On 3/19/2013 9:08 AM, John Grossbohlin wrote:

I seldom use calipers with wood... an exception being in setting up the
stacked head dado cutter where it is handy to measure shims to adjust
the width of the cut.

I use a fractional caliper almost daily to check/verify the thickness of
purchased stock and sheet goods, particularly when they come from a
different supplier, batch or lot.

Thickness being that one dimension which, when it varies from part to
part in a project, can cause a good deal of grief to the unsuspecting,
from "square", to dadoes and grooves cut to the project width no longer
fitting when the material comes from different lots/bins/suppliers.

I recently purchased from a supplier where the thickness of the "S2S"
hardwood in the same bin (sold as 4/4, 5/4, etc) varied by as much as
3/32" in thickness from board to board.

IMO, and considering the importance of "thickness" in most of my
woodworking, that is totally unacceptable for material sold as "surfaced
two sides", and a potential problem for the unwary.

It's why I like having a fractional caliper that can easily fit in a
pocket.

--
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