How To Use Calipers To Measure | Improve your woodworking

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

See Rob's other woodworking tips and tricks at this playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLqUOljnY0d9dm0_sEpdvg6GfOreg7lpVa

[@petem6503]

The cheap plastic versions have done well for me; I keep them in a pencil box for cleanliness. My #1 use: measuring the diameter of a drill !! I can't read the stamped sizes anymore, and never could on a bit less than 1/4, so a nice easy display model is really handy when putting a fistfull of bits back in the holding block.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

I use my cheap plastic one for the same

[@thomasweller1321]

Rob. Thank you for the lesson. I have had an old caliper kicking around for a long time. I'm an old dog. Back in the day we used a slide rule for math, so you know my age is older than a calculator. I've never had a lesson as to how to use the old caliper, so I used a digital one because it was easier but turning it on and off to save the battery is a pain. This lesson now gives me an old tool that will be used and get that caliper out of the drawer. And, yes, I do like you teaching methods. I am an old, retired teacher too.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

I am an old dog too and I prefer the dial caliper but no way I can use a slide rule

[@Zircon10]

I have Wixey gages on much of my equipment. They allow a saw fence, router bit height, or planer thickness setting to be dialed in quickly. And, in my experience they are accurate to +/- 0.002”. Calipers are essential to dial in the gage. Make a test cut and measure width, depth or thickness with the caliper. Then adjust the Wixey gage to read the same number. This takes less than 2 minutes. From there on, anytime you move a machine setting it will read on the Wixey gage almost spot on within a couple of mills. It speeds up work in the shop tremendously and eliminates a lot of subsequent hand tuning with planes, chisels, etc.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

great tip

[@randyscorner9434]

So interesting that this came up this week. I have been using digital calipers for many years for wood, metal and 3D printing measurements. So very useful and I also wondered how they worked. So I took a pair apart this week to discover that it's a staggered capacitance tree on the slide with the sensors in the moving head. A very simple and elegant solution that gives high resolution as long as the slide remains the same distance from the head sensor. This is actually pretty well done in even the cheapest set. If you're not using these then you're spending too much time trying to be precise....:)

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Great info thanks. Did you put it back together?

[@coljter15]

Your teaching has made my woodwork so much better in the last year. Thank you!

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Thanks for watching our channel

[@DonsWoodies]

Retired Machinist here. Mics and Dial calipers were my life for 45 years. One of the things I did when I retired was to plane down a ruff piece of Cherry (about 8 x 15 x 1-1/2") to less than .005" total using just hand planes and calipers. It was less than an inch thick by the time I was done. Took it into my old shop to show my former fellow workers and they all looked at me like I was nuts. LOL. I should have written down the sizes and saved that piece to see how much it changes over the years. Wish I would have thought of that back then, but it ended up being a small box for the wife. Really good explanation of calipers and their uses, Rob. I too have both digital and analog versions and like you, mostly prefer the analog ones. Old school is old school, ya know.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Funny story thanks for sharing. I use my calipers all the time

[@randygust3423]

I use my caliper constantly. Another Great video!! Thank you!

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Right on!

[@deathsyth27]

My grandfather worked in a machine shop his whole life. By the end he was a quality control manager. My mom told me about the calipers and micrometers he used to own. I wish I still had them. Even though I work in metric that was one of the best explanations of how to read dial calipers.

[@karlriley1314]

Yep, I use one all the time. Very ACCURATE.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

me too

[@jimhyslop]

As usual, excellent advice and information. When working with dials, you need to keep in mind parallax. For example, at the 3:35 mark, you called out the reading as .633. But since the camera was at a significantly different angle, it looks like .634. So, when reading, you always want to view the dial from as straight on as possible (my brother claims he failed his driver's test because the examiner forgot to take parallax into account, and said he was going to fast). Oh, and it's really easy to convert from decimal to fractions. Take your decimal reading and multiply it by the size of fraction you want. For example, to convert your reading of .633 to 16ths of an inch, multiply .633 by 16 and you get 10.127 - that's 10/16" or 5/8".

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Great tips, thanks

[@JohnRHart-kw3nr]

I find them essential. I'm learning sash making and calipers get muntin intersections nice and tight.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

there you go

[@ray1283]

Great video Rob! I've been using a dial caliper with 1/64 in. markings for nearly 20 years. I find the fractional values to be a little easier than the mental arithmetic required for the pure-decimal type.

[@dominicdiclemente8877]

Glad to see I am not the only one who uses a caliper in my woodshop, its one of my favorite tools (my 123 block is another I recommend)

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

123 blocks are very useful too. I should do a video on that

[@-lll-ll-llll-AVE]

Hi Rob, There’s a fourth way to use your calipers ! The displayed measurement can be found 1-between the insides of the main jaws, 2- between the outsides of the secondary jaws, 3- between the bottom of the calipers and the tip of the depth rod, and 4- between the machined top of the calipers (the edge going from the main jaw and the secondary jaw) and the corresponding machined edge of the moving jaw of the calipers. Thus, the calipers become great to lay parallel measurements on flat surfaces from the edge of your piece, similarly to how a marking gauge would function. I’m not English, my technical vocabulary is lacking but I hope I was clear enough !

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Great info. Thanks for adding it to the conversation

[@Lordac]

I don’t know much about woodworking, or at least not as much as I’d like to know. But I did work for a few years in a machine shop, so this is old news to me. First time I really knew the material on your video before hand!

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

So whats your favorite brand of calipers ?

[@mickeyd9369]

Used a decent no name Chinese caliper (Serial numbered) till repeatability became an issue. Went lower end 6" Mitutoyo. To date, (6 months) have not had to re-zero the dial. I still dream of Starrett 12" calipers though... 😎 Walk in to your local machine tool supply and see what's on sale. Got mine 30% off.

[@1striperon]

Always teaching. Thanks, Rob. Always interesting and helpful.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Thanks for taking the time to watch

[@paulringus1820]

Dial Calipers are great for precise woodworking. However, the dial operates via a rack (depth rod) and pinion (dial indicator). If a bit of sawdust gets into the exposed rack teeth and passes into the dial indicator gear train, the caliper will bind up and perhaps create a gap between the gears and thus the accuracy of 0.001” will be lost. Thus you need to keep the caliper away from fine dust. Electronic Calipers do not gear teeth and are not subject to inaccuracies from sawdust, other than bits between the jaw faces. Also, always leave a slight gap between the jaws when storing the caliper in the case. This will prevent corrosion developing on the jaw faces when not in use. Thanks for all you do in support of our veterans and your great teaching techniques and explanation. Blessings sent from SC/ USA🙏🏼🙏🏼👍🏼😎

[@laddalton2265]

You are absolutely correct sir. Unless you are willing to pay top dollar for some Brown and Sharps's most dial calipers are junk and always end up skipping. Even the cheapest digital's have no moving parts and are reliable with just a wipe down. If you turn them off when not in use the battery will usually last years.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

True that's why you need to keep them in its case. The thing I hate about digital calipers is the battery always dies just when you need it and you cannot remember where your spare batteries are so you have to stop and go get batteries. I prefer the dial calipers always ready to go and keeping them dust free is less painful for me than the battery dyeing

[@frederickwood9116]

Digital callipers do fail or suffer from dust. I have an admittedly very cost effective set that worked for years but now the reading jumps all over. As another viewer suggested it’s possibly a case for some contact cleaner. Point being they aren’t entirely infallible. A joy to have at hand though.

[@SculptyWorks]

I can't live without calipers! 👍👍

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

me either

[@williamshaffer2562]

Well Rob I still you are Professor Cos, because of your attention to the smallest of details. Another very informative video sir.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

thanks for watching

[@VinceEspositoJr]

I still use Starrett dial calipers that I bought over 40 years and 3 college degrees ago, when I worked in a machine shop right after high school. I could not do without them given my aging eyes. As you age it's more difficult to accurately read a rule and tape measure. Do you have a favorite brand/model of digital calipers?

[@frankdesantis452]

Fantastic lesson per usual. I often get inconsistent reads on both my digital and analog calipers. I think I may be inconsistently squeezing the blades is, so at the risk of asking an embarrassingly simple question, how hard do you push the caliper blades together?

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Actually a great question. The calipers are so accurate you can easily affect the reading by how hard you squeeze and if you hold them slightly angled verses square to the piece you are measuring. The pressur is "lightly firm." I always do several measurements at the same place just to satisfy myself I got the correct measurement

[@qzb2ymig]

Love my dial caliper. I got one that has dual needles and gauges, so I have both imperial and metric.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

I have never tried one of those

[@Zircon10]

Sometime you might try digital calipers. With the click of a button you can shift from Imperial to metric and you don’t have to worry about which needle or dial to read. What you see is what you get.

[@mickeyd9369]

Glad to see you as a proponent of the dial caliper. I used them for years (not woodworking) and then used them for woodworking just because they were here. I still struggle with how close is close enough. What are the tolerances say of the mortice to the tenon? Do I make each exact to .250? Or one or the other plus or minus a thou or two. My wood skills are still lacking so it hard to tell if it was the measurement or just me... 🤣

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Great question. I am usually good +/- .001-.003

[@TWC6724]

Thanks Rob. 👍

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Thanks for commenting

[@ronsfarm103]

As always excellent video. You help a lot of hobbyists step it up

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Keep watching and we will keep filming

[@kentboys5017]

Excellent video and explanation as always. I have the electronic ones and like using them. Easy to read and switch readings between fractions and decimals. Have been wanting a dial set for a while. What brand do you use? Thanks for sharing. Take care.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

mine are Fowlers. Luther likes his Starrett

[@kentboys5017]

@@RobCosmanWoodworking thank you

[@joeleonetti8976]

Thanks Rob. I have been thinking of getting a pair of non battery operated calipers for reasons you mentioned. I know that both those that measure in thousandths and fractions of an inch exist for the non-battery operated versions. Yours measures in thousandths. Any advantage to the manual ones that give you fractions (either Lee Valley or Highland Woodworking sells it)?

[@csimet]

Great overview. In my shop, I prefer to have analog imperial dial calipers that read directly in fractions of an inch, not thousandths (although they also do thousandths by the secondary dial). They have minor tick marks at 1/256th of an inch and main marks at every 1/64th. You can read half-way between the minor ticks for 1/512th inch (~0.002")... plenty enough resolution for my woodworking skills. ;) I also have a set of digital thousandths calipers for other tasks.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Great point! I should have mentioned you could get those fractional scales. Thanks for letting everyone know

[@haroldshipley8900]

I worked in a machine shop for 4 years 40 years ago. I have an electronic 0 to 1 inch micrometer and a 0 to 1 inch vernier micrometer. Both are high quality brand name machinist's tools. I prefer the vernier simply because of the battery issue. I also have a six inch dial caliper. I like it better than a digital one. Vernier is even more accurate but requires good eyesight which I no longer have.

[@ef2b]

My favorite caliper cost around $40 and has an (analog) dial marked with fractions. The beauty of this is that no math is required _and_ you can choose your precision. For example, even though the dial is marked in 1/64ths, you can choose to read the closest 32nd, 16th, or 8th. It is all visual. For this reason, I find digital calipers with fractional displays useless. They usually display in 1/128th and will simplify to 64th, 32nd, etc., if the measurement naturally can be reduced, e.g., it will read 9/32 rather than 36/128th. Nevertheless, if you want nearest 16th or 32nd and it is showing 128ths, you can go crosseyed figuring it out. Meanwhile, the analog fractional scale will tell the result with a glance. Mine never leaves my bench. I do have a digital caliper, and it is good for when I want either metric or decimal imperial, but I rarely use it. (Not sure if it would be welcome if I posted a specific product to illustrate the caliper, but if you search for fractional dial caliper you'll find them. If you stare at the photo for a bit, you'll understand what I mean about being able to visually work to a desired precision.) Rob mentioned 3 uses for the caliper, but in parallel with those uses is simply transferring dimensions. Sometimes you don't need to know what you have, but just need to transfer it from one place to another. Calipers are excellent for that, especially when you are matching innies to outies or vice versa.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

More great tips…. Thanks for sharing

[@naturalmystics-kd9vt]

Good day I enjoy your videos please tell me who make your annolog l calliper and who make it thank you

[@bbbbbdddbbbbbdb]

you can use the calipers as a shawn shim. once you have the reading locked in from your set you can use the top ledge (where the lower jaw rides against the back) to create the kerf offset

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

wow, I never thought of that but you sure could

[@bradleytuckwell4881]

As always great tips. And it’s true what you say at the start of each vid my woodworking has improved so much from watching you so thanks

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

So glad to here that, keep taking your woodworking to the next level

[@douglasperry1226]

I learned how to use calipers at an early age 15 to be exact. Worked with my dad in a machine shop metal lathe and cnc was a blast! Worked my way up to inspection station in a closed room and read plans each piece had a clearance of +/- of three thousandths lol I use it today on turning on a lathe. Wood not metal! 🥂

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Great story, thanks foe sharing

[@hassanal-mosawi4235]

Thanks for sharing those tips!

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

you bet

[@jimfromri]

Glad you made this video. I use calipers all the time. However, in online woodworking forums there are always a group of individuals who are disparaging of calipers. They say “wood moves, no need for that level of precision, we’re not machinists.” But that’s not true. Of course in some aspects of woodworking precision isn’t required. If you make a round top for a small table and the top is 1/4” narrower in one dimension I’ll bet no one notices. But make a tenon that’s a few thousands too skinny or fat and you have a problem. So woodworkers do need the precision of calipers but the trick is knowing when (mostly in joinery). Teach on professor!

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

I always smile when I read what those “woodworkers” say about precision. “Show me don’t tell me” comes to mind.

[@andrewbrimmer1797]

Great info

[@1deerndingo]

Great video. Aim small to hit small. It's hard and inconsistent to be precise if you don't use the tips, tricks and tools to be precise.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Well said!

[@stevem268]

i use my calipers regularly, both for "flat" work and turning. i have a couple of digital calipers, they are just so fast. i also have a couple of much older vernier calipers, they do get used once in a while, i just have to remind myself how to read them properly. they rate right up there with slide rules!

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Calipers and turning are almost a must

[@J.A.Smith2397]

Drill bits n dowel holes where I use em the most

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

I use them a lot for that too

[@jackvanlingen3691]

they are awesome for removing slivers

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

I never thought of that !

[@SnakeAndTurtleQigong]

Tacos so much! 😂 That was spared to be “thanks,” But I enjoy the autocorrect even more.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

I like tacos!!!!!

[@deancollins1371]

Thanks for another great video. My career was as a mechanical designer. Sometimes tolerancing mating parts was a challenge. I purchased both the Shawn shim and the 3/4 Shawn shim. I'm curious what the tolerance is for machining each step since they are nominally one thousandth difference on each side.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

half a thou

[@deancollins1371]

Half a thou - I hope that's +/-.0025. I did a shim drawing back in the 80's with a table of about 20 different shim thicknesses and all were something like +/-.003", but a few were only .005 difference nominally. The supplier was kind enough to point out that he could produce them at the overlapping tolerance and supply both part numbers without them being any different. It was a lesson learned and never forgotten, especially with tight tolerance parts.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

No, it’s .0005”

[@deancollins1371]

@@RobCosmanWoodworking My typo. I meant +/- a quarter thou, not +/- two and a half thou

[@mikeking7470]

I have a dial caliper that reads out in Imperial fractions down to about 1/128. I also have digital calipers that read in fractions, decimals, and metric.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Yes I should have mentioned you can buy dial calipers with fractional faces. Thanks for the comment

[@Exodus5K]

The last calipers you buy will be a high quality analogue set. Unfortunately, almost everyone gets the $30 digital ones first, I was lucky enough to pick up a set of mitutoyo from an engineering undergrad who had enough for $20 . The most common use case for me is figuring out drill bit size for drilling operations. The best quality screw joint is one where the screw passes through the first board without the threads engaging at all. Then, there's a smaller hole on the second board that is exactly the width of the screw's barrel so that only the threading engages. Measure the outside diameter of the screw's threading to figure out the size of the first drill bit, then measure between threads to get the second drill bit size.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Great comment I agree with every word

[@HWCism]

Nice explanation. You should not be afraid of the metric system.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Not afraid of it I just prefer imperial.

[@normanbott]

As an engineering apprentice, we used the straight Vernier calipers without the dial indicator. I was always arguing with the instructor about interpretation - in a non-serious way. I've got a digital one and it helps with my ageing eyes struggling to interpret a steel rule. Got a little plastic one too ...

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

I use both, depending on the requirements of accuracy

[@vosifle]

Do analog devices exist that measure angles very precise?

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Yes, but they are very protractor like

[@duane20]

Two additional features: the backside of the "head" on the jaws unit, when feasible, can be used as a depth gauge rather than the "pin" out the tail - very flat and square to the surface. Secondly, when couple with a 1"/25mm analog dial indicator on a magnetic base against the fence of a table saw, very precise adjustments can be made (measure the wood/cut with caliper then make adjustments) to the fence AND to set the scale on the fence based on actual cuts

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Two good tips thanks

[@colinscowen9621]

I'll second these tips. When you use the depth measure to get the depth pf a mortise, you can then use the head part to strike a square line on the tenon stock. Additionally, if you have a few of the plastic gauges, you can use them as story gauges for some of your joinery. You can also modify the jaws without worrying too much about the old wallet.

[@robnichols9331]

I find a vernier scale easier to read. Really accurate without batteries. But otherwise totally agree.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

I use my little plastic vernier scale for quick measurements all the time (Screw thread size for example) but I reach for my dial calipers when I need true accuracy

[@rickhayhoe]

I agree 100% regarding use of precision calipers in woodworking, but I'll take my old Japanese-made, verified precise, stainless steel vernier calipers over the others any day, because I know I can trust it. It's the simplest sort of mechanical device with only one sliding component, no gears, no springs, no batteries. and for me at least, it's much easier and faster to read to the final thousandth than shifting eyes back and forth between dial and graduated scale on analog calipers.

[@frederickwood9116]

I have some inexpensive digital ones. They were fantastic, if a little cheaply made. Then something went wrong and the display stopped relating accurately to the actual measurement. It jumps all over the place. I don’t think it’s the battery but I don’t know what happened. Anyone know what I could look at to try and fix?

[@paulringus1820]

Try some spray contact clear on the caliper beam and then spray some in the gap between the head and the beam. Not a lot, but enough to where it will seep in. Then without turning the caliper on, run the head back and forth a couple of times. What may have happened is the reader in the head got dirty. Contact cleaning using this method should work. Now, wipe the beam of again before you use it. If this method did not work… well you were going to toss it anyway, right?

[@frederickwood9116]

@@paulringus1820 thanks. I didn’t think of contact cleaner. But I was thinking it would likely be the sensor. It was not expensive but that is my budget for such things at the moment. Many thanks for the fix suggestion.

[@simong-uk]

Can't do any woodwork without my Mitutoyo digital vernier to hand . . . on the subject of batteries, don't be tempted to use Alkaline LR44 in place of the Silver SR44. The SR44 holds it's voltage level better at the end of its capacity making it work more reliably until the battery is really dead.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

thanks for the tip

[@stephenrutland8838]

I have a question I've got a family Bible that's 150yrs old. I would like to make a box to keep it in, what wood would be safe to make it of?

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Any domestic wood. What specifically are you worried about?

[@stephenrutland8838]

@@RobCosmanWoodworking I was not sure if some wood effect on the paper or not.

[@fayz44awad]

👌👌👌

[@georgeblair5070]

When we devised feet and inches, we were only joking. We gave it to you (over the pond) so that we could point and laugh! Love from GB xx

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

aaxtually, it was because a 12 based system is the easiest system to divide by whole numbers and when apprentices did not attend school it was the easiest system to learn

[@marchebert9813]

Point and laugh? You mean when we went to the moon? Or built the James Webb telescope?

[@frankstoverpurebloodsaltya6441]

I use calipers several times a day

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

You sound like me!

[@dukeengine1339]

Imperial system users might be the best with fractions! My metric system makes things easier but the mathematical brain sleeps 😂😂😂😂😂

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

You need to change out the brain batteries!!!!

[@daviddailey4959]

I use calipers all of the time woodworking.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Me too

[@АлександрЧумак-м2о]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

👍

[@2Bikemad]

If 3:50 is 0.7925" then 4:30 should be 1.499" not 1.599" as it is nowhere near the 1.6" marker on the main scale.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

I will go back and look

[@richs5422]

Oh yes, couldn't work wood without my calipers. A digital marking gauge is also available. It's so much easier to set a precise distance and then mark it. If your digital caliper eats batteries, buy a new one - they're much better now. I've never felt the need to buy the best brands (Mitutoyu and Starrett), as I don't care about microns or tenths of mils.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Your accuracy requirements depends on what specifically you use it for. Different strokes for different folks

[@enado18]

I hate digital calipers, but keeping spare batteries in the case seems like an easy way to deal with dead batteries

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

If you remember where you put those batteries you bought 6 months ago! I never can remember, or someone has already used them for something else. I go with the dial calipers

[@ricos1497]

Yep, my caliper case has a little indent, which I assume is for a spare battery, and it's where I keep mine.

[@jdmccorful]

As always, good stuff! Enjoyed watching, thanks.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

thanks so much for watching WHat video should we do next?