Step one. Bought the van.
Hello Everybody, First post. I camp a lot in tents but after spending three days straight in a tent in the rain at Dolly Sods I swore I'd make a change. Here it is. Bought it Wednesday. Dro...
Forum Discussion
Got the sofa-bed sliders finished tonight. Getting closer. In the mean time.....
A quick post on using calipers. More particular vernier calipers.
If you've been following these postings you'll have seen pictures where I'm using them.
Here's the three I own.
The top (plastic) one cost me about a buck. The middle one got for around $6. The bottom one I inherited.
I use them to measure width or depth.
I wouldn't trust the markings on the plastic one but it's good for getting a size then comparing it to a tape measure.
These are the Outside Jaws.
And for measuring inside, the Inside Jaws.
On the other end is the Depth Probe.
Once you've taken a measurement, this is how to read it.
On the Main Scale is marked inches and 1/10 of inches. Only the even numbered 1/10 marks are labeled. The top scale is the Vernier Scale. This caliper is accurate to 3 decimal places.
Here's an example measurement.
Find where the zero mark on the Vernier Scale lines up on the Main Scale. It's between 0 and 1 inch.
On the Main Scale the zero mark is pointing between 0.5 and 0.6. Between the 1/10 inch marks are three shorter marks. Each mark equals .025 inches. This value will be the same as the largest value on the Vernier Scale. Since the zero mark is to the right of the third .025 mark the measurement is
.5 + .025 + .025 + .025 = .575
before adding the Vernier Scale.
To use the Vernier Scale find which of it's marks line up exactly with any mark on the Main Scale. It will only line up with one but you have to look closely to determine which one. Add the value from the Vernier Scale, .012 in this example, to get the total measurement.
.575 + .012 = .587 inches.
Or you could use a dial caliper.
And why might you need to know measurements this accurate?
Here's one way I used them. The smaller bits had fallen out of my drill case.
The bits have been used so much you could no longer read the end markings.
Use the dial caliper to get the diameter from a drill bit then convert fraction to decimal.
Worked like a champ.
PS
Final score.
Duke 78 WV 57
On the bright side, there should be no couch fires tonight.
A quick post on using calipers. More particular vernier calipers.
If you've been following these postings you'll have seen pictures where I'm using them.
Here's the three I own.
The top (plastic) one cost me about a buck. The middle one got for around $6. The bottom one I inherited.
I use them to measure width or depth.
I wouldn't trust the markings on the plastic one but it's good for getting a size then comparing it to a tape measure.
These are the Outside Jaws.
And for measuring inside, the Inside Jaws.
On the other end is the Depth Probe.
Once you've taken a measurement, this is how to read it.
On the Main Scale is marked inches and 1/10 of inches. Only the even numbered 1/10 marks are labeled. The top scale is the Vernier Scale. This caliper is accurate to 3 decimal places.
Here's an example measurement.
Find where the zero mark on the Vernier Scale lines up on the Main Scale. It's between 0 and 1 inch.
On the Main Scale the zero mark is pointing between 0.5 and 0.6. Between the 1/10 inch marks are three shorter marks. Each mark equals .025 inches. This value will be the same as the largest value on the Vernier Scale. Since the zero mark is to the right of the third .025 mark the measurement is
.5 + .025 + .025 + .025 = .575
before adding the Vernier Scale.
To use the Vernier Scale find which of it's marks line up exactly with any mark on the Main Scale. It will only line up with one but you have to look closely to determine which one. Add the value from the Vernier Scale, .012 in this example, to get the total measurement.
.575 + .012 = .587 inches.
Or you could use a dial caliper.
And why might you need to know measurements this accurate?
Here's one way I used them. The smaller bits had fallen out of my drill case.
The bits have been used so much you could no longer read the end markings.
Use the dial caliper to get the diameter from a drill bit then convert fraction to decimal.
Worked like a champ.
PS
Final score.
Duke 78 WV 57
On the bright side, there should be no couch fires tonight.
