# Harbor Freight calipers.



## Tin Falcon (Mar 24, 2013)

It is my observation that the quality of the on sale Harbor freight calipers has gone down. 

I purchased 10 of the  digital 6" mostly for Christmas gifts. I did keep a couple and they seemed rough. 
Yesterday,after vising the Hagley in Delaware I stopped by the harbor freight store and picked up several items, including a dial caliper. I love digital calipers but they do like batteries.   It seems like the battery is dead when you need it the most. 
The Dial calipers are #66541 and while smoother, they are a little on tight side. my wife's first comment was the edges are rough! Maybe the second comment after what do you need another one of those for? Anyway  my opinion of these tools have gone from good value, to cheap but usable. 

I know we can not compare these to mitutoyo brown and sharp or starrett  but these were one HF tool I felt comfortable recommending. Not it is more like buyer beware inspect before leaving parking lot. 

I purchased a cart for work a couple weeks ago from the same store the wheels are about to fall off after one use. 
Horrible freight indeed. 

There are some things I still have a use for grinding wheels spring loaded center punch dead blow hammers . it is not all junk but the percentage seems to be swinging to the junk side  of things. 

My intention is not to down this store. I know experience an opinions differ greatly from good value to junk. 

caravat emptor -Buyer beware. do not expect what you do not inspect. 
Tin


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## aonemarine (Mar 24, 2013)

I own a couple of them myself, I have one that gains .004" when over 4"  Not cool!!  The other ones seem ok, but like you said.....


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## Gatman44 (Mar 24, 2013)

Be careful with Digital Calipers around them new curly que light bulbs as sometimes they do funny things to the readings. Hold the Caliper up to one of them bulbs and open and close the caliper a few times and see what happens. I have had the readings change. I do NOT use a digital caliper any more.


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## Tin Falcon (Mar 24, 2013)

Interesting have not had any real bad experience with digital calipers. 
I do not expect dead on accuracy +- .002. 
will have to try it around a cf bulb.
tin


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## Tin Falcon (Mar 24, 2013)

I expect with this stuff quality varies with batch to batch day of the week produced and how close to Chinese holidays. 
I have also told folks in the past that calipers are for getting a close reading.
if your tolerances are +-.005 calipers are fine. for accurate readings use micrometers. 
Tin


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## jgedde (Mar 24, 2013)

Tin Falcon said:


> It is my observation that the quality of the on sale Harbor freight calipers has gone down.
> 
> I purchased 10 of the  digital 6" mostly for Christmas gifts. I did keep a couple and they seemed rough.
> Yesterday,after vising the Hagley in Delaware I stopped by the harbor freight store and picked up several items, including a dial caliper. I love digital calipers but they do like batteries.   It seems like the battery is dead when you need it the most.
> ...


 
As far as battery life is concerned, do your self a favor an buy SR44 batteries instead of LR44 cells.  The LR44 cells are alkaline batteries.  Their voltage falls off gradually until they don't work anymore.  The SR44 batteries are silver oxide.  They hold a more or less constant voltage until they're dead.  You can get SR44's at Radio Shack.

The HF calipers are a big dissapointment lately.  I bought a set of their extended jaw units.  It looked like the beam was ground with a belt sander!

Also, the HF and most other cheap calipers aren't true absolue units.  That said, they lose their zero.  That had burned me a bunch of times...

Now, I use my B&S dial caliper exclusively.

John


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## Tin Falcon (Mar 24, 2013)

walmart also sells SR-44 batteries AKA Everready 357. but I refuse to pay there prices. I buy batteries here : http://www.sr44.com/ I buy 25 at a time . current price is  $40 for 25 with free shipping.  I learned the lesson with LR 44s not the same. 
 I am in the habit of constantly checking zero. the 6" ones have been fine so far but my 4" ones I keep in my tool bag have tricked me a couple times that is part of the reason I recheck zero. the HF digital mics are a real pain when they lose zero. not as fast and easy to re - zero. 
thanks for the comments 
tin


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## Wizard69 (Mar 24, 2013)

Tin Falcon said:


> It is my observation that the quality of the on sale Harbor freight calipers has gone down.


Honestly it was never there in the first place.    I refuse to buy measuring equipment from HF.    


> I purchased 10 of the  digital 6" mostly for Christmas gifts. I did keep a couple and they seemed rough.


It would be interesting to get further feedback on those ten.  


> Yesterday,after vising the Hagley in Delaware


Silly me what is a Hagley?   


> I stopped by the harbor freight store and picked up several items, including a dial caliper. I love digital calipers but they do like batteries.


Solar solves that problem.   I have such a set at work and absolutely live them, never a power problem and no short comings like dial type calipers.  

Having said that I have battery powered cAlipers from the same company at home.    Batteries suck as does my ability to remember to shut them off.   Sadly that set needs to go back for repair too.   


> It seems like the battery is dead when you need it the most.
> The Dial calipers are #66541 and while smoother, they are a little on tight side. my wife's first comment was the edges are rough! Maybe the second comment after what do you need another one of those for? Anyway  my opinion of these tools have gone from good value, to cheap but usable.


I'm not sure they have gotten worst over time they really where crap to begin with.    Sometimes it just doesn't make sense to get involved in a rush to the bottom.    In the end one or two quality instruments goes farther than ten or twenty pieces of junk.   It is very much a false economy.  


> I know we can not compare these to mitutoyo brown and sharp or starrett  but these were one HF tool I felt comfortable recommending. Not it is more like buyer beware inspect before leaving parking lot.


Honestly I could never recommend this stuff.   There is a level of quality devices between HF and Starrett.    Sure you pay a bit more but you do get a bit more for your money.  


> I purchased a cart for work a couple weeks ago from the same store the wheels are about to fall off after one use.
> Horrible freight indeed.


While I reject the place for precision tools, machinery and otherwise expensive stuff they do have stuff worth buying.   However if it costs more than $25 I have to think real hard about the purchase.  


> There are some things I still have a use for grinding wheels spring loaded center punch dead blow hammers . it is not all junk but the percentage seems to be swinging to the junk side  of things.


HF grinding wheels - you must like the dangerous life.   I've been burnt one too many times at HF, I only buy things there that have an otherwise good reputation.    That is a limited part of their catelog, the rest is junk.  


> My intention is not to down this store. I know experience an opinions differ greatly from good value to junk.


No the general opinion, at least around here, is that they move a lot of junk.   Not everything of course but the pattern is pretty clear.  


> caravat emptor -Buyer beware. do not expect what you do not inspect.
> Tin


Or simply come up with a solid discipline when buying from the store.   Like I said before, no precision tools nor expensive machinery.  The low cost of the machinery is the result of "cost cutting" that many other sources don't demand from their suppliers.  

Frankly shady Internet suppliers have stronger respect for the customer than HF.


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## Tin Falcon (Mar 24, 2013)

Well wizard69 like I said the opinion of HF tools varies and you are entitled to your opinion as long as it is presented in a respectful manner and it mostly  was. 

when I get a chance I will ask the recipients of the 8 or so digital calipers  I gave away. I expect most of the time the tool will be in a tool box . And I believe they will work for said recipients. 

The Hagley  is the Hagley museum the partial restoration of the original DuPont gunpowder mills on the Brandywine river north side of Wilmington DE.

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/f49/brandywine-river-powder-mills-20384/

The grinding wheels I buy from Harbor freight were actually cutting disks for the 4 1/2 in grinder I do have a couple of there grinding wheels for the grinder as well. I have never had a problem with one breaking while in use. I wear a leather apron and double eye protection and gloves. 

For my tool grinder I use Norton white wheels. 

The general opinion on HF tools varies from product to product. 
If your option of HFT products is mostly junk I respect that . But also respect the fact that some people believe some products are a good value.  And please do not try to ague that my opinion is wrong. 
I happen to be happy with much of my HFT purchases. 

I offer recommendations or lack thereof based on my experiences. 

tin


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## cheepo45 (Mar 24, 2013)

I have several HF calipers. I understand you get what you pay for. I take a jo block or mic standard with me when I buy one to make sure of the accuracy. Sometimes I go through the whole pile!
 I take out the battery if I'm not going to use them for a while-they will kill batteries even when they aren't being used.
I live close to the HF store, so I have a lot of their tools-some of them are pretty rough but you can't beat the price! 
                 cheepo45


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## Tin Falcon (Mar 24, 2013)

> I understand you get what you pay for. I take a jo block or mic standard with me when I buy one to make sure of the accuracy. Sometimes I go through the whole pile!



The problem with that is they are shrink wrapping the packages now . you used to be able to pull off the sleeve and try before you buy. 

IMHO they used to be good . not great, not excellent, but good. the last couple purchases not so much. 
Tin


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## Wizard69 (Mar 24, 2013)

Tin Falcon said:


> Well wizard69 like I said the opinion of HF tools varies and you are entitled to your opinion as long as it is presented in a respectful manner and it mostly  was.


I wasn't trying to be disrespectful but I've had several bad experiences with HF.    As such it pays to express them to balance the discussion.  


> when I get a chance I will ask the recipients of the 8 or so digital calipers  I gave away. I expect most of the time the tool will be in a tool box . And I believe they will work for said recipients.
> 
> The Hagley  is the Hagley museum the partial restoration of the original DuPont gunpowder mills on the Brandywine river north side of Wilmington DE.
> 
> ...


Interesting.    I have up on buying cutting disks locally and now order them online from which ever house has a good deal going for brand name wheels.    I've avoid HF for such wheels due to the rather lackluster performance of other stuff purchased there.  


> For my tool grinder I use Norton white wheels.
> 
> The general opinion on HF tools varies from product to product.
> If your option of HFT products is mostly junk I respect that .


I will buy some stuff there but I literally just had another buying experience at a local HF.   I'm really making an effort to cut back on business with them as it isn't worth the grief.  


> But also respect the fact that some people believe some products are a good value.  And please do not try to ague that my opinion is wrong.


I'm not really sure how I came off that way.   My point is shopping at HF is sometimes not worth the grief you have to put up with.  


> I happen to be happy with much of my HFT purchases.
> 
> I offer recommendations or lack thereof based on my experiences.
> 
> tin


Likewise.    Id rather be in a position of reporting excellent result when it comes to doing business with an organization.   With HF I can't do this Ian's this is the result of purchases both local and mail order over years.   It is very much a buyer be very careful operation.


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## aonemarine (Mar 25, 2013)

Oh Jeezzzz, it is what it is....


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## jixxerbill (Mar 25, 2013)

I took a chance on this set of tool boxes a while ago and I like them pretty well so far..(the red boxes) They are not snap-on quality but I didnt pay 10K for them either !! The blue set of boxes are for lathe and mill tooling now lol.. I also bought a 4 inch porta-band from them that I only use now and then but it works fine.


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## tornitore45 (Mar 25, 2013)

Do not know how to quote
"Be careful with Digital Calipers around them new curly que light bulbs as sometimes they do funny things to the readings"

Interesting observation

I got those cheap DRO scales and they jump 0.1" all over multiple times.
I will experiment turning off the lights and see if they are more stable.

I do not have CFL nearby but have AC powered LED bulb. Same thing, they all contain elctronic ballast that may interfere.


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## Gatman44 (Mar 25, 2013)

Around here we call it Horrible Freight.


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## Tin Falcon (Mar 25, 2013)

I have not tried the HF metal tool boxes.

I do have one of the wood machinist chests . IMHO good bang for the buck . I got a 40% off deal so paid $ 60. I paid twice that for my sons grizzly box although it is bigger with more drawers. Not a Gershner but not a Gershner price either. 
Am fortunate to have found a deal on a Kennedy box used and some new craftsman work benches with lots of drawers. 

HF does have some decent stuff but probably not best to buy blind. touch feel look inspect before you buy. and read reviews if you can learn from others experience.
Tin


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## kquiggle (Mar 25, 2013)

I have a couple of the HF digital calipers - maybe I have been lucky, but they have worked fine for me. I checked them against a micrometer and they were spot on. I also picked up some SR44 batteries cheap at HF - haven't had them long enough to say whether they are any good or not.

About the interference from a fluorescent lamp: Any electrical equipment put out an electromagnetic field, and since the digital micrometers are electrical I could see how they could pick up interference. I don't know that I would say this is a defect of the digital calipers - I had a similar experience with a digital camera.

I live near a HF so I go there quite a bit. In my experience they have a range of stuff from low to medium quality - not any premium stuff that I have seen, but that is not their market. I do often find that what I buy can be improved with a bit a modification and tweaking - I actually enjoy doing this.

Like the man says, if you want Starret quality, don't go to HF, but for a home machinist on a tight budget they can be a valuable resource.


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## lemelman (Mar 26, 2013)

kquiggle said:


> I have a couple of the HF digital calipers - maybe I have been lucky, but they have worked fine for me. I checked them against a micrometer and they were spot on. I also picked up some SR44 batteries cheap at HF - haven't had them long enough to say whether they are any good or not.


We don't have HF here in UK, but we do have various sources of inexpensive tools.
Some years ago, long before the cheap versions became available, I purchased a Mitutoyo digital calliper, which behaved faultlessly until a couple of months ago, when, after replacing the battery, it started switching itself off at random times.
Despite replacing the battery again, it insisted that the battery still needed replacing.
I also have a couple of cheap, noname, callipers, which accept the rejected batteries without complaint.
By chance I discovered that batteries are not created equal. The Mitutoyo wants SR44s, and I purchased a packet of 10 that were advertised as being compatible. It turns out that proper SR44s are silver oxide and have a voltage of 1.55;  "compatibles" are alkaline with a voltage of 1.5 - just 0.05 volts less. The noname callipers are quite happy with 1.5v, but the Mitutoyo doesn't like them - I gave it a 1.55v battery and it's working fine again.


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## Wagon173 (Mar 26, 2013)

Harbor freight its an amazing store for someone on a budget.  I'm also very hard on my tools.  I try to baby all of my precision stuff, but my automotive and fabrication tools get abused regularly.  Angle grinders are awesome too.  I've killed a couple name brand angle grinders from excessive use so I bought the 20 dollar one from hf and the 2 year warranty.  I've killed 3 so far and just bring it in and exchange it.  Its like anything else.  If you buy something you don't know much about you're potentially shooting yourself in the foot.  I also but a lot off bench grinding wheels, buffers and brushes.  Their shop rags and tap and die sets aren't really worth the headache imo.  I got their sawzall for demo work and after very extended use, its still tuning like a champ.  Is funny that tools have almost created a political niche.  instead of liberals and conservatives, you have snap on versus pittsburgh.  Meanwhile s & k has taken a seat on the fence.  : p


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## dman (Mar 26, 2013)

Tin Falcon said:


> I have not tried the HF metal tool boxes.
> 
> I do have one of the wood machinist chests . IMHO good bang for the buck . I got a 40% off deal so paid $ 60. I paid twice that for my sons grizzly box although it is bigger with more drawers. Not a Gershner but not a Gershner price either.
> Am fortunate to have found a deal on a Kennedy box used and some new craftsman work benches with lots of drawers.
> ...



i had a look around harbor freight recently. what i have to say. good value but be very selective, most of the store is filled with stuff not worth buying even to throw away when you are done. for preceision tools, inspect before you buy. i got the 8" calipers. and am considering the 3piece micrometer set. there are better deals on mics on ebay but no way to inslect for parallelism before i buy so i may just go with harbor freight. 

i was looking at that wood toolchest and the carpenters bench. both look like a good value. i also picked up a chainfall that i used to lift my knee mill. right now sears has a great deal on a wookbench with a butcher block top. i can't buy a top for what they list anywhere else. but the smaller harbor freight butcher block table may be all i need.


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## Sshire (Mar 26, 2013)

If I can afford it, I try to buy "good" measuring tools. All of my micrometers are Starrett, bought used on EBay and all checked out perfectly.. Most of them came in those great wooden boxes except for an inside mike that was in a fitted, fabric lined case.
My first new purchase was a Mitutoyo digital caliper. $100 (yes that's 5x the HF price)
I use it every time I'm in the shop and it has remained deadon accurate. The battery life is exceptional. Replaced the original battery after a bit over a year of use.
Having said that, if I couldn't afford the $100, a HF caliper would work. It's better than nothing.


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## dman (Mar 26, 2013)

Sshire said:


> If I can afford it, I try to buy "good" measuring tools. All of my micrometers are Starrett, bought used on EBay and all checked out perfectly.. Most of them came in those great wooden boxes except for an inside mike that was in a fitted, fabric lined case.
> My first new purchase was a Mitutoyo digital caliper. $100 (yes that's 5x the HF price)
> I use it every time I'm in the shop and it has remained deadon accurate. The battery life is exceptional. Replaced the original battery after a bit over a year of use.
> Having said that, if I couldn't afford the $100, a HF caliper would work. It's better than nothing.



i have been buying some decent inspection equipment used such as indicators and height gages and a "cadilac" gage and soon a large surface plate and gage blocks... i will eventually get mitutoyo mics 0-6 inches with carbide tipped spindles and anvils and a 12" digital caliper with carbide jaws but i also want "shop grade" stuff to use at the machine in the dirty chip ridden environment. for that anything that will cal is good enough. i'll keep the valuable stuff in the clean side of the shop.


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## rhitee93 (Mar 26, 2013)

I have had the same experience as Tin with regards to HF calipers.  We hire a lot of inexperienced interns who don't yet understand how to take care of equipment.  Years ago we started buying a dozen or so sets of HF dial calipers before each summer.  The full time staff all have a set of Mitys, but the interns would use and abuse the cheep stuff.  10 years ago, the dial calipers would hold up for a year or so, and generally tracked well with the "Good" calipers.

The last 3 years we have tried all sorts of sub $40 calipers, from HF as well as Enco and MSC.  Nothing has lasted more than 6 weeks!  Every pair of low end dial calipers I have seen in the last few years has trouble keeping the pinion engaged with the rack so that the readings don't repeat.  The cheaper digital calipers seem to have absolute accuracy issues at the lower end of the measurement range.

With regards to HF and value:  I admit to being a tool junkie, and buying more quality or function in a tool than I can justify.  However, there have been times when HF stuff has been of great value.  I find the blanket statements about cheep "Import" tools all being junk just about as short sighted as the opinions out there about Snap-On or MAC all being overpriced status symbols.  You do get what you pay for to a point, but my co-workers BMW does not deliver $30k more in value than my Dodge.  Maybe $10k more, but not $30k.


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## Tin Falcon (Mar 26, 2013)

Thanks for the perspective Stan. I agree if you can afford it buy the good stuff and calipers are probably the most used measuring tool in the shop. 


It is interesting we sit here and debate Harbor freight tools vs (Pick your favorite quality  brand) 

but in reality there is no comparison  except 5x the quality usually demands 5x the price. And a quality  tool will never let you down. 

It is also interesting to note that Harbor freight is not the only importer of cheap Asian import tools. tractor supply , Home depot  , Lowes, sears ........the list goes on have sold no name or own name low quality stuff for years. Some works some does not.  life goes on.
Brian: you bring up a good point about value. price cost and value can be very different. 
Price is easy what do you have to pay for the item. Oh on sale  40% off so price can vary. day to day on the same item. 

Cost this is based on price plus things like having to use batteries in the case of a digital calipers or added tooling on a lathe. Or did the $2.00 HFT snap ring plies sap apart and slice the palm of your hand and cause a two hour vistit to  the emergency room . Now you have a case of low price but very high cost.  and very low value. 

Value is the big one. a good measure is price and resale value . but it is more . machine tool value is how much and well it produces. A machine that makes 10 widgets a day vs 100 a day or a thousand. very different value . 

But what about hand tools many things affect value. brand name means something. How good does it look. How good does it feel in the hand. how does it work. is it easy to use or difficult to adjust. How often do you use it. is it single purpose or mufti use........

The other aspect of this is does a person have one good tool kit or several places where tools are kept and used.  


Tin


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## chrsbrbnk (Mar 28, 2013)

the digi caliper quality has gone down,  the 8" is now all rough and nasty    the ealier one was smooth     their digi mic  is awesome  for the price   it's within a .0001 of my Mitu. 1 inch digi mic.  I've found  that for all practical purposes  a 30dollar HF  caliper  works about as well as a 150 dollar Mitu. after it bounces off the floor.  and I don't feel as ticked off.  the way I see it the cheapest  hammer still beats using a rock.


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## tarawa (Apr 16, 2013)

I have a drawer full of good calipers, but everytime I go to HF, I buy another digital!


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## ConductorX (Apr 16, 2013)

tarawa said:


> I have a drawer full of good calipers, but everytime I go to HF, I buy another digital!


 
I do the same thing with thier 4.5" grinders.  :wall:


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## ddmckee54 (Apr 17, 2013)

I got a 4" and an 8" digital caliper from HF a few months ago, both Pittsburgh brand.  I was less than impressed with the fit and feel of the instruments.  They looked and felt like they had been chewed on by angry beavers.  Their action was also very rough.  

For the price I paid I figured that I wouldn't be out that much if they didn't work after I took them apart and cleaned them.  I stoned off all the sharp edges that didn't belong, cleaned out the grinding grit - wondering all the time why it was there at all, lubed the moving parts appropriately and reassembled the calipers.  Since I did that I have been very happy with these calipers, much happier than I am the unit that I got at Lowes that cost me three times as much.  That sucker will change the zero in the middle of a reading, so it gets used only as a last resort.

I think I'm going to treat everything I get at HF as a kit, a place to start but not quite a finished product.

Don


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## SilverSanJuan (Apr 17, 2013)

Hey Don,

Curious about the ones you got at Lowes.  Were they the ones with the plastic jaws, or the metal ones labeled as Kobalt?  I have two of the Kobalt ones that I've been pretty happy with.

Todd


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## kquiggle (Apr 18, 2013)

Don - 

That's a good way to look at HF. I generally find that anything I get at HF typically can use some improvement with fit and finish. Since I live near an HF, I can look at the stuff before I buy it, and I always ask myself what I will need to do to either make my purchase workable, or to improve it. I don't mind doing the "post-factory" work if the price it right, and I often enjoy making improvements.

With any of the higher priced  HF equipment, it's worth googling first to see what others have done. Also HF has reviews on it's website, and they seem to be honest in that they include both the good and the bad. I even think HF listens to the reviews, as I have seen model changes made that seem to reflect comments made in reviews.



ddmckee54 said:


> I got a 4" and an 8" digital caliper from HF a few months ago, both Pittsburgh brand.  I was less than impressed with the fit and feel of the instruments.  They looked and felt like they had been chewed on by angry beavers.  Their action was also very rough.
> 
> For the price I paid I figured that I wouldn't be out that much if they didn't work after I took them apart and cleaned them.  I stoned off all the sharp edges that didn't belong, cleaned out the grinding grit - wondering all the time why it was there at all, lubed the moving parts appropriately and reassembled the calipers.  Since I did that I have been very happy with these calipers, much happier than I am the unit that I got at Lowes that cost me three times as much.  That sucker will change the zero in the middle of a reading, so it gets used only as a last resort.
> 
> ...


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## ddmckee54 (Apr 18, 2013)

SilverSanJuan:

They were the plastic jawed General brand.  It was an impulse buy, figured they had to be better than HF right?

I'll be able to resist that impulse in the future.

Don


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## canadianhorsepower (Apr 18, 2013)

I'm reading this post and
IRof}Rof}Rof} we probably all have glasses to see properly

 we all get digital calipers to make to make our life easy

 we are paying 10.00 @ and still ***** about it. One thing I know

I'm not planning to go back to full mechanical caliper

I do take twice the measurement............. after all it's a hobby


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## SilverSanJuan (Apr 18, 2013)

ddmckee54 said:


> SilverSanJuan:
> 
> They were the plastic jawed General brand.  It was an impulse buy, figured they had to be better than HF right?
> 
> ...



LOL.  Yeah, I'll bet you will. 

What I thought was strange was the the plastic General 6" was more expensive than the metal Kobalt caliper.  

Todd


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## Wizard69 (Apr 19, 2013)

tarawa said:


> I have a drawer full of good calipers, but everytime I go to HF, I buy another digital!



Interesting, must be nice to have a drawer full of calipers, but wouldn't that money be better put to other new tools?   On the other hand if you are like me you will often set a tool down in the middle of a project and not find it again until clean up.  Maybe a couple of calipers makes sense.


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## Wizard69 (Apr 19, 2013)

canadianhorsepower said:


> I'm reading this post and
> IRof}Rof}Rof} we probably all have glasses to see properly
> 
> we all get digital calipers to make to make our life easy


This is the big one.   I picked up a box of goodies at the Cabin Fever expo and found an old set of vernier calipers in the bottom of the box.   I looked at them and the engraved lines wondering what in the hell will I use these for.  I suppose a magnifying glass will soon be in my set of required tools.  


> we are paying 10.00 @ and still ***** about it. One thing I know
> 
> I'm not planning to go back to full mechanical caliper
> 
> I do take twice the measurement............. after all it's a hobby


Digital devices do make life easier, the bigger of fatter the digits the better.


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## Tin Falcon (Nov 22, 2013)

OK today in a moment of weakness bought another set of the Pittsburgh Brand  model 47256 4" digital calipers. . I keeps a set in my tool bag for work and decided  I NEEDED another set and they were on sale. 
so a bit humor to follow : Due to continuing improvement actual product may differ slightly from the product described herein.  Did someone say improvement? can I believe it ? 

This product is not a toy keep away from children. Is that because of all the sharp edges ? 

Use as intended only. This caliper was designed for specific tasks. Do not modify this tool and do not use for purposes for which it was not intended. 

Ok fine but nowhere on this document is any real instruction of how to use this tool.  so is it must assumed the operator knows how? 

This item comes with two batteries one installed and a spare . but they are the wrong kind for electronics. cheapo LR44s provided.  

Inspect before use. Yep and one can feel that the tool was made with a dull milling cutter. So dissemble and finish the thing like they should have at the factory and smooth off the rough edges. 

And life goes on.
Tin


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