This is from a trumpet mailing list. Somebody recommended HF cheapass dial
calipers, and I stepped into let anyone looking to buy tool-like things
know about Lee Valley, because I couldn't let a "Harbor Freight is great"
post go unchallenged. (That's my third referral this month, Rob. When do
I get the free low angle block plane?)

One of the most recent messages in that thread ended with this quote, by
someone I will leave anonymous for his/her privacy:

"When I was working on nuclear missiles, we used the more expensive
calipers. I kind of liked that."

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/

Wed, Dec 8, 2004, 1:42am (Silvan) says:
snip "When I was working on nuclear missiles, we used the more
expensive calipers. I kind of liked that."

OK, which was it he liked? The more xpensive calipers? Or working
on nuclear missiles?



JOAT
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind dont
matter, and those who matter dont mind.
- Dr Seuss

My guess would be working on Nuclear Missles. You have control of power
in your hands and the radiation does wonders to your organ.

"Silvan" wrote in message
...
This is from a trumpet mailing list. Somebody recommended HF cheapass
dial
calipers, and I stepped into let anyone looking to buy tool-like things
know about Lee Valley, because I couldn't let a "Harbor Freight is great"
post go unchallenged. (That's my third referral this month, Rob. When do
I get the free low angle block plane?)

Well, Harbor Freight is certainly not "great", but not everything there is
useless either. Things like their dial calipers, digital calipers, and
other things are perfectly acceptable tools and you really don't do the
fella a service by suggesting otherwise. Like everything else, it's a
matter of what you need, not a matter of what the tool "can" do for you. If
it does what you need of it, then it's a good tool. There's no need to pay
more money for things if cheaper ones do the job well. More expensive ones
don't do the job better.

Then of course, there's the remaining stuff that just doesn't even do the
job well...


One of the most recent messages in that thread ended with this quote, by
someone I will leave anonymous for his/her privacy:

Too late for that - it was posted to a public forum, wasn't it?


"When I was working on nuclear missiles, we used the more expensive
calipers. I kind of liked that."


Yeahbut, what he didn't tell you is that his expensive calipers were sent
off to PMEL every couple of months for calibration. Even cheap tools can
perform extremely well with that kind of treatment.

--

-Mike-

On 8 Dec 2004 03:28:33 -0800, wrote:

My guess would be working on Nuclear Missles. You have control of power
in your hands and the radiation does wonders to your organ.

Well that's good, so long as it's not the other way around.

"J T" wrote in message
...
Wed, Dec 8, 2004, 1:42am (Silvan) says:
snip "When I was working on nuclear missiles, we used the more
expensive calipers. I kind of liked that."

OK, which was it he liked? The more xpensive calipers? Or working
on nuclear missiles?


Perhaps that he used to work on nukes, not anymore.

Frank

It's funny how some of us woodworking folk like to get so precise, when
wood by its very nature is so imprecise. Measurements beyond about
1/64" are meaningless, and for most purposes, 1/32" is plenty precise.
I have a super-cheapo plastic dial caliper from Big Lots. It easily
gets me within 1/64" accuracy.

You see a lot of measurements on the rec going to 3 or 4 decimal
places. You basically have to be in a clean-room to measure something
to 4 decimal places.

Just my thoughs.... no intent to offend.

In article om,
wrote:

My guess would be working on Nuclear Missles. You have control of power
in your hands and the radiation does wonders to your organ.


will it help my piano as well?

Sandman wrote:

In article
om,
wrote:

My guess would be working on Nuclear Missles. You have
control of power in your hands and the radiation does
wonders to your organ.

will it help my piano as well?

Only if you're playing roentgen scales in a minor key.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/solar.html

"Chuck" wrote in message
oups.com...
It's funny how some of us woodworking folk like to get so precise, when
wood by its very nature is so imprecise. Measurements beyond about
1/64" are meaningless, and for most purposes, 1/32" is plenty precise.
I have a super-cheapo plastic dial caliper from Big Lots. It easily
gets me within 1/64" accuracy.

You see a lot of measurements on the rec going to 3 or 4 decimal
places. You basically have to be in a clean-room to measure something
to 4 decimal places.

Just my thoughs.... no intent to offend.


That's exactly the thinking that I was experiencing. It's probably no big
deal in the end, but I do get a bit of a chuckle when we get sooooo focused
on stuff that really does not matter. Precision that is orders of magnitude
greater than we can achieve with the tools we use, the medium we use, etc.
I know that I do it also, but it still amuses me. Sometimes I think it's
worth a simple comment just in the name of passing along better advice to
folks to chat with. Having our own little idiosyncrasies is one thing but
they shouldn't really enter into the advice we pass along... at least
without the caveat that they are indeed our own little idiosyncrasies.

I too have a cheapo dial caliper from HF and a digital caliper also. I
didn't expect them to be accurate to the degree necessary to build rocket
ships and nuclear reactors when I bought them, and I paid a price
reflective of that. They certainly are more than accurate enough for what I
use them for. I did compare my $13.00 digital calipers to a friend's $65.00
pair and they read the same. Don't know if that's enough to convince some,
but it works for me.
--

-Mike-

Supplied, of course by the lowest bidder....

"Silvan" wrote in message
...
One of the most recent messages in that thread ended with this quote, by
someone I will leave anonymous for his/her privacy:

"When I was working on nuclear missiles, we used the more expensive
calipers. I kind of liked that."

Mike Marlow wrote:

Well, Harbor Freight is certainly not "great", but not everything there is
useless either. Things like their dial calipers, digital calipers, and

more money for things if cheaper ones do the job well. More expensive
ones don't do the job better.

I never said anything about whether they were any good or not, and I'm not
claiming they aren't fine. All I said (on that forum) was something to the
effect of "if you want to pay a little more to buy from a good outfit, then
check out Lee Valley."

I stand behind that any day. I'm a big LV fanboy, like many of their other
customers. I've bought from HF, and I have some HF tools, but buying from
LV is like letting German chocolate melt in your mouth, while HF is like
letting loose a good fart. Both are satisfying in their own way.

someone I will leave anonymous for his/her privacy:

Too late for that - it was posted to a public forum, wasn't it?

Not one that is archived by Google, no. I don't think.

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/

"Silvan" wrote in message
...

but buying from
LV is like letting German chocolate melt in your mouth, while HF is like
letting loose a good fart. Both are satisfying in their own way.


Don't do that crap Michael! These were clean pants.

--

-Mike-

"George" george@least wrote in message
...
Supplied, of course by the lowest bidder....


Not if it was a government contract.

On 8 Dec 2004 10:53:35 -0800, "Chuck"
wrote:

It's funny how some of us woodworking folk like to get so precise, when
wood by its very nature is so imprecise.......

Measure it with a micrometer...
Mark it with chalk...
Cut it with an axe.

(just measure twice before cutting)

On 8 Dec 2004 10:53:35 -0800, "Chuck" wrote:

It's funny how some of us woodworking folk like to get so precise, when
wood by its very nature is so imprecise. Measurements beyond about
1/64" are meaningless, and for most purposes, 1/32" is plenty precise.
I have a super-cheapo plastic dial caliper from Big Lots. It easily
gets me within 1/64" accuracy.

You see a lot of measurements on the rec going to 3 or 4 decimal
places. You basically have to be in a clean-room to measure something
to 4 decimal places.

Just my thoughs.... no intent to offend.

So you'd be plenty happy with jointing wood that has 1/32" deviation
across it? i.e, the gap would be 1/16".

Or a dovetail with a 1/32" gap?


Sometimes even woodworking needs higher precision than 1/64". That
doesn't mean the wood won't move later, but for jointing, 1/64" is a pretty
serious gap.

On Thu, 09 Dec 2004 01:32:32 GMT, "Frank Ketchum"
wrote:


"George" george@least wrote in message
...
Supplied, of course by the lowest bidder....


Not if it was a government contract.


You don't get out much, do you?

It may not always be cheap, but it almost always is the lowest [credible]
bidder.

On Wed, 08 Dec 2004 16:45:10 GMT, "Mike Marlow"
wrote:


"Silvan" wrote in message
...
This is from a trumpet mailing list. Somebody recommended HF cheapass
dial
calipers, and I stepped into let anyone looking to buy tool-like things
know about Lee Valley, because I couldn't let a "Harbor Freight is great"
post go unchallenged. (That's my third referral this month, Rob. When do
I get the free low angle block plane?)

Well, Harbor Freight is certainly not "great", but not everything there is
useless either. Things like their dial calipers, digital calipers, and
other things are perfectly acceptable tools and you really don't do the
fella a service by suggesting otherwise. Like everything else, it's a
matter of what you need, not a matter of what the tool "can" do for you. If
it does what you need of it, then it's a good tool. There's no need to pay
more money for things if cheaper ones do the job well. More expensive ones
don't do the job better.

Then of course, there's the remaining stuff that just doesn't even do the
job well...


One of the most recent messages in that thread ended with this quote, by
someone I will leave anonymous for his/her privacy:

Too late for that - it was posted to a public forum, wasn't it?


"When I was working on nuclear missiles, we used the more expensive
calipers. I kind of liked that."


Yeahbut, what he didn't tell you is that his expensive calipers were sent
off to PMEL every couple of months for calibration. Even cheap tools can
perform extremely well with that kind of treatment.

Knowing the way the government works, they probably paid $2,000 for HF
calipers..

"Mark & Juanita" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 09 Dec 2004 01:32:32 GMT, "Frank Ketchum"
wrote:


"George" george@least wrote in message
...
Supplied, of course by the lowest bidder....


Not if it was a government contract.


You don't get out much, do you?

It may not always be cheap, but it almost always is the lowest
[credible]
bidder.



He might be thinking of cost plus no-bid contracts.

Wed, Dec 8, 2004, 10:53am (EST-3) (Chuck)
says:
snip I have a super-cheapo plastic dial caliper from Big Lots. snip

I got one too. $2. Measures in inches. Then when I got home, I
found out it's only the package says it's in inches, the dial is in
millimeters. LOL On the other hand, I got it for woodworking, and it's
more than accurate enough for that. Just have to print out a millimeter
to inch scale, so I know what measurements I'm working with.



JOAT
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind dont
matter, and those who matter dont mind.
- Dr Seuss

On Wed, 08 Dec 2004 16:45:10 GMT, "Mike Marlow"
wrote:


"Silvan" wrote in message
...
This is from a trumpet mailing list. Somebody recommended HF cheapass
dial
calipers, and I stepped into let anyone looking to buy tool-like things
know about Lee Valley, because I couldn't let a "Harbor Freight is great"
post go unchallenged. (That's my third referral this month, Rob. When do
I get the free low angle block plane?)

Well, Harbor Freight is certainly not "great", but not everything there is
useless either. Things like their dial calipers, digital calipers, and
other things are perfectly acceptable tools and you really don't do the
fella a service by suggesting otherwise. Like everything else, it's a
matter of what you need, not a matter of what the tool "can" do for you. If
it does what you need of it, then it's a good tool. There's no need to pay
more money for things if cheaper ones do the job well. More expensive ones
don't do the job better.

Then of course, there's the remaining stuff that just doesn't even do the
job well...


One of the most recent messages in that thread ended with this quote, by
someone I will leave anonymous for his/her privacy:

Too late for that - it was posted to a public forum, wasn't it?


"When I was working on nuclear missiles, we used the more expensive
calipers. I kind of liked that."


Yeahbut, what he didn't tell you is that his expensive calipers were sent
off to PMEL every couple of months for calibration. Even cheap tools can
perform extremely well with that kind of treatment.

Not necessarily. Every couple of months? I've used "Import" calipers
at work that had to be calibrated before every measurement- and that
was just to get them to be accurate to within 15 thousandths. Even
then, they were obviously not trustworthy, and I still double-checked
parts with my handy cabinetmaker's rule. Some cheap tools may be able
to do it, but not all of them- not by a long shot! The big difference
is in what you feel you need to use when it comes to calipers. If you
feel you must have a cheap dial or digital caliper, prepared to be
disappointed if you use the sucker much, especially under less than
ideal conditions. OTOH, a vernier caliper will usually stay right on
longer, and there are less parts to wear out or break. They're a
little harder to read, but the price and accuracy difference make them
a bargin, at least in my experience.
Aut inveniam viam aut faciam