Derby Talk

(Quick disclaimer) I'm not selling this nor does it benefit me, but I bought a 6" digital caliper for $15 over the Net. It does the job. I'm not sure how long they will have it, but you can get it from:
http://www.surpluscomputers.com/store/m ... m=TOL10275

Got it in yesterday and from all indications, it works quite well.

Amazon.com has 'em as well for the same price. You can get it cheaper on eBay where it runs about $10.

Cheers,

- L

We use the same one but the 8" model since we are building a 7" car. We were amazed on how much use this tool got over out building season.

The are frequently on sale at Harbor Freight. I have seen them as low as $6.99 without a coupon. Probably could get for $5 in some change with a coupon. They take expired coupons.

I just checked and they are on sale right now at Harbor Freight. They are $7.99. If you use the 15% coupon you can get if under $7. Pretty good deal.

Actually, I just got an email with coupons from Harbor Freight, and they are $5.99 from 1-25 until 1-31.

For us we really rarely use the caliper. What we do make a lot more use of is the micrometer set. We also picked this up at Harbor Freight. I think it was about $20.

It is much more accurate and very easy to use once you know how to use them.

One thing we found that the calipers work great for is a depth gauge for cavities. Just prop the edge on the edge of the cavity and slide the jaw open until it stops. You'll see the center strip pop out as your depth gauge.

Psycaz that is a great idea. Thanks. We are on occasion trying to measure a depth and have not had an easy way to do it.

Owning several digital calipers from HF, we recommend getting one which is able to display "fractional inches" in addition to decimal inches and mm, even if it means paying a few more dollars. This feature is very handy as other measuring tools, drill bits, etc., are often gauged by fractional inches. We make considerable use of this display option as a nice on-the-fly converter in the shop between fractional inches, decimal inches, and mm.

FatSebastian wrote:Owning several digital calipers from HF, we recommend getting one which is able to display "fractional inches"...

Until June 30, 2013, there is a coupon available for the ''fractional inches" caliper for $11.99 (see this flyer). I haven't noticed a coupon for this particular caliper in a long time. IMO, the fractional display is definitely worth the extra $2 dollars compared to the $9.99 coupons now available for the caliper lacking the fractional display.

Funny how this is only for the right handed version.

I wounder if you could get a left handed version of this caliper for the same price (?)

Thanks for posting the coupon FS. I'd been meaning to pick one up as they're typically $17-19, but this is a great coupon. I just ran down to the nearby HFT and got the last one that provided fractional readings. It was marked down to $20 from the normal $30 price and the girl had to do a double take at this coupon. Apparently it should have had a barcode, but she honored it anyhow.

Hey FS.
I have always loved your advice in the past but on this one I would have to say that you are really opining, I am of a different opinion however.
Perhaps it is because it is a subject near to my heart but I used to think that every person's first caliper should be a 6" dial caliper, but now I like the 8" dial.

It is very direct. Seeing the dial spinning in relation to the distance traveled. Nobody really uses anything finer than 1/ 16" (fractionally speaking )without going to decimal inches from my experience.

This is me though so things are different for everyone. Fractions of an inch are meant for larger items. Like cabinets. Besides, half the fun is doing the conversions in your head right?

Thanks again,

Laserman wrote:I would have to say that you are really opining, I am of a different opinion however.

DT exists to capture different perspectives. Thanks for sharing yours. Yes, "IMO" meant I was opining; however, my opinion was simply that, if a ~$10 digital caliper is under consideration (Digital Caliper being the topic of this thread), the added convenience of the fractional-inches display seemed worth the extra $2 from our experience.

Laserman wrote:I used to think that every person's first caliper should be a 6" dial caliper, but now I like the 8" dial.

FWIW, my first caliper was an 8" mechanical-analog caliper which I still have, and I feel it is more accurate and intuitive than the digital calipers (although HF doesn't sell an 8" analog anymore AFAIK). With that said, I am more comfortable letting children use the cheap digital calipers instead of my larger and more expensive analog caliper.

Laserman wrote:Fractions of an inch are meant for larger items.

Perhaps, but some of our small (unmarked) drill bits are fractional inches. Others bits and pin gauges are decimal inches or metric. As it relates to PWD, the marketed dimensions of performance ballast tend to be in fractional inches, while performance axles are usually marketed in decimal inches. Many derby rules / instructions tend to provide some precise dimensions in fractional or decimal inches; meanwhile, people like Doc Jobe use metric entirely. Etc. Over time we have found it convenient for the kids to have access to all formats in one inexpensive device.

Laserman wrote:Besides, half the fun is doing the conversions in your head right?

Of course it depends on who you ask. The kids don't think so. It's fun for me... until I make a mistake.

Fractional inch digital caliper on sale through the end of February 2014.

http://widgets.harborfreight.com/wswidg ... ycode=1053