Those who do know shit about tools

[IStream]

All the Mitutoyo digital calipers that I've seen will work in both Imperial and metric and will convert readings at the press of a button. I use it all the time because I live in the US and most of the stock and fasteners I can easily buy at reasonable prices are Imperial, not to mention that my old, US-made manual mill and lathe have Imperial dials.

 

[Mrleft8]

All the Mitutoyo digital calipers that I've seen will work in both Imperial and metric and will convert readings at the press of a button. I use it all the time because I live in the US and most of the stock and fasteners I can easily buy at reasonable prices are Imperial, not to mention that my old, US-made manual mill and lathe have Imperial dials.

Imperial, or SAE?

 

[Cruisin Loser]

First rule for plumbers - don't chew your fingernails.

 

[Point Break]

s

All the Mitutoyo digital calipers that I've seen will work in both Imperial and metric and will convert readings at the press of a button. I use it all the time because I live in the US and most of the stock and fasteners I can easily buy at reasonable prices are Imperial, not to mention that my old, US-made manual mill and lathe have Imperial dials.

I have two calipers. One - Mitutoyo - I’ve had forever, is imperial and very accurate….near as I can tell. Recently bought a digital Neiko that can switch back and forth between imperial and metric. Have not used it much but it seems as accurate….for my needs woodworking/handyman anyway.

 

[Mrleft8]

s

I have two calipers. One - Mitutoyo - I’ve had forever, is imperial and very accurate….near as I can tell. Recently bought a digital Neiko that can switch back and forth between imperial and metric. Have not used it much but it seems as accurate….for my needs woodworking/handyman anyway.

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When I was accepted in to the fine wood working program at College of the Redwoods (Mendocino coast extension) I got a list of recommended tools that I should bring with me. A steel try square, a very fine toothed back saw, a set of wood chisels, a marking knife, etc. One of the last items was a vernier caliper. I had never used a vernier caliper on any of my projects at that point, but I noted the asterisk by that item. at the bottom of the page was: * If you bring a digital electronic caliper I will bend it around your wrist, and you can wear it as jewelry!
(Signed) James Krenov.

 

[IStream]

s

I have two calipers. One - Mitutoyo - I’ve had forever, is imperial and very accurate….near as I can tell. Recently bought a digital Neiko that can switch back and forth between imperial and metric. Have not used it much but it seems as accurate….for my needs woodworking/handyman anyway.

View attachment 540913

Oooh, I like those Mitutoyo dial calipers. Nice!

 

[Fah Kiew Tu]

All the Mitutoyo digital calipers that I've seen will work in both Imperial and metric and will convert readings at the press of a button. I use it all the time because I live in the US and most of the stock and fasteners I can easily buy at reasonable prices are Imperial, not to mention that my old, US-made manual mill and lathe have Imperial dials.

Sigh. Do I have to spell out EVERYTHING for you?

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Not being a denizen of one of the 2 countries left on the planet that can't understand and routinely use the metric system, I have 2 complete sets of mechanical digital micrometers. Metric for routine use, and inch for those regrettable times when I have to work on something made in the USA or antiques.

Electronic digital mikes? The battery is always flat at the wrong time so - no. I have them and almost never use them.

FKT

 

[dfw_sailor]

One of my new favorite tools. Just been up the mast with it.

I had lots of tools that ended up at work, and the guys complained when I would take back one of my tools. Especially DeWalt tools that would get mixed up.

So, I made the executive decision that they could keep all my tools there, and my company would replace all my tools for me with Ryobi (promos were good at the time, about 6 months ago).

So we now have 10 batteries, 3 chargers, multi tool, jigsaw, drill, impact, circular saw, Rotary tool (Dremel like), finish sander, 5" round sander, angle grinder, dust blower, vacuum, flashlights, small narrow bar belt sander, hand held pressure washer, sawsall, soldering iron.

The only one we have had problems with is the hand vac. We've gone through 2 of those in 3 months because super fine paint /gelcoat dust everyday gets inside the motor or switch and it dies. I could fix, but just take it back to home Depot each time for a free replacement, fresh warranty each time.

I should have consolidate tools years ago. Even the wife is enjoying the freedom of having 5- 6 tools at hand while working on a deck issue, with no power leads.

 

[SloopJonB]

When I was accepted in to the fine wood working program at College of the Redwoods (Mendocino coast extension) I got a list of recommended tools that I should bring with me. A steel try square, a very fine toothed back saw, a set of wood chisels, a marking knife, etc. One of the last items was a vernier caliper. I had never used a vernier caliper on any of my projects at that point, but I noted the asterisk by that item. at the bottom of the page was: * If you bring a digital electronic caliper I will bend it around your wrist, and you can wear it as jewelry!
(Signed) James Krenov.

That's kinda curious - Krenov had to be the most precise woodworker who ever lived but hated a precision tool?

 

[dfw_sailor]

That's kinda curious - Krenov had to be the most precise woodworker who ever lived but hated a precision tool?

Probably wanted to teach his students the analog way first first off.

Same with land surveying - learn all the old methods first (this was 35 years ago though for me). Sometimes old methods are faster.

I love my digital micrometer though. It is used at least once a week in my work, and we have spare batteries. The display is much easier for me to read compared to a vernier.

 

[Mrleft8]

That's kinda curious - Krenov had to be the most precise woodworker who ever lived but hated a precision tool?

No. The fact is, as he said. There's no place for that kind of accuracy in wood working when a rain cloud comes in the wood swells, when the furniture is moved from Mendocino, to Santa Fe the wood moves in increments of 64ths of an inch, not 1000ths of an inch. Build to accept the possibilities, but you'll never get it perfect. Strive for perfection, and accept good enough. Only God is perfect, and look at us.... Even he had to accept "good enough".
Krenov was a wonderful man, a great friend, and had a wicked sense of humor.

 

[Mrleft8]

That's kinda curious - Krenov had to be the most precise woodworker who ever lived but hated a precision tool?

An interviewer once asked him how he was able to create such wonderful pieces of furniture without having a pile of rejected parts.
"The trick isn't to make it perfect. The thing is, after so many years of doing this, I've gotten really good at hiding my mistakes!"

 

[Mrleft8]

An interviewer once asked him how he was able to create such wonderful pieces of furniture without having a pile of rejected parts.
"The trick isn't to make it perfect. The thing is, after so many years of doing this, I've gotten really good at hiding my mistakes!"

He almost never used a measuring tool. He'd use one part to measure another. It didn't matter if it was 223mm or 222mm as long as the parts fit.

 

[SloopJonB]

I was never much of a fan of the style of things he built - way too spindly and fragile looking for my taste but apparently they were actually very far from fragile.

Everything of his I ever saw looked like it should be Marie Antoinette's jewelry box

 

[giegs]

He almost never used a measuring tool. He'd use one part to measure another. It didn't matter if it was 223mm or 222mm as long as the parts fit.

Slowly working my way through the Anarchist's Design Book has been a revelation for this. It's a fun approach to my butchery.

 

[IStream]

Sigh. Do I have to spell out EVERYTHING for you?

Mitutoyo 159-101 Combimike External Micrometer in case measuring tool | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Mitutoyo 159-101 Combimike External Micrometer in case measuring tool at the best online prices at eBay!

www.ebay.com.au

Not being a denizen of one of the 2 countries left on the planet that can't understand and routinely use the metric system, I have 2 complete sets of mechanical digital micrometers. Metric for routine use, and inch for those regrettable times when I have to work on something made in the USA or antiques.

Electronic digital mikes? The battery is always flat at the wrong time so - no. I have them and almost never use them.

FKT

Do you have to be an INSUFFERABLE prick to everyone, including those who've never picked a bone with you?

I understand and routinely use the metric system which, if you think about it for a fraction of a second, is why I value having tools that can routinely translate between systems since I live in a country that uses both.

Also, making definitive but wrong statements is not a great look. If you'd ever bothered to gather firsthand data rather than absorbing and regurgitating 30 year old conventional (but even then wrong) wisdom, you'd know that the tiny battery in a Mitutoyo digital caliper typically lasts more than a year. I keep a half dozen spare batteries on hand (totaling about $5 in inventory) just in case my array of digital measuring tools ever needs batteries all at the same time but I've yet to have one die on me. Again, if you used them you'd know that they don't just stop working. The display starts to get a bit dim. And then a bit dimmer. And later dimmer still. And about two months after you first notice it you think to yourself, "maybe I ought to change the batteries one of these days". And then you forget and you go another month before it becomes enough of a bother to spend the 30 seconds to replace the battery and use it for another year or two before repeating the process. Mitutoyo has been making these things for decades and there's a reason they're the industry standard.

Also, before you jump to yet another unfounded conclusion, you should know that I have four different sets of dial calipers in both Imperial and metric as well as multiple sets of vernier calipers, so I'm not a digital snob. I just can't abide arrogance combined with ignorance. We've had enough of that over here in recent years.

 

[Mrleft8]

I was never much of a fan of the style of things he built - way too spindly and fragile looking for my taste but apparently they were actually very far from fragile.

Everything of his I ever saw looked like it should be Marie Antoinette's jewelry box

Remember that he was 5'2" tall w/o heels (OK maybe 5'3"), and he was slight of frame. His work was scaled to his size. His wife Brita was maybe an inch taller, but probably 30Lbs. ..... Um..... Larger.
Krenov had a personality that was 6'7" and an attitude that at times was twice that. He did not suffer fools gladly, or at all, for that matter.
I once got on his wrong side, and it took about 3 weeks to work my way back in to his good graces.
Small in size, but a very powerful man. And if you ever played tennis with him, you'd think he was Andre Agassi.

ETA: Funny! I'd never seen this picture before. I gave him that shirt because it fit me like a second skin, and didn't tuck in to my pants. He lusted after it because it was made of heavy canvas like the shirts he wore as a child.

 

[SloopJonB]

The most incomprehensible thing I ever read about him was that he never used sandpaper - only cabinet scrapers.

I mean - how'd he do that?

So far beyond craftsmanship and into the realm of pure art.

 

[167149]

Do you have to be an INSUFFERABLE prick to everyone, including those who've never picked a bone with you?

I understand and routinely use the metric system which, if you think about it for a fraction of a second, is why I value having tools that can routinely translate between systems since I live in a country that uses both.

Also, making definitive but wrong statements is not a great look. If you'd ever bothered to gather firsthand data rather than absorbing and regurgitating 30 year old conventional (but even then wrong) wisdom, you'd know that the tiny battery in a Mitutoyo digital caliper typically lasts more than a year. I keep a half dozen spare batteries on hand (totaling about $5 in inventory) just in case my array of digital measuring tools ever needs batteries all at the same time but I've yet to have one die on me. Again, if you used them you'd know that they don't just stop working. The display starts to get a bit dim. And then a bit dimmer. And later dimmer still. And about two months after you first notice it you think to yourself, "maybe I ought to change the batteries one of these days". And then you forget and you go another month before it becomes enough of a bother to spend the 30 seconds to replace the battery and use it for another year or two before repeating the process. Mitutoyo has been making these things for decades and there's a reason they're the industry standard.

Also, before you jump to yet another unfounded conclusion, you should know that I have four different sets of dial calipers in both Imperial and metric as well as multiple sets of vernier calipers, so I'm not a digital snob. I just can't abide arrogance combined with ignorance. We've had enough of that over here in recent years.

still doesn't explain why the yanks are clever enough to design and perfect the electronic calculator and then stick to units that aren't an easy fit into said machine, is it arrogance, ignorance, or just plain laziness ?

 

[00seven]

still doesn't explain why the yanks are clever enough to design and perfect the electronic calculator and then stick to units that aren't an easy fit into said machine, is it arrogance, ignorance, or just plain laziness ?

It's weird. My work requires me to have a full set of both metric & imperial tools. That's a lot of money.

(I also keep a full kit of Metrinch on the boat that's very handy)