Craftsman  Caliper, Dial, 0-6 in. Range

I needed a Caliper for my college course and this is perfect for me. It's just like the one my Dad has had for years and his is still in perfect working condition.

I bought a six inch model when I started reloading rifle and pistol shells. There is no way of guessing within 1 00,000, how many times mine have opened and closed measuring the case length,and overall length, bullet diameter, etc. in 40 yrs.

The new Craftsman Caliper 0-6 in. are not like their predecessors.

I took my old "working" caliper into Sears for an exchange because the clear cover over the dial face was missing. Fist they said Craftsman no longer made/sold them, so I took a gift card. Online I found Sears still sold Craftsman calipers so I ordered one.

The new caliper I recieved came with a new case. I removed the caliper and opened and closed it a few times. Each time I opened/closed it the gears were not meshing correctly and sounded like jumping teeth?? I never got the same measurement twice. I zeroed it a few times but it never even held zero after opening it to 3" then back to zero. there seemed to be to much play in the entire thing. I may have gotten the 1 in 1,000 that was a lemmon but QC definately missed this one.

I returned it back to Sears with the same 1hr ordeal I had the first time. I'm die hard Craftsman for tools but I'm going with another top brand for my caliper this time.

A good dial caliper is a tool you will use every day if you are a production mechanic.  It is accurate enough to measure parts for wear or being out of tolerance.  The Craftsman Japanese-made caliper comes from a well-known manufacturer and is top quality.  Smooth operation allows careful measurements to be made.  Be careful when taking depth measurements though as the depth probe can easily be bent.  Your dial caliper will never be the same if that happens.

The rotating adjustable dial makes reading measurements easy, far easier than the old vernier calipers.  when I was younger (and my eyesight was better) the vernier calipers were OK but I sure appreciate the easy-to-read dial now.

Just remember that this tool is accurate to +/- .001 of an inch.  If you need greater accuracy than you will need a good micrometer which can easily give you +/- .0005 or better.  If you try to "guess" accuracy to ten thousandths you will be making large errors.

"Sacramento" Bruce Conklin

I wanted an inexpensive Craftsman caliper to complete my tool set with and this was the cheapest one Sears had.  It is actually a nicer caliper than I expected it to be.  The caliper does what I need when I need it and it does not have to have a battery in it so you can store it for a long time between uses.  The measurements are a little difficult to see and they might consider going to an easy to read version for us old-timers with eye glasses.  Overall, I am very satisfied with it so far. 

My Craftsman 6" Dial Caliper, #40185, w/Case, (Made in Japan), $45, is NOT new, but still going strong!

This caliper is definitely heavy duty compared to my previous unit. dial is large. (approx. 1.5 in. across) graduations are easy to read and have good contrast. caliper maintains "zero" quite well. slide action and adjustment wheel are relatively smooth and I suspect will become smoother with use. Sears spec. states caliper accurate to +/- .001 inch. I measured a 1/4 inch precision pin and caliper read .249 inch. close enough for most measurements I do! If I need super accurate readings I rely on a MUCH more expensive caliper. (I'm saving wear and tear on it) Overall happy camper!!

This caliper is definitely heavy duty compared to my previous unit. dial is large. (approx. 1.5 in. across) graduations are easy to read and have good contrast. caliper maintains "zero" quite well. slide action and adjustment wheel are relatively smooth and I suspect will become smoother with use. Sears spec. states caliper accurate to +/- .001 inch. I measured a 1/4 inch precision pin and caliper read .249 inch. close enough for most measurements I do! If I need super accurate readings I rely on a MUCH more expensive caliper. (I'm saving wear and tear on it) Overall happy camper!!