Thickness calipers

[grandmainger]

I was finally able to get on the Harbor Freight site. There are two dial indicators both for $13.99 (none that I can find for $6.99)

Jim, I think the $6.99 price was a special offer, and it's now gone back to the regular price. Still dirt cheap though!

[RJinRI]

I 'm about to build a thickness gauge & recently received the 1" Travelers Machinist type. It came "not zeroed"..any one know how to adjust the the zero point, and still keep the dial in upright orientation? It most likely doesnt matter, but I'm thinking ease of use here.

[JEStanek]

Can anyone give a rough plan of how to build one with the Harbor Freight dial added onto a wood frame... how to attach or is it really simple? I was just gonna use dowling and a bic pen... even less expensive... Thanks in advance.

[RJinRI]

I 'm about to build a thickness gauge & recently received the 1" Travelers Machinist type. It came "not zeroed"..any one know how to adjust the the zero point, and still keep the dial in upright orientation? It most likely doesnt matter, but I'm thinking ease of use here.

[QUOTE]...ahhh...' figured it out..by placing a small washer under set screw knob on top of the gauge, the pointer #is closer to zero at rest condition and a 1/4 turn will put it to 0.

[PaulD]

In reviewing this thread, I think awards need to be given out. Here are my votes:

Most Functional - Darryl (I like the handles and stuff)
Most Stylistic - Ellie (No competition)
Most Frugal - Bill Snyder (Or as my kids would say; "That's Ghetto!" in a good way! )

Paul Doubek

[dperry]

I also made one with the harbor freight dial indicator. I didnt have any scrap wood around but did have metal since that's what I am used to dealing with anyway. So I made mine out of 1/4" square tubing. So there are many different ways to get the job done.

[ShaneJ]

I 'm about to build a thickness gauge & recently received the 1" Travelers Machinist type. It came "not zeroed"..any one know how to adjust the the zero point, and still keep the dial in upright orientation? It most likely doesnt matter, but I'm thinking ease of use here.

It starts out in "negative" territory to allow you to adjust your caliper/stand so that when the "jaw" is fully closed, the plunger is resting on the fixed stop and the indicator reads "0". I don't know if that makes sense or not. Look at a picture of one of the luthiers' thickness calipers....they all have a screw or carriage bolt mounted to the bottom jaw that the dial indicator's plunger comes to rest on. That screw/bolt can be adjusted up or down until the dial reads "0".

[RJinRI]

SJennings...Thank you..I get the idea !; off to start cutting the frame

[Frank Ford]

Almost 35 years ago, I made this little caliper to measure a couple of Loar F-5 tops:



I just used a piece of 3/16" rod and some square brass tubing from the hobby shop. #A bit of rosin core soft solder has held things together quite well.



You can't really see it, but the plunger has a little wood tip to avoid scratching finishes.

[RJinRI]

Completed mine today, made from scrap mahogany a local carpenter was tossing. Thanks for everones' suggestions.

picture , with dimensions is here:

http://www.eichhoffelectronics.com/k8zfj....age.jpg

[mikeyes]

I went to th Harbor Freight store in Appleton, WI and they still had the dial indicators on sale for $6.99. You might try a local HF store.

[chipotle]

I got one yesterday in Chattanooga for the $6.99 sale price as well. Never been to a HF store before but I am now on the mailing list. Great prices!

[Jim Garber]

I just found these plans at International Luthier Supply. Scrool down to "VIolin & Viola Caliper Kit".

Also one even cheaper (just the plans) at Elderly Instruments.

Jim

[craigw]

Here is the calipers I built after starting this thread a few monthe back.

[craigw]

I used 3/4" birch plywood to make the frame. I cut a 3/4" dado on the base plate for the caliper frame to snugly fit in and put it together with Titebond and countersunk screws up from the bottom. I cut a notch in the top end of the caliper frame to accomodate the machinist gauge and placed a hose washer between the gauge and frame to snub it up. A SS carriage bolt was attached to the plywood strip attached next to the caliper frame by countersinking from the underside of the strip enough to allow for a washer and nut. you also need a washer on the top side of the strip and a jamb nut. The plywood caliper frame will flex slightly and is affected by temperature and humidity changes. Not to worry! It is still an accurate tool and you can adjust the highth of the carriage bolt by backing off the jamb nut and turning the bolt slightly to set the gauge where zero is at 12 O'Clock.

[pchristi]

Just got my IV Kit over the holidays and am very excited about staring this project. #Thought I would share how I made my thickness caliper. #I was able to find the dial indicator from Harbor Freight at the $6.99 sale price. #Since I didn't have alot of extra wood laying around for the frame I decided to improvise. #I looked around the garage for whatever I could find that I thought would work and ended up using an old pair of aero bar extensions...same kind as Greg Lemond used in one of his Tour de France victories. #Mounted the dial in one end and a broom handle in the other. #Adjusted the broom handle to "zero" the dial and clamped it down. #Drilled a hole in a 2x4 scrap to accept the broom handle and support the frame.(see Photos) #Seems to do the job just fine. #
Also, works well as a thickness marker by removing it from the base and replacing the dial with a clamp & pencil(not pictured).

[pchristi]

Another view.....

[Bill Snyder]

So long as there is NO FLEX in the aero bar extension it should work.

[JEStanek]

He'll make Yellow Jersey Mandos! All blondes.

Jamie

[Gavin Baird]

This one I mde some years ago...G

[pchristi]

“So long as there is NO FLEX in the aero bar extension it should work

The aero bars can be “flexed" with considerable effort and do spring right back to their original position (zero). Also, the effort/force required to “flex” the bars is far greater than what is needed to allow the dial’s probe to move.

One observation regarding the various caliper designs that may be of interest for other IV kit builders … If you have a IV kit (W/sides already mounted to the top) it will be easier to use if the “zero” point is above the lower caliper arm by a distance greater than the rim height. Otherwise it will not be possible to work on the outside of the top (with the rims facing down). Marking the thickness on the outside of the top at a given point would have to be done from the underside or you could flip the whole caliper over but you would then be reading the gauge upside down. Just a thought.

[mandomaker]

I went on ebay and bought a deep throat caliper micrometer which works well, but it looks like the dial type is quicker to read-I may need to build a cool stand for it it, looks like.

[banjo1]

Frank Ford that is a great little/dual use caliper.
I like it so much Im a Gona build me one.
Thanks

[Darren Kern]

Resurrecting another old thread... I'd like to build something similar to craigw's setup, but I can't think of a good way to securely mount the dial gauge. If you look at Gavin's picture above, you can see how the gauge has a loop in the back. I built one for my first mando construction, but have since thrown it away (except the gauge) because it was a piece of junk.

[PaulD]

I can think of a couple ways to go that might work. If you had a hardwood extension on the end of a setup like Craig's, you could drill that the correct diameter for a slip fit on the bottom of the gauge. The slit up the middle with a bandsaw and drill a hole for a small bolt just outboard of the gauge hole. When you drop the gauge in and tighten the small bolt it will clamp the gauge in place... similar to what it looks like Gavin has going in aluminum.

Another option would be a mortise in the wood frame for the bracket hanging off the back of most dial indicators (see Gavin's pic to see what I'm referring to). Depending on the shape of the bracket you may be able to drill and tap for a set screw to hold the gauge firmly in place.

I hope that at least gets the thinking gears turning and you can come up with something.

Paul Doubek