuck a load of money at something. Go spend a decent amount of money on a set, then you have the right to pull it apart. Really, for just $10 that thing could get you out of trouble.
I use these cheap ones for measuring filament for my 3d printer, works very well. Also good for the random screw or whatnot.
I have the Harbor Freight ones and I love them. They aren't $100+ level of quality, but they have been very accurate and easy to use. I've checked their calibration, and they are right on.
My cheapo harbor freight one has lasted me almost 8 years and still working fine 🤷♂️.
same thing happens to my nether regions when i heat em up
Can you give me a recommendation for a good brand of files? I’ve looked online but it seems some of the brands that used to be good, are no longer. I got a Nicholson triangle file and it was crap. I heard a lot of bad things about the new Nicholson files but I needed it in a hurry and couldn’t find one in store that would work.
I've had my mitutoyo analogue one's for almost 30 years still perfect and the digital ones for about 15 years and they are all good just a clean and lube every year or so
i have on old set of Mitutoyo and they are nice but they don't have an auto off ..and my cheap set do so most times the good one have a flat battery so the cheap ones get the most use....same with multimeters i have to have a set that autos off
Love the channel... I love it so much I might buy the house next to you😂. But have you ever taken a nutrabullet apart,?.... Keep smiling.!!
well thanks, ave, I just bought ~$100 calipers that I probably didn't need :D
hopefully I'll have them kicking around for 10 years+ like you have. these mitutoyo calipers are so, so nice.
You are one of my favorite people on the CZcams's!
One other important point you didn't mention is battery usage. The cheap calipers burn thru batteries faster than chit thru a goose. I probably spent as much as half of what a Mitutoyo costs just on batteries, not to mention my time going to the store and buying them. I've had my Mit's for over a year now and am still on the same battery. Not to mention I love the feel and action of them. Great review, love your videos.
*****
Sorry, I hadn't got to it yet, just sub'd yesterday thanks to MrPete222's recommendation. Just watched it and was really surprised how much more power they use. Thanks again for for the vids.
Tosses fine precision tools like pistachio sheels......
Love to see the mine light towards the front of the vijeo. Worked in mines for years, Miss it a lot.
For demagnetizing you can use a soldering gun. Energize the gun and insert magnetic tool between the pillars where the tip screws in
I have the $10 harbor freight calipers. I’ve had them for at least 10 years and I don’t think they’ve ever failed me other than the batteries. Word of advice for the cheapies; take out the batteries after every use because if you leave the battery in it will be dead in a month. And frankly if you get 2 batteries with a new unit you might as well just throw it away when the two batteries are dead because the cost 2 for new batteries is more than 10 bucks.
Brand name LR44 batteries are cheaper by a order of magnitude when you buy in bulk online. Digikey 10 x Energizer LR44 = $4.73
There are these door / window alarm things from china, they contain three of those batteries. The alarm thing costs around a dollar or so :)
johnfranks u can literally buy 100 LR44's for 10 bucks on ebay. lol
Son of a Zombie Those would be 100 one-hung-low batteries. Collectively they'll last longer than 10 name-brand batteries, but you will have to change them way more often. Also, I'd be more worried about a cheap battery leaking and pissing corrosives on the PCB.
+johnfranks - I never buy batteries online anymore. Dead or almost dead batteries delivered are the problem. On the flip side I have never had a dead battery from any of the local big box hardware stores like Home Depot. If you have a truly RELIABLE online source please leave a link. Oh also get yourself a good battery tester like the ZTS MBT-1. Worth every penny as an investment.
good for somone who just needs a pair to be somewhat accurate
Better off with dial calipers
Awesome video and helped me to fine tune my 20$ Crappy Tire caliper. Is there any other type of grease you can recommend instead of your infamous molly?
Holy cow! Enjoying this video where out of the blue you bring up witworth, and Austin Healey Bugeye sprites! My favorite. working on a 62 square body now...
Depends. If ur job depends on calipers then u should invest in more quality. My cheap one says not for professional use. I mean what else donu expect for 10 bucks?
There's a slight slant when you were measuring the 3 inch rod with the cheap Chinese caliper. No slant when you measured with the expensive Japanese one.
You can get one ONLY $8 at www.gearbest.com/other-instruments/pp_314432.html?vip=337577
International shipping
nah, 4 bucks 50 cents www.ebay.com/itm/LCD-Electronic-Digital-Gauge-Stainless-Vernier-Caliper-150mm-6-inch-Micrometer-/141686154520?hash=item20fd272518:g:zQEAAOSwPCVX41J7
The one he linked was solar powered.
Excellent idea for screw pitch gauge storage.
Nothing explains it better than this
Very well put.
Reading some comments here leads me to believe that a ton of people have not used an expensive caliper nor do they need the caliper for speed and accuracy.
Some of us use good enough, until we need better. I have a lot of "good enough" tools, that I don't mind loaning out. Touch my better tools, and someone will lose a hand. Except AvE. I'd trust him not to accidentally break anything.
Yea that’s for sure. I use a cheap pair and never have used a good pair so mine are fine for me and my needs. I just don’t get butt hurt over it because I also have lots of the stupidly expensive tools, like snap on screwdrivers, hammers, Benchmade knives, etc so I know once you hold something truly good it makes everything else seem like trash, even if it’s good enough for almost everyone.
JW Smythe He'd just fix it till its broke
yeah, he only breaks stuff on purpose.
I think it's all too easy to laugh at Chinese products by selecting the very worst things they're willing to produce and sell.
I happen to own a pair of Chinese digital calipers, of similar specifications, but which actually meets them. Obviously I payed 75, - Euros for them, but that's still just over half of what Mitutoyo will charge you for the same pleasure.
They're straight, properly finished and as tight as any brand named calipers I've ever used. Now, will these calipers stand up to being used day-in and day-out? -I don't know because I don't do that... I'm starting to wonder why I even bought them in the first place, because I very rarely have to measure anything *that* accurately. It just seemed like a good deal at the time I needed better than 5/100ths accuracy, I guess... and that went nowhere commercially.
I once got a starrett micrometer for $30 and it has better precision than I have needed yet, I need to get around to make a case for it.
I've been using those sparkfun calipers for a year now. I never knew there was anything better out there :O
I own a cheap 15€ Chinese caliper. That said of course it is not that precise. But for what I use it for it definitely works out. However if you are a machinist working with lathe and mills, a good one is at some point neccesary. I still would buy a cheap one first to get started and when it fails a good one. If you say a cheap 15 bucks lasts 1 year and a good 150 bucks one lasts 10 years, there is no difference in budged. Getting started requires many many tools, so buying some cheap stuff is neccesary or you have to wait 10 years for enought money, to get all tools in a good shape. Time is worth more than anything.
You perfectly described my dad at the end their hahahaha!
I think he gets a thrill out of buying (lots of) cheap stuff & thinks he doing over the company by getting it cheap..
Such flawed thinking
The auto-generated captions for his videos are pretty fun to read.
What do you think about the 38€ Mitutoyo analog Calipers? I mean they are also "pretty cheap" but they have been working just fine in my experience.
How do you demagnetize your caliper blades? Buy a $10 demagnetizer.
Mark Gray I think the $150 demagnetizer works a lot better..and does not have any micron of play or fluctuation in it!
StiloNautica It was a joke.
So was mine... -_-
Oh....lmao....Both dry sense of humors....I always think that no one gets me cuz of it...my bad.
Since watching your channel I realize how badly I've been ripped off, I paid the equivalent of 50 USD for a caliper that looks identical to that 10$ one
They are a dime a dozen on ebay.
Wow at all the grinding dust inside the housing
When I worked on TV's with CRT's we used home made toroid coils to demagnetize the surface of the tube before setting the purity. In a pinch we used a Weller 300 watt soldering gun to generate a magnetic field for the same purpose. It sorta worked. Perhaps a version could demagnetize your tools. As to the cheap caliper, I buy them to lend to people son-in-law's etc. I get the Harbor Freight digital meters for the same reason. The Fluke stays in my tool box.
There are so many of these out there..There are clones of clones of clones.. I have a cheap caliper also.. though I don't think it was $10. It may have been... $14 on sale.. I bought it years ago.. maybe.. 10, 12 years. So of course after watching this I had to dig it out of the pile and inspect it. Though it may look identical to this, slightly different graphics... the printed gauge is black and yellow.. same chincy chart on the back.. it is no where NEARLY this bad in fit and finish. It is straight for one thing.. and has no noticeable pitting in the steel. So everyone whining that their cheap caliper is better then this $10 pile.... then congratulations... it probably is. This one is a cheap clone of a cheap clone... $10.. its cheap.. he just showed you how cheap it is.. (good video BTW). You can not deny its crap... so go hold your slightly less crappy caliper tightly and be thankful.
spdwebdotnet i have a very similar one too but it's newer (~1 year) and it's also better than the one he showed.
But using a $20-30 caliper to scribe lines is better for most jobs. Do you really want to use a $200 caliper to scratch lines? $30 caliper will do just fine for most jobs. Save the $200 caliper for the real important jobs
My cheapy from HF is pretty good. Of course, I sorted through almost a dozen store samples and picked the best one they then had.
A 10$ Chinese Caliper is about as exact as a 150$ Us one? Well how about comparing it against a 10$ Us one? Does one of those even do digital?
It's a $150 JAPANESE caliper not US...
PROBLEM #1: Finding a $10 US-made caliper, mechanical or digital.
PROBLEM #2: Finding anything made in the US.
AVE, did the consistency of measuring improve by the work you did?
Nice review. I bought a 9" Mitutoyo caliper/ depth gauge, vintage and analog. Not digital but it is Japan made and of excellent quality hardened stainless, fit and finish. $23 free shipping to Alaska. Just a nice option that allows for high quality robust measuring device for not much jingle.. and no batteries ever!
$150 vs $10 and it's nearly as accurate? do me a flavour. Its amazing the lengths you go to to defend your initial purchase. (Methinks he doth protest too much). Personally I don't need to measure that many things better than with a tape measure, so I watched the video with a rye smile upon my face. Just dragged one that I bought 3 years ago out of the cupboard and it works fine though have to say that I think I've used it twice since I bought it . So just remember the 90-10 law and ensure you spend 90% of your money on things you use 10% of the time! That's the way to get real value!
Alistair Lumb $150 is too much and $10 is too little.Why can't they double
or triple the price and build a perfect caliper.Why?
Loyd anonamous it is because the buyer said the guy at next door is selling for $1.8, and it is his mercy to give that supplier $2.0 for an order of 2,000 pieces.
But frankly speaking, when most of the works in China requires accuracy of 0.1mm, giving $2.0 calipers to workers doesn't seems unwise. When they really require precision, they will take out their Mitutoyo ( the dial caliper instead of a digital one ).
If you work with devices that require precision, being a cheapskate is not an option. How would you feel if someone built your car using the 10 dollar caliper over the more expensive system? What if i built your airbags using questionable measurements? They may go off, they may not. Leave it to chance. Should they use your 90-10 rule for the pacemaker that keeps you alive?
sounds a bit like my jeep with the death wobble
Careful there's a billiondollar airbag class action going on with almost every car manufacturer on the planet.
Like You say You get what you pay for John
u don't actually
usually your buying a brand name
very good review, thank you! Better get things accurate first time than do thing over and over again in the milling. By the way what microscope are you using, seem very nice.
I have a nice set of mitutoyo calipers at work in the machine shop. But at home in the garage I have the craptacular powerfist calipers. I skipped the digital issues of the cheapo ones and stuck with the dial option. Way more reliable in the long run. Perfect for dialing in the table saw or fitting joints with the planner. But when your working with aerospace or nuclear reactor parts you only trust the good stuff. Mitutoyo and starrett are the only precision tools you’ll find in my box at work.
Great video as always