(Part 2) Best digital calipers according to redditors

Just a quick Amazon search netted me this https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Caliper-Waterproof-Measurement-Resolution/dp/B07D4FHY8N

In general, all our science equipment come from Amazon, Home Depot, VWR. Chemicals and such from Sigma-Aldrich or Fisher. The prices for chemicals might be higher, but you get a lot more.

I bought these a while back and have been pretty happy with them but I'm not a machinist.

4.5 stars with 2,300 reviews

Neiko 01409A Electronic Digital Caliper with Extra Large LCD Screen | 0 - 12 Inches | Inch/Fractions/Millimeter Conversion https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EJUBBU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rtx0xbEY6T346

My mistake, I looked at the picture an saw both analogue and digital scales, I am obviously mistaken

Calipers are my favorite tool. I literally buy these for all my friends to keep at their houses so i'll have them around when i go there

https://www.amazon.com/Fowler-Stainless-Adjustment-52-058-016-0-Graduation/dp/B000KL2NMM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522612725&sr=8-1&keywords=52-058-016-0&th=1

Not just from prusa, pick and choose. URLs for examples.

Digital caliper, 12" https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EJUBBU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Extra brass nozzles.

Hardened steel nozzle, 0.4mm to 0.6mm for printing abrasive exotics (wood, glow in the dark, carbon fiber etc)

Print removal tool https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VB1U886/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Locktite blue bolt-fixer (Walmart, Home Depo, Lowes etc) to stop bed sensor from moving.


High temp anti-seize for nozzle threads https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0053ZS1Z8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Raspberry Pi 3, 5v Pi 2A Power wart, Micro SD card, & Webcam for octoprint monitoring.

Relay board for Pi/octoprint to power up & down printer remotely. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0057OC5O8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

1lb of silica gel to keep filament dry.

Filaments, various.

Fire extinguisher rated for electrical fires.

Dedicated smoke alarm.

Seconded, this brand is a good value. I have two other popular cheap calipers I bought from Amazon and this iGaging caliper blows them out of the water.

EDIT: Oh sorry, I have [this one] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005PH07J2) which is the same brand but a $10 cheaper model. It's not an absolute zero caliper.

Not suitable for an engineer, but for a hobbyist goofball like myself, half-decent calipers are a godsend.

I'm going to present the other side of the debate. I went to amazon and perused the lowest cost calipers with positive reviews. I grabbed this 18 dollar pair and it's been superb. I'm also not making a living off this tool.

GlowGeek Electronic Digital Caliper Inch/Metric Conversion 0-6 Inch/150 mm Stainless Steel Body Red/Black Extra Large LCD Screen Auto Off Featured Measuring Tool https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XZGWQXV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_VNevzbBQQHQB2

This should do it

these things are made to clamp down tight on a round shaft.

you need to find out what size the shaft is.
https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Caliper-Adoric-Calipers-Measuring/dp/B07S2R4BB5

You’re not going to get anything reliable for $10. For $30, you can buy a Shars Aventor that is quite good. Perhaps not Mitutoyo good, but still reliable and accurate, unlike most no-name Chinese brands that don’t last.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NJ6DRDG/

For what it's worth here are the two I use for guns, 3d printing, drones, etc. I prefer the metal ones, but the carbon fiber ones do me just fine

GlowGeek Electronic Digital Caliper Inch/Metric/Fractions Conversion 0-6 Inch/150 mm Stainless Steel Body Orange/Black Extra Large LCD Screen Auto Off Featured Measuring Tool https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01L7C6AZ8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_PYLxCbT79CXJT

Illumifun Digital Caliper 6 inch Measuring Tool Plastic Electronic Vernier Caliper with Large LCD Screen, 0-6 Inches/0-150 mm Conversion Auto Off Featured(Blue) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DN75ZHQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_L0LxCbP84P7ZX

They're not cheap, but I picked up a set of these a few months back, and they're pretty nice.

https://www.amazon.ca/Proster-Stainless-Electronic-Fractions-Measuring/dp/B074BRTM24/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1550237853&sr=8-10&keywords=caliper

​

I got these calipers and they come with them. Mind you I don't know what thickness OP uses

I don't have that tool and I do not believe these types of chucks are standardized. If you could accurately measure the dimensions of the ones you have, that might be helpful.

To measure them you need a "precision" vernier caliper like this one-- https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Micrometer-Measuring-Precision-Measurements/dp/B074HZ8S21/ref=asc_df_B074HZ8S21/? --You can get any metal one that looks EXACTLY like this that you find, they all work the same. It should be capable of fractional measurements in Imperial and Metric. ...And then learn to use it, if you don't already know. (note--the dial calipers only measure in one system, and the electronic ones don't work well)

Or a micrometer will work for measuring too, if you happen to have one. If you must buy something then the caliper above is generally more useful.

I have a couple Dremel-brand tools and also have some of the Chinese generic brass collets on tools I've made, and I can say that the China brass collets will not fit into the Dremel tool at all, and the Dremel collets don't stay straight in the China brass collet. The back sections of the China collets is thicker than the Dremel collets.

Alternately, you may be able to change to a China brass chuck. If the Micro Mark motor shaft is 2.35mm in diameter (which it very well may be, that is a common axle size for small motors) and you can get the old chuck off (without damaging the rest of the tool) then you can buy a China brass collet set that has the chuck and 10 different collets, from .5mm to 3.2mm, for ~$1.50 + shipping.

RCBS Kit $300

Hornday Calipers $25

You need a case trimmer. I went for the WFT.

Then you need dies (sizer/seater). You can spend as little as $50 or so for this, I went with the most recommended which was Redding and cost $160.

All of this made sense for me because I knew I was going to keep it forever. But if you have the funds to do it right, do it right and dont skimp. Because even if you should decide in a year you dont want to do it anymore, you are more likely to be able to sell good components than cheap ones, and at less of a depreciation. I bought all this stuff a year ago, and I bet I could get an 80-90% return if I were to sell it now.

Just keep a few things in mind: Reloading, especially as a beginner, takes time. Expect 100 rounds of .308 from start to finish to take you 4ish hours. And add to the cost, you can see already that $500-600 is about where you will land with just components (accounting for the cost for a tumbler). Now components, lets do the math for 1,000 rounds. You have to buy Brass (expensive, 100 costs $50-80, but they are obviously reuseable), bullets (lots of 500 for $170, so $340 for 1k), powder (can be hard to find, and if you have to ship can be expensive, think $40/lb, 7lbs should get you a tad more than 1k rounds, so $280 for 7lbs+hazmat/shipping+$50ish), and primers (sold in lots of 1k for about $32, $27 hazmat shipping fee unless you pick up locally/ship with powder).

On the conservative side, assume you spend $500 on components to be ready to reload. +$70 (brass avg), +$340, +$330, +$32 = $772 for 1,000 rounds, just in components.

Now you are at about $1200-1300 for 1,000 rounds. But your next 1,000 are only components, so $772 (ish) per 1k from then on out.

But if you aren't even sure you want to do this for a long time, you may not make up the cost difference of the equipment. Which is where one of the fallacies of reloading lies, don't get into it to save money. Get into it to have complete and total control over the product that you shoot. If that's not worth it to you, just buy factory ammo.

Lastly, going back tot he $1200-1300, lets average it again to $1250, how much ammo can you get for that, right now? Assume you find Federal Premium Gold Medal Match 175gr (you wont) boxes of 20 are $35. Thats 35 boxes, or 700 rounds. Or you could go Hornady 168gr for $26.50. Thats 47 boxes for $1250, or 940 rounds.

Disclaimer, its early, still drinking coffee, please correct math if I screwed up somewhere (it's been known to happen). My close friend wants to build his first precision rifle, and he fell into the newbie mistake of thinking he could skimp on things, like optics. I wont say I demanded he 'spend twice what he did on the rifle, on the glass' or anything like that. But I told him I already spent more than his rifle will cost on reloading gear, which he can use, so he wont have to. So he has to spend at least $850 (Vortex PST 6-24x FFP) on his scope to use my gear. I think getting into this style of shooting you need $1k for the gun, $1k for the optics, $1k for reloading. There will be some the gun/optics category to fill in for accessories, or add to the reloading budget, but if you cant spend $3k for a .308 setup, shooting .308 is going to be too costly for you anyways.

https://www.amazon.com/Brown-Sharpe-Caliper-Stainless-Steel/dp/B075P5RX1B for a good version that will last a lifetime.

https://www.amazon.com/Fowler-Stainless-Shockproof-52-008-706-0-Graduation/dp/B0014DEXNM/ref=sr_1_6?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1518657393&sr=1-6&keywords=dial+caliper Cheaper but still acceptable in a shop.

https://www.amazon.com/Utility-Dial-Caliper-Science-Purchase/dp/B00O985RRU/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1518657492&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=dial+caliper&psc=1 Cheap set that will function fine but don't expect precision or longevity.

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Readout-Installation-Accessories-JCS900-2AE/dp/B07YDZ2Z2C/

Just look for linear encoders. Linear scales. DRO's. Calipers, even.

It's easy to spend $4k on something you could have spent less than a week of payroll and a few to several hundred dollars on. I have never, ever opened up a $3k to $10k actuator and been impressed at any category of value an integrated systems vendor provides beyond the obvious time and moderate learning curve for know-how angle. You are married to an integrated systems vendor after the purchase as well, which can sink oodles of days into the black hole of a project timeline. Being able to use your own firmware, cables, and components means you can react and develop the product instead of develop a product around the schedule of an integrated motion vendor. People wave their hands at this fact until it grinds them into the dust a time or two, and then they often realize it's time to do their own, and then they wonder why they didn't do it themselves earlier.

I got a cheap plastic one from WEN online, also about $9, and it came with a case. No issues like loose battery cover or strange behavior. Just works, for measuring things around the house where a caliper is handy, would not rely on it for precision, and I don't need to. HF definitely has not cornered the market for cheap calipers.

How about this one? https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Professional-Micrometer-Measuring-Measurements/dp/B07DHJGMFD/

I got this one. I pull it out once or twice a month. Just remember to turn it off afterward or it will drain a battery.

http://www.amazon.com/iGaging-Premium-Fractional-Digital-Caliper/dp/B005PH07J2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462517776&sr=8-1&keywords=digital+caliper+ez+cal

> I can order one on Amazon.

You can order one from wherever you choose, but 99% of them will all be from the same country; China.

I just gave you the least expensive option, but having the longest wait time.

Even expensive ones like this one will likely have been made in China as well.

Think I paid $5 for mine (on eBay) and I've used them for well over a decade, just gotta change the battery every few years. They're the stainless steel type though and not the carbon fiber.

I would invest in some case gauges and headspace gauges. This way you can do a plunk test to make sure they're in spec without actually doing a plunk test in the firearm. I tend to check every 5-10th round to make sure they all seem to be in spec.. There's nothing worse than loading 200 rounds and find out that you maybe accidentally changed something or something moved and they're all out of spec.

I use the Wilson Case Gauge and it works really well. Lyman has one for about $21 you can try. I was going to get that one and changed my mind after I heard a story or two about the Lyman one not being stainless steel and got rusty.. but I live in the desert and don't have a swamp cooler so I shouldn't have to worry about that. Didn't think about it at the time.

Right now for a cheap way to trim, I use the Lyman E-ZEE Trimmer attached to my power drill.

You'll also want a good pair of calipers. I use the Hornady Digital Caliper and it works well enough.

If I think of anything else, I'll update.

Ofcourse! Learning to spot modifications is great for improving your own skills!

The shield and claw thingies are completely scratchbuilt:

Some work-in-progress pictures:

Link

Link

Don't seem to have a picture of the shield

Beam cannons on the back are also fully scratchbuilt:

Link

Link

Same with the combat knives:
Link

Did some proportion modifications which you can see here:

Link

Note the thighs and the torso

Tried some salt weathering and preshading:

Link

The salt weathering wasn't very prominent and basicaly got hidden by the pastels...

Typing this out made me realise I probably gave myself too many kitbash points since it doesn't have any parts from other kits

If you where asking what I've done in general to learn all of this:

Spend hours looking at work-in-progress threads of really well made kits

Example

Prepare to get your brains blown out

Also read tonnes of tutorials on weathering and painting from all over, I can try and compile a list if you guys want and when I have some time. And if you want to get into scratchbuilding, get yourself some vernier calipers
Other than that, practice is key, this is my 5th custom and my 9th painted kit. [First custom] (http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z238/Demonslayer_ToT/100_2392.jpg), first painted kit. There's about three years between those first kits and the Tieren.
Edit: Formatting

This is the one I have. It's pretty decent.