I was at Sears today perusing the vernier calipers today and noted that they are made of plastic yet supposedly accurate to .001 of an inch. They are made in the US, thus they may very well be high quality.
I currently own a micrometer (steel) that can measure to 1 inch in .001 increments. Am I wasting $30.00 for a vernier caliper if I already own a micrometer? Seems to me the mic would be fine for measuring valve shims but I'd like to get the opinion of someone on the board.
Seems to me that the steel would have a coefficient of expansion less than that of the plastic and thus be more accurate, not to mention wearing better than the plastic. I know this was the case from my navigation days in the Navy, where we used sextants which were more accurate if constructed from metal vice plastic (we did use plastic sextants for lifeboat navigation, however).
Does anyone here use a micrometer to measure shims vice vernier calipers???
I don't like using plastic rulers let alone plastic calipers. Metal calipers with digital readouts can be had for $25 or less.
The mic. should work fine... are you sure it only reads in thousandths? Most are 10-thou
I always use a micrometer. They are more accurate. You will need a tool for the closers.
Yes, checked my micrometer (it is a lower end from Sears bought years ago), it can measure to 0.001 (one thousandths of an inch). I guess I just have to make sure that the closing shim and tool do not exceed 1 inch in length, then I can use the micrometer for measuring both opening and closing shims...
And thanks for the help, by the way...
A 0"-1" Starrett micrometer has worked for me for decades. It will easily accommodate any 7mm or 8mm valve shim plus an EMS or other shim measuring tool.
Thanks guys, I guess I can stick with what I have...