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California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Bass Ackwards?
GOOD DIGITAL CALIPERS
- Thread starter quicksylver
- Start date
Ian
Notorious member
Definitely Bass, I've quoted him a lot on that phrase, though I'm the guy who built his whole two-story house from scratch using cabinetmaker's tolerances. That's +/- 1/32" which is all you can fudge without splitting hardwood. Most doors and casings were built by me and fit so close they are damned near airtight. Don't do that, it sucks the eardrums out of a person in the room when you open the door fast. It IS nice when you go to order blinds though, they want to fudge a half inch on each side for stuff being out of square, but I gave exact dimensions. "Oh no! No window frames are ever square, parallel, or plumb!" Mine are, cut them to the numbers I gave you. "Ok, but NO refunds!" No problem.
Yes Mitutoyo.....but remember they are called Verynears for a reason....
JWinAZ
Active Member
I have used vernier, dial and digital. They all have pluses and minuses. I really like my Mitutoyo digital calipers, head and shoulders above everything else, at a price of course. No on-off button, very repeatable, long battery life, and a pleasure to handle. Useful features of digital calipers are the resettable origin and inch and metric display. Dial calipers are very good but are a bit more vulnerable to wear because of the rack.
I had the great fortune to work with toolmakers in a large toolroom when I started out. Think of end grain block floor, Sip jig borers, Monarch lathes etc. A number of the toolmakers and journeymen swore by their Mauser vernier calipers. They referred to calipers as "Mausers". They particularly liked the lock for the sliding jaw. I had mentioned this to my son and he gave me one as a birthday present years later. The scale is well designed, I can read it just with reading glasses.
I noticed a vernier caliper at the CAD work station of a co-worker a few years ago. A younger man who you might think wouldn't know about vernier calipers. I asked him about it, and he said he liked them because he could leave them out on his work station and not worry someone would take them.
I had the great fortune to work with toolmakers in a large toolroom when I started out. Think of end grain block floor, Sip jig borers, Monarch lathes etc. A number of the toolmakers and journeymen swore by their Mauser vernier calipers. They referred to calipers as "Mausers". They particularly liked the lock for the sliding jaw. I had mentioned this to my son and he gave me one as a birthday present years later. The scale is well designed, I can read it just with reading glasses.
I noticed a vernier caliper at the CAD work station of a co-worker a few years ago. A younger man who you might think wouldn't know about vernier calipers. I asked him about it, and he said he liked them because he could leave them out on his work station and not worry someone would take them.
Snakeoil
Well-Known Member
Yup, vernier caliper was part of the toolset I had to buy when I started the apprentice program. I have them in the console in my car for when I need to measure something and am not home. I also have a set of plastic dial calipers. I think they are Lyman brand. I inherited them. For plastic, I'm amazed at how accurate they are. But you need to use a light touch.
Most good long range tang sights use a vernier scale. Spent many frustrating hours trying to teach new shooters how to read a vernier scale. Some catch right on and others do not.
Most good long range tang sights use a vernier scale. Spent many frustrating hours trying to teach new shooters how to read a vernier scale. Some catch right on and others do not.
IF you can still SEE the graduations.
I have to get a lighted magnifying glass out to read mine any more, so I've been using a dial.
Used digital calipers and mic's extensively in an inspection job many years ago, but still prefered the vernier. I actually got the job, because during an informal interview, the guy said "WAIT, WHAT? You know how to read a mic'??" Apparently it was an uncommon skill in that particular area.
JWinAZ
Active Member
I got my first full time job because I had 2 years of drafting in high school with an excellent teacher. I filled out the job application form by hand, using my drafting lettering skills. That put me ahead of the other applicants. I started in tool design as a summer student and retired from the company 40 years later.
Petrol & Powder
Well-Known Member
I don’t think drafting is even offered these days. I took a one-year drafting class in high school (taught by Mr. Müller). While I never used the knowledge professionally, the basic skills I learned have served me well over the years.
I really, REALLY wish they'd make every CAD operator take a year of manual drafting before letting them run a CAD station. It instills a lot of very good habits and introduces one to the consequences of bad ones.
RicinYakima
High Steppes of Eastern Washington
I attended High School in SW Ohio, next to the great tool making companies in Cincinnati in the 1960's. A semester of drafting and one of wood shop was required to graduate. Over half the boys in my class went into the machine trade until 1971 when the whole business calaspsed and moved to right to work states. You were in the college bound group or the trade group or the paper mill worker group. Trade group got 4 years of shop and three years of drafting and an extra year of math. My youngest brother only went to one year of high school and then three years of trade school, 1973-76, in the electronics field, and made a excellent living wage.
Ohio has not had the best track record regarding education since I moved back in '88. I'm not sure about other states, but we seem to have forgotten that people need to learn how to actually DO things, not just dress nice, smile, overuse the word "absolutely" and come up with "good ideas."
EDIT: Pure electronics sort of fizzled in the way of careers, but electrical controls in general still has a very high demand. I've got people bugging me all the time - can't find enough people. It pays well. Most of the apprentices I get already make more than I do teaching and once they finish the apprenticeship or graduate, they'll make doiuble what I do.
Still, "college" seems to mean a bachelor's from a university to parents and legislators. There's a good living to be made with decent vocational training or an associate's from a technical or community college.
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Petrol & Powder
Well-Known Member
Warning: Major Thread Drift Ahead.
The college path of higher education has become very expensive indoctrination. A small percentage of those graduates will find careers that make the investment of that education pay off. The rest will have no marketable skills and crushing debt.
Another path of higher education is technical or vocational education. That route costs less, leads to very good careers and typically has little debt associated with it. (or at least manageable debt).
There are variations of those routes. One is to attend a community college for two years and transfer to a four-year school for the last two years of a four-year degree. This is far more affordable, reduces some of the indoctrination and yields the EXACT same degree at the end. (four-year schools hate it, but they can’t stop it)
Another path is to attend a military academy (if you can get in) and your degree will be free in terms of money, but you will pay for it with service to your country. Not for everyone but a good option for some.
Another path is to forgo formal higher education and seek an apprenticeship. This can result in a very lucrative career with no debt. Not for everyone but can lead to a well-paying career.
Avoiding the politics that this forum prohibits, that’s all I can write here. I will say that it is disgraceful that some snobbish people in the U.S.A. often look down on education involving technical, military, apprenticeship, or vocational training. Some of the brightest, most insightful people I’ve met; lack a college education. Conversely, some of the dumbest, most gullible, naïve twits I’ve met, have multiple college degrees.
End Rant
The college path of higher education has become very expensive indoctrination. A small percentage of those graduates will find careers that make the investment of that education pay off. The rest will have no marketable skills and crushing debt.
Another path of higher education is technical or vocational education. That route costs less, leads to very good careers and typically has little debt associated with it. (or at least manageable debt).
There are variations of those routes. One is to attend a community college for two years and transfer to a four-year school for the last two years of a four-year degree. This is far more affordable, reduces some of the indoctrination and yields the EXACT same degree at the end. (four-year schools hate it, but they can’t stop it)
Another path is to attend a military academy (if you can get in) and your degree will be free in terms of money, but you will pay for it with service to your country. Not for everyone but a good option for some.
Another path is to forgo formal higher education and seek an apprenticeship. This can result in a very lucrative career with no debt. Not for everyone but can lead to a well-paying career.
Avoiding the politics that this forum prohibits, that’s all I can write here. I will say that it is disgraceful that some snobbish people in the U.S.A. often look down on education involving technical, military, apprenticeship, or vocational training. Some of the brightest, most insightful people I’ve met; lack a college education. Conversely, some of the dumbest, most gullible, naïve twits I’ve met, have multiple college degrees.
End Rant
JonB
Halcyon member
My house has 5 different additions [not done by me]. The south side of the house is part of the original square hip roof Farm house, I think it was moved here. The title indicates it was built [or moved to this lot] in 1920. There is fake slate type siding over 4" cedar lap siding. I believe the style of the fake slate siding was used in 50s and early 60s.
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ANYWAY, to the point, I think the house had shifted when it was moved...or more likely, the movers didn't get the footings right, cuz the whole south side has a lean to it...is NOT plumb. When the slate siding was installed [I assume about 70 yrs ago], that whole south side wasn't plumb, There are 5 windows on the south side and you can see how the siding installers had to cut wedge shaped pieces around the windows...30" wide windows and judging by the siding, one side is about 1/2" higher than the other side. When I installed some alum combination storms, those windows were tricky, the rest of the house was fine.
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btw, the east and west side seem close enough to plumb, at least to this Swede's eyes. The north side doesn't have any windows, due to the multiple additions on that side...so there is no noticeable lean. It's kind of weird to only have one side of a square house with a lean to it, LOL.