Bought a beautiful Starret 122 Vernier caliper for pennies off eBay because I'm fed up of the digital caliper battery being dead when come to use it. Despite being totally analogue this can also switch between metric and imperial. The Vernier mechanism is quite complex. Does anyone have a set of instructions they could photograph and post? Thanks Sent from my moto g(8) power using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Very simple once you get it! But it takes good eyes! You determine the first number by in which inch area it is in, 0to1, 1 to 2 etc. Then you look to see which tenth of an inch subgroup you are in, 0 to .1, .1 to .2, .2 to .3, etc. Then look at the scale on the slide with the little numbers and lines. See where the two lines line up the best. This is your last two numbers. Sometimes it’s a little difficult to determine which line is the best. Like I mentioned, it takes good eyes. That’s why the dial came into popularlity . That’s why I use a dial caliper. But I do have the other kind in my box! Bones
Thanks very much indeed. Any other tips gratefully received. Here's a picture Sent from my moto g(8) power using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I was a machinist for thirty years and my first caliper was a vernier but after getting (many) dial calipers over the years, both Starrett and Mitutoyo, I threw that antique vernier caliper away. Now, after digital calipers came on the scene, many times I would hear people say that they were superior to dial calipers, I didn't agree then and still don't.
Get some metal that you know the exact ( or close) measurements on and practice. Like maybe a crank journal. You will get the hang of it. Edit, send a very clear close up of the sliding scale. Some calipers have .100 marks some have .025 and hash marks. There are serval different scales on some calipers. Bones
I work as a machinist for the Navy; my eyes aren't quite what they used to be, so I always use a set of dial verniers to verify that I'm reading the measuring tools I'm using correctly.
I was a machinist for GE Aircraft Engines for most of my career. We used dial verniers often, but they were never considered accurate enough for what we did for work, and were labeled "for comparison use only" by our gauge control. We used them basically for making quick roughing measurements and used quality measuring tools for final sizing. However, if treated properly, they were excellent for measuring down to the thousandth of an inch (.001). The stuff I worked on typically were measured to the ten thousandth (.0001). I currently own two pairs of dial verniers and use them quite often for garage work. Love them!
Ha! my grandfather was a machinist. I would get dirty along side of him when he was working on stuff in the garage. I watched many times as he employed a magnifying glass to read the caliper. Even then, as a little guy ,I thought "he sure wants to be accurate". at 63 years old I NOW know he was just trying to read the measurement!
You (and others) that like using calipers might watch Facebook Marketplace and eBay for sets of "Gage blocks" also called " Jo Blocks". Not as many people use them as used to and prices have come way down. You can use them to check your micrometers and to get a feel with any kind of caliper. You can put them together to make specific sizes or heights for scribing things. Probably pick up a nice set for less than $100 and they used to go for double and triple that.
about 10-15 years ago, I had to start wearing reading glasses to use a vernier caliper. I've been using dials since about that time, mostly. Although I do have a 12" vernier that I use occasionally for bigger stuff (it was cheap used on ebay). here's a little old Starrett 122 English and Metric that I got in a box with some other tools for free a few years ago. Nice instrument. Has metric scale on the back, or I guess that's the front, if you're left handed. reading this one, it looks like it's 1.004" because the "4" mark on the lower scale is lined up with a line on the upper scale, and the "0" mark on the lower scale is just to the right of the 1-0/25th mark on the upper scale. nice trademark this is the model number. This one has the loer "0" is just to the right of the 6 tenths upper mark, and the "16" line lines up with a line on the upper scale. So it's 0.616". When the zero lines up with the next mark over on the upper scale, you'd add .025" to the measurement. If it's two marks over, add .050". Three, add .075".
looks like a dial caliper to me. Where is the vernier part? The two scales with slightly different spacing, is what makes this a vernier caliper. Since the dial caliper has a dial to read .001", no need for a vernier scale, so it's not a vernier caliper.
Thanks all for the comments and advice. I think these will be a useful addition to my measuring tools. BTW, I paid £3 (less than $5) for them including a velvet lined wooden case. Sent from my moto g(8) power using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
My dad taught me on his verniers. He was a wind tunnel model maker and owned his own machine shop. I felt then and now how accurate they were. I still have his 6” set and use them when checking rods and mains. A dial was a marvel when I saw my first ones and then the same for digitals.
Mine is 122 M&E rather than 122E&M - the scales are on opposite sides. Suits me better over here because so much is done in metric measurements. Most machine shops work exclusively in metric measurements even when you give them American parts to work on.
I spent many years in the shop using dial calipers. I checked my calipers frequently with JO blocks, so that I was confident down to .001" measurements. I have a 6", and 12" set that I still use frequently. It is much easier to read a dial than the size info on very small taps, and drills.
I have a few pairs of dial calipers 6 and 12 inch. The only vernier caliper I have is 44 inches. I would not waste my money on digitals.
The Vernier calipers read like a slide rule.......for those of you that remember that relic. I took a course in college to learn how to use a slide rule......then cheap calculators flooded the market. Just my timing. Lol Bones
I looked in my 1983 catalog, they don't list the 122. So I looked on the internets, and there are a bunch of the older catalogs you can look at. Seems the 122 was discontinued after the 1930 catalog #25. And it was expensive...those are 1930 dollars.
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