I have a dial caliper I bought from Midway on sale years ago. It has given good service, but this A.M., as I was measuring cartridge overall lengths, I discovered it will not hold zero.

It varies ~ .001+- on either side of zero, and about every 5-7 tries , it hits O exactly. Is that normal for an inexpensive caliper?

I realize that is +- a max. .0015, and I am thinking that may be plenty good for any reloading purpose, and others, too, so I am not going to run right out and get another.

What do you guys think?
Is it possible it has been doing that since new, and I just never noticed? Am I being pound foolish not to replace them with a new, hopefuly more accurate tool? I can't pay a lot for them, but are inexpensive digital calipers such as Midway sells a waste of money?

Dimitri: You are a machine tool guy. What is a reasonable price for a serviceable, average quality dial or digital caliper? What is a good brand?

I do have a back up caliper...an OLD, OLD plastic one that measures to .01 in., and it did well, till the new kid on the block replaced it. I just may go back to using it.
Thanks.

Try spraying or flushing it with Iso purple alchohol and then give it a very light spritz of gun oil and see if that helps. I have the same calipers and have had no problem with them for the last 20 years. I do the above about once a year or when I remember it. You might also take a tooth brush and lightly brush the rack gear. Might just be gummed up a little...

Cleaning the tracking system with isopropyl alcohol is a good idea. I use a Mitutoyo caliper and sometimes when dirty it also plays up. Quick clean usually fix the problem.

Gelan

Bushy is right about keeping them tools clean. I have the same caliper you guys have, Ive had mine for about 15 years now. They work great when kept clean.
I ran into a problem a few years back with inconsistent readings. That was when I was trying new resizing lubes. Turns out that lube was getting on the blades and drying up. It was a clear film so I never noticed it.
After talking to people at work I gave them a good cleaning. A tip they gave me was to take a heavy peice of paper(Iuse old targets that are made of heavy stock) close the blades on it,apply some pressure and drag the paper out. Repeat 3-5 times,and rezero. Doing this will clean the blades. I now do this at the begining of evry reloading session. Haven't had a problem since.

Yo, Bushy and Gelan!
It worked just like you said! Herr Doktor Bushy's prescription works fine. The patient will live! Now, it's ready for another 15-20 years of use.
I flushed it and lubed it, and now it works like it used to. I also clean it regularly like chambered 221 suggested, only I use my t shirt.
Just one more use for the 91% stuff I buy at the pharmacy.

Thanks, guys.

I only have a vernier and a digital.

sniper wrote:

I also clean it regularly like chambered 221 suggested, only I use my t shirt. Just one more use for the 91% stuff I buy at the pharmacy.

You only use a T-shirt huh.. could be quite breezy down below

I usually use an apron on top of my daily clothing when I am cleaning...

Gelan

Something no one has mentioned yet, but make sure the jaws are clean when you measure, its always fun having your calipers or micrometers measuring too big cause its dirty. Generally I'm talking about .0005" to a max of .001" or something not that big of a deal when reloading though.

One thing if you want to replace them in the US I'm told ENCO has good deals on tools. You can get a Starrett Series 120A 6" Dial caliper off them for 124$ now.

www.use-enco.com/CGI/I...PG=INLMK32

Alittle expensive but they are made in the USA.

Dimitri

2 things I forgot to mention.

If you do go Starrett make sure the micrometer DOES say "Series 120" NOT "1202" cause the 120's are made in the USA the 1202's are not.

And Generally speaking most companies only say their calipers are only good to about +/-.001" anything finer then that and a micrometer is needed.

But it holding zero is important cause your measurements can be +/-.001" and add the +/-.0015 of a inch and your talking about a .006 max error in measurement.

Dimitri