General Tools 142 Plastic Dial Caliper, 0-6" Range, .01" & 1/64"

Good quality, works well, consistent measurements.

I've long been a fan of General Tools. I often work on guitars and basses. If I need to measure the width of the neck, or nut, etc. this is perfect. I can just do it in a second. It's sort of a composite plastic. Plenty strong for me. I don't use it as a can opener! I use this thing all the time, because it's so easy to grab, and I can see the dial fine. For smallish things, I much prefer MM over inches. It's much easier to use. Also, I don't like the digital ones! In my experience, mechanical ones are more accurate and more straight forward. (Maybe because I didn't spend enough money on the dig...) But mechanical and metric for me, thank you.

Works very well considering it's plastic. It feels "plastic", but nice, not cheap. I don't have my good one to test accuracy. It requires some trial and error to zero out, but the needle returns to "0" every time, even when you open it all the way. If you are careful the measurements are repeatable. The numbers on the slide itself are quite readable as are the pointer indicators next to them. Has fractional/decimal equivalents on the back. My only complaint is that the beveled section of the jaws (both sides, outside and inside measurement) leave a gap when the main part of the jaw is closed, so there is about 0.001 or so error if you only measure with the tip.

I've got Starrett and they are great but the advantage on this caliper is that you can flip it onto your table top with no fear of damage. High quality and accurate to the thousands.

I went with the plastic dial to prevent damage on violin varnish. It works great, very accurate, and precise. No scratches on my fine instruments. Very pleased

I have the "metric dial" version. I was looking for a "beater" caliper that would just be sitting around, but a step-up from the typical $8 calipers. First thing I noticed is that the dial is labeled as "0.1 mm", except that shows the fraction of a centimeter (0.01m) between centimeter marks, and, presumably, the smallest gradations on the dial would be 0.1cm. Also, there is a great deal of backlash in the gear driving the dial, so, depending on which direction you are moving the slide, the error is almost 1 gradation. So, this makes the apparent accuracy of the caliper much less than the $8 ones I often get with a vernier scale (no backlash there). So, for $32, it is hardly worth purchasing. Instead of sending it back, my intern turned it into a x-mas tree ornament after putting the year on it and getting the other interns to sign the back, increasing the value tremendously.

I had a "General" brand plastic caliper for many years. I am a hobbyist who repairs and restores antique cameras. My toolbox was stolen and I had to replace all my calipers. Unfortunately both "Lowe's" and "Home Depot" no longer carry the "General" line of small tools and measuring tools. I was happy to see that "Amazon" still carried this particular caliper. I have a very high quality electronic stainless steel caliper but I use this inexpensive one quite often. The main dial registers in 1/64th of an inch and 1/100th of an inch. I find this invaluable to have a direct 1/64th inch readout so I can quickly break the measurement down to standard English measurement and then convert to decimal. The only negative I have is the dial has no millimeter scale and the only millimeter and inch reference is on the long side. I'd prefer a mm reference rather than the 1/100th inch reference on the dial.

I find these useful for quick measurements around the shop whether it is shaft diameters or metal thickness or checking dimensions on parts. These can be very helpful when ordering parts to get the correct dimensions for bearings and such.

Excelente producto, en su momento lo considere bastante caro en comparación con otros similares; pero recientemente (al estarlo limpiando) me percaté de que está hecho en Suiza (y no en China, como las imitaciones del mismo). En mediciones y verificaciones rápidas con trabajos en madera (que solo requieren de una "exactitud virtual") resulta más práctico y sencillo de manejar, que un calibrador digital de alta precisión (que es más costoso y delicado); aunque de ninguna manera lo sustituye, cuando se requiere de precisión "absoluta". Por su ligereza y resistencia plástica es el que utilizo "de batalla" y resultó ser más durable y resistente de lo que parecía. Las imitaciones de otras marcas son de plástico de inferior calidad y algunas ofrecen de manera engañosa y sin incluir, la varilla medidora de profundidad que resulta indispensable cuando se trabaja con espigas y encajes. Lo que constaté cuando compré otro (que resultó ser imitación) que presentaba las mediciones del dial (carátula) en fracciones de milímetros. EN VERDAD LO RECOMIENDO .

Be aware, check the pictures in detail, the model "General Tools 142 6" English & Metric Plastic Dial Caliper" have no meter reading at the round gauge!

Well made and accurate.

I have been looking to replace a similar swiss made fiber glass caliper that is 20 years old and this is it ! It's durable and has an easy to read dial.

Nice unit. Initial battery did not last long - thank good for the spare batteries that came with it. Easy to read readout, seems to be very well made.